In one of the craziest WWE Elimination Chambers you'll ever see, it was Randy Orton who emerged from the chaos and is headed to WrestleMania 42 after his victory Saturday night at the United Center in Chicago.
In one of the craziest WWE Elimination Chambers you'll ever see, it was Randy Orton who emerged from the chaos and is headed to WrestleMania 42 after his victory Saturday night at the United Center in Chicago.
Orton will face off against Drew McIntyre for the Undisputed Championship at WrestleMania, and fans got a sneak peak at the matchup near the end of the Elimination Chamber after Drew McIntyre inserted himself into the match and attacked Cody Rhodes. But Orton stepped in, hitting McIntyre with an RKO before Rhodes hit McIntyre with a Cross Rhodes. But just as Rhodes thought he was in the clear, Orton suddenly hit him with an RKO as well to get the pinfall.
But the craziness didn't end there. Logan Paul was a late addition to the Elimination Chamber after winning a qualifying match against Jacob Fatu on "SmackDown" this past Friday. That match came after Jey Uso was attacked at the beginning of Friday's show and was unable to compete at Elimination Chamber.
For much of the match, it seemed that Paul might pull off the upset and disrupt the betting lines, as he scored pinfalls against Je'Von Evans, LA Knight and Trick Williams. However, Seth Rollins, who had been out due to injury, revealed himself as the masked man and hit Paul with a curb stomp, allowing Rhodes to eliminate Paul.
Despite the twists and turns, the betting lines at BetOnline.ag stayed mainly solid for the men's Elimination Chamber, as Rhodes and Orton were the favorites to be the final two competitors. And while Rhodes was the favorite to win at -400, Orton's backers won at a modest +275.
Right before the men's Elimination Chamber, CM Punk had a joyous homecoming by defending the WWE World Heavyweight title with a victory over Finn Bálor. This was the one match on the card that seemed to be a forgone conclusion from the moment it was announced, as BetOnline.ag first listed Punk at -5000, compared to +1200 for Bálor, and the odds never changed.
Despite the long odds, the match was very much a 50-50 affair as Punk--who will head to WrestleMania for a title defense against Roman Reigns--found himself against a determined Bálor, who left Punk's mouth bloodied during the match. While Bálor was able to seize an advantage late, he had a second Coup De Grace intercepted and turned into a Sharpshooter submission. While Punk was unable to get Balor to tap out, he hit him with a GTS moments later to get the win.
In the women's Elimination Chamber, Rhea Ripley punched her ticket to a world title match at WrestleMania.
Ripley intercepted Tiffany Stratton's attempt at hitting the Prettiest Moonsault Ever by shoving her off the top turnbuckle and into a pod. With Stratton dazed, Ripley took advantage by rolling her into the ring and hitting a Rip-Tide for the three count.
Ripley now goes on to a title match against Jade Cargill at WrestleMania.
The results also proved to be exactly what was predicted by BetOnline.ag. The betting site not only had Ripley the favorite to win the match at -150, but it also correctly guessed that Ripley (-300) and Stratton (+250) would be the final two remaining in the Chamber.
Also, AJ Lee defeated Becky Lynch to become the new WWE women's intercontinental champion, a scenario that BetOnline.ag had predicted from the get-go at -300.
Late in the match and with the referee down, Lynch did her best to take full advantage by hitting Lee with a DDT on a steel chair and nailing her with the Manhandle Slam. Despite that, Lee kicked out, which led Lynch to attempt to use a turnbuckle she had exposed earlier in the match. However, the referee awoke in time to stop Lynch, leading instead to Lee shoving Lynch into the exposed turnbuckle, slapping on a Black Widow submission and getting the finish.
Nevin Barich is the Combat Sports Writer for The Sporting Tribune.
Category: General Sports
