Elimination Chamber is in the rearview, and that means we are officially on the road to WrestleMania.
Randy Orton and Rhea Ripley won their respective chamber matches and are now guaranteed a title shot on the grandest stage of them all. AJ Lee is the Women’s Intercontinental Champion, and Finn Balor is in for a character change. Let’s take a look at some of the headlines over the past week.
Burning Down the Vision
He’s back. Seth Rollins returned with a vengeance at Elimination Chamber and cost Logan Paul in the match. On Monday Night Raw, he had tricked the Vision with numerous masked men “decoys”. Then, in the same city, he betrayed the Shield; Rollins hit Heyman with a chair and curb-stomped him. Rollins is ready to take down the Vision, despite the lingering injuries in the faction. The original (and hopeful) plan is for Seth Rollins to face Bron Breakker at WrestleMania. Breakker suffered a hernia a month back, and is rehabbing in hopes of taking on the Visionary. If that does not happen, it looks like we are getting Rollins vs Logan Paul in a rematch of WM 39. Either way, Seth is looking to take down his former faction and maybe even create his own. He has got plenty of masked men waiting.
You Are Cursed!
After a very confusing and dreadful debut at the Elimination Chamber, Danhausen made his Monday Night Raw debut to a much more receptive crowd. He had an exchange with Adam Pearce where he said he wanted to be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. Then, he told Dirty Dom that he was cursed. Which led to Dominik losing the Intercontinental Championship later that night to Penta. Then on SmackDown, he got paired with the Miz, who was not happy with it. Time will tell when Danhausen shares the screen with R-Truth and Kit Wilson.
New Champions Crowned
Two titles changed hands this week on WWE television. On Monday Night Raw, Penta defeated Dom to win his first title in WWE. Finn Balor continued his babyface transformation by not allowing Dirty Dom to cheat, and that proved to be the downfall for the Judgement Day. Looks like Finn and Dirty Dom are on a collision course for WrestleMania.
On SmackDown, we saw a new WWE Champion crowned. Cody Rhodes took advantage of interference from Jacob Fatu to become the champ. Randy Orton and Rhodes will have a contract signing this Friday, and perhaps there will be fireworks. No matter who wins at ‘Mania, SmackDown will be in good hands.
Who Let the Dogg(s) Out
Thursday afternoon, WWE’s creative team had a shake-up. Road Dogg, aka Brian James, stepped down from being the lead writer of SmackDown and is no longer employed by WWE. He is still under a separate legends contract. Brian James had backlash from his scenes in WWE “Unreal,” where he appeared less than stellar in creative meetings. The tension in the room had boiled over, and he decided it was time to step aside. Meanwhile, Alexandra Williams was promoted to the lead writer of Raw. She tweeted out her excitement for the job, and it looks like WWE is going to spice things up on the road to WrestleMania.
Shots Have Been Fired
In the pro wrestling business, it can be tough to know whether two superstars hate each other’s guts for real or if they are just promoting a rivalry. It is reported that WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill is not well-received backstage, and one person who isn’t on her good side is Rhea Ripley. Ripley won the Elimination Chamber match and now is facing Cargill for the title at WM. The two had a Twitter exchange after the match, and it is believed that they really don’t like each other. Their segment was not exactly magical, but look for the temperatures to rise as we get close to the grandest stage of them all.
Another rivalry turning heads is CM Punk vs Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship. In their second promo battle, Punk ended the segment by saying he would bury the Tribal Chief next to his dead father. This was a planned line, but it certainly stirred the pot. Many WWE fans are speculating that it is only time before Reigns mentions Larry, who was Punk’s dog.
With new champions crowned, a new writer at the helm, and a new wrestler in the mix, WWE has a lot of time to make this year’s WrestleMania special. Could the ticket prices be lower?
Absolutely. It is rumored that there will be six women’s matches on the card and a total of 15 matches over two nights. Who is in danger of missing the card? Find out next time where I look at WWE superstars that do not seem to have a direction heading into WrestleMania.
