JamieStevenson Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 The road to WrestleMania continues and hot on the heels of the Royal Rumble PPV, we quickly move our attention to the SmackDown exclusive Elimination Chamber. This will take place on Sunday 12th February 2017, returning to the 3 hour PPV and 1 hour Pre-Show format. This is of course a gimmick PPV that focuses around the Elimination Chamber match which this year will actually be for the WWE Championship, to be defended by new 16 time champion John Cena. Shane McMahon had announced in the lead up to Royal Rumble that the WWE Championship would be defended in this structure. The Elimination Chamber match is a six participant match wherein two participants begin the match in the ring as the remaining four are held within each inner enclosure (pod) and are released into the match at five-minute intervals. The objective is to eliminate each opponent from the match via pinfall or submission. The winner is the last remaining participant after all others have been eliminated. During a backstage segment on SmackDown Live it was revealed the participants will be: John Cena, AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt, Baron Corbin, The Miz & Dean Ambrose. This will be the 20th Elimination Chamber match since its inception at Survivor Series in 2002. On the Jan 24th episode of SmackDown Live, Naomi returned after a period of absence due to injury. She was scheduled to face Natalya but that didn't go ahead as she was attacked backstage by Nikki Bella (which we'll get on to shortly). Naomi was not happy with it going down like this and refused to leave the ring until somebody came out and stepped up. The WWE Women's Champion, Alexa Bliss came out and belittled Naomi and basically told her she'd become a nobody whilst away. On the Royal Rumble Kickoff show we saw Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella & Naomi vs Alexa Bliss, Natalya & Mickie James. Naomi had previously claimed she'd land herself an opportunity and that's exactly what she did by pinning the current champion that night. Naomi further cemented her position as a top contender in the division by gaining the pinfall victory over Alexa Bliss again in another tag team match on SmackDown Live. On Talking Smack, General Manager Daniel Bryan was so impressed by Naomi lately that he has announced Alexa Bliss vs Naomi for the WWE Women's Championship at Elimination Chamber. WWE SmackDown Tag Team champions American Alpha had discussed on SmackDown how they were disappointed not to be involved in the Royal Rumble show in any capacity, they weren't sure if SmackDown were just being overlooked or if there weren't any challengers willing to step up and face them. They were determined to go down to the ring and make sure they got themselves some action. They issued an open challenge to the tag team division and literally every team accepted the challenge and resulted in a massive brawl. On Talking Smack Daniel Bryan announced there will be a Tag Team Turmoil match featuring American Alpha, The Usos, The Ascension, The Vaudevillains, Breezango & Heath Slater and Rhyno. On SmackDown Live we had a 12 man tag team match featuring every team that are due to participate in the tag team turmoil match at Elimination Chamber. We have quite the upset victory here, just as the crowd were getting all hyped during the Rhyno hot tag and hitting Gore to end the match. The Ascension actually managed to pick up the victory for their team. They're now a team to look out for at Elimination Chamber. If we cast our minds back to several months ago for the build up to Survivor Series, Daniel Bryan made a match between Nikki Bella and Natalya for the position of captain for the SmackDown women's team for the traditional Survivor Series match and the loser would not be in the team at all. Of course Nikki Bella won that match and became captain. Jealousy had clearly set in for Natalya as she had to settle for being the team coach and at Survivor Series as Nikki Bella's music hit, she didn't come out. The titantron cut to backstage where she had been assaulted from behind by a mystery attacker. Natalya was conveniently on hand to alert Daniel Bryan of what had happened, Daniel ruled that Nikki could not compete in the match and sent Natalya out in her place. Nikki Bella subsequently assumed that her attacker was Carmella, who she had been feuding with at the time. She accused her for several weeks until Carmella revealed that she knew who done it and that it was in fact Natalya. Carmella states if it were her that did the attack, she'd be bragging about it. Nikki at first didn't believe what Carmella was saying but eventually Natalya was confronted and she confessed to the attack. On the Jan 3rd episode of SmackDown Live, Nikki Bella and Natalya exchanged in a nasty war of words which lead to the pair coming to blows. The following week, Natalya attacked Nikki before their match. Nikki then came out and the pair brawled, in fact they have spent 3/4 weeks straight either attacking each other or brawling around the arena. All the talk had been done, this feud has turned vicious and will result in a match at the Elimination Chamber. Natalya had even got herself some private security guards this week to fend off another potential attack. Ahead of their big match on Sunday, Natalya and Nikki Bella exchanged in another war of words, getting personal and a few below the belt shots. Natalya also showed up during Nikki's appearance on Talking Smack and smashed her face off the glass. Ever since Randy Orton became a Wyatt Family member it seems to have created a bit of divide within the group and definitely tension between Orton and Luke Harper. Their communication in tag team matches was not on point and it even lead to getting involved in each other's single matches and needlessly costing them. Bray Wyatt sensed there were differences that needed settling and like with any family if there's a problem, they must deal with it, brother vs brother. So on Jan 24th on SmackDown Live we had Randy Orton vs Luke Harper in the hopes that they could batter each other and get it out of their system so they could become a cohesive unit again. It was clear that if these differences could not be resolved that the leader Bray Wyatt may have to choose sides. And that he did, as after the match he hit Luke Harper with Sister Abigail. Very much disowning him, an original Wyatt Family member. During the Royal Rumble match, Orton, Wyatt & Harper were all in the ring at the same time. Harper attacked both men and had turned face, especially when he tried hitting Sister Abigail on Bray Wyatt, Orton saved him with the RKO. He further cemented his face turn by coming to the aid of WWE Champion John Cena as he was about to be attacked by The Wyatt Family, a tag team match was made which Harper & Cena lost. There is a chance that they might run with Orton vs Harper at Elimination Chamber as Wyatt is already in the main event. Becky Lynch had been in a long rivalry with Alexa Bliss at the top of the women's division. Recently a new character by the name La Luchadora had been appearing and interfering in Becky's matches. At one stage Becky took on La Luchadora and revealed it to be Alexa Bliss at that point but of course it wasn't actually Alexa as she's been present in attacks with La Luchadora. On the Jan 17th SmackDown Live, Alexa Bliss had to defend her WWE SmackDown Women's Championship inside a steel cage against Becky Lynch. La Luchadora managed to get inside the cage and help Alexa retain her title. They gave Becky a post-match beatdown but she fought back and managed to reveal the masked woman as the returning Mickie James! The former 5 time WWE Women's Champion & 1 time WWE Divas Champion. The following week Mickie James cut the promo about everyone forgetting her and that Alexa Bliss is the only one that remembers her and everything she's done. Becky came out to attack her, chased her into the crowd only for it to be a set up and was met also by the champ and they beat her down, Twisted Bliss is a thing of beauty I must add. There are already two women's matches announced for this PPV but Mickie James vs Becky Lynch could be a third. This match was made official on Twitter before the 7th Feb episode of SmackDown Live. Jan 3rd, Dolph Ziggler faced Baron Corbin and lost thanks to the End of Days. Corbin gets a chair and as he's about to destroy Ziggler, his recent rival Kalisto comes out to make the save. This did not impress the defeated Dolph Ziggler at all, he turned heel hitting Kalisto with a super kick and claiming he doesn't need help from anyone! He went back to the locker room after the match and ended up brawling with Apollo Crews, who made it his business to stick up for his little friend. The following week Kalisto had an opportunity to avenge that beat down and subsequently sneaked a win. An increasingly frustrated Ziggler took a chair and started destroying Kalisto, Apollo Crews came out with the attempted save but he suffered the exact same fate. Ziggler pummeling both men with the chair, which the crowd absolutely loved. Dolph Ziggler had two more matches with Kalisto in recent episodes of SmackDown Live, Apollo Crews has made the save on both occasions, once laying into the heel and the other time managing to just chase him off. Dolph Ziggler took on Apollo Crews on the go home edition of SmackDown Live. Apollo managed to pick up the victory and Ziggler resorted to his trusted ally, the steel chair to lay a beating on him. Kalisto came out in attempt to save his friend but Ziggler laid him out too. In a backstage segment with Daniel Bryan, Ziggler stated he could beat both Kalisto and Apollo Crews at once. The General Manager then booked a handicap match at Elimination Chamber. Official theme for Elimination Chamber: Confirmed Matches: Mojo Rawley vs Curt Hawkins (Kickoff Match) Apollo Crews & Kalisto vs Dolph Ziggler in a 2 on 1 Handicap match. Becky Lynch vs Mickie James. Luke Harper vs Randy Orton. Nikki Bella vs Natalya. American Alpha (C) vs The Usos vs The Ascension vs The Vaudevillains vs Breezango vs Heath Slater and Rhyno in a Tag Team Turmoil match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship. Alexa Bliss (C) vs Naomi for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship. John Cena (C) vs AJ Styles vs Bray Wyatt vs Baron Corbin vs The Miz vs Dean Ambrose in an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship. Official matches and all other relevant information will be updated once available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieStevenson Posted February 1, 2017 Author Share Posted February 1, 2017 Here's a Chamber match that WWE posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francesc Fabregas Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 I've said it before and I'll say it again - the effort that goes into these previews is fantastic and I, and everyone one else who posts on this part of the forum, appreciate the effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieStevenson Posted February 1, 2017 Author Share Posted February 1, 2017 29 minutes ago, Francesc Fabregas said: I've said it before and I'll say it again - the effort that goes into these previews is fantastic and I, and everyone one else who posts on this part of the forum, appreciate the effort. I enjoy these 90% of the time, this one sadly not so much as the card just isn't that appealing really is it? The Elimination Chamber match is going to have to be an absolute belter. Hope they can find another wee gem of a match to add to this too. The problem is though they've already used the majority of the roster on 2 matches alone Would have been nice if Tye Dillinger joined SDLive, not that there's anyone he could face right now... Have a feeling he might stay in NXT though, hope I'm wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEMSFC Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Surprised they didn't put the tag match inside the chamber. That would be fun to watch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieStevenson Posted February 1, 2017 Author Share Posted February 1, 2017 I thought they were heading in that direction, but no they're recycling the tag team turmoil with the exact same teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quentin Taranbino Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 They have trouble with that tag team division. American Alpha are good and the Usos are solid. The trouble with the other teams - especially Vaudevillains, Ascension and Breezango is that they have been absolute jobbers for so long now that they aren't any sort of threat at all. When was the last time one of these teams won a match? They really need to start from scratch again with one of these teams and make them credible again if possible. Breezango are talented wrestlers so that could work if they dropped the silly gimmick and turned face - Breeze had great matches back in NXT. Ascension, whilst not very good in the ring could be made into a dominant team but they need something (maybe a manager) to give them something different so it's believable that they have turned a corner. I would be inclined to start again with 6 credible tag teams (3 faces , 3 heels). Alpha, Breezango, Crews/Kalisto, Usos, Revival, Harper/Rowan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieStevenson Posted February 1, 2017 Author Share Posted February 1, 2017 They need to use all of their resources or it's going to get repetitive real quick. Like where have Kane, Jack Swagger, Curt Hawkins & even James Ellsworth disappeared to? Granted, people probably don't want to see them but they're on the roster so why not? Kane & Jack Swagger are two perfectly capable mid-carders as well. Shouldn't be too long until Erick Rowan & Shelton Benjamin return too.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Gaines Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Might just wait for the next day and watch the main event. This is going to be largely shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieStevenson Posted February 3, 2017 Author Share Posted February 3, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DA Baracus Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 The adverts that are running on the Network for this are dreadful. I can't find a video but it's like some shitty gameshow with an overhead view of the chamber. Abysmal. Also The Ascension The Vaudevillans Breezango Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieStevenson Posted February 5, 2017 Author Share Posted February 5, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieStevenson Posted February 7, 2017 Author Share Posted February 7, 2017 Before SDLive we've got an official theme, poster and Lynch vs James announced as expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieStevenson Posted February 8, 2017 Author Share Posted February 8, 2017 Luke Harper vs Randy Orton. Apollo Crews & Kalisto vs Dolph Ziggler also made official. No Pre-Show match as it stands, if I had to guess what it might be I'd say Mojo Rawley vs Curt Hawkins but we'll see. Probably be announced on the night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djchapsticks Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 The smackdown tag division needs The Revival and #diy desperately. Aside from the Usos to challenge AA there is really nothing there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameus Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 It's not that there's no quality there, it's that they've booked them so badly that it's an uphill struggle for them to make them convincing again. Ascension were one of the best (success-wise) tag-teams in NXT, and they were heels who got heat from the heel commentator, before being jobbed out to retired guys. The Usos looked to be going somewhere before they just cut them off randomly. They have the talent there, they're just not using it. I'd hate for the Revival to go up to Smackdown to be honest. I can't see them being used properly. The should spend the 28 weeks or whatever it is between Elimination Chamber and WM making every one of their tag teams look better. By the time Wrestlemania comes around, they might actually have a couple of decent feuds, and they can start feeding in teams like the Revival and Ciampa and Gargano. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieStevenson Posted February 9, 2017 Author Share Posted February 9, 2017 Here's a classic for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Gaines Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 That's a fucking outstanding match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamuraiJock Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 That's one of the few matchs I regularly re-watch on the network. Superb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotThePars Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 Aye that was a brilliant match. I was so into both factions when I was catching up. Still have a lot of faith they can recapture my interest in The Shield as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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