Elimination Chamber 2025

[TheScarlettChad]

14 minutes ago, Chico Torres said:

Most shocking heel turn since Tugboat betrayed The Bushwhackers, changed his name and swimming cossie to Typhoon and aligned himself with the dastardly Earthquake.

Also The Rock is leagues above the rest of the roster in terms of presence and star quality and charisma and every other factor that makes someone a superstar (ie not moves, 2 counts, reversals, shocked faces etc) Same as last year he’s elevated the main event by being so much better than the rest of them, Cody should be thanking him again for making him important after a year of nothing since The Rock made him a star.

Okay Dwayne, thanks for stopping by.

[Jacko]

I would be all for Cena winning the title at mania going on a run of terror with the Rock  before losing it to either a Jacob Fatu or a Bron Breakker in his last match make the next big star.

[wordsfromlee]

Travis Scott - King of Strong Style

[Chili]

I can't see Cena retiring as a villain though, I could see him taking the title (it kind of has to happen) but who drops him at say Summerslam presumably etc. He'll be definitely be a face again by like Survivor Series.

If people start going 'ooo, heel Cena against a face Orton, now that could be interesting' stop immediately. It won't. I like them both, but no, stop it. You don't deserve a good product.

[Captain SlackBladder]

2 hours ago, Merzbow said:

Cody needs to wheel out a real artist and celebrity in return, like Jimmy Nail.

I thought Cactus Jack was the one who was into Crocodile Shoes?

[Cheeky Boy]

2 minutes ago, Chili said:

I can't see Cena retiring as a villain though, I could see him taking the title (it kind of has to happen) but who drops him at say Summerslam presumably etc. He'll be definitely be a face again by like Survivor Series.

I find the possible endings the most interesting part. He'll go out as a hero, but how to get there? I'd like him to fail at Mania, fail again later on, get some kind of pressure on him from Rock, and then have a big "I don't need you" moment heading into his last match where he breaks the record.

 

[JLM]

Only watched the two chamber matches and the main event. 
 

Women’s Chamber 

Jade’s return and destruction of Naomi was INCREDIBLE. Best thing she’s done in WWE since wrecking Nia at the Rumble. Was like Darth Vader had arrived and you were waiting to see which dumb motherfucker had brought the fleet out of light speed too close to the planet. Just a magnificent ass whoopin’. I don’t know why she goes for botch-bait springboard clotheslines. You don’t need to pretend to be a Belair-Esque omni-athlete when you look like that. Book her as a powerhouse, let her do the big power moves she can do, let the look and physical charisma do the rest. She can talk a bit too. Keep it simple and she should be an easy megastar. 
 

Match was very good. Credit to Liv Morgan and Alexa Bliss in particular, the former for being game for everything and not being the in-ring weak link she has been in the past, and Bliss for looking like she hasn’t missed a day. Brilliant fiery showing from Roxanne Perez, Bianca Belair is always excellent, Bayley was thoroughly entertaining. Good stuff all round, with some creative multi person stuff and a general feel that the whole thing had been very well thought out. Great start to the show. 
 

Men’s Chamber

Wasn’t fussed about the first few minutes with the also-rans (Priest in particular is ice cold). Everything with Punk and Cena was fucking MAGIC though, was completely gripped by both of their 1v1 stretches. Punk was a delight from start to finish, talking smack inside his cell, telling Drew to “get weird with it”, yelling “you know it’s me just open the fuckin door” when it was finally his turn. He looked completely energised and full of beans, it was infectious to watch. Seth Rollins third wheeling it was hilarious. Cole “these THREE men have loads of world titles between them”. Bless your heart Michael there are only two relevant men in the ring and you know it. Cena looked great! Seemed to be moving better than his Rumble outing. Little glimpse of old big match John rolling back the years. His little goofy “sorryyyyy” when capitalising on the Seth stomp was brilliant. Thoroughly enjoyed the second half of this but the women’s match was more consistent for the duration. 

The Turn 

This was fantastic. Echo everyone’s praise for Cena’s evil face. It’s over the top, it’s silly, but it was a John Cena heel turn. If ever there’s a place for melodrama this is IT and it delivered in spades. I am in the “The Rock shit didn’t improve it and I’d have preferred it without” camp though. I love the story of self doubting old John feeling that he can’t beat Cody straight up and needs to do the one thing we never thought he’d do to get an edge. I think that’s brilliant reasoning for him to turn heel and I think he could easily carry that off without Dwayne rubbing his fingers over his face. Still though, an incredible moment, Cena was amazing and the beat down was suitably brutal. Very excited to see where the Cena story goes next and I hope The Rock doesn’t shit the bed in any of their key segments before Mania. The journey back to redemption for Cena could be a phenomenal story, really hope they nail it. 
 

Also yes, even just watching two matches I heard McAfee whining about the anthem multiple times. Please cry more. Additional Also: Wade Barrett is dogshit. I think I’d been tuning him out the last few shows but he is rubbish. White noise content but delivered like he’s a mock the week panellist trying to let you know where the punchline is on their “off the cuff” quip. Awful. 
 

Final additional addendum to my also: Samantha Irv-ish is too much. I quite enjoyed the original in the right doses, no issues with her getting emotional, she was alllright with me. This poor lass trying her very hardest to imitate it though, it makes my skin crawl and I feel bad for her. Eeeeliminayyteed-aaahh. 

Edited March 2, 2025 by JLM

[Chico Torres]

14 minutes ago, TheScarlettChad said:

Okay Dwayne, thanks for stopping by.

Tragic

[TheScarlettChad]

3 minutes ago, Chico Torres said:

Tragic

I know, your verbal sucking off Dwayne is very tragic.

[Merzbow]

This isn't even a recent turn against The Rock, from here at least. I remember the majority absolutely shitting on him when he first came back to do the "Fruity Pebbles" routine with Cena who obliterated him on the mic week after week.

[RedTwoster]

2 minutes ago, air_raid said:

I’d say Breakker vs Styles vs Balor might be the direction. Though, to get as many names into the card as possible it wouldn’t shock me if they do another 2-fall cluster like the tag titles last year with those three plus Nakamura, LA Knight and Carmelo Hayes, as a means to get the US title onto Hayes without a straight heel vs heel match and get the ICT off Bron without pinning him.

You might be right. I can’t really figure out where Logan Paul fits into their Wrestlemania plans though. I half-wonder if he might join Judgement Day, leading to Paul/Balor at ‘Mania with some Dominik Mysterio involvement.

[Supremo]

On 1/6/2025 at 3:26 PM, Supremo said:

Heel turn or we riot.

 

On 1/6/2025 at 7:35 PM, Supremo said:

I’ve talked myself into a big John Cena heel turn. Attacks Sami Zayn or something.

 

On 2/23/2025 at 10:06 AM, Supremo said:

All said and done, if this leads to a Cena heel turn, joining forces with the Rock as the FINAL BOSSES, then I reserve the right to wank myself silly over what was quite clearly the greatest night in the history of our sport. Pints of ket for everyone.

I prayed for this and it happened. 

Always trusted The Rock’s creative judgment, me. Never doubted him for a second. Most level headed man in all of entertainment, actually. Booker of the year, 2024 and 2025, don’t you know. Deserves every last one of those Instagram followers. Would never even dream of suggesting he was on Ket.

All joking aside, it’s now official. The greatest achievement of Triple H and Cody Rhodes’ partnership hasn’t been the boom. It wasn’t the Netflix deal. It isn’t the sold out stadiums. It’s that - for two year’s running - they’ve managed to take a mangled, nonsense pitch from a moronic, completely-out-of-touch whopper and both times miraculously turned it into fried gold.

Essentially , thanks to Triple H and Cody, this is Dwayne Johnson’s creative output, two years in a row.

I fucking loved it, obviously. Amazing. I’m still buzzing. I take it all back. I’ll buy a round of Ket for everyone.

Seth, Roman and Punk can have their rubbish Wrestlemania 2000 Triple Threat Match. I don’t care anymore. It’s worth it now we’ve got this. Poor Punk though. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Fifteen years on and he’s once again nudged down the Mania card to make way for the HOLLYWOOD BALDIES. For a laugh, Rock should retweet this.

Worse still, I don’t even think the Triple Wank Match will go on last, now. Jey Uso vs. Gunther feels far bigger. That’s the Night One headliner if I’ve got the pencil. Oh well, Phil. There’s always next year.

It was a mostly great show. Exactly what they needed. Finally, some hot Wrestlemania angles on my Road to Wrestlemania! I finally need to turn the Air Conditioning on!

Started off white hot. Jade Cargill’s return absolutely ruled. She looked a million dollars, and the reveal was really fucking clever. Teasing she was going to attack Liv, only to immediately smash up Naomi, with the added drama of Bianca being locked in the pod? Genuinely impressive storytelling. Excellently added a layer to the Chamber match, seeing whether Bianca could keep head together. Sublime stuff. I hope Jade has a better run this time. Just don’t do Springboards! It’s not worth it!

Women’s Chamber was the over-delivery of the year. Ridiculously enjoyable. Since everyone is talking about taking souls at the moment, can someone confirm if Liv Morgan found Bryan Danielson’s soul in a plastic bag and swallowed it? She’s turned into a fucking SUPER WORKER out of nowhere! She looked amazing here, as did Bianca. Nice to have Bianca back where she belongs, at the top of the card as a singles competitor. I’m buzzing for Biance vs Rhea at Mania. Now watch them add Io and make it a Triple Threat. That’s what this show needs. More multi-person matches. Anyone for a Hardcore Battle Royale?

Skimmed past the Women’s Tag. Don’t care. Tiffany Stratton has regressed massively since winning the belt. I swear Charlotte has some type of reverse Midas touch, where everything involving her devolves into one-note shit.

I think Sami and Kevin were this week’s victims of The Rock’s creative. A match that almost certainly would have had double juice on any other night, they seemed handcuffed by not being allowed to steal the thunder of Cody getting blood in the closing angle. Still enjoyable, but not quite as hot as I expected. Almost like it would have been more suited to a different show. You know, like Wrestlemania. In Hell in a Cell.

My heart sunk when Orton’s music hit. Whole thing just feels like latter-day Vince booking. “No, the fans are wrong! You want this guy, and this match, even if you don’t!”

The best thing about WWE the last few years is how synchronised it’s felt. Either they’ve given the fans what they wanted, or made the fans want what they’re giving them. This is the first time in ages where it feels like neither is happening. Real shades of the Daniel Bryan’s Summer of 2013. The beloved, bearded, Super-babyface lying on the floor, presented as a complete afterthought, so they can build up a rubbish match involving Randy Orton. They didn’t know what they had with Bryan and I don’t think they know what they have with Sami, either. What’s next? Are you going to give Sami’s music to The Big Show?

Men’s Chamber was good. That new sound effect before they open the Chamber is the ultimate cocktease though! It sounded EXACTLY like the opening to Chesney Hawk’s “The One and Only,” so always felt like an anti-climax when it didn’t go straight into the track. Tell me the match wouldn’t have been improved with this banging in the background after every entrant, like a Cheesy New Jack!

Highlight of the Men’s Chamber was obviously Punk and Cena’s interactions. Brilliant stuff. The best Cena has looked in ages. It’s got to be Cena vs. Punk at Money in the Bank, for the Title. Punk saving the belt from Heel Cena? Kissing him goodbye? Inject it straight into my veins!

So yeah. We’re back. More back than anyone has ever been. Even if Smackdown continues its current run of being shit. Who cares. John Cena is a fucking heel!

One last prayer. I need them to open Raw with Cena and a Make-a-Wish kid recreating this.

[Chico Torres]

11 minutes ago, TheScarlettChad said:

I know, your verbal sucking off Dwayne is very tragic.

“Longfellow couldn’t have said it better. Gorilla, Jesse, back to you”

[d-d-d-dAz]

If it turns out that what The Rock put in Cody's palm last year was a mini-USB with a copy of the John Cena album 'My Time is Now' on, I'll take it all back about Rock's storytelling abilities.

[Devon Malcolm]

1 hour ago, air_raid said:

I’d say Breakker vs Styles vs Balor might be the direction.

I thought we were friends, why would you ruin my afternoon like that.