The Elimination Chamber is in the back, which means we’re officially on the road to WrestleMania.
Randy Orton and Rhea Ripley each won indoor competitions and are now guaranteed title opportunities on the grandest stage. AJ Lee is the Women’s Intercontinental Champion and Finn Balor is about to change character. Let’s take a look at some of the headlines from last week.
ignite a vision
he is back Seth Rollins returned with a vengeance at Elimination Chamber and sacrificed Logan Paul in the match. On Monday Night Raw, he tricked Vision with numerous masked “baits”. Then in the same city he betrayed his shield. Rollins hit Heyman with a chair and knocked him out. Rollins is ready to take down Vision despite his continued rise as a force. The original (and hopeful) plan was for Seth Rollins to face Bron Breaker at WrestleMania. Breaker suffered a hernia a month ago and is currently rehabbing to face the Visionary. If that doesn’t happen, it looks like we’ll get Rollins vs. Logan Paul in a rematch at WM 39. Either way, Seth is looking to take down the previous faction and perhaps create his own. He is waiting for many masked men.
You are cursed!
After a very confusing and terrible debut at Elimination Chamber, Danhausen made his Monday Night Raw debut in front of a much more receptive crowd. He spoke with Adam Pierce and said he would like to be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. He then told Dirty Dom that he was cursed. This resulted in Dominik losing the Intercontinental Championship to Penta later that night. Then on SmackDown he was paired with Miz, but he wasn’t satisfied. Time will tell when Danhausen will share the screen with R-Truth and Kit Wilson.
Choosing a new champion
Two titles changed hands on WWE TV this week. 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, which proved to be Judgment Day’s downfall. It looks like Finn and Dirty Dom are on a collision course at WrestleMania.
On SmackDown we saw a new WWE Champion crowned. Cody Rhodes took advantage of Jacob Fatu’s interference to become champion. Randy Orton and Rhodes are scheduled to sign a contract this Friday, and there will probably be fireworks. No matter who wins at ‘Mania, SmackDown will be in good hands.
Who sent Dogg out?
On Thursday afternoon, WWE’s creative team had a shake-up. Road Dogg, also known as Brian James, has stepped down from his position as head writer for SmackDown and no longer works for WWE. He still has a separate Legends contract. Brian James received some backlash during a scene from WWE’s “Unreal,” where he didn’t fare as well in creative meetings. As tensions rose in the room, he decided it was time to step down. Meanwhile, Alexandra Williams was promoted to head writer for Raw. She tweeted her excitement about this, and it looks like it’ll add some excitement to WWE’s road to WrestleMania.
A gunshot was fired
In the world of professional wrestling, it can be difficult to know whether two superstars actually hate each other’s guts or if they’re just promoting a rivalry. WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill is reportedly not well received backstage, and one person who isn’t on her good side is Rhea Ripley. Ripley won the Elimination Chamber match and is now facing Cargill for the WM title. The two reportedly didn’t like each other very much on Twitter after the game. Their portion wasn’t exactly magical, but look for the temperatures to rise as we approach the biggest stage of them all.
Another notable rivalry is CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship. During the second promo fight, Punk ended the segment by saying he would bury the tribal chief next to his dead father. This was a planned route, but it definitely stirred the pot. Many WWE fans are speculating that it may be a while before Reigns mentions Punk’s dog Larry.
With a new champion, new writers at the helm, and new wrestlers joining, WWE has a lot of time to make this year’s WrestleMania special. Can ticket prices be lower?
entirely. The card was rumored to feature six women’s games, a total of 15 games over two days. Who is at risk of losing their cards? Next time, we take a look at a WWE Superstar who seems to have no direction heading into WrestleMania.
