Bliss, meanwhile, seems to be growing by the week and is in a solid place as a heel champion entering WrestleMania. Prediction: Alexa Bliss retains the title. Randy Orton vs. Luke Harper: I could give you analysis or sarcasm here, so let's stick to the latter. Who is going to take this: the Royal Rumble winner or third wheel in a group that is presently splintering or broken up, depending on the week?
I think you know the answer to that. Prediction: Randy Orton wins. AJ Styles vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz vs. And let's be honest: That sounds like a pretty good match, though probably one that will wind up fourth or fifth on the card. We know Ambrose, Miz and probably Corbin are not winning, so that immediately cuts the options down. Styles losing to Cena at Royal Rumble only to win the title back two weeks later is not that likely either.
Some have poo-poo'd the notion of renewing the Cena-Orton rivalry at WrestleMania, but I would welcome it. Either way, I think Orton gets involved in the match by appearing at the end and either helping Wyatt capture the title before hitting him with the RKO or turning on Wyatt with an RKO and allowing Cena to pick up the win.
He could also just RKO both, as he's wont to do, and let it get sorted out from there. The latter option would crush Wyatt, who is presently being rebuilt by WWE as a featured player on SmackDown, so ultimately I think the former happens. Her overconfidence proved costly as Bella fought back into the match. Bella escaped a Sharpshooter attempt and then blasted Natalya with a forearm that scored a count of two. A spinebuster followed for two.
A superplex moments later allowed Natalya to finally apply the Sharpshooter, which drew one of the loudest reactions of the match. Bella powered out, though, and countered into the Fearless Lock. The heel made it to the ropes, and both women spilled to the arena floor. Natalya sent her opponent into the guardrail, and Bella returned the favor. The women lost track of the referee's count, though, and a double count-out was declared.
Natalya delivered a cheap shot and left the ring, only to be taken down on the ramp by Bella after a nasty spear. The heel fled as the crowd cheered for Bella. Natalya's greatness as a ring technician should never be in question, but Bella was equally great here, taking big bumps and proving just how immensely she has improved since the beginning of her career as a Diva Search reject.
The finish may not have been a satisfying one, but it continues a feud that could use a hotter, more interesting conclusion than a one-off pay-per-view match that no one will remember past Tuesday.
Does that mean a showdown at WrestleMania 33 or before then? Regardless of where it takes place, these two women deserve one last chance to satisfy fans with the conclusion to their wild and chaotic rivalry.
Randy Orton entered the arena to his own theme music, drawing a sizable ovation despite being the obvious heel in this story. Orton utilized a big side suplex onto the announce table, recalling a spot the two have used against each other over the last few weeks.
He wore the big man down with a headlock as the crowd became restless. Luke Harper fought back into the match, scoring a near-fall, avoiding a draping DDT and sending Orton throat-first into the bottom rope. A chant of "Let's go, Harper! Harper returned the favor, dropping Orton back-first onto the announcers' table.
The No. Late, a slugfest developed but was interrupted by an RKO attempt from Orton. Orton teased the RKO, but Harper destroyed him with two straight superkicks for a close two.
Harper slipped out of another RKO and delivered a sit-out powerbomb for another close near-fall. Another slugfest ensued. This time, Harper tried his discus clothesline, but Orton shoved his arm off, sending him spinning right into an RKO for the win. Orton may have won this to continue rolling into WrestleMania, but damn if this did not do more to make a legitimate star out of Harper than anything the company has done with the big man to date.
After a bumpy start, including a headlock that lasted just a moment too long, the Superstars hit the next gear and told a story that built off spots from earlier in the match.
The contest steadily intensified, culminating in a few strong near-falls late and the RKO that sealed Orton's victory. What started as a smattering of cheers earlier in the bout grew into a chorus of "Let's go, Harper! Alexa Bliss disrespected Naomi early, throwing gum in her face to start. The tenacity that led to her championship reign was on full display as she countered everything the challenger threw at her early. A series of kicks and a flipping clothesline had Bliss reeling.
A blockbuster continued the challenger's offensive onslaught. As she attempted to pull Bliss out of the corner, the champion caught Naomi with a big kick.
The challenger answered with the Rear View but only kept Bliss down for two. Bliss halted her opponent's momentum and tried for her Twisted Bliss finisher, but Naomi caught her with a big kick that knocked her off the ropes. Naomi teased a dive to the floor but was caught with a forearm to the face and a DDT for two. Bliss threw a tantrum, growing more frustrated with every passing display of resilience from Naomi. A botched finish saw an ugly roll-up, a missed Twisted Bliss from the champion and an even uglier split-legged moonsault by Naomi to score the first women's title of her career.
After the match, Renee Young caught up with the new champion, who broke down in tears as a chant of "You deserve it! The match was progressing along nicely, the best of the three women's matches, until the unfortunate finish.
Too much frenetic energy and a rushed series of spots hurt it down the stretch but did not damage its overall effect. Still, it was a fantastically emotional moment for Naomi, who worked hard to develop as a worker and, more importantly, find a persona for herself after mediocre runs with The Funkadactyls and Team B. No longer known primarily as a reality star, she has the opportunity to shine on wrestling's biggest stage in her hometown of Orlando, Florida.
With WWE desperately needing to develop new legitimate singles stars on SmackDown, shopefully this is an opportunity for Harper to get a real push with his own unique gimmick going forward. Otherwise, a great match and good showing by the big man will be a complete waste. Women's Championship -- Naomi def. Alexa Bliss c via pinfall to win the title: The action was fast and furious in this one with it looking for most of the match like Bliss would retain her belt.
Naomi hit two splendid springboard split-leg moonsaults -- blocking a splash by Bliss in between -- to pin the champion and capture a belt for the first time in her career. Following the match, Naomi was showered with chants of, "You deserve it! It was a special and somewhat unexpected moment, one that Naomi, yes, completely deserved after years of grinding it out in the women's division.
WWEChamber pic. AJ Styles via pinfall to win the title: WWE made some changes to the chamber, namely adding more cameras and putting a flat black mat on the platform around the ring as opposed the classic metal grating. Cena hitting a sunset flip powerbomb was an early highlight, but Dean Ambrose brought a new energy to the proceedings when he entered, cleaned house and hit Cena with a flying elbow from the top of his pod. Cena followed that with a super German suplex, putting all three men on the mat.
The spots were plentiful after Bray Wyatt and Baron Corbin entered, too, especially Styles knocking Cena from atop the chamber followed by a combination powerbomb and superplex between Ambrose, Wyatt and Styles. Corbin hit Styles and Cena consecutively with End of Days but was unable to put together a pinning attempt for either. He was soon the last man standing after pushing Ambrose butt-first off the top rope into the cage portion of the chamber.
It was at that point that The Miz's number was called, but Miz's tentativeness distracted Corbin and allowed Ambrose to get a roll-up for the first elimination. Corbin attacked Ambrose after the fact, throwing him through a pod and continuing the assault with an End of Days in the ring; as one would expect, The Miz jumped at the opportunity to pin and eliminate Ambrose.
The Miz took advantage of his wounded competitors with plenty of offense, even hitting a Skull-Crushing Finale on Wyatt on the platform; however, Cena caught him with an Attitude Adjustment inside the ring for the third elimination of the match.
Cena followed with an AA on Wyatt and traded finishers with Styles for a pair of two counts. He then climbed atop a pod and splashed Styles and Wyatt leaving all three motionless in the ring. Wyatt somehow capitalized, reversing an AA into Sister Abagail to pin Cena and guarantee a new champion for the 11th time in 19 Elimination Chamber matches.
Wyatt displayed more energy than Styles in the final stages of the match, which makes sense as Styles began the bout and Wyatt was the fourth entrant.
Styles was able to hit a springboard splash, but Wyatt caught him in mid-air as Styles was attempting a Phenomenal Forearm and instead hit Sister Abagail to win the match and win his first heavyweight title in WWE.
By Adam Silverstein.
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