WWE Elimination Chamber 2015 review

Every so often WWE manages to put on a pay-per-view so good it reminds you why you bother with them at all. The matches are exciting, they have a reason to happen, and performers look better afterwards than they did before. Technically this was not one of those times because this card wasn't available on pay-per-view. It was available exclusively on the WWE Network, an experimental offering designed to gauge the interest and feasibility of similar specials in the future. But in terms of ticking all the boxes required to remind you what WWE's like when it's good this show got the job done.

After a pre-show which saw Stardust beat Zack Ryder and Daniel Bryan appear on Miz TV to hype his book, Tough Enough and life in general the Elimination Chamber spesh got underway with the tag team championship Elimination Chamber (the first of its kind, fact fans!). The Ascension and the Lucha Dragons started the match with a stretch characterised by Cole and JBL fumbling their way through awkward chatter about the rivalry the teams had in NXT. The decision to have these four lads kick the match off struck as some sort of test to see if the audience would break into an NXT chant in a similar way to how audiences used to when ECW alums wrestled one another. If that was the case then this crowd failed.

New Day suck.

There were no eliminations to be had this early. They had a basic exchange which ended with the Dragons on top of pods. Sin Cara hit a Swanton bomb on Konnor but Kalisto was unable to perform his move of choice as New Day had grabbed his leg. Cara was unable to capitalise, presumably because he'd winded himself or something (some luchador!) and all four men were incapacitated when the first pod opened and Cesaro and Tyson Kidd entered the match.

The BTE immediately blasted their way through both teams with some slick double team moves. Cesaro was like a man possessed, dishing out uppercuts like they were going out of style before sprinting across the ring and leaping to the top rope to superplex Kalisto. Moments later he would catch Kalisto out on the steel and attempt to power bomb him but Kalisto exhibited canny lad abilities and clung onto the chains of the cage, pulling himself free and scrabbling up onto the Prime Time Players' pod.

Los Matadores were the fourth team to enter. El Torito, who'd been maxing and relaxing on top of their pod (because mascots were allowed, according to JBL) launched himself onto Sin Cara as his boys joined the fray. Kalisto busied himself with climbing to the top of the cage to hanging down from the top of the structure before dropping awkwardly onto a gaggle that included everyone except his partner. This was likely designed to be a breath-taking daredevil spot. It was not impressive, although it took some guts and skill to pull off.

El Torito emulated the spot but got caught by The Ascension. Without their mighty bull protecting them Los Matadores were easy pickings for a Fall of Man from The Ascension. Thirty seconds later Sin Cara got one too. Yep, The Ascension got the first and second evictions of the night. Cole tried to highlight this sudden ability to pin people by shrilly telling us that it was the best The Ascension have looked in WWE. He wasn't wrong but all he really accomplished was making it clear how much better they were used in NXT. Good work, Maggle!

The Prime Time Players' pod opened as Konnor and Viktor were hammering Cesaro and Kidd. Amazingly, they were permitted to eliminate the boys from the wasteland with relative ease: Titus grabbed hold of Konnor as Young gave Viktor a gutbuster and pinned him. Just, as Tommy Cooper would have said, like that. The PTPs went on to have possibly their best ever match opposite the BTE. That wasn't a surprise, to be honest. Everyone looks good with Cesaro and Kidd.

Better than that Kings' finish where Hero did a pump kick I reckon.

Reigning champions New Day entered last. All three men were wrestling as payment for having helped Kane out on the previous episode of SmackDown. After a brief spurt of dominance the champions were quadruple (or triple?) suplexed by all four babyface. Cesaro and Kidd shut Xavier Woods back in his pod and then gave Kofi the big swing-drop kick combo. Then d-Young reappeared, rolled Cesaro up and got a pin, giving us New Day versus the Prime Time Players for the match's closing moments.

New Day went into full-on heel mode by sticking Titus's head through the chain wall. Their attempted triple team of Young didn't work out for them though: Young fought free of Big E's grip, knocked Kofi and Xavier off the top rope, and sidestepped a spear from E, sending him careening into a turnbuckle. After freeing Titus the two took it to New Day for a bit before getting overwhelmed by the numbers. Big E flattened Young with a belly-to-belly suplex on the grate then headed back into the ring to chop block Titus as he hoisted Woods up for a fallaway slam. That sent Titus down to a knee, setting him up for Trouble in Paradise from Kingston. That was enough to allow Woods to get the fall and win for his team.

The finish got some well-deserved heat. Although nothing New Day was illegal because all three members had been permitted into the match it was very much positioned as an unfair, unsportsmanlike approach. Thus sort of thing can only help them become more disliked. The only way it could have been better is if it had featured Cesaro and Kidd or the Dragons in place of Young and O'Neil. Both teams are more popular than the PTPs so it would have had more impact. Although I was impressed with how good the Players were made to look considering they've done nothing since they reunited three-plus months ago. It could be argued that the PTPs being the ones to be outsmarted and outgunned by New Day in the closing moments was intended to protect the more popular teams but that seems unlikely to me: Cesaro fell to a flash pin from Darren Young and the Dragons went down to a team they've previously handled pretty easily.

The match was enjoyable. Considering the number of guys involved it could have easily become an omnishambles so we should all be pleased it avoided that. There were no truly memorable moments but it was good fun and a solid advert for tag team wrestling in WWE.

After a recap of Rusev injuring his ankle on SmackDown and Lana wishing Ziggler good luck in the IC title match we got Nikki Bella's Divas championship defence against Paige and Naomi. 'King' kicked things off by openly perving on all three women, making Vince McMahon's (he produces the commentary crew and is insistent on keeping Lawler involved) views on women's wrestling crystal clear.

Spot of the match? Maybe, mate.

This match was not on the level of Banks v Lynch from Unstoppable but that wasn't for lack of trying. Although they only got about six minutes they packed in a lot: a stacked power bomb from the corner;  an inverted hurricanrana from  Naomi; and Naomi breaking up a PTO attempt with a nice super kick being amongst the highlights. Had they had longer it's clear this match would have been great. As it was it was very good. Nikki retained the title after a Rack Attack. Cole talked up her 189 day reign. I assume that means they're going to keep it on her a while yet.

Cena versus Owens was preceded by a nice video recapping their interactions on RAW. The match did the considerable expectations they were facing justice. Owens screamed at Cena and the crowd throughout, successfully making himself the bad guy to the majority. The pace was just as quick as any of Owens' matches against faster foes in NXT and featured all of the spots you'd want and expect. After setting the pace early on Cena was dominated for a few minutes.

Things slipped into high gear when Cena kicked out of a pop-up power bomb. Owens went for a double jump moonsault but Cena avoided it and got the AA. Owens kicked out and, after a yay-boo trade, floored the United States champion with a super kick. He attempted to mock Cena with the Five Knuckle Shuffle but got pulled down into the STF. After he made the ropes Cena went to reapply the hold but Cena took the chance to escape and used Cena's own AA to get a two count.

After selling disbelief Owens turned around into a tornado DDT. That got Cena a two count. So did his never-not-dangerous-looking top rope leg drop. Cena again went for the AA but couldn't get Owens up for it. Big Kev took the chance to drop Cena with a package piledriver into a power bomb. That provided us with another two.

Cena going down clean as a whistle here. What a time to be alive.

The two again traded punches. Owens tried a pop-up power bomb but Cena hit him with a springboard Stunner. With the NXT champ rattled Cena took things to the top rope only to be surprised with a fisherman buster. When that didn't finish Cena off Owens pulled out a Swanton bomb. Cena kicked out of the cover that followed and gave Cena a pair of hard clotheslines. He went for a third but Owens ducked and caught him with a pop-up power bomb for the clean as a sheet victory seconds before the twenty minute mark.

This match set out to accomplish a lot. It wanted to establish Owens as a credible name. It wanted to show Cena can wrestle a highly touted NXT prospect. It wanted to be a great, classic encounter. It accomplished it all. Both guys looked great and Owens got a win over a fifteen time world champion in his main roster debut. WWE couldn't have done better with this match. Owens got the introduction he deserved.

After that we got a match that would have warranted far more praise on practically any other WWE show between 'Don't Call Him Adrian' Neville and Bo Dallas. It did it's job of continuing to build Nev up. He went over with the Red Arrow as everyone knew he would. After that Triple H found Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns backstage and told Reigns he was barred from ringside for the main event. It had been announced that Reigns would be in Ambrose's corner. Despite this Ambrose just smiled and laughed.

The Intercontinental title Elimination Chamber match kicked off with Dolph Ziggler and King Bad News Wade Barrett I. They went with Barrett giving Ziggler a kicking and Ziggler bumping about. He left him to have a breather on the grate as R-Truth entered the match. Barrett forced him back into his pod and gave him a pounding then went back to Ziggler instead of trying to pin him for whatever reason. This allowed Truth to recover to attack Barrett for a bit. Barrett put him down with Wasteland before returning his attention to 'The Show Off'.

Barrett threw Ziggler into Mark Henry's pod (he was the replacement for Rusev), breaking the plexiglass and allowing Henners to wade into the match. Seconds later Ryback's pod opened and he joined the bout too. Things got a bit messy at that point. Henry clearly wasn't meant to be in the match so early which meant he joined Truth in awkwardly standing about.

The first elimination came when Truth hit the Lie Detector (the name of his finisher this week) on Barrett and pinned him. That King of the Ring victory continues to be massively confusing. The four faces talked amongst themselves and exchanged pinfall attempts. There was a brief alliance against Henry but it didn't last. Ryback would eliminate Truth with a spinebuster. During all of this Sheamus was meant to be in the match but his pod door was "stuck". This was revealed to be a swerve after Ziggler and Ryback wiped one another out during an energetic exchange: he pulled his naff Celtic cross necklace out of the door's hinges and swaggered out.

Sheamus made quick work of Ziggler by tossing him through his pod door. Mark Henry fell to a Brogue kick. Shaymo and Ziggler then had a lively tussle as Ryback lay about at ringside. Ziggler came close to pinning 'Great White' but he would ultimately fall to a Brogue kick. Which left Sheamus and Ryback to have a hoss fight. They gave each other a good pasting , including largely unnecessary White Noise and rolling sentons on the steel grate, and pulled out a good finish: Ryback power bombed Sheamus from the outside of the ring, over the top rope, and then scooped him up for a match-winning Shellshock.

It wasn't as good as the tag team Chamber match nor a classic of its kind but this match was enjoyable for what it was and avoided being an embarrassment. Ryback isn't the greatest wrestler on the roster but he is over. That's what WWE needs at the moment.

Ambrose went on to do a bit of finger-biting.

That left only the main event: WWE champion Seth Rollins defending the title against Dean Ambrose. After a satisfying undercard they had they work cut out for them but as Owens and Cena had earlier on the show they met the expectations they'd been given. After a good but unremarkable first half characterised by interference from J&J and Rollins working over Ambrose the match came alive when Ambrose fired off some jabs and a swift pin exchange sequence was launched. J&J pulled their boy to safety but that wasn't enough to save him from 'The Lunatic Fringe', who was perfectly happy to launch himself out of the ring with a suicide dive.   

Back in the ring Rollins was lamped by the rebound clothesline. The champ tried a backslide with his feet on the ropes but the ref caught him. Ambrose got a rollup for two as Rollins shouted at the referee and then ate a super kick seconds after Rollins had kicked out. They took a tumble to the outside so that Rollins could power bomb Ambrose into the crowd barricade. This would only get Seth a two count so he nailed his springboard knee and an elevated inverted DDT. This also only got him a two count, the perfect excuse for Rollins to bust out his always enjoyable exasperated face.

Rollins trash talked the challenger for a bit and smacked him with elbows until Ambrose avoided one and snuck in a tornado DDT. Rollins escaped Ambrose's rope-hung leg drop. Ambrose sidestepped the springboard knee and got the rebound clothesline. Rollins kicked out at two. Ambrose racked up another near fall with the top rope elbow before taking a suicide dive on the outside and a buckle bomb back in the ring. After taking out J&J and Kane with a top rope dive Ambrose clotheslined went for the elbow dive again. Rollins pulled the referee in to absorb some of the blow. Yeah. They did a ref bump. But it's not the staple it once was so that's okay.

Rollins went for a Pedigree. Mebt use countered, tripping Rollins and see-sawing him into the corner. Rollins landed on the second rope, kicked Ambrose to the mat, and tried for the Phoenix splash. Ambrose rolled away. Rollins in turn landed on his feet only to be spiked with Dirty Deeds. A new referee dashed down to the ring to count the three. Ambrose's music played. He was announced as the new champion. Everything was right with the world.

Two belt thievery angles within months of each other. Shameful.

It didn't last. The original referee kicked off and said Rollins was disqualified for dragging him into the path of the lunatic elbow. Lilian Garcia announced the Dusty finish to boos then J&J, Kane and Rollins rushed the ring and pummelled Ambrose. That brought out Roman Reigns, his music causing Rollins to flee into the aisle where he got KOed by 'The Juggernaut' himself. Reigns and Ambrose then merced all the heels and ran off into the audience with the championship belt. It wasn't a crowd-pleasing title change but it was a move that seemed to please the crowd and send them home on a positive note.

Elimination Chamber was excellent, easily one of the two best main roster shows of the year along with WrestleMania. Anytime a card is favourably compared to a good WrestleMania something's gone right. There wasn't a single bad match here. Rollins v Ambrose and the tag Chamber were both very good and Cena v Owens was a classic encounter. Every match had a reason to be happening and delivered on its build-up. This was, basically, WWE doing everything it could right. If only this happened more often.

***

Results summary:

New Day retained the tag team championship in the Elimination Chamber
Nikki Bella defeated Paige and Naomi to retain the Divas championship
Kevin Owens defeated John Cena
Adrian Neville defeated Bo Dallas
Ryback won the the Intercontinental championship in the Elimination Chamber
Dean Ambrose defeated Seth Rollins by disqualification

WWE Elimination Chamber 2015 preview

This is the second time this month I've previewed a WWE show. It's the first time in a considerably longer period that I've actually looked forward to a main roster show not named WrestleMania. NXT specials are a different story. They're related to this because one of the reasons I'm looking forward to this show is that it will feature NXT champion Kevin Owens. He's not only wrestling, he's wrestling John Cena.

This is a big deal. This marks the first time that a reigning NXT champion has wrestled on the main roster while being acknowledged as the NXT champion (Seth Rollins, Big E and Bo Dallas all made main roster appearances while they were the champion without the title being acknowledged), which is significant in itself as it pits the top guy in NXT against the top guy in WWE. And make no mistake, no matter who has the WWE world title it's Cena that is the measuring stick and the main man on the WWE roster.

But this match is more than just a clash between developmental and the old guard. This is Cena once again coming up against an indy standout. Owens, under his real name Kevin Steen, was one of the biggest non-WWE draws in North America prior to his signing with WWE late last summer, just as Seth Rollins was in 2010, Daniel Bryan was in 2009 and CM Punk was in 2005. Cena collided with all three of those guys in significant ways during their respective rises up the ranks and it was always interesting to see them handling themselves well opposite WWE's premier performer. This match is another of these rare occasions when Cena brushes shoulders with the world of independent wrestling, albeit by proxy. They almost always produce something noteworthy and interesting, perhaps because Cena is aware that guys who have made it to the top of the indies know how to get over without the WWE machine behind them and puts in extra effort to ensure he's not outshone.

But most importantly it's Kevin Steen on a major WWE show. That's what makes this stand out. That's what makes me want to see it. Steen, now Owens, in WWE proper being treated as a man who can not only share a ring with Cena but also pose a threat to him. That's incredibly appealing.

I'll be amazed if the match isn't enjoyable. Part of what will help there is that there's no obvious outcome. A Cena victory is not assured. Although it's been said that Owens' move to the main roster is only a temporary thing that's not definite. It could be a permanent move, with him working RAW, SmackDown, NXT TV tapings and a blend of house shows for the foreseeable future, in which case a victory over Cena would get his run off to a great start. Even if he is going back to NXT there would be no better way to enhance that brand by having its champion defeat Cena. Shady tactics will be employed by Owens if he does go over, but that's nothing new not anything important. The result is what would matter.

As nice as it would be to see I don't think it will happen. I think a DQ or non-finish is likelier. That would protect Owens, which will be a factor in the booking given his NXT title reign and general standing, but keep the balance of the universe in check. By which I mean Cena would win, like usual.

The other main reason I'm looking forward to this show is the Chamber itself. I'm usually against WWE's themed shows because holding them annually devalues the gimmicks and frequently leads to awkward plotting as feuds are bent out of shape to incorporate stipulations that don't fit them. But that's not the case here. Away from 'The Road to WrestleMania', which was understandably more about building to 'Mania than putting together a great Chamber card, the six celled cage can be deployed more carefully, and has been. The vacant Intercontinental championship is a nice prize to put up in a Chamber match. For a company averse to tournaments a multi-man match to crown a champ is about as good as it's going to get, and the Chamber makes the IC belt appear more meaningful.

For the most part the line-up for the match backs this up. Sheamus has been booked well since returning in March. Bad News King Wade Barrett I received a minor boost by winning King of the Ring and never looks out of place at the modern day IC level. Ziggler always looks at home in these kind of matches and there's the additional appeal of his sort-of-feud with fellow entrant Rusev. Although his status took a thumping in his recent series with Cena 'The Bulgarian Brute's' standing overall is still pretty impressive. Ryback, like Sheamus, has been positioned well over the last few months and has seemingly found his niche in the upper mid-card. The only guy who really doesn't fit in is R-Truth, and with this being an elimination rules match (clue's in the name, mate) we can't even argue that he's in there to eat a pinfall. All but one guy is in this match to be pinned. Including Truth makes no sense.

Arguments could be made for pretty much anyone that's not Truth winning but I like Sheamus's chances most. Rusev and Ziggler seem poised to head off into a singles programme that wouldn't need the IC strap to be over, Ryback's popular but not really doing that much, and Barrett has his royalty gimmick sustaining him. 'Great White' makes sense as a bully boy IC champ lording it over the mid-card. He'd make a nice target for an underdog babyface to chase. Like Adrian Neville, for example.

Speaking of Neville he'll be facing his old NXT rival Bo Dallas at Elimination Chamber. This is just a way of keeping him out of the IC title match, something that's presumably necessary because it's too early for him to win the championship or be jobbed out attempting to do so. I suspect their NXT history, which culminated with Nev defeating Bo to win the championship at the first Takeover show, will be glossed over at best, ignored at worst, and that they won't get long enough to do anything special. Not that doing anything special is the goal here. The goal is clearly to make Neville look like a somebody with some flashy moves who can beat guys at Bo's level.

Back on the titular match, its other outing of the night will feature tag teams for the first time ever. The good news is that the Lucha Dragons, New Day (presumably the popular Kofi and Big E combo or all three together) and Cesaro and Tyson Kidd are three of the six teams involved. The bad news is that The Ascension, Los Matadores and the Prime Time Players are the other three teams and Luke Harper and Erick Rowan are nowhere to be seen.

I like the Prime Time Players. I enjoyed The Ascension when they were shaded by logical booking in NXT. I can appreciate Los Matadores for the reliable hands they are. But I would have much preferred to see Harper and Rowan in this match than any of these teams. They haven't been presented as perennial losers and are better workers (well, Harper is). Their inclusion would have been a boon to this match. Not that it will be bad though. Presumably things will come down to the Luchas, Kidd and Cesaro and New Day for some nifty tag spots. I'm hopeful that the gang will be able to offer us something new from a Chamber setting, or at least some high spots we haven't seen for a while. If it goes right this could be the match of the night. If it goes wrong it could be a mind-blowing omnishambles.

It could end with a title change. The Dragons have been popular since their main roster call-up so having them win would make sense. Kidd and Cesaro remain popular so they could be in with a chance too. But I think the likeliest outcome is New Day winning by shady tactics again, last eliminating the Lucha Dragons to set up a traditional tag match and a title switch at Money in the Bank.

A triple threat for the Divas championship and Ambrose versus Rollins for the WWE championship round out the show. The Divas title match will see Nikki Bella defend against Paige and Naomi. They are the three best workers in the division and this show being light on matches should mean that they get enough time to put together something worthwhile. With Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch receiving nothing but plaudits for their match of the year contender at Takeover: Unstoppable last week I think it's likely that Paige, Nikki and Naomi will feel they have something to prove here. I hope they get the chance to show what they can do.

I think a title switch could be due here. Nikki's been the champions since November 24. That's over six months. It's possible WWE will keep the title on her long enough for her to outdo AJ Lee's 295 day reign (because AJ's in the company's bad books and they may want that accolade on somebody who's still around) but Naomi is also doing solid work as a heel and that should be capitalised on. Putting the title on her would create some new scenarios for her opposite Natalya and Alicia Fox. Not that WWE is bothered about doing anything with either of them.

Rollins versus Ambrose will be great. Because it's Rollins versus Ambrose. They never have bad matches, people care about them, and they have a considerable history with one another. It will be nice to see them have a singles match on pay-per-view without a gimmick or stipulation attached. They'll provide a top quality main event for the evening. You can't ask for more than that, even with the obvious ending of Rollins winning.

I'm surprised at how positive I feel about this card. I think it says a good deal about the use of fresh talent in Kevin Owens and the lack of announced Big Show or Kane match. Even if one gets added, and Kane and Big Show v Randy Orton and Roman Reigns looks worryingly likely, I don't think it would dampen my spirits for the show. Owens and a logical reason for dusting off the Chamber are more than enough to keep me happy.

Now if only they could convince me that this will be better than Takeover: Unstoppable...

***

Predictions summary:

Seth Rollins to defeat Dean Ambrose to retain the WWE championship
John Cena to defeat Kevin Owens
Sheamus to win the Intercontinental championship
New Day to retain the tag team championship
Naomi to defeat Nikki Bella and Paige to win the Divas championship
Adrian Neville to defeat Bo Dallas

Fight, Owens, Fight

Takeover: Unstoppable was a great show. Anyone who's read my review (cheap plug, yeah: read it here) of the show will already know I feel that way. But a strength of the show I didn't touch on in the review was the way it built up Kevin Owens. The show ended with him backing away from the newly debuted Samoa Joe while brandishing his NXT championship belt and screaming about how it was his show.

The thing is, he's not wrong. Owens debuted at December's Takeover: R Evolution and in the five months since NXT has been transformed, with Owens being one of the most heavily featured names on the show. It's not surprising that a high profile newcomer like Owens is being featured in a significant role but it's surprising at how quickly it's happened and just how significant his role is. His rapid ascent, winning the NXT title two months (to the day) after debuting and interacting with top names immediately, is very much not something pulled from the usual WWE playbook.

NXT would not fall apart or become unwatchable without Owens. Just like it wouldn't without Finn Bálor and won't without Sami Zayn and Hideo Itami. Just like it's surviving fine without Adrian Neville. But his departure would be noticeable because he's such a major focus of the show and storylines. Just as a champion should be.

You need look no further than the number of programmes Owens has set up coming out of Unstoppable for evidence of how key Owens is to NXT and WWE's plans for the future. By my count he has five programmes ready to launch into. That's a number Seth Rollins, who supposedly holds wrestling's (and WWE's) greatest prize, doesn't come close to.

This man is not a Cena victim.

Owens versus Cena will happen for the first time at Sunday's Elimination Chamber Network special. This is obviously a big deal for Owens. With or without the world title and pay-per-view main events Cena is the face of the company. Getting to wrestle him in what is essentially a pay-per-view environment is a vote of confidence in Owens' abilities and a sign that WWE wants him to be viewed as a standout performer. Whether he wins or loses the match Owens will come out of it looking stronger¹.

Takeover: Unstoppable established Finn Bálor as the new number one contender to Owens' championship and Samoa Joe's appearance at the end of the show left no doubt that he'd be up for a crack at Owens and the belt too. So that's two guys Owens has gunning for him in NXT. Plus there are his unresolved issues with Sami Zayn, who will presumably continue chasing Zayn upon his return from his current injury layoff, and the heavy implication that Owens was the one who attacked Hideo Itami before Unstoppable (see their interactions on Twitter in the days before the show). It's not a stretch to imagine Owens attacking Itami because he was worried about having to defend his title against him.

And in addition to the number of potential rivalries Owens has he's possibly the most interesting character in all of WWE right now (only Sami Zayn, Sasha Banks and possibly Triple H are competition in that regard). He's an unpleasant, opportunistic thug who's happy to attack people from behind but he also has a relatable motive for his get-to-the-top-no-matter-the-cist approach: earning more money to provide as good a life for his family as possible. The nuances in his performances, such as the hypocrisy of him being so vicious while talking of being a role model and the twinge of remorse before he battered his one time pal Zayn with a steel chair, only serve to make his character that bit more interesting. If this is indicative of the future, not just for Owens but for NXT and WWE as a whole, then we have plenty to look forward to.

***

¹ Usually there'd be the issue of Cena doing something questionable to upstage a foe lower down the pecking order² but I don't think that's a concern here. For one thing WWE seems intent of having Owens look like a big deal, as mentioned above. For another Owens has been around long enough to know how to counteract someone attempting to show him up.

² See his repeated pulling down of Rusev's trunks to reveal a plump gut during their series for the most recent example of Cena's ability to subtly undermine people.

That RAW Recap 18.05.15

On June 6 2011 RAW was held in Richmond, Virginia. The most exciting thing on the show was R-Truth marching to the ring in a Confederate uniform to talk about a perceived conspiracy against him. It's fun to look back on but when Truth is the highlight of RAW something is going wrong somewhere in the writing process.

Getting on for four years later and RAW was back in Richmond. There were no Confederate uniforms and only a little R-Truth. What there was was a very solid episode of WWE's flagship show. The kind of episode that is all too rare.

The most notable part of the show was the first main roster appearance from Kevin Owens, in which he shared a ring with John Cena. Whether this was the beginning of a full-time call-up or, as seems more likely, something designed to hype Takeover: Unstoppable and give Cena something to do at Elimination Chamber isn't that important. It was NXT champion Kevin Owens on RAW with his championship belt.

The segment started fairly innocuously with Cena issuing his now standard open challenge for a United States title shot. Owens' music didn't get much of a reaction, probably because it's a bit generic, but the audience popped when he appeared. They popped more when he started speaking, saying that he didn't need to introduce himself because Cena knew who he was, as did everyone in the audience who mattered. This prompted Cena to cut in and introduce Owens to the crowd. Owens responded to that with "Thank you. That was nice", a very Owens ad-lib.

After giving Owens a telling off for saying the paying customers don't matter and plugging Takeover: Unstoppable Cena went to offer Owens some veteran advice. It was Owens' turn to cut Cena off with an emphatic reminder that he'd been wrestling for fifteen years, longer than Cena. That prompted Cena to change tack and offer a warning: he said he could tell Owens was a scared kid and that if he wasn't careful Sami Zayn would beat him for the NXT championship at Takeover.

The champ is here.

Back on the US title open challenge Cena asked if Owens wanted the shot. Owens said he'd a prize fighter but that he already had a prize: his NXT championship. He promised Cena they'd face each other one day but that it would be on his terms before going to leave and then surprising Cena with a kick to the gut and a pop-up power bomb. The segment ended with the onetime 'Mr Wrestling' stamping down his foot onto Cena's US title belt and holding his NXT title belt aloft.

This was a great segment. It introduced Owens's character and immediately positioned him as a big deal by having him hold his own verbally with Cena. Having him power bomb 'Mr CeNation' underlined this, making it clear that Owens is not just another prospect but someone who's destined for big things. The final shot of Owens standing on the United States championship and standing over Cena was symbolic of not just Owens' dominance over Cena but of his perceived dominance of the brand he represents over WWE.

In the main event segment the Rollins v Ambrose feud was revived to provide Network special Elimination Chamber with a world title main event. Ambrose interrupted a shindig held in Rollins' honour, just as Triple H, Stephanie, Kane and the New Stooges were putting him over as the greatest wrestler ever. After being told he'd have to join Roman Reigns and Randy Orton at the back of the line 'The Lunatic Fringe' attacked Rollins and they brawled around ringside.

Over at the announce desk Ambrose revealed he'd pulled a trick from Rollins' own play book and stashed a pile of cinder blocks at ringside. With 'The Future's' head in danger of being caved in (which would have put him out of action for a month, as Ambrose demonstrated last year) Stephanie agreed to grant Ambrose a title match. The brawl then continued and Ambrose wound up taking a Pedigree from the WWE champion. No paperwork was signed to make his title match official but something tells me he'll wrestle Rollins anyway.

These guys reviving their series is a good thing.

This segment wasn't anything out of the ordinary. It's one of WWE's standard approaches for setting up world title matches and gets a lot of use in short notice situations like this one. The reason I mention it is that it's good that we're getting a Rollins and Ambrose match again, and that it was nice to see the continuity at play, both with the cinder blocks and Rollins' continued use of the Pedigree. These things are simple to set up in a wrestling environment but they're so rare in WWE and it's frustrating.

In addition to the WWE title match for Elimination Chamber being set the entrants for both of the cage matches were announced too. King Bad News Wade Barrett I, Sheamus, Ryback, Dolph Ziggler, Rusev and, for some reason, R-Truth will compete for the vacant Intercontinental title. I'd have much preferred Adrian Neville in Truth's spot. It's still a possibility, Sheamus or Barrett could wipe Truth out before the Chamber show for example, but it probably won't happen. With or without Truth match quality should be high and I'm interested to see how Rusev's handled. He's coming off three straight big event losses. Would they do a fourth and give it to someone who isn't Cena? I doubt it, but I also can't see them giving him the Intercontinental title.

Meanwhile New Day will defend their tag straps against Cesaro and Kidd, the Lucha Dragons, the Prime Time Players, Los Matadores and The Ascension. It would have been nice to see the recently reunited Luke Harper and Erick Rowan in the match in place of the one of the latter three teams and I'm surprised (but relieved) WWE didn't go overboard and give the Meta Powers a slot. Rowan and Harper would make this match more interesting for me, but I'm fine with the Dragons, New Day and Cesaro and Kidd being in there. This is another good-looking Chamber match.

Considering Elimination Chamber wasn't going to be a thing until around a week ago a good job was done prepping it here. For the first time in years there are enough teams in the tag division to make a six team match feasible and the company's spoilt for choice when it comes to potential IC champions (which, to be honest, makes the inclusion of R-Truth even more puzzling. Ambrose and Rollins never have a bad match together and Cena v Owens, while unlikely to be a classic encounter, feels like a genuinely important moment: the NXT champ meeting the face of the company.