We are on the Road to WrestleMania, and we make a pit stop in CHICAGO before getting back to WrestleMania in Las Vegas! While on the Road to WrestleMania, we have two demonic Elimination Chamber matches taking place, both to determine #1 contenders for the Undisputed WWE Title and WWE Women’s Title at WrestleMania. Who will emerge victorious inside the threatening structure? Chicago’s own CM Punk will defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Finn Bálor! AJ Lee has her first singles match in over a decade as she challenge’s Becky Lynch for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship! Also, what’s in the box?? The recap of WWE Elimination Chamber starts with the pre-show at 5 PM ET/4 Central on social media and the main premium live event at 7 PM ET on the ESPN App (USA) and Netflix (worldwide). Hit F5 or refresh as often as you like for the latest updates!
Welcome to Elimination Chamber in Chicago, the home of the champion of the world, CM Punk. We get a video package with words from Punk talking about Chicago and also the Chamber – the match and the PLE. Cue the pyro! We get shots of several WWE superstars who will be competing later getting themselves mentally ready for tonight. Michael Cole and Wade Barrett are the commentators for this event.
THE ELIMINATION CHAMBER IS COMING DOWN! Ring announcer Mark Nash states the rules for the match, and notes that the winner of this Chamber Match will be the #1 contender to challenge for the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 42! Speaking of, we see the WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill watching the match up in the suite seats. The first four women who enter the arena – Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Raquel Rodriguez, and Rhea Ripley – will be locked in plexiglass pods and will be released at random intervals. The final two women to enter will start the match for the first five minutes. Referee Dan Engler will officiate the match.
* #1 Contender’s Elimination Chamber Match:
Alexa Bliss vs. Asuka vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Kiana James vs. Tiffany Stratton
Kiana James and Tiffany Stratton start the match for the first five minutes. They lock up collar-and-elbow moving around the ring to a stalemate. They trade rear waistlocks, Tiffany takes her down with a headlock takeover, Tiffany showcases her athletism, and the crowd chants “Tiffy Time!” Kiana goes on the attack, with shoulder thrusts in a corner, knocks her down for a 1-count, Tiffany trips her onto the middle rope, splashes her back, basement dropkick and gets a 2-count. Kiana avoids a standing moonsault, hits her own standing moonsault, gets 2, throws her into the top turnbuckles, and tosses her outside the ropes. Kiana tries to suplex her, Tiffany blocks it, and delivers her own standing suplex. Kiana side-steps her and Tiffany flies backwards against Raquel’s pod, and Raquel laughs at her until the countdown for the first pod to open.
ASUKA has her pod opened, Kiana goes on the attack right away, but after she tosses Startton aside, Asuka retaliates by slamming Kiana’s face into the pod, and does the same to Tiffany. Asuka hits Tiffany with a bulldog and clotheslines Kiana on the outside, then hits a double missile dropkick to both women, covers Kiana for 2, and covers Tiffany for 2. Asuka kicks both women down, Tiffany hits a back elbow, handspring back elbow to Asuka and Kiana, but Asuka hits a knee strike and covers Stratton for 2.
ALEXA BLISS is the next woman out, stalks Asuka, hits a shoulder block, dropkicks Kiana, headscissors to Asuka, and hits a satellite DDT to Kiana. Alexa and Tiffany go face-to-face, Tiffany catches her, hits the rolling senton, and Alexa blocks the Prettiest Moonsault. Alexa ducks a clothesline to dropkick Tiffany, back elbow to Asuka, Kiana boots Asuka in the face, and Alexa rolls her up for 2. Kiana attacks Bliss, slams Stratton’s face into the chain wall, catapults her into a pod door, and the countdown is on again.
RHEA RIPLEY is the next out, attacks everyone, short-arm clotheslines to Asuka, face-plant, headbutt to Tiffany, and powerbombs her into Asuka. Rhea blocks the satellite DDT by Bliss, blocks the Sister Abigail, Alexa counters the Riptide, they fight on the outside, and Alexa blocks the Riptide by climbing the cage. All four women battle outside the ring, and Alexa hits the Twisted Bliss onto three of them as Kiana moved out the way! Kiana attacks Bliss, slamming her face into the chain, superkicks her, but Alexa catches her in her grasp, and Asuka sprays the MIST into Alexa’s face! Kiana covers Alexa for the 3-count! (Alexa Bliss is eliminated!)
RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ is the last woman out, catches Stratton to block a hurricanrana, swings her into the cage, clotheslines Kiana James, and drops Ripley onto the top rope. Alexa, Kiana and Tiffany gang up on her, she fights them all off, Rhea goes after her, and Raquel throws Ripley around the at the side. Raquel remains in control, blocks a hurricanrana, slams her into the chain wall, and powerbombs her into the ring. Asuka punches and kicks Rodriguez, but Raquel blocks a kick, gives her a fallaway slam into the ring, Kiana goes after her, but Raquel POWERSLAMS JAMES THROUGH THE POD! Raquel ducks a kick from Asuka, deliver the TEJANA BOMB to Asuka right onto James, and covers BOTH women for the 3-count! (Asuka is eliminated.) (Kiana James is eliminated.)
Raquel, Rhea and Tiffany all battle it out, Tiffany hits a double handspring stunner to both women, Raquel plants her with a spinning front slam, and gets a 2-count. Rhea pulls her outside the ring, Raquel traps Ripley in the chain link, TIffany climbs the chain, Raquel blocks the hurricanrana again, sets up for a powerbomb, but Tiffany gives her a hurricanrana into the ring. Raquel fights back, elbow strikes in a corner, hits a fallaway slam, hits the spinning elbow drop in the corner, Tiffany blocks the Tejana Bomb, Raquel puts her on the top ropes, Rhea is atop the pod and hits Raquel with a cannonball! Tiffany hits Raquel with the PRETTIEST MOONSAULT EVER and covers for 3! (Raquel Rodriguez is eliminated!)
Jade Cargill looks on at the final two in the ring. Tiffany hits a knee strike, Rhea counters, facebuster, clothesline, picks her up for the Razor’s Edge, Tiffany counters to cartwheel into the Alabama Slam, and covers for 2.5! Tiffany goes up top, Rhea rolls out the way of the swanton, kicks her in the head, does the electric chair drop, and covers for 2. Tiffany counters the Riptide, side-steps her in the corner, hits the swanton, and covers for 2! Tiffany has blood dripping from her nose, but she doesn’t stop with the rolling senton, springboards up, but Rhea shoves her into the pod, hits the RIPTIDE, and covers for the 3-COUNT! WINNER: RHEA RIPLEY!!
Rhea Ripley is the new #1 contender for the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 42! Jade Cargill mockingly applauds Ripley’s victory. Rhea points to the WrestleMania sign and gets the pyro to celebrate.
We get a video package to highlight the feud between Becky Lynch and AJ Lee since the latter’s return to WWE. The champ comes out first, and as the anticipation grows for AJ Lee to enter we see Becky’s face get more contentious. Mark Nash does the proper title match introductions. Jessika Carr is the referee for this match, which is interesting because Becky has had problems with her.
* Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Becky Lynch {C} vs. AJ Lee
The bell dings, they circle the ring, lock up, Becky backs her to a corner, and there’s a clean break. They lock up again, Becky with a side headlock, hits a shoulder block, and mocks her sitting in the ropes. Becky wrestles from a headlock to a hammerlock back to the headlock, AJ pushes her off, trips her, 1-count, rolls her up for 2, Becky with an armbar, AJ trips her, and Becky scrambles to the ropes. AJ does a tilt-a-whirl, knocks her down, hammerlock with a float-over bridge, Becky reverses into a hammerlock, AJ sends her out the ring, and skips around as Becky regroups at ringside.
Becky tries to hide behind Carr, boots AJ in the midsection, catches her in the electric chair, AJ counters, dropkicks her, and Becky hits a running boot to the chest followed by rear mounted punches. Becky stomps her down in a corner, taunts the crowd, takes her down to cover for 2, yells at the crowd again, and chokes her on the ropes with a kick to the back. Becky hits a forearm smash, springboard kick, hits the Becks-ploder, covers for 2, beats her down, AJ fights back, Becky hits an uppercut, back kick, and AJ drops her with a running bulldog.
AJ clotheslines her, hits a back elbow, blocks the kick, gets on the second ropes, hits a tornado DDT, and connects with the shining wizard for 2.5! AJ counters the Manhandle Slam with a rollup for 2, Becky counters for 2, blocks the Black Widow, hits an inverted DDT for 2, and beats her down. Becky rips off the pad of the top turnbuckle exposing the steel. AJ blocks a kick, trips her in the ropes, goes up top, Becky cuts her off, delivers the superplex, and floats over into the cross armbar. AJ counters, kicks her in the head, covers, and gets a near-fall. Ref Jess gets the turnbuckle pad from outside the ring, attempts to get it together, Becky shoves AJ into her, rolls AJ up for 2, Becky boots her in the face accidentally and the ref is down! AJ locks in the BLACK WIDOW, Becky taps, but Ref Jess is down! AJ checks on her, Becky clobbers AJ from behind, and she lands on the ref’s back.
Becky beats up AJ at ringside, throws her into the barricade, pulls out a steel chair from under the ring, and slides it in. AJ fights her off, throws her into the barricade, slams her head on the ring apron and barricade, puts her back into the ring, hits a back elbow, Becky counters the tornado DDT, and plants AJ with the DDT onto the chair! Becky tries to revive the ref, hits the MANHANDLE SLAM, and covers for the 1-2-KICKOUT!! Ref Jess blocks Becky from throwing her into the exposed steel, and Becky gives her the biggest glare. AJ with a schoolgirl roll-up for 2, counters the Manhandle Slam with an armdrag, AJ side-steps her, Becky’s face went into the exposed steel, AJ locks in the BLACK WIDOW, and BECKY TAPS!! WINNER and NEW WOMEN’S INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION: AJ LEE!!!
AJ Lee has finally won a title in WWE after over 11 years!! Congrats AJ Lee, the new Women’s Intercontinental Champion!
Raw GM Adam Pearce and SmackDown GM Nick Aldis are backstage standing in front of the huge box that’s been shipped back and forth between their shows. Will we find out what’s in the box now? Well, R-Truth has the mystery solved, except the box he has is a pizza box from Papa Johns, and after taking a bite of pizza he takes off with it.
We show love to the U.S. Air Force before the next match. Finn Bálor heads to the ring with his old theme and gets the crowd hyped up like he used to do before joining Judgment Day. Chicago is ready for their Second-City Saint to come to the ring next, and CM Punk gets an entrance that would be perfect for the Chicago Bulls including the legendary basketball announcer! This will be Punk’s first WWE match in Chicago since June 2013! Ring announcer Mark Nash does the proper title match introductions here as well, Chad Patton is the referee for this match, and the bell dings to get this match underway.
* World Heavyweight Championship: Finn Bálor vs. CM Punk {C}
