5 Surprising moments from WWE Elimination Chamber 2023
There was certainly a magical atmosphere in Montreal on Saturday night for the Elimination Chamber main event. The feud between Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn reached a boiling point in front of the partisan hometown crowd. It isn't very often that fans see a crowd so behind a wrestler as they were for Zayn at Elimination Chamber.
WWE Elimination Chamber was an emotional night. There were some surprising endings, an incredible crowd, an instant classic United States Championship match, and one of the most emotional main events in WWE history. Elimination Chamber was the last premium live event before WrestleMania, and WWE delivered a special show.
As fans try to figure out where the Road to WrestleMania goes next, here are the top five most surprising moments from WWE Elimination Chamber:
#5. Brock Lesnar gets disqualified at WWE Elimination Chamber
It was the third singles match between Brock Lesnar and Brock Lashley on Saturday night. With Bray Wyatt demanding a shot at the winner, it seemed likely the feud between the two heavyweights would end at Elimination Chamber. But after a brief five-minute bout, it looks like round four will be coming in the near future.
The match was going pretty much as one would have expected. It was an exchange of spears with some F5 finishers. Lashley put on the Hurt Lock submission and looked like he was going to pick up a clean victory to end the feud. That is until Brock did something pretty unexpected. He hit a low blow back kick to Lashley right in front of the referee.
The Beast Incarnate decided to unleash carnage and hit the referee with the F5 twice. He even hit an F5 on Lashley through the announcers' table. It seems that this feud isn't over yet.
It was certainly surprising to see Brock's desperation not to lose a match. That isn't the Lesnar fans have seen in recent years.
#4. Judgment Day loses yet again at WWE Elimination Chamber
Judgment Day is an interesting stable. They have been a major part of WWE programming since debuting last year. It has certainly pushed Rhea Ripley to another level as well. So it would make sense to have The Nightmare win a major tag team match before her huge title shot at WrestleMania. That is not what happened in Montreal.
The mixed tag team match between Beth Phoenix & Edge versus Rhea Ripley & Finn Balor was an entertaining one. Phoenix, in particular, did a really great job for a wrestler who was only wrestling her second match in the last three years. It would be great to see more matches between Phoenix and Ripley.
As Phoenix took care of Ripley on the outside, it left Finn Balor all alone in the ring with Edge. Edge hit a Spear, and then it the Shatter Machine with Phoenix for the pinfall victory.
Balor hasn't had much success defeating Edge in the last few months. His only victory was at Extreme Rules. Hopefully, Balor will pick up that important victory over the Hall of Famer at some point in the future.
#3. Logan Paul cost Seth Rollins the United States Championship at WWE Elimination Chamber
IT'S LOGAN PAUL!!!!
@LoganPaul just cost @WWERollins the #USTitle at #WWEChamber! https://t.co/6xtDawHvnU
The Men's Elimination Chamber match was certainly a memorable one on Saturday night. The contest gave each competitor a moment to shine. Bronson Reed had to be eliminated by multiple superstars.
Johnny Gargano hit a crazy hurricanrana on Rollins before being taken out of the match. Montez Ford's amazing athleticism was certainly a star-making moment too. But the ending will set up future WrestleMania matches for sure.
As Theory and Rollins were getting ready to end the United States Championship match, the medical team had to open the Chamber door to assist an injured Ford. This open door allowed Logan Paul to interfere in the match, hitting a Buckshot Lariat and Stomp on Rollins. Theory took advantage to pick up the victory.
Logan Paul vs. Seth Rollins should be a great WrestleMania match. It has just been surprising to see Paul get the advantage over Rollins for two straight premium live events in a row. Will Rollins get the upper hand in the weeks to come before WrestleMania?
#2. Jey Uso's Indecision at WWE Elimination Chamber
WHAT DID WE JUST WITNESS?!
#WWEChamber #UndisputedTitle https://t.co/aoiYZqgZYb
The main event between Sami Zayn and Roman Reigns will go down in the history books. For the entirety of the thirty-two-minute match, the crowd was emotionally invested.
After two referee bumps, Jey Uso entered the ring. He has avoided Roman Reigns since WWE Royal Rumble. It seemed logical that he would betray Sami Zayn and rejoin The Bloodline, but that didn't happen.
A clearly conflicted Jey refused to attack Zayn despite being bullied by The Tribal Chief. It ended with the tag team champion being accidentally speared by Zayn. Jey still didn't pick sides in the match.
What comes next? Jey Uso is certainly a wild card in the feud. It will be exciting to see what comes next in this amazing story.
#1 Kevin Owens returns at WWE Elimination Chamber
WWE fans in Montreal certainly wanted their hometown hero Sami Zayn to win the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in Canada. It would have been a feel-good moment to see the former Honorary Uce be the one to finally end Reigns' two-and-a-half-year hold over the world title. But it didn't happen and deflated the crowd.
It seemed like an attempt to send the fans home happy with Kevin Owens returning after a long absence.
Why couldn't he have returned earlier to help Zayn?
It is hard to say, but the ending allowed Zayn and Owens to get a measure of revenge on The Tribal Chief. At least the fans could see that final moment.
Fans didn't see the alliance between Zayn and Owens just yet. Will they see it leading into WrestleMania? A lot of twists and turns are yet to come.