Ahead of WWE Raw, it was announced that Austin Theory will be defending his United States Championship inside the Elimination Chamber at the event of the same name on February 18th.
It was also confirmed that a series of qualifying matches would be taking place to determine who would be sharing the ring with Theory in Montreal, Canada.
Three WWE Superstars Take One Step Closer To Championship Gold
The first of these matches featured Seth Rollins and Chad Gable. Although the match was only ten minutes long, the two men threw everything at each other as the momentum swung back and forth. In the end, Rollins escaped the Ankle Lock twice to hit a Pedigree and score the pin.
Later in the show Johnny Gargano overcame Baron Corbin with an assist from Dexter Lumis and an axe. JBL was irate at ringisde before Lumis produced the axe and chopped the veteran’s hat which had been placed on the announce table. A stunned JBL fell over, and the distraction eventually led to Gargano earning the win.
The last of the three qualifiers was a much more lopsided affair as Broson Reed demolished Dolph Ziggler. Although Ziggler got in some offence, Reed was unfazed and emerged victorious following the Tsunami in a little over three minutes.
Elsewhere on the show, both Carmella and Rick Boogs returned to television after lengthy absences. Boogs ran over The Miz in a little over a minute in his first action since WrestleMania 38. Meanwhile, Carmella featured in an interview backstage after it was revealed that she would be returning to the ring on February 6th.
The card for Elimination Chamber continued to take shape with the announcement that Bianca Belair will soon have a new number one contender for her Raw Women’s Title. At Elimination Chamber Nikki Cross, Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Asuka and two more qualifiers will battle it out side the famous structure to earn a shot at Belair at WrestleMania.
The first qualifying match will feature Carmella, Piper Niven, Candice LeRae, and Michin (Mia Yim) on February 6th.