WWE RAW PRIMER 2/12: Fatal Four-way for second chance at entering Elimination Chamber, Bliss and Mickie follow-up, what’s next for Seth and Cruiserweights

RAW PREVIEW
FEBRUARY 12, 2018
SAN JOSE, CALIF. AT THE SAP CENTER
By Joey Galizia (@RamJam89), PWTorch contributor

ANNOUNCED BY WWE.COM

• Fatal Four-Way between Finn Balor, Matt Hardy, Apollo Crews, and Bray Wyatt for the final Elimination Chamber spot
• Sasha Banks vs. Bayley
• Have Alexa Bliss and Mickie James forged another alliance?
• Even in defeat Braun Strowman stands tall

“SECOND CHANCE”

With WrestleMania season in full swing, the final stop for the red-brand on the road towards the “show of shows” is the Elimination Chamber. While most of the time when wrestlers step into this hellacious cage structure it is for a title belt, this time around it’s to determine who goes one-on-one with the Beast Brock Lesnar. The competitors who have earned a spot in this elimination match so far are: Roman Reigns (obvi), Braun Strowman, John Cena (the rookie), Intercontinental Champion the Miz, and the man who will enter the chamber last, the drifter Elias. That leaves one spot open, which will be claimed by the winner of tonight’s second chance Fatal 4-way matchup between Finn Balor, Apollo Crews, Bray Wyatt, and Matt Hardy. The heavy favorite to win is Balor, especially considering that Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy are still fighting the “great war” and Apollo Crews and Titus WorldWide aren’t exactly main event caliber players just yet. With rumors stating that Balor may be next in line for the Miz, a showdown between the two inside the chamber could be the catalyst that ignites that feud.

“WHO SAYS THE MEN GET TO HAVE ALL THE FUN”

That won’t be the only matchup involving the steel cage dome. The women will break barriers once again as they prepare to compete in the first ever women’s chamber match! Unlike the men, this bout will feature Alexa Bliss defending her Raw women’s championship against Bayley, Sasha Banks, Mandy Rose, Mickie James, and Sonya Deville. Alexa has been quite sneaky in her current title run, and appears to have manipulated Mickie James into siding with her again. Don’t be fooled. Mickie will have a chance to become women’s champion once again, and even if she sides with Alexa now, once the chamber doors close it’s every woman for herself. Royal Rumble winner Asuka will be on the sidelines, still trying to decide which gold belt to go for at WrestleMania. That still leaves out NIa Jax, whose been patiently waiting for her moment in the sun, but continues to come up short in the big spot. As for tonight, expect the Hugger Bayley to gain some traction in her hometown of San Jose. They can’t have her lose twice there now can they?

“BUY IN, REBUILD, BURN DOWN”

-What an unusual path for the architect Seth Rollins. Since returning from his devastating knee injury a couple of years ago he has teased main event caliber time and time again yet somehow gets stuck in the upper mid-card. He did capture tag team gold with his Shield mate Dean Ambrose, but unfortunate luck led the Lunatic Fringe to be sidelined with injury for quite a stretch. Jason Jordan would step in and help Rollins begin another title run. However, J.J. would suffer an injury as well. YIKES. Now with no partner, and no clear direction for the architect to go, WWE.COM promises us a new direction for the former heavyweight champion. Whatever it may be, here’s to hoping that it leads to something worthwhile.

-Speaking of tag teams, the Bar are atop the division once again. Cesaro and Sheamus have been quite the pendulum act recently. They lost to Titus WorldWide two weeks in a row ahead of their title match at the Royal Rumble, but bounced back after winning the belts and put Titus and Apollo on their backs. With the uncertainty of Rollins in the tag division, will the Club or the Revival step up to challenge the Europeans? Maybe, but that’s only if they are done fighting each other first.

-The Good Brothers defeated the Revival on the 25th anniversary of Raw, but Dash and Dawson bounced back with a victory on the Rumble pre-show. Seven days ago they the Club substituted Finn Balor in for a rematch, and that combination was too much for the Revival to handle. Expect another round for these teams in the near future, and as early as tonight.

-The Cruiserweight Division has been running in place since 205 Live began, but with recent events knocking Enzo Amore out of the picture a tournament to become the new purple-brand champion has begun. However, that takes place on Tuesday nights, so as a preview, and in typical Japanese wrestling fashion, a giant tag match will most likely be what we see tonight.

Lots of doors to still be open and questions to be answered. You watching?

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S RAW REPORT: KELLER’S WWE RAW REPORT 2/5: Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt in Elimination Chamber qualifying match, more Elimination Chamber developments