SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
RAW PREVIEW
FEBRUARY 19, 2018
PHOENIX, ARIZ. AT TALKING STICK RESORT
By Joey Galizia (@RamJam89), PWTorch contributor
ANNOUNCED BY WWE.COM
- Gauntlet match between this Sunday’s Elimination Chamber competitors: Finn Balor, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Elias, The Miz, Seth Rollins, and Braun Strowman.
- Women’s Chamber participants will be in six-woman tag action as Bayley, Sasha Banks, and Mickie James square off against Alexa Bliss, Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose.
- Nia Jax prepares for Asuka
- What will Braun Strowman break next?
“RUN THE GAUNTLET”
The Architect is back! After begging General Manager Kurt Angle to let him prove his worth Seth Rollins entered the last chance Fatal 4-Way (thus making it a fatal 5-way) in an effort to enter this Sunday’s Elimination Chamber matchup, and he shocked everyone when he emerged victorious. Sort of. What actually happened was he and the other favorite to enter the main event in Nevada Finn Balor both pinned Bray Wyatt at the EXACT same time. Instead of having a one-on-one clash to claim the sixth spot in the chamber, Kurt Angle has decided what’s best for business was to create the historic first ever SEVEN MAN chamber warzone! Considering this is my favorite match stipulation of all time (thanks Bischoff) I find it hard to contain my excitement. However, we still have one more session of Raw to get through before then, and that leads us to tonight: All seven competitors will be jockeying for position as they all clash in a Gauntlet match. Can an underdog like Elias, the Miz or even Balor sneak out a victory against the heavy favorites Roman Reigns, John Cena or Braun Strowman?
“HISTORY IS VIOLENT”
In the women’s division we have all the chamber participants in tag action as team babyface Bayley, Sasha Banks, and Mickie James takes on Raw champion Alexa Bliss and the two members of Absolution who still can wrestle, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. The former Bliss and Mickie friendship has blossomed out of nowhere once again, but can it remain strong ahead of the big title match on Sunday? Bigger question here is can Bayley and Sasha get along seeing as how they continue to get in each other’s way of holding gold.
Meanwhile the Rumble winner Asuka prepares to clash with her former NXT rival Nia Jax. Nia wasn’t afraid to put a whole lot of hurt on the other ladies of the division, and has promised that she will end the undefeated streak in Nevada. Bold words, but now that there is no more Enzo to distract her Jax has found a new level of confidence that makes her quite a credible threat, but does that mean she is ready for Asuka? The answer to that is the same answer as always: NO ONE IS READY.
“WHO ELSE IS MAKING THIS CARD?”
-Besides the chamber matches and the Ronda Rousey signing there have not been any more announcements for this Sunday’s card. Expect a lot of that this evening.
-One of those possible matches could feature the tag team champions Cesaro and Sheamus and the most likely next challengers to their throne, The Revival. Dash and Dawson have scored decisive victories over The Club and Heath Slater & Rhyno and and with Jason Jordan injured there doesn’t appear to be anyone else left. Hopefully they can build a decent enough story in the six days they have.
-A match that will most likely get added to the show is the Great War between Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy. Wyatt snuck out a victory over Matt on the 25th anniversary edition of Raw but that was thanks to a cheap shot with the ropes. Hardy meanwhile has fallen deeper into his psychotic Broken/Woken state, and who knows what level of TREACHERY he will call upon to win the war against Bray. All I know is that if these two do get another chance to tango I hope they prepare to bring the house down, because both of them are slowly drifting on the edge of limbo.
-The cruiserweight division has completed the first round of their tournament! Hooray! However, Monday nights have unfortunately been far too busy to crowd with the high-flyers besides a random six-man tag match every now and then. Don’t be surprised if you see another one tonight.
The go home show for Elimination Chamber! Who will run the Gauntlet?! Guess you’ll have to tune in to find out.
NOW CATCH UP ON LAST WEEK’S RAW: KELLER’S WWE RAW REPORT 2/12: Cena addresses the Elimination Chamber match, Sasha vs. Bayley, Second Change Match to Determine Final EC competitor
A 6-woman tag team match… how very Smackdown of them. Bayley and Sasha tear the house down and one week later its gimmickmania. And Asuka vs Nia… hmm, let’s go out on a limb here. Asuka -kick, Nia – throw Asuka, Asuka – kick, Nia throw Asuka then Nia gets caught in a submission.