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KELLER’S WWE RAW REPORT
FEBRUARY 15, 2021
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. AT TROPICANA FIELD (“THUNDERDOME”)
AIRED ON USA NETWORK
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe
Ring Announcer: Mike Rome
[HOUR ONE]
-The Raw opening theme aired.
-Phillips introduced the show and touted the Gauntlet Match with the Elimination Chamber competitors, winner gets to enter the Chamber last.
-Miz TV: Miz introduced Drew McIntyre. He talked to Drew about how nervous he should be about entering the Chamber. He talked about Sheamus turning on him. He said Drew wanted to beat Sheamus one-on-one, but WWE management ripped that away from him and put him in the Chamber instead. Miz went on and on to the point that Drew told him to “shut the hell up!” Miz said he didn’t mean any disrespect. Drew stood and told Miz that he is going to speak, and if he interrupts him one time, he will regret it. Miz interrupted. Drew headbutted him immediately. (That was really satisfying.) Drew threw the Money in the Brief case 100 feet away and left the ring as his music played. They showed Miz regaining his senses.
Miz sat up and said, “See that, a little bit of Elimination Chamber pressure and we’re seeing the cracks in the WWE Champion.” He said how can you blame him. He said he doesn’t have any of that pressure, though, because he is bringing the Chamber pressure in the form of the MITB contract. He said he was going to explain to “Andy” that there are so many variables that could go wrong, but he only needs one thing to go great and then he’ll cash in the contract. He then began saying he’s a master strategist, and he wants every Superstar to be on notice and hear his footsteps to add to the pressure. “I am in control!” he said, leaning over the top rope and speaking red-faced with intensity. He said when he cashes in, he will be standing in the ring as champion. He wiped his head and said if Edge wants to talk about high-stakes poker, he is removing himself from the Elimination Chamber match. Joe called it brilliant. Joe said Miz doesn’t need the Chamber because he has the MITB contract. Joe wondered who would replace him.
(Keller’s Analysis: The idea here was to make it seem like pressure was getting to Drew and he’ll be on edge because the stakes are so high and circumstances so out of Drew’s control compared to a one-on-one match, and I think that worked. I also thoroughly enjoyed Drew headbutting Miz when he interrupted him. Miz framing his removal from the Chamber as a smart strategy instead of act of cowardice is heelish, but he’s also not entirely wrong in his line of thinking. Since no one takes Miz as a serious threat, the EC line-up should be get strong. Miz also underlined the threat he poses because of the MITB contract.) [c]
(1) RIDDLE & LINCE DORADO & GRAN METLIK vs. MVP & CEDRIC ALEXANDER & SHELTON BENJAMIN
As Hurt Business walked to the ring, Phillips noted that the attack by Bobby Lashley on Keith Lee left Lee’s status on Sunday in question. They cut backstage to Riddle asking Lucha House Party who their favorite U.S. President is. He said Harrison Ford is his favorite because he single-handedly saved Chewbacca. He made a Rutherford B. Hayes joke that led to Michael P.S. Hayes which led to some Freebird reference which made Riddle smile. Riddle asked Lince Dorado who his favorite president is. Lince said there’s too many to choose from. They shook hands.
(Keller’s Analysis: The weekly attempt to write funny material for Riddle is, in and of itself, a guilty pleasure because it’s so inept and forced, and you just wonder if the people writing it are ultimately happy with themselves or are just checking off a box in their job duties without even worrying about whether it’s seen as awful or not. I mean, mixing up Gerald Ford and Harison Ford isn’t funny or clever, and Riddle going off on a tangent about Rutherford B. Hayes and Michael P.S. Hayes is so stupid it’s beyond the funny kind of stupid into just stupid-stupid, and that’s a waste of everyone’s time.)
They showed Lashley watching the match on a monitor backstage. Joe said Miz was being benevolent to open up a new spot in the Chamber match. A couple minutes in, Shelton at ringside dropped Riddle face-first over the ring apron, then knocked Dorado out of mid-air on a dive. Cedric then punched Metalik out of mid-air too. They cut to a break. [c]
Riddle hot-tagged in a few minutes after the break and rallied against Cedric. MVP entered and favored his right knee. He delivered at Ballin’ Elbow, but Dorado and Metalik broke up the cover. Cedric gave Metalik a Lumbar Check. Shelton gave Lince a kick to the face. Riddle gave Shelton a Final Flash knee. Lince dove onto Shelton at ringside. Riddle gave MVP a knee to the face and then a Floating Bro for the win.
WINNERS: Riddle & LHP in 11:00.
-As Riddle and LHP celebrated, Lashley ran out and attacked them in the aisle. Hurt Business stood over their fallen foes as their music played. Phillips asked if there’s a man alive who can beat Lashley for the U.S. Title.
-Backstage Miz was chatting with WWE executive Adam Pearce about how disappointed he is he won’t be in the EC because “I am an A-lister.” He told Pearce he wants to give back, so he’d like to see a young up-and-comer enter and grab that brass ring. “The person who should grab that spot is John Morrison.” Pearce patronizingly said that’s a compelling suggestion, then said he’d take it under consideration. Miz seemed happy, unaware Pearce was patronizing him. Even Pearce seemed puzzled that Miz didn’t see that.
-A Smackdown commercial advertised a six-man match for the advantage in the Chamber this Friday on Fox – Kevin Owens & Daniel Bryan & Cesaro vs. Jey Uso & King Corbin & Sami Zayn. [c]
-Saxton hyped The Pretty Reckless’s “And So It Went,” the official theme of Elimination Chamber.
-The announcers commented on clips of Damain Priest beating Angel Garza last week with Bad Bunny at ringside.
-Backstage, Mandy Rose told Bad Bunny how amazing he was at the Rumble. He thanked her. She asked if he had an extra Bad Bunny shirt for her tag team partner, then wished him luck on SNL. Priest walked up to him and talked about getting to hang with one of the hottest acts on the planet. There were loud noises in the background, and Tozawa had hit R-Truth and pinned him to win the 24/7 Title. Priest threw Tozawa into some rolling crates. Bad Bunny then pinned Tozawa to win the 24/7 Title. Truth yelled to “DP” and Bad Bunny to “take care of my baby,” plus tell Lorne Michaels to start taking his calls.
-Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods walked up to Pearce and said he better not be considering replacing Miz with Morrison. Pearce said he wasn’t. Kofi made his case to be the choice. He said he is a former champion. Xavier asked why he was skipped since he is a former WWE Champion, more recently than four others in the match. Miz asked what they were talking about. Miz said he and Pearce already have an understanding. Xavier said Morrison hasn’t even been WWE Champion. Miz said he’s a former ECW Champion. Kofi and Xavier and Miz argued loudly. Pearce yelled for them to stop yelling. Pearce said Miz would face Kofi, and if Miz wins, Morrison is in, but if Kofi wins, he’s in. Kofi was happy enough with that. Kofi and Xavier made fun of the last three “Marine” movies with Miz. Miz said that wasn’t funny.
(Keller’s Analysis: Pearce looked like a dope even giving Morrison that kind of chance to enter a match he has no business being in.) [c]
-A video bragged that WWE’s TikTok channel surpassed 10 million followers in a year, outpacing a bunch of other sports organizations.
-A video aired hyping the Elimination Chamber match.
-Charlotte made her ring entrance. Then Asuka made her entrance. Phillips hyped Lacey Evans would challenge Asuka for the Raw Title at Elimination Chamber. Peyton Royce and Lacey Evans, with Ric Flair, walked out next. Lacey thanked Charlotte for getting herself disqualified last week so she can get what she deserves – a title shot. She said she’s been listening to her daddy’s sweet words and knowledge “and taking it all in,” and she said Ric thinks she’s ready to become champion on Sunday. Royce held out a little Sweetheart candy with the words “Bite Me” on it. Lacey said there were others that said things like “You’re a Queen,” but she said she ate those. Lacey said Asuka will be giving her a gift of her own on Sunday, something she’s wanted for a long time. [c]
[HOUR TWO]
(2) CHARLOTTE & ASUKA vs. LACEY EVANS (w/Ric Flair) & PEYTON ROYCE
Charlotte wanted Lacey to tag in against her a minute into the match, but Lacey backed away. Asuka tagged in and they took turns chopping away at Royce’s chest. Royce came back with a kick that knocked Asuka down. Charlotte tagged in a minute later and fallaway suplexed Royce out of the ring. She looked over at Lacey again, then went after Royce at ringside. Royce crawled over and tagged in Lacey. Saxton said Lacey has no choice now because she’s the legal wrestler in the match. Lacey showed she did have a choice, as she dropped to ringside. Lacey told Charlotte she isn’t putting her hands on her. “Charlotte, I’m pregnant,” she said. Flair looked at Lacey with a look of surprise and let out a “woo!” He strutted and said, “Come to daddy!” Charlotte looked distressed as she leaned on the top rope and looked down at her very happy father celebrating and dancing to Lacey’s music.
WINNER: It doesn’t matter to WWE, so why should we care?
(Keller’s Analysis: So Lacey should be immediately pulled from her title match, right? Why would Lacey be so excited a title match only to reveal she can’t be cleared to actually wrestle as a way to get under the skin of her rival? Flair was pretty funny here, though.)
-Charly Caruso interviewed Sheamus backstage about being in the Chamber. Sheamus said he shouldn’t have to fight for the opportunity because Drew made a verbal agreement to defend the title against him. He said it ultimately doesn’t matter because he’ll win the Chamber match anyway. He said he’s going to win tonight, then watch his foes knock the holy hell out of each other, and then they’ll be ripe for the pickin’ when he Brogue Kicks their heads off and wins the WWE Title.
-Kofi made his ring entrance. [c]
-An NXT ad hyped the fallout from Adam Cole superkicking Kyle O’Reilly and the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic winners celebrating.
-They replayed the Lacey pregnancy announcement. The announcers bought it as if there’s no chance Lacey was lying, and Phillips framed it as one of the biggest happenings in WWE Raw history.
(3) MIZ vs. KOFI KINGSTON
Joe continued to gush over Miz’s strategic mind. A few minutes in Kofi leaped onto Miz at ringside with a forearm and then scored a two count back in the ring. Miz came back with a knee to Kofi’s gut after a reverse-whip. They cut to a break a minute later. [c]
They fought at ringside after the break. Miz leaped off the top rope back in the ring with a forearm and scored a two count. Late in the match, Miz applied a figure-four mid-ring. Kofi cried out in pain, then grabbed the bottom rope to force a break. Miz broke at the four count. Kofi got a two count with a quick victory roll and then landed Trouble in Paradise to win.
WINNER: Kingston in 14:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: Decent match that I think aspired to be better than decent. Where is John Morrison, by the way?)
-They replayed Nia Jax landing on her butt on the ring apron last week and yelling in pain, “My hole!” followed by Lana throwing Jax into the table at ringside to win.
-Sarah Schreiber interviewed Lana and Naomi backstage. She asked Lana how she scored such an upset after being tormented for months. Lana said Nia and Shayna Baszler try to be the best of all time, but she just wants to be her best. She said every week she tries to reach her full potential, and if she wins, it’s just a cherry on top. She said Naomi is her lucky charm. Naomi said Jax deserved what she got last week “and a (w)hole lot more.” They laughed about the pun. Naomi said they’re going to bring the glow and take it to them. [c]
-They advertised Bad Bunny would be on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” this weekend.
-A video aired on the Elimination Chamber match.
-Backstage, Randy Orton said last week the business between him and Drew McIntyre remains unfinished, but tonight he will win the Gauntlet Match and become the final entrant in the Chamber. He said he has proven he will do whatever it takes time after time to get what he wants. He said he would walk to the edge of the Earth and back to get what he wants. (Is Randy a “Flat Earther”?!) He said wants to main event WrestleMania as WWE Champion. He said he will be in the ring with five victims, not five opponents.
-They showed Alexa Bliss meditating backstage as creepy music played and images flashes of The Fiend burning were shown. Her eyes opened and were all creepy and demonic. She said, “Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. In fire, he was destroyed, but in the future, he will be reborn.” She giggled and then looked up at a camera shining down on her sitting inside of a star drawn on the floor with five candles at each corner of the star. More demonic giggling followed.
-Noami and Lana made their entrance to Lana’s theme song. [c]
-The announcers plugged the new “Young Rock” sit-com on NBC that premieres Tuesday night on NBC.
(4) LANA (w/Noami) vs. SHAYNA BASZLER (w/Nia Jax)
Baszler worked over Lana’s arm. Lana made a comeback a couple minutes in with a top rope crossbody block for a two count. Lana roundkicked Baszler. Baszler roundkicked Lana in the head, dropping her. Naomi and Jax brawled at ringside. Naomi dropkicked Jax into the ringpost. When Baszler grabbed at Naomi, Lana rolled her up from behind for a two count. Baszler came back with a kick and a Kirafuda Clutch for the tapout win.
WINNER: Baszler in 5:00.
-Braun Strowman asked Pearce whom he needs to talk to about getting into the Chamber. Pearce said he filled the Chamber with former WWE Champions. Braun said he’s a former Universal Champion. Pearce said only ex-WWE Champions are being let in. He said he doesn’t make the rules, he’s just a messenger. Braun told Pearce to tell Shane he better make it right or “it won’t be pretty around here.”
(Keller’s Analysis: Braun didn’t mention that Pearce just granted Morrison a possible chance to enter the Chamber despite holding neither the WWE Title or Universal Title.)
-A.J. Styles made his ring entrance with Omos. [c]
[HOUR THREE]
-Styles asked if Kofi is trying to recreate Kofi-mania by entering the Chamber.
(5a) KOFI KINGSTON vs. A.J. STYLES – Gauntlet Match for Elimination Chamber advantage
Kofi leaped off the ring apron onto Styles. Xavier played his trombone during the move and afterward to taunt Styles. Omos then picked up Xavier and chokeslammed him down onto the floor. They used a low camera angle pointing up and Phillips yelled “Oh my god!” over and over. The ref kicked Omos to the back as Kofi yelled at him. Styles went after Kofi at ringside with a chop block to his knee.
(Keller’s Analysis: I consider that a babyface turn for Omos. That trombone playing was more obnoxious than anything Miz ever did.) [c]
Styles was in control after the break. Kofi was selling his knee. Styles won with a Phenomenal Forearm.
ELIMINATED: Kingston.
(5b) A.J. STYLES vs. DREW MCINTYRE – Gauntlet Match for Elimination Chamber advantage
Drew took control of Styles right away including dropping him over the top rope and kicking him onto the ring apron. Styles pulled himself up, so Drew kicked him again. They cut to a break. [c]
Drew dominated until Styles blocked a Claymore charge with a dropkick a few minutes after the break. He dropkicked Drew to the floor, then landed a flying sling-shot forearm at ringside. Both were down and slow to get up. Styles gave Drew a running knee from the ring apron. [c]
Back from the break, Phillips plugged Raw Talk. Drew fought back with two clotheslines and an overhead toss of Styles across the ring. That drew another “Oh my God!” from Phillips. Drew kipped up and then caught his breath before climbing to the top rope. Styles kicked Drew mid-air as he leaped off the top rope. Styles kicked Drew again and scored a two count. Styles ended up applying the Calf Crusher. Drew teased tapping, but instead headbutted himself free. Drew ducked a leaping Styles and then threw him neck-first into the middle rope. Next, he landed a quick Claymore for the win.
ELIMINATED: Styles.
(Keller’s Analysis: Good action between those two, as you’d expect.)
(5c) DREW MCINTYRE vs. JEFF HARDY – Gauntlet Match for Elimination Chamber advantage
As Hardy walked out to his music, they played a soundbite from Hardy earlier in the day saying he’s going to have to take some risks. He said tonight is step one on his road back to WrestleMania. “Let’s get creative,” he said. “It’s time to paint.” Hardy “ambushed Drew right out of the gate,” as Phillips described his jumping the gun before the ref signaled for them to start. Hardy landed an early Whisper in the Wind for a two count. Joe called Hardy a sleeper pick to win the Chamber, “a man who thrives in the chaos that is the Elimination Chamber.” Hardy leaped off the ring apron and clotheslined Drew. He yelled, “Hardy! Hardy!” as they cut to a break.
(Keller’s Analysis: As cool as Hardy has been during his career in certain ways, there’s also a real dorky slice. Chanting his own last name in the Thunder Dome is one of those dorky moments.) [c]
He was back to chanting his own last name in the ring, giving Drew a chance to recover and make a comeback. He overhead tossed Hardy a couple times. Joe called this an example of Drew’s “next-level reserves.” Hardy made a comeback with a legdrop to Drew’s crotch followed by a splash for a soft two count. Drew countered a Twist of Fate with a Future Shock DDT for a near fall. Hardy then fell out of the ring after trying to stand. Joe called it “a strategic retreat.” Drew suplexed Hardy on the floor. Drew threw Hardy into the ring and scored a two count. Drew landed a top rope superplex for a near fall. Phillips noted Drew has been in the Gauntlet Match for over 30 minutes. Drew went for a Claymore as soon as Hardy stood, but Hardy ducked and then delivered a Twist of Fate. Hardy pulled off his shirt and climbed to the top rope. He went for a Swanton Bomb, but Drew lifted his knees. Drew sat in the corner, waited again for Hardy to stand, and then delivered and connected with Claymore Kick for the win.
ELIMINATED: Hardy.
(5d) DREW MCINTYRE vs. RANDY ORTON – Gauntlet Match for Elimination Chamber advantage
Drew struggled to stand as he heard Orton’s music play. Orton smiled as he walked out to the ring. [c]
Orton attacked Drew and they fought to ringside. Drew made a comeback and threw Orton into the ringside barricade. Drew re-entered the ring as the ThunderDome screens all switched to Bliss laughing in a creepy way. Orton stammered around, bewildered, and was counted out. When Orton leaped onto the ring apron, Drew kicked him to the floor.
ELIMINATED: Orton via countout.
(5e) DREW MCINTYRE vs. SHEAMUS – Gauntlet Match for Elimination Chamber advantage
Sheamus’s music played, but he blindside attacked Drew from behind. The ref checked on Drew. Drew insisted on the match starting officially. Sheamus beat up Drew for several minutes. Drew eventually made a comeback, and he knocked Sheamus off the ring apron with a forearm shot. He shoved Sheamus into the ringpost, then threw him back into the ring. Back in the ring, he gave Sheamus an overhead toss after a whip into the ropes. Sheamus elbowed out of a second attempt, but Drew landed a spinebuster. Sheamus side-stepped a Claymore and then landed a Brogue Kick for the win.
WINNER: Sheamus to earn the right to enter the Chamber last.
(Keller’s Analysis: Good Gauntlet match. Drew was showing signs of being pretty spent at the end there. That was a respect-building performance by Drew in a real-life and storyline sense.)
-Afterward, Sheamus bragged about beating Drew. He said that makes him the odds-on favorite to become the next WWE Champion.
Tonight after the show, join me live with guest cohost Robert Vallejos from the PWTorch Dailycast’s “MMA Talk for Pro Wrestling Fans” to break down the show with live callers and emails.
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