One night after WWE made history by holding the first Women’s Royal Rumble match, the promotion announced another first for their female competitors – the first Elimination Chamber match with the first competitor being Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss.
On the Jan. 29 episode of Raw, Commissioner Stephanie McMahon announced that Bliss would defend her title at the Feb. 25 event – also named Elimination Chamber. The women’s match will be one of two Elimination Chamber bouts during the evening.
The other chamber match will feature six Raw superstars competing for the opportunity to challenge for the WWE Universal Championship at Wrestlemania 34.
#RAW Commissioner @StephMcMahon announced the first-ever Women’s #EliminationChamber Match during #RAW! #WWEChamber https://t.co/uC36UtHZRK
— WWE (@WWE) January 30, 2018
Bliss’ opponents for the match are not confirmed at this time. One competitor who will not be in the match is the 2018 Royal Rumble winner Asuka.
On Raw, McMahon convinced Asuka to wait until after Elimination Chamber to challenge either the Smackdown women’s champion or the Raw titleholder, a right she earned after winning the first women’s Royal Rumble match.
WWE introduced the Elimination Chamber in 2002 as the brainchild of then-RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff, who likened the match a hybrid of Hell in a Cell, War Games and the Royal Rumble.
The Elimination Chamber match has six participants with two of them beginning the match. The remaining four are held within their pods and are released into the match at five-minute intervals. The object is to eliminate each opponent from the match by pinfall or submission. The winner is the last remaining participant after all others have been eliminated.
There have been 20 Elimination Chamber matches in WWE history with Triple H having the most victories (four), eliminations (six) and appearances (seven).
The match focused on the respective world championships – either by having wrestlers contest for a title or an opportunity to challenge for it at Wrestlemania.
On May 31, 2015, WWE held its first chamber match for the Intercontinental title, which was won by Ryback. That same night, there was the first WWE Tag team title Elimination Chamber match where both members of a tag team – or in the New Day’s case, three members – were in a match. The New Day retained the titles that night.
It’s not much of a surprise WWE would roll a women’s Elimination Chamber match so soon after a successful women’s Royal Rumble match. Fans would argue a chamber match featuring women is overdue.
It will be interesting to see how WWE lays out the groundwork for this match. Similar to WWE’s Hell in a Cell, the Elimination Chamber is touted as this brutal structure that is unforgiving to wrestlers competing inside of it.
Chamber matches are not usually five-star classic wrestling matches, but adding women competitors could bring a new dynamic.
As for the competitors, a heel Bliss could use the chamber as a way to outmaneuver her opponents. She could also use the structure as a weapon. The same could be said for Sasha Banks if she is in the match.
Having an Elimination Chamber bout is another step for women in WWE and this match could be one of the bright stops on the road to Wrestlemania.
