Elimination Chamber 2023: Montreal Believes, Roman Reigns Says No

The women's Chamber opens the show with a clear assignment: establish Bianca Belair's WrestleMania challenger without making the other five wrestlers feel like furniture. Natalya and Liv Morgan give the match a steady opening, Raquel Rodriguez changes the physical scale when she enters, and Nikki Cross supplies the first memorable environmental spot. The match rarely feels directionless.

Cross going through a pod is the moment that wakes the structure up. Morgan then uses the Chamber wall and pod for a sunset-bomb sequence, while Carmella's repeated attempts to hide inside pods give her heel character something specific to do. Asuka entering last immediately changes the competitive hierarchy.

The final eliminations come quickly. Morgan passes out while trapped between Natalya's Sharpshooter and Asuka's submission, Carmella removes Natalya, and Asuka and Carmella cooperate long enough to eliminate Rodriguez before turning on each other. Asuka then submits Carmella cleanly to earn the WrestleMania match.

Cagematch currently rates the match 6.64 from 480 votes, and the Observer reported 4 stars. WrestleFile lands at B / 7.9 because the structure is smart and the winner is right even if the closing stretch is rushed. It is a strong opener rather than a classic Chamber.

Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley have the physical credibility to make four minutes feel dangerous, which is fortunate because four minutes is nearly all they receive. The match is immediate power wrestling: Spears, F-5s, the Hurt Lock and almost no transition between them. The crowd reacts because every exchange looks capable of ending things.

Then Lesnar gets trapped in the Hurt Lock and chooses the emergency exit. He uses a low blow, takes the disqualification and immediately begins destroying Lashley and the referee with F-5s. The angle makes Lesnar look furious, but it also confirms that the advertised match never receives a satisfying conclusion.

The post-match table spot supplies the visual WWE wants, yet it cannot erase the structural problem. This was the third major singles meeting between two generational heavyweights, and the finish again postpones resolution. The expected next chapter never materializes in the form this ending suggests.

The Observer reported 2.25 stars, comfortably the lowest rating on the card. WrestleFile lands at D+ / 5.1. The violence is convincing; the match is barely a match.

The mixed tag understands that its job is not to out-wrestle the two Chamber matches. It needs to deliver recognizable character beats, let Beth Phoenix finally get her hands on Rhea Ripley, and give the Canadian crowd an Edge victory without ending the larger Judgment Day story. It accomplishes all three.

Phoenix and Ripley provide the match's most satisfying exchanges. Their power spots feel like overdue payoff from Extreme Rules, while Edge and Finn Bálor keep the transitions quick enough that the gender-tag structure never becomes restrictive. Dominik Mysterio's interference creates heat without swallowing the wrestling.

The closing stretch layers submissions, brass knuckles, a ringside Glam Slam and Edge's Spear before the married couple use the Shatter Machine on Bálor. It is busy, but the crowd is invested in every piece because the feud has built months of context. The finish gives Edge and Phoenix the catharsis the match promises.

Cagematch currently rates it 6.89 from 476 votes, while the Observer reported 4 stars. WrestleFile lands at B+ / 8.1 because the match is energetic, coherent and unusually effective at blending feud payoff with WrestleMania setup. It is sports entertainment executed cleanly.

The men's Chamber is thirty-one minutes of controlled escalation. Johnny Gargano and Seth Rollins begin with enough technical familiarity to establish rhythm, Austin Theory enters and immediately tries to weaponize his old relationship with Gargano, and Damian Priest changes the match's physical temperature when his pod opens. Nobody arrives without a purpose.

Bronson Reed is booked exactly as the largest man should be. He overwhelms individual opponents, survives ordinary offense and finally requires Gargano, Rollins and Montez Ford to combine superkicks, a Stomp and From the Heavens before Ford can eliminate him. The sequence makes Reed look stronger in defeat than a random pin would make him in victory.

Gargano gets the match's most inventive danger spot when he hurricanranas Rollins from the top of a pod onto the wrestlers below. Priest then eliminates Gargano, Ford eliminates Priest, and the match quietly turns into Montez Ford's singles audition. His dives, pod leap and crowd reaction make the audition difficult to ignore.

Theory survives Ford and reaches the final two with Rollins, but the match's one significant blemish arrives when Logan Paul enters and attacks Rollins. Theory capitalizes with A-Town Down to retain the United States Championship. The interference is transparent WrestleMania setup, though it at least follows thirty excellent minutes rather than replacing them.

Cagematch currently rates the match 8.57 from 664 votes, and the Observer reported 4.5 stars. WrestleFile lands at A / 9.3. It is one of the strongest modern Chamber matches because six wrestlers leave with distinct identities instead of disappearing into the structure.

Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn spend the opening minutes proving that a wrestling match can begin before the first lockup. Montreal screams for Zayn, Reigns absorbs the hostility with a smile, and both men understand that rushing would waste the rare atmosphere they have been handed. The delay becomes tension rather than stalling.

Once the wrestling starts, Reigns works like an occupying champion. He slows Zayn down, talks to the challenger's family at ringside and repeatedly turns the crowd's hope into another opportunity to demonstrate control. Zayn's offense is built around sudden bursts because sustained dominance would betray the underdog story.

The near falls are exceptional because the audience wants permission to believe. Zayn counters the Spear, lands his own Superman Punch and Helluva Kick, and later hits another Helluva Kick while the referee is incapacitated. For a few seconds, the building behaves as if it has witnessed a championship victory the official simply failed to certify.

Then the Bloodline machinery arrives. Jimmy Uso attacks Zayn, a second referee appears, Jey Uso refuses Roman's demand to use the chair, and Zayn accidentally Spears Jey when Reigns moves. Reigns uses the chair and a final Spear to retain, preserving the WrestleMania path while breaking Montreal's heart.

Kevin Owens arrives after the bell to stop the extended attack, but importantly he does not immediately reconcile with Zayn. That restraint keeps another story alive rather than giving the audience every emotional payoff at once. Zayn is allowed to end the show standing in the ring with the crowd rather than disappearing as another failed challenger.

Cagematch currently rates the match 8.47 from 768 votes, and the Observer reported 4.75 stars. WrestleFile lands at A+ / 9.6 because the match turns years of character work, one extraordinary crowd and a predictable result into genuine uncertainty. The referee bumps are messy; the emotional control is masterful.