WWE Elimination Chamber 2023: Should Sami Zayn or Cody Rhodes end the Reign?
WWE’s latest PPV, Elimination Chamber, was a huge success. Both commercially as stated by Triple H in the post-event press conference, and in delivering on the promise of its excellent build. The two Chamber matches were filled with great action and fantastic spots which allowed everyone to stand out and have their moment in the spotlight, particularly Montez Ford. However, they were never going to be the highlight of the show. It was all about the main event. Roman Reigns faced off against Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE championship and fans finally got to see the pair face off.
The Bloodline storyline is the most compelling narrative WWE has created in a long, long time. Getting fans invested in a way rarely seen in recent times. The multiple ongoing narratives around Roman, Sami, Jay Uso, and Kevin Owens all combined to make for incredible drama and give fans a real sense that it’s building toward a special payoff. This match was a long time coming and doing it in Sami’s hometown of Montreal really took the spectacle to a whole other level.
The crowd was as hot as any event in the company’s history, with a deafening pop for Sami Zayn’s arrival and explicit chants which drowned out Roman’s music on the TV broadcast. They expertly told their story, keeping the crowd and viewers at home on the edge of their seats for how it would play out. The near falls were superb and had me truly believing Sami may actually win. Of course, that wasn’t to be. While there is still a finale to this story yet to be told, it is destined to be Cody Rhodes who will likely dethrone Roman at Wrestlemania. Realistically WWE was never going to have Roman’s reign end so close to Wrestlemania but it’s impressive that they had people believing they might.
This choice left many deflated and disappointed. Many fans have taken to Twitter to voice their feelings that WWE has missed the boat and should have had Sami win. Personally, I believe Sami should have been the one to win the titles and that the match at Elimination Chamber should have been saved for Wrestlemania. Cody Rhodes is a star and fans will still be right behind him, making for what will be a great and emotional moment. The story of him winning the championship his father didn’t is a fantastic one and is certainly worthy of main eventing Wrestlemania. Just not this one.
The injury which kept Cody out has unfortunately meant there is no real build surrounding him heading into Mania. His star power is enough that under most circumstances that would be fine but with how the narrative has developed so far, it will take a monumental effort for it not to feel slightly underwhelming as Wrestlemania comes to a close. As excited as the crowd will likely be as the bell rings for their main event, it's unlikely it will come close to matching what we witnessed at Elimination Chamber.
Having said all that, ultimately WWE creative has earned the trust and patience of fans to allow this situation to play out. This has been a very well-crafted story so far and each step has been handled fantastically. There may yet be some surprises along the way but however this bloodline story concludes, all of the evidence so far suggests WWE are going to stick the landing and give fans an entertaining and satisfying conclusion, even if it doesn’t end up being the one they are hoping for.
Unlike what happened with Daniel Bryan where fan pressure appeared to force the creative's hand and ensure he was given the title above all else, that situation isn’t required here. They don’t need to force a triple threat main event if they already have a plan for how it will conclude. There are still several ways for this to play out and many factors such as the Usos and Kevin Owen are likely to play a huge part. It promises to be an entertaining ride whatever happens and this will likely go down as one of WWE’s greatest-ever storylines no matter what happens come Wrestlemania 39 on April 1st/2nd.
