The Miz has the headline WrestleMania 27 as WWE Champion. Ten years later, he is ready to do it again.
Miz paid his purse on money Elimination Room, Defeated Drew McIntyre and began his first reign with the WWE Championship since 2011. It happened moments after McIntyre Raw elimination room match, then got a pack of punches from Bobby Lashley. It introduces McIntyre-Lashley to WrestleMania 37, as well as a new possibility with Miz as champion. Or it will help to give a boost Raw ratings have yet to be determined, but at least in the short term, Vince McMahon has made The Miz his distinctive artist again.
Thanks to WWE
Less than two months away, the card for WrestleMania takes active form. Daniel Bryan opened the show through the SmackDown Elimination Room match, only to immediately lose within 92 seconds of Roman Reigns in a Universal Championship match. Reigns’ celebration after the game was interrupted by Edge, who defeated Reigns in the main game of WrestleMania.
Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair also continued their story and lost in a title match against Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax. As they no longer pursue title labels, the Belair-Banks program must take its course this Friday Consider, with Belair challenging Banks for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. As for Raw women champion Asuka, she was left off the map. Her original opponent, Lacey Evans, is pregnant and taking time off from an active schedule, but it was a missed opportunity not to include Asuka, especially not with a section full of rising stars like Peyton Royce, Mandy Rose and Nikki Cross does not.
Here are the results of Elimination Room:
—John Morrison defeated Mustafa Ali, Ricochet and Elias in the preview, which put him in the triple threat match of the US Championship
—Daniel Bryan has the SmackDown Elimination Room for a title shot against the Universal Champion Roman Reigns
—WWE’s universal champion, Roman Reigns, defeated Daniel Bryan by submission
—Matt Riddle defeated Bobby Lashley and John Morrison in a triple threat match to become the new American champion
—Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax defeated Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair to win the Women’s Tag Team Championship
—Drew McIntyre defends WWE Championship in the Elimination Room, defeated Sheamus, Kofi Kingston, Randy Orton, AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy
—The Miz Defeats Drew McIntyre to Become the New WWE Champion
The Miz is probably just a transition champion, but he deserves credit for reclaiming the company’s most coveted title. He has been in peripheral stories for the past few years and was never a real threat during the challenge for the Universal Championship against Braun Strowman. So this is a great opportunity for him to get the title and get a place on top of the map again.
In addition to being crowned a new WWE Champion, Matt Riddle also won the U.S. Championship. This is Riddle’s first championship on the main roster, as well as his first singles title at the company. Riddle is one of the most unique talents in the entire industry, bringing a unique blend of athleticism and authenticity from his time in the UFC. He has also been a significant source of controversy since his arrival last spring Consider, arising from allegations of sexual misconduct by a female wrestler during their time with the Independents. Keith Lee would have made the perfect choice to win the title, but since he was not available at Elimination Room, WWE made the decision to put the belt on Riddle.
Riddle wins the game against John Morrison, who replaces Lee. This has enabled Lashley to stay protected, which is especially clever because of his leap back to the world title photo. Tie back to last June’s Setback paid at a time, Lashley and McIntyre have unfinished business – and Lashley certainly deserved the opportunity to represent the company as WWE Champion.
Elimination Room helped set the table for WrestleMania, and it was also a hefty payment per view. Both Elimination Room matches were outstanding. WWE kept Reigns and Kevin Owens divorced, which was a smart choice, and the Raw Chamber contest did a particularly good job of re-establishing Sheamus, AJ Styles and Kofi Kingston as candidates for the WWE Championship. The SmackDown Elimination Room see Daniel Bryan win an extremely captivating opening batsman, and the story was that he was too defeated to pose a real threat to Reigns. Edge then emerged as the one to stand up for Reigns, though it might make more sense if Reigns found a way to win the title in the WrestleMania main event.
Since WrestleMania 37 takes place over two nights, there is a main event every night. One of these places belongs to Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair, who are going to wrestle for the SmackDown women’s championship. Belair is going to be one of the greatest wrestling talents, and she has the benefit of working with a first-class superstar in Banks at the most important show of the year. It was frustrating to see how Banks was pinned in the label match Elimination Room, even if it can be criticized as a distraction from Reginald. That finish has taken the steam off a good game, and the focus needs to be returned to Banks and Belair – and no one else.
There is still a considerable amount of stories about what needs to be told in the Banks-Belair program, and an incredible amount of potential. It has the chance to be the most memorable match WrestleMania, so it’s important for Banks and Belair to find the right time to write a story.
WWE has achieved success with the faster pay-per-view model. This is likely to change WrestleMania, but this is a formula that was successful again Elimination Room. The show was far from perfect, as it missed a women’s miss. Elimination Room match was a massive fragrance. Overall, the show was solid, but a product that has been widely criticized will be explored even more closely with The Miz as the new champion.
Justin Barrasso can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso