WWE Elimination Chamber 2019: Match results, highlights, reactions and more

The road to WrestleMania goes through Elimination Chamber, arguably one of WWE's most gimmicky main events, and this year's event ended on a grand note with a surprisingly wholesome, fulfilling main event. There were a few lulls, but overall, Elimination Chamber kept the momentum building towards WWE's biggest show of the year.

The main card showcased the Women's Division yet again, with the first ever match for the Women's Tag Team Championship taking place inside the Chamber, as well as a Championship match between former UFC champion Ronda Rousey and Ruby Riott. 

Here's our full run down of the event, including all the winners, highlights and fan reactions

Full Elimination Chamber Results

The results from Elimination Chamber will be updated as the night wears on. Bold indicates the winner.

• Cruiserweight Championship match: Buddy Murphy (C)  vs. Akira Tozawa
  Murphy wins by pinfall after a Murphy's Law clocks Tozawa.

• Women's Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber match: Nia Jax & Tamina vs. The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan) vs. Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville vs. The IIconics (Peyton Royce & Billie Kay) vs. Sasha Banks and Bayley (Boss and Hug Connection) vs. Naomi and Carmella
  Sasha Banks and Bayley win by submission after Banks applied the Banks Statement to Sonya Deville.

• SmackDown Tag Team Championship match: The Miz & Shane McMahon (C) vs. The Usos
  Jimmy Uso pins the Miz and the Usos become the new Tag Team Champions.

• Intercontinental Championship match: Bobby Lashley (C) and Lio Rush vs. Finn Balor
  Finn Balor pins Lio Rush to win the Intercontinental Championship.

• Raw Women's Championship match: Ronda Rousey (C) vs. Ruby Riott
  Ronda Rousey wins via armbar submission.

• Baron Corbin vs. Braun Strowman ["No DQ"]
  Baron Corbin wins via pinfall after Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley triple-powerbombed Strowman through two tables.

• WWE World Championship Elimination Chamber match: Daniel Bryan (C) vs. AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Jeff Hardy
  Order of elimination: Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy, AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Kofi Kingston by pinfall

Elimination Chamber Highlights

The two Chamber matches will be the reason this one is worth watching in the future, along with some brilliant work by the one-legged Becky Lynch to cut a promo even though she is currently "suspended" and a pre-show match between Buddy Murphy and Akira Tozawa.

The first ever match for the Women's Tag Team Championship had some impressive spots and Sasha Banks and Bayley are worthy winners. At the match's conclusion, the two gave an emotional speech about how far the division has come and how hard they've worked. A fitting duo to become the inaugural champs.

The WWE World Championship match was all class, highlighted by a spirited Kofi Kingston run that almost saw him capture the title from Bryan. After two he hit two Trouble In Paradise finishers and had three 2 counts, Kofi went close to capturing his first World Championship. In the end, Bryan would be victorious but Kofi put on a show. 

Ronda Rousey's Sonya Blade look had fans fired up, but it was Becky Lynch's annihilation with a set of crutches that had everyone on their feet. 

Oh, and don't forget Finn Balor's washboard abs / new title:

Elimination Chamber Reactions

Kevin Owens appeared before the show and gave a little update on his injury and how far away he is from returning... but there was a bigger issue that got people talking: Owens' apparent dislike of pineapple on pizza.

The night kicked off with the Elimination Chamber being lowered for the Women's Tag Team Championship match -- WWE's first ever.

And this is what they were fighting for:

The match, for the uninitiated, begins with two tag teams in the ring and four tag teams locked away in chambers at each corner of the chamber. Every [undetermined] amount of minutes, one of the chamber doors open and let in another tag team. It's all a little confusing, but know this: Nia Jax was ready.

The match began with Sasha Banks and Bayley facing down Fire and Desire, before the Riott Squad's chamber unlocked. Then the IICONICS made their way in and caused havoc themselves. But the social media reactions were all about Naomi and Carmella. After accusations were made during the week that commentator Corey Graves was having an affair with Carmella, the crowd were quick to chants. That wasn't lost on Twitter.

The match generated a wave of "This Is Awesome!" chants as it came towards its end. The final teams still standing were Sasha Banks and Bayley and Fire and Desire -- the two teams that started the match. The two teams put on a show.

Mandy Young delivered a finisher, but Banks kicked out at 2

Banks then locked in her patented finisher, the Banks Statement, with a neat little twist and lead the Boss and Hug Connection to capturing the first ever Women's Tag Team Championship.

The champions then gave an emotional speech in the middle of the ring to "You deserve it!" chants. 

Going back in time a little but it was nice to see Mark Henry turn up in his home state of Texas and say g'day mates. He's just such an affable lad. 

Oh yeah, right. There was a Smackdown Tag Team Championship match on at some point, too. It didn't really have a lot going for it early, and then Shane McMahon basically tried to end his career for good by diving off whatever he could find -- including the turnbuckle and onto the commentary table. The fact that Shane McMahon is basically just taped together but 49 years old is stunning. 

As always, TDE Wrestling had the GIF that summed it all up.

Somehow, the Usos still won via a roll-up pin that surprised the Miz. After the match Shane slowly trudged back to the locker room. 

The night rolled on to the 2-on-1 handicap match with the Intercontinental Championship on the line: Finn Balor vs Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush. Confusingly enough, the Strowman-Corbin "No DQ" match was nowhere to be seen. As WWE was not-so-subtly continuing to highlight before the match, Balor could win the title by pinning Lio Rush, even though he isn't the current champion...

...What do you think happened?

Yes, Balor won and Lashley absolutely destroyed his hype man Lio Rush with a brutal spinebuster after the final bell, much to the chagrin of the Houston crowd.

After the Balor win, we got an interview with Charlotte Flair where she got to point at the WrestleMania sign and try and generate some heat, patting herself on the back for hurting Becky Lynch in a house show. "My reflection gives me all the love and approval that I need," she tells the Houston crowd to a spattering of boos. The crowd held a lot of "Free Becky" signs which surely were not planted at all.

Charlotte's going to sit ringside for this one, she tells us -- could Becky be in the arena again, even with her crook leg? We will see. Time for the Raw Women's Championship match and a lingering question: Where the heck is Strowman and Corbin?

Rousey comes out decked in Sonya Blade gear, because she is the voice of the character in the new Mortal Kombat game and of course this is the perfect opportunity to show that off.

To be honest though -- it's a look. One that everyone seemed to enjoy.

Rousey wasn't messing around either -- she locked in her armbar submission and had Ruby Riott tapping in short, short time. Which meant there was plenty of time for the suspended Becky Lynch to show up... in crutches. She promptly used the support devices to beat the ever-livings out of Charlotte. 

Rousey just enjoyed the show.

Until Becky turned on Rousey, too. The crowd was absolutely living for it.

Apparently the Baron Corbin v Braun Strowman match IS still on. Michael Cole on commentary says we are trying to refocus but, really, this match cannot follow Becky's one-legged revenge crutching.

Strowman vs. Corbin was lights out. As in, the crowd's lights were out, as we all fell to sleep. Strowman did catch a chair pretty successfully, but I was distracted by WWE tweeting about Finn Balor's championship and washboard abs.

Oh yeah, Drew McIntyre is now running with Baron Corbin and we should have seen his entrance -- and Bobby Lashley's -- coming. The duo took to trying to end Strowman with an assortment of dining room devices as Corbin recovered. They set up a double table spot for Baron Corbin to take the W. 

Kind of glad that one is over, to be honest. Not really sure this rivalry has anywhere to go so, is it over? Where are the Wyatts? Why are there so many questions? 

We come back to a massage room scene with Shane McMahon and the Miz were the Miz gets really upset that he lost. He throws some stuff off the table. This friendship headed for a Mania 1v1 Hell In A Cell match where Shane can fall off the edge onto the table and go out on his back? Look, probably.

Lacey Evans makes a surprise appearance, struts out in a bumblebee-esque number with a nice broad hat and then... leaves. Without saying a word. What just happened?

We sure did get a dose, a very limited, negligible dose that still made us feel completely dizzy. Thanks, WWE. Let's hope that this final match, for the WWE World Championship will be the panacea we need. 

Let's go big with this one team.

The first entrant is Kofi Kingston, who gets a nice reception from the Houston crowd. He's the sentimental favourite. Next up, Jeff Hardy is out here ready to send the competition to the recycle bin with a quick delete. Randy Orton enters third with little fanfare. AJ Styles also starts in a pod. Surprisingly, that means it will be Daniel Bryan, the champion, to kick proceedings off against Samoa Joe. 

Interesting stat pre-match here:

Bryan cuts a nice heat-generating little promo before he heads in, but his new pal Erick Rowan is ejected from ringside before the match begins. 

After trying to avoid Joe for the first minutes of the match, the two eventually come to blows with a couple of neat spots. The third entrant is Kofi Kingston, who brings the energy quickly, going off the toprope with a series of kicks and splashes. High energy -- and the crowd gets behind him.

Bryan tries to avoid the fracas by sitting on top of an empty pod, but Kingston chases after him, eventually freefalling off the side of the chamber onto Joe and Bryan and generating even more KOFI and New Day Rocks chants. 

Your fourth entrant is AJ Styles and he heads straight for the champ while Joe and Kofi take a bit of a breather. Joe gets Kofi in a Coquina clutch but with deft speed, Kofi gets away and AJ Styles finishes Joe with a Phenomenal Forearm, grabbing the pin. Not everyone is pleased with that.

Shortly after the elimination, Jeff Hardy makes his way into the chamber. Definitely less of a cheer for Hardy until he lands a Swanton Bomb on AJ off the pod and onto the turnbuckle. Bryan quickly capitalizes on a sore Hardy and eliminates him with the knee and pinfall.

Randy Orton is the final entrant in the match but there's little fanfare for the Viper, but he lies in wait and hits an incredible RKO from the top rope. Sneaky as. That eliminates AJ Styles. That's the kind of thing you pay good money for. 

Which means our final two is Kofi Kingston and Daniel Bryan. He couldn't could he? He couldn't.... could he? Do you believe?!

Kofi gets two very, very, close calls, with Bryan kicking out at 2. The whole crowd has lifted and are well behind Kofi... but this is the kind of heartbreak I am used to with WWE. Can he do it? He couldn't... could he? He attempts to hit a Trouble In Paradise but Bryan rolls outside of the ring.

Bryan throws Kofi straight into a pod wall and takes Kofi out, setting him up for the knee. He hits it clean, but Kofi kicks out at 2, much to Bryan's dismay. This match is H-Y-P-E. Really lifted in the last few minutes. 

Kofi hits another Trouble In Paradise, but Bryan kicks out and eventually is able to lock in a LeBell Lock. Kofi wills himself to stay alive, keeps himself in it. The two climb to the top of a pod and exchange blows. Kingston smashes Bryan's head into the perspex over and over and looks like he's ready to get Bryam off the pod and down to the ring. A suplex? FROM HERE??? 

Bryan fights it off. Flips the situation. Now he is trying the suplex off the top... but they pull it back down to the ring. Kingston gets Bryan down on the ground and from the top of the pod misses a splash. Bryan has him set up for the knee and gets it clean again. 

Bryan wins. 

That was a huge match, and many will be disappointed with the result but it was all heart from Kingston. 

This post is being constantly updated. 

First published Feb. 17, 4 p.m. PT.