WWE Elimination Chamber 2022 Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights

Credit: WWE

The advertised match between The Usos and Viking Raiders for the SmackDown tag team titles did not occur after the champions attacked their challengers prior to the contest.

Bobby Lashley put his WWE Championship on the line against AJ Styles, Austin Theory, Seth Rollins, Riddle and Brock Lesnar in the main event of Saturday's show, an Elimination Chamber match with WrestleMania 38 implications.

Rollins and Theory started the contest, with the older competitor easily taking his opponent down early with a sling blade. Theory answered with a fallaway slam. As the fight spilled outside the ring, The Visionary launched his younger rival into Lashley's pod with a powerbomb, breaking through the plexiglass and injuring the champion in the process.

Riddle entered the match next, pairing off with Rollins and renewing their rivalry. The former universal champ delivered a jarring reverse suplex off the top rope for a near-fall as medics, trainers and WWE officials assisted an apparently injured Lashley out of his pod and the chamber.

Styles entered next and took the fight to all three of his remaining opponents. He sent Theory into the side of the chamber and delivered a dragonscrew leg whip to Riddle.

With his opponents perched on the top rope, a recovered Theory brought Rollins and Styles down with a double powerbomb. Riddle delivered the Floating Bro, wiping Theory out.

The clock counted down and when it was revealed that Lashley was in concussion protocol, Lesnar kicked his way out of the pod and immediately eliminated Rollins, Riddle and Styles. Rollins, Riddle and Styles eliminated.

This left Theory with The Beast Incarnate, five days after their first encounter on Raw. And it went as well as anyone would imagine.

Lesnar obliterated the young competitor with a suplex but an alert Theory delivered a low blow. A rolling dropkick and DDT earned the heel a near-fall but really only served to annoy The Beast.

Theory climbed the chamber but Lesnar followed and proceeded to bash his face into the plexiglass side. An F-5 off the top of a pod followed and The Beast regained the WWE title. Theory eliminated.

Result

Lesnar defeated Theory, Styles, Rollins, Riddle and Lashley to win the WWE Championship

Grade

C

Analysis

Styles, Rollins and Riddle all deserved better than how they were treated here. They were dispatched as mere afterthoughts. It can be argued that their use was downright disrespectful. Not for one moment were they booked as if they were any threat to Lesnar. 

And therein lies the reason why some struggle to accept the current crop of full-time Superstars as genuine main event stars. 

There were plenty of other directions to head with the booking here, particularly given how close Styles came to beating Lesnar at Survivor Series in 2017 and how Rollins defeated him cleanly at WrestleMania 35.

Instead, two guys the company will rely on to carry its flagship show beyond The Show of Shows were devalued on a grand stage.

Ditto Riddle, who has momentum on his side and is a star of the future.

With that said, WWE did wonders for Theory here, putting him in the position it did and allowing him to get the star rub from Lesnar. Sure, he was a tackling dummy for The Beast, but he would not have been anywhere near that position six months ago, so it's a testament to his performance and recent creative that his spot in the match actually made sense.

It was obvious entering the bout that Lesnar would win and protecting Lashley in defeat would be key. The manner in which The All Mighty was removed was fine and gives him an excuse to have another title match down the line.

And a title vs. title match was necessary for the Reigns match if only to give it added gravity considering how many times we have already seen him and Lesnar clash.

Better execution of everything else would have helped this, though.