Credit: WWE.com

Kofi Kingston the Next WWE Champ, More Hot Takes of WWE Elimination Chamber 2019

Kevin Wong

WWE Elimination Chamber, for better and for worse, was exactly what fans were expecting. There were no major surprises, no major swerves or 11th-hour plot twists.

And why would there be? For all of the hype surrounding the Elimination Chamber and its dangerous, career-threatening nature, its namesake pay-per-view is too close to WrestleMania to have it amount to anything too dramatic.

At most, it'll set up a plot point or intensify a feud between two competitors, but you're never going to get a firm resolution at an event like this one.

Here are some observations and thoughts about the Elimination Chamber PPV.

The IIconics Are an Underrated Comedy Act

Credit: WWE.com

Bayley and Sasha Banks winning the first WWE Women's Tag Team Championships was predictable and appropriate. They have been on the back burner for months and have earned the right to be the historic, inaugural titleholders.

Their performances during the Elimination Chamber match proved their experience and talent over their fellow competitors.

However, one of the underrated highlights of the match was The IIconics, who continue leaning into their petty-mean-girl shtick and mining comedy gold.

They had two major spots: The first came when they entered the match and tried to pin everyone, and the second was when they locked themselves in their own pod to avoid Nia Jax and Tamina.

Diversity makes matches, and not everyone can be a monster. But the IIconics did a great job of portraying the cowardly heels.

Ruby Riott Deserved Better

Credit: WWE.com

Ruby Riott got steamrolled by Ronda Rousey in under two minutes.

WWE put zero effort into making The Riott Squad leader seem like a threat, and the entire feud lacked heat and urgency.

This was the wrong way to book a promising, up-and-coming star. Even a five-minute matchin which Rousey dominated throughoutwould have been preferable to this non-event. 

Enough with the Becky Lynch Injury Storyline

Credit: WWE.com

Becky Lynch does not need a knee injury for this Charlotte-McMahon-Rousey storyline to work.

The feud sells itself: It's about nepotism and The Irish Lass Kicker's clash with the WWE authority. It even has a great meta-narrative, about company chairman Vince McMahon being "out of touch" and not giving the fans what they want.

An injury is an unnecessary complication on top of all that. Maybe it allows for more "breaking news" updates on WWE.com, which always go viral because they blur the line between reality and fiction.

However, trolling the smarks isn't a good reason to play the "is she or isn't she?" game.

Kofi Kingston Should Win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35

Credit: WWE.com

Kofi Kingston put on a career-defining performance in the main event on Sunday.

The Elimination Chamber gimmick was an afterthought to the one-on-one brawl between Kingston and Daniel Bryan that closed the match out. And even though The Beard won, The New Day member was the last person we saw, standing tall, before the PPV went off the air.

WWE already fumbled a Finn Balor versus Brock Lesnar rematch after their barnburner at the Royal Rumble. They should deliver this time, though, and give the fans what they want: a Bryan vs. Kingston WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 35.

It's being heavily foreshadowed that this year's showpiece on April 7 will be the site of history-making. We might see the first women's main event on The Grandest Stage of Them All. Perhaps WrestleMania 35 can also be the site of another firsta black man winning the WWE Championship.

Xavier Woods and Big E could throw Kingston one hell of a party on Tuesday.

                  

Editor's note: This article was updated to more accurately reflect WWE's history of black champions.

   

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