WWE Weekly Round-Up: Royal Rumble winners make their WrestleMania decision
Credit: WWE
Welcome to the WWE Weekly Round-Up, where Pro Wrestling Downunder brings you the biggest talking points to emanate out of this week’s episodes of Raw and Smackdown.
Jey Uso chooses Gunther
Monday Night Raw commenced with Jey Uso making his way out to the ring for a supposed promo, conducting his signature entrance on the announce table until he was attacked from behind by Gunther.
The Ring General laid out the men’s Royal Rumble winner with multiple powerbombs and on his way out of the arena, Uso declared that he wished to face Gunther at WrestleMania for the World Heavyweight Championship.
The champion was fuming and marched back to the ring, as the two superstars engaged in a brawl that was eventually halted by security.
Not only was this the first confirmed match-up for WrestleMania, but also means the winner of the men’s Elimination Chamber will challenge Cody Rhodes at Las Vegas for the Undisputed WWE Title.
Charlotte Flair sets her sights on Tiffany Stratton
Tiffany Stratton put her Women’s Championship on the line against her former best friend and the woman she cashed in on to capture the title, Nia Jax on Smackdown.
Both competitors were putting in a solid performance and as Stratton was on the verge of delivering her finisher, Candice LeRae attacked the champion and caused a disqualification.
A two-on-one assault eventuated until Trish Stratus rushed to the aid of Stratton, but both were not able to withstand Jax and LeRae’s beatdown.
The champion was left wasted in the ring when women’s Royal Rumble winner, Charlotte Flair came down. She set up a chair next to a lifeless Stratton and said she would challenge her at WrestleMania for the Women’s Title, meaning the winner of the women’s Elimination Chamber will go on to face Rhea Ripley or IYO SKY at Las Vegas.
Both Elimination Chamber matches take shape
The men’s and women’s Elimination Chamber matches made some movement this week, with multiple names added to both bouts.
Logan Paul and Damien Priest both qualified for the men’s match, joining John Cena, CM Punk and Drew McIntyre in the field. Paul defeated Rey Mysterio on Raw to book his spot, while Priest defeated Jacob Fatu and Braun Strowman in a triple threat match on Smackdown to earn his place.
On the women’s side, Bayley and Naomi made their way into the women’s match, alongside Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan and Alexa Bliss. The 2024 women’s Royal Rumble winner overcame Lyra Valkyria on Raw and one half of the current Women’s Tag Team Champions defeated Chelsea Green on Smackdown.
One spot now remains in both matches, with the last qualifying matches set to take place on tomorrow’s Raw. They see Seth Rollins square off against Finn Balor and Raquel Rodriguez meeting Roxanne Perez.
Theo Dimou is a 22-year-old aspiring journalist, passionate for professional wrestling and WWE specifically. He has been a dedicated fan of the product for 14 years, idolising the likes of John Cena, Randy Orton and CM Punk. Previously working for The Inner Sanctum being granted media accreditation for Elimination Chamber in Perth. He interviewed Rhea Ripley, Kevin Owens and Tiffanny Stratton, while he has also spoken with Bronson Reed, Shawn Michaels and Steph De Lander.
