WWE Elimination Chamber 2023 results recap grades: Roman Reigns fends off tough challenge from Sami Zayn

On Saturday night in Montreal, Sami Zayn almost gave his hometown Montreal fans the win they so desperately wanted. Instead, Zayn failed in his bid to capture the undisputed WWE Championship from Roman Reigns in the main event of the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.

For more than 30 minutes, Zayn Reigns gave everything he could, scoring multiple near misses and pushing the champion to the limit. But after several umpires were knocked out and Jimmy Uso intervened on Reigns’ behalf, Zayn eventually fell through, although he did get some level of revenge with post-game help from Kevin Owens.

Also on the show, Austin Theory managed to retain his US Championship after a wild Elimination Chamber match thanks to interference from Logan Paul. And on the women’s side, Asuka punched her ticket to a WrestleMania match with Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair by outperforming five other women in the chamber.

CBS Sports was with you throughout the event, providing updates and highlights as the action unfolded on the live blog below.

2023 WWE Elimination Chamber results, grades

Women’s Elimination Chamber Match – Asuka vs. Carmella vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Nikki Cross vs. Natalya vs. Liv Morgan: Morgan and Natalya were the two women who opened the match. It wasn’t long before they headed into the area between the ring and the chamber, both women using the chains and pods to their advantage. Rodriguez was the first woman to emerge from one of the pods and quickly took over the match with her size and strength. No one had been eliminated by the time Cross became the fourth woman in the match. After the expected hot run on entry, Cross climbed to the top of Carmella’s pod before hitting the other three women in the match with a crossbody. Asuka was the last woman left in a pod after Carmella entered the match, before quickly getting back into the pod, only to have to run as Rodridugez Cross drove through the plexiglass, a move that allowed Rodriguez allowed Cross to be pinned for the first elimination of the match.

Upon entering the game, Asuka immediately went after Carmella and hit her with punches. Amid the ensuing chaos, Natalya was able to lock Morgan in a sniper before Asuka complied and locked Morgan in an armbar until Morgan passed out and was eliminated. The next elimination quickly followed as Natalya pinned Asuka with the sniper but was hit by a Carmella superkick, allowing Carmella to score the pin and leaving the match to Asuka, Carmella and Rodriguez. Asuka and Carmella quickly worked together to hit Rodriguez with a series of kicks before simultaneously pinning her for elimination. A brief one-on-one session ensued before Asuka completed the armbar for victory and punched her ticket to a match with Bianca Belair at WrestleMania. A solid, if unspectacular, entry into the Elimination Chamber story, with the most obvious woman claiming victory. Asuka defeated. Carmella, Raquel Rodriguez, Natalya, Liv Morgan and Nikki Cross win the Elimination Chamber. grade B-

Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley: Lesnar got off to a fast start and went straight for Lashley before knocking him out of the ring. Lashley quickly turned things around by hitting a javelin as they returned to the ring and then attempted to put Lesnar in the hurt lock. Lesnar countered the submission and hoisted Lashley onto his shoulders for the first F-5 of the match. Lesnar hit a second F-5 and a third, but Lashley escaped and hit his second spear of the match. Lashley was able to engage the hurt lock on his second attempt. Lesnar struggled to escape the hold but couldn’t and resorted to a low punch with a mule kick, prompting the referee to call for an immediate disqualification. After the match, Lesnar hit the ref with an F-5 before delivering another to Lashley. Lesnar took the fight outside and hit Lashley through the commentary table with an F-5 before also pulling the ref out for another F-5. Not satisfying in any way, but this was probably the means to an end to get to a no-disqualification rematch at WrestleMania. Bobby Lashley defeated. Brock Lesnar by disqualification. Grade: C

Edge & Beth Phoenix vs. Finn Balor & Rhea Ripley: Edge quickly made a move on Balor before subbing on Phoenix for a double team. Ripley and Phoenix exchanged words and then clotheslines followed, with neither woman going down. Ripley sought out Riptide after he took over, but Phoenix managed to escape before eventually dropping Ripley with a clothesline. Trying to distract Phoenix, Dominik Mysterio got Phoenix to chase him before turning her attention to Ripley and herding her into the ring stairs. Mysterio interfered again and crouched Phoenix on the top rope before being chased away by Edge. Momentum continued to falter and Mysterio returned to the ring only to see Ripley superplex. Edge and Phoenix completed both submissions, but Mysterio threw Ripley brass knuckles in the ring for the save. Phoenix tried to hit Phoenix with a con-chair-to over the ring steps, but Phoenix escaped to hit a glam slam outside the ring. Back in the ring, Phoenix and Edge hit Balor with a shatter machine for the win. An odd decision that Ripley loses to a pair of bulletproof legends in their first match since winning the Royal Rumble. The match was well put together to hide Phoenix’s failings due to age and general ring rust, and it kept the Montreal crowd happy. Edge & Beth defeated Phoenix. Finn Balor & Rhea Ripley via pinfall. Grade B

Men’s Elimination Chamber Match for the United States Championship – Austin Theory (c) vs. Montez Ford vs. Bronson Reed vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Damian Priest vs. Seth Rollins: Gargano and Rollins were the two men who started the match and quickly engaged in some chain wrestling. Theory was the first man out of his pod, attacking both Rollins and Gargano, sending Gargano into the pod. Gargano and Rollins eventually turned it around and teamed up to hop Theory around the ring before locking themselves in a pod with the champion to rain down punches. With no eliminations yet, Priest was the next man in the match, quickly defeating Rollins and Gargano with a series of big moves. Reed was the next man, keeping Ford waiting for his chance to be the last competitor in the match.

Reed put both Rollins and Gargano on his shoulders before hitting a double Samoan drop for a near fall on Rollins. Reed kept running wildly at everyone in the match until Ford was able to step in and quickly hit Reed with a big punch and kick. Ford tried to hit Theory with a People’s Elbow, but Reed cut him off. Rollins and Gargano nearly eliminated Reed with an assisted poisonrana, but Reed was able to step out, preventing the match’s first elimination. Ford then climbed up the side of the chamber, hung from the top, and dropped onto the rest of the field. Reed was eventually eliminated when Gargano hit a final beat, Rollins stomp, and Ford finished with a frog splash.

Rollins attempted to bomb Gargano from the top of a pod, but Gargano reversed into a rana that flew both men at the other three remaining competitors. Back in the ring, Priest managed to finish off Gargano with a Razor’s Edge, reducing the remaining contenders to four. Priest would follow Gargano out the door moments later as Rollins and Ford combined in a Blockbuster/Powerbomb combo to eliminate the big man. Rollins hit Ford with a stomp on the platform outside the ring, allowing Theory to steal the pinfall to leave Rollins as the last challenger. Ford stayed down after being eliminated, brought several umpires and officials to the ring, and left the door to the chamber open, allowing Logan Paul to run in, hit Rollins with a buckshot lariat and stomp before Theory hit A-Town Down, to keep his title. This was a solid Elimination Chamber match that helped build the roster that needed it and made for many memorable highlights. Paul’s interference won’t satisfy many, but it’s building into a very obvious WrestleMania match. Austin theory def. Montez Ford, Bronson Reed, Johnny Gargano, Damian Priest and Seth Rollins to retain the US Championship. Grade: A-

Undisputed WWE Universal Championship – Roman Reigns (c) vs. Sami Zayn: The pair milked the rabid crowd’s support for Zayn for a few minutes before finally making contact. After Reigns took Zayn to the ground, Zayn applied a headlock until he was pushed down and hit with an elbow. Zayn immediately came back by throwing Reigns over the top rope before making a big jump on the champion. Reigns took over with a counterattack right before knocking Zayn out of the ring. Reigns continued to taunt the crowd and Zayn’s wife, eventually bringing the fight right in front of him and telling her that the whole situation was Zayn’s fault.

Zayn eventually charged back and hit Reigns with punches and a clothesline that sent the champion over the top rope and out. Zayn scored his first true near fall with a sunset flip powerbomb while Reigns was on the middle rope. Zayn countered Reigns’ first Superman punch attempt with an Explode into the turnbuckles, but ate the punch moments later for a near fall by Reigns. Reigns missed a javelin and hit the corner before another blast slammed into the turnbuckles. Zayn followed up with his own Superman punch and a Helluva kick for a massive false finish, with Reigns kicking out in the last possible split second.

Outside the ring, Reigns missed another javelin and smashed through the barricade before Zayn brought him back into the ring to hit a Blue Thunder Powerbomb for another two count. As Zayn went for another blue thunderbomb, Reigns defended by smashing Zayn into the referee. Seconds later, Zayn hit another Helluva kick and had a clear win but no referee count. Naturally, this made Jimmy Uso hit three superkicks and a splash before hitting Reigns on Zayn. Still, Zayn managed to kick in front of three as a new official ran to the ring. Zayn threw Reigns out of the ring and hit Jimmy with a helluva kick before turning into a Reigns javelin for another near fall. Zayn ducked another Superman Punch, this time with Reigns knocking out the second official before Zayn executed another Superman Punch himself. Paul Heyman dug a chair out from under the ring and handed it to Reigns, but Jey Uso entered the ring and stood between Reigns and Zayn. Reigns told Jey that he had to choose between his cousin or his friend before passing the chair. Jey refused to move before Reigns took the chair and avoided a Zayn spear, causing Zayn to knock Jey out. Reigns then hit Zayn multiple times with the chair before hitting a javelin and covering until one of the previous referees slid into the ring for the fall count. After the match, Jimmy continued to attack Uso and Reigns Zayn until Kevin Owens’ music hit and he knocked out Jimmy and hit both Bloodline members with a stunner before sending Jimmy through a table with a pop-up powerbomb. Heyman tried to attack Owens after Owens grabbed a chair, but Owens quickly took it out. Owens then moved out of the way to allow Zayn to hit Reigns with a final Helluva kick. A hot crowd always makes a wrestling match better and Montreal was on fire. The ending won’t please everyone and it took a lot of classic “comfortable referee availability” moments – and Owens not bothering to intervene until after the game – to get there. But the match was given time and Zayn was positioned as a legitimate threat. All around very good stuff. Roman Reigns def. Sami Zayn via pinfall to the defending champion. Class: A