WWE Raw results, recap, grades: CM Punk and Liv Morgan secure spots in the Elimination Chamber
Punk and Morgan won qualifying matches for Elimination Chamber and a chance for a title match at WrestleMania
Two days after a spectacular Royal Rumble event that kicked off WrestleMania season, WWE turned its focus to the Elimination Chamber. With Jey Uso and Charlotte Flair winning the men's and women's Royal Rumble matches, two spots remain open for world title matches at the biggest event of the year and those spots will be filled by the man and woman who emerge victorious inside the Chamber.
Qualifying matches got underway on Monday's episode of Raw, with CM Punk taking on Sami Zayn and Liv Morgan clashing with Iyo Sky. Punk and Morgan would get the victories, though not without some additional controversy and drama thrown in the mix.
Morgan is the first official entrant on the women's side while Punk joins John Cena, who was allowed to declare his own entry at the Royal Rumble post-show press conference.
CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.
CM Punk and Liv Morgan secure spots in the Elimination Chamber
Women's Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match – Liv Morgan def. Iyo Sky via disqualification. Earlier in the show, Morgan attacked Sky backstage. Rhea Ripley ran off Morgan but got blindsided by Raquel Rodriguez. Rodriguez interfered during the match and Ripley ran out to attack her. Morgan took a shot at Ripley and Ripley responded by hitting her, forcing the referee to call for the disqualification. Sky was upset with Ripley after the match.
Men's Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match – CM Punk def. Sami Zayn via pinfall after hitting Go To Sleep. Zayn was hyped up before the match when Seth Rollins called him to the ring and said he knows that Zayn hates Punk just like he does and to take care of business, prove he is on Punk's level and bury Punk's WrestleMania main event dreams. In the end, Zayn couldn't get it done, though he earned Punk's respect and a handshake after the match. Making things worse for Zayn, he was blindsided by Kevin Owens after the match. The show went off the air after Owens hit Zayn with a package piledriver.
It's always a good thing when WWE holds qualifying matches for something like Elimination Chamber that seem wide open in terms of who could win. Morgan was obviously a favorite over Sky, but Sky is so good and her resume as a former champion made a win far from out of the question. Punk and Zayn, however, felt entirely up in the air, especially two days after WWE had Jey Uso win the Royal Rumble. In the end, fans were treated to two good matches and both advanced storylines that will be a part of the build to WrestleMania. Grade: A-
What else happened on WWE Raw?
- Jey Uso opened the show with an emotional promo. After celebrating his Royal Rumble win with the fans, Uso discussed his journey from breaking into wrestling to cementing his spot in a title match at WrestleMania. Gunther eventually interrupted Uso and said he would make Uso's life hell if he chose to challenge him because beating him again would add nothing to his legacy. Uso said he'd go to SmackDown and talk to Cody Rhodes, but seemed make it clear he was going to challenge Gunther.
- Penta def. Ludwig Kaiser via pinfall with the Penta Driver. As Penta was being interviewed after the match, Pete Dunne's music hit and he began walking to the ring, distracting Penta and allowing Kaiser to attack him from behind.
- Women's Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair cut a promo before being interrupted by Rhea Ripley. Given the two's history in WrestleMania, Ripley expected Flair to challenge her at WrestleMania. Flair said Ripley was too eager and she would instead go see Giulia at NXT and Tiffany Stratton at SmackDown and figure out which champion "inspires her" to make the challenge.
- Sami Zayn congratulated Jey Uso on his Rumble victory. Zayn said he understood Uso eliminating him at the Rumble with an errant kick was a mistake and told Uso to now go all the way and win the title. Karrion Kross entered after Uso left, continuing his mind games and asking Zayn what it's like to watch everyone around him live out his dreams.
- New Day def. Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee via pinfall after Kofi Kingston hit Trouble in Paradise on Mysterio. Logan Paul, who faces Mysterio in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match next Monday, interfered to help New Day get the win.
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