00:00 Big WWE plans have been leaked, The Rock's new heel persona revealed, and my review of
00:05 WWE Raw.
00:06 I'm Luke Owen and this is the WrestleTalk News.
00:15 We are only a couple of weeks away from Elimination Chamber from Perth, Australia which will start
00:21 at 2am in the US.
00:23 Yeah, let's see how you like it.
00:25 While the show is missing some of the company's biggest names like Roman Reigns, The Rock,
00:29 Seth Rollins and CM Punk, it will have two Elimination Chamber matches which will set
00:34 up title matches for WrestleMania.
00:36 The men's match has Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, Bobby Lashley and LA Knight already
00:41 confirmed with two more spots to be filled, which will be determined on Smackdown as The
00:45 Miz takes on Logan Paul and Kevin Owens faces Dominik Mysterio.
00:48 Over on the women's side of things we currently have Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair and Liv Morgan
00:52 qualified with three spots open.
00:54 Two of those will be filled with qualifying matches as Shotzi takes on Tiffany Stratton
00:58 and Naomi faces Zelina Vega, with the final slot being determined next week on Raw in
01:03 a Last Chance Battle Royal with the losers of the previous qualifiers and a few other
01:07 names like Candice LeRae, Indi Hartwell and Chelsea Green.
01:10 However, we may now know who those spots are going to be taken by.
01:15 Because WWE.com accidentally told us.
01:18 WWE's own website posted a preview of the Elimination Chamber briefly before taking
01:23 it down.
01:24 And we're going to tell you what that preview was now, so this is your official spoiler
01:28 warning.
01:29 Click the timestamp down below to skip it.
01:31 Right, are you all gone?
01:33 Was that enough time?
01:34 Did we give them enough time?
01:36 Okay, right, here comes the result.
01:39 It's Kazuchika Okada.
01:41 Lol JK, it's Jade Cargill.
01:43 Naomi and Stratton are set to win their qualifiers as they're also shown on the preview, so
01:47 it looks like Jade Cargill will be the surprise entrant in the Last Chance Battle Royal.
01:50 PWInsider recently reported that Cargill will be joining the Smackdown roster moving forward,
01:55 so what do you think of this potential line-up for the Women's Elimination Chamber, and
01:59 who would you have win it?
02:00 Let me know in the comments down below.
02:02 In other WWE news, both The Rock and Roman Reigns are set to be on Smackdown this week
02:07 following the WrestleMania kick-off press conference, where Rocky showed off his Powerpoint
02:11 presentation, turned heel, joined the Bloodline, slapped Cody Rhodes and started a power struggle
02:15 feud with Triple H. Boy, that escalated quickly.
02:19 Rock has since confirmed this was definitely a heel turn for him, which had fans wondering
02:23 if he would channel his successful heel gimmick of Hollywood Rock from 2003.
02:27 Except this time, actually being a Hollywood megastar.
02:30 Because in 2003 he'd only really starred in The Mummy Returns and The Scorpion King,
02:34 whereas now he's literally in every movie ever.
02:37 That doesn't even include the movies that haven't been made yet, but he still says
02:40 he's going to do.
02:41 Come on, that big trouble in Little China movie is not going to get made.
02:45 Stop pretending like it is.
02:46 And those fans who wanted the return of Hollywood Rock might be in luck, as WrestleVotes is
02:51 reporting that The Rock is expected to fully embrace his heel turn, drawing inspiration
02:56 from his past Hollywood Rock persona.
02:58 Let's just hope this one also includes the Return of The Rock concert.
03:02 And from one Rocky to another.
03:04 Rocky Romero, who has previously been credited with helping AEW forge partnerships with both
03:08 New Japan Pro Wrestling and CMLL - including putting together that first Forbidden Door
03:12 event - is now reportedly part of AEW's front office according to Dave Meltzer, which
03:17 was also corroborated by Sean Ross Sapp on Twitter.
03:20 Rocky is also one of the top minds behind New Japan Strong in the US, and while his
03:24 specific role in AEW is yet to be revealed, his presence is no doubt a boon to the company
03:30 considering his deep ties to multiple promotions - including places like MLW where he's the
03:35 current World Middleweight Champion.
03:37 But in advance of Elimination Chamber next weekend, we did a list on parts for unknown
03:41 this past weekend looking at the 12 times WWE got the Chamber right.
03:46 Here's a clip.
03:53 So now it's time for my review of Monday Night Raw, aka the Quick
04:16 Use That Thing from Men In Black that'll make people forget about that one episode
04:19 of Smackdown edition of Monday Night Raw… in about 5 minutes.
04:23 The show took place from Kentucky so everyone keep their eyes out for Sean Ross Sapp at
04:26 ringside, and opened with New Day and Jey Uso taking on Imperium in a decent little
04:30 trios match that really picked up once Jey got the second hot tag.
04:34 The whole match was built around Jey getting in the ring to face off with Gunther, and
04:38 it was worth the wait.
04:39 Jey was on fire, Gunther was superb as he always is, and the crowd lapped it up.
04:45 In the end, Jey hit the spear on Giovanni Vinci for the win.
04:48 Later in the show, Cathy Kelly announced that Jey Uso will face Gunther for the ICY title
04:52 next week on Raw.
04:54 We got a video package for Andrade - I'll be honest, I'd forgotten he'd returned
04:57 to WWE - and Bobby Lashley took on Bronson Reed for a spot in the Elimination Chamber.
05:01 Oh right, I know how this one goes.
05:04 I've seen this record before.
05:05 Lashley will have the match won, but then the Wish.com ministry will get involved and
05:09 cause a distraction allowing The Aussie to get the win and get the big match in Australia.
05:13 You see, I'm a smart fan and I know these things.
05:18 Anyway, Lashley hit the spear and won.
05:21 Oh.
05:22 Fair enough.
05:23 I've got to say, I'm genuinely surprised.
05:28 Jackie Redman took on Sami Zayn in another Empty Arena match, with Sami saying that while
05:32 he feels embarrassed about his recent losses, he believes in himself and the crowd believes
05:37 in him too.
05:38 Shinsuke Nakamura cut a video promo on him to hype their main event that Sami is 100%
05:43 losing.
05:44 Cody Rhodes came out for a promo next which can simply be summed up as "Ignore that
05:47 Smackdown promo from a couple of weeks ago, Cody was always going to face Roman, it was
05:51 always the plan.
05:53 Move along people, there's nothing to see here."
05:56 I'm being glib because that's what people come here for, because this was a great promo
06:00 segment - especially from Seth Rollins.
06:02 Cody said the reason he picked Roman Reigns for WrestleMania is because, well, the fans
06:07 told him he should.
06:08 But he doesn't want to get emotional because that would make him a Cody Crybaby.
06:12 Seth Rollins came out and Cody thanked him for having his back, and Rollins brilliantly
06:15 replied with "Well, what can I say, but you're welcome."
06:19 Dunno about you, but I popped.
06:21 He told Cody that now he needs to finish the story because if he doesn't, then Roman
06:25 may never drop the belt.
06:27 Help us Cody, you're the fans' only hope.
06:30 But what's your plan?
06:31 You got screwed last year because of Heyman, Jimmy and Solo and they're still here and
06:36 now The Rock's with them.
06:37 But here's a plan for you.
06:39 You don't have to do this alone.
06:40 You see, I created this monster in Roman Reigns years ago when we debuted in Flak Jackets,
06:45 and I know him better than anyone.
06:46 So when it comes to fighting the Bloodline, you'll need a shield.
06:50 It wasn't just a great promo, it was delivered with pure conviction, passion and heart.
06:55 I am very much sold on the tag match for Night One of Mania 40.
06:59 Liv Morgan beat Zoey Stark in a Chamber Qualifier match, and R-Truth took on JD McDonough with
07:03 Judgment Day at ringside.
07:05 Oh, I know how this goes, I've seen this record before.
07:09 Truth gets the shock win over the Judgment Day B-Team member, then the heels beat him
07:13 up and The Miz runs down to make the save.
07:15 You see, I'm a smart fan, and I know these things.
07:19 Anyway, JD hit his finish and pinned Truth clean, and then DIY made the save.
07:23 Oh.
07:24 Oh, well.
07:25 Oh.
07:26 Yeah.
07:27 Fair enough.
07:28 Gotta say, I'm genuinely surprised.
07:32 Truth thanked DIY backstage, confusing them for DX, and an eight-man tag will take place
07:36 next week.
07:37 A few celebrities I don't recognise posed for the WWE Championship at the Superb Owl
07:41 events, and Becky Lynch came out for a promo talking about the sacrifices she's made
07:45 to get to where she is - even missing her father's funeral.
07:48 But she's being a good role model for her kid, and she looks forward to beating Rhea
07:52 at Mania once she's won the Chamber.
07:55 Nia Jax came out to say that she's going to be the one to beat Rhea, which brought
07:58 out Mami to chase Jax off - a decent promo segment that hyped three different matches.
08:03 Drew cut a backstage promo saying that he'll hurt Cody Rhodes in their match next week,
08:06 and LA Knight beat Ivar in the Chamber Qualifier.
08:09 Crowd were in tonight's entrance, but not so much the match itself.
08:12 They promoted that Last Chance Battle Royal with some great Chelsea Green comedy, and
08:16 the main event saw Shinsuke Nakamura beat Sami Zayn after a distraction by Drew McIntyre.
08:20 NXT TakeOver Dallas was not.
08:22 Cody Rhodes made the same after the match, and it capped off a pretty good edition of
08:26 Monday Night Raw.
08:27 The wrestling was so-so, but it advanced the Chamber matches, built a few Mania matches,
08:31 and had some good promo work.
08:32 This week's Raw is 3 out of 5.
08:34 Now go and check out that parts of unknown list where Tempest looks at the 12 times WWE
08:39 got the Elimination Chamber right.
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