Isenberg Reacts: WWE Smackdown Live “Expediting Elimination Chamber Matches”

February 8, 2017

Fatal Four Way

(Photo by Stephen J. Cohen/Getty Images)

With John Cena vs. Randy Orton as the main event tonight, the four men inside Elimination Chamber did battle. Baron Corbin, The Miz, Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles kicked things off on Smackdown Live with a solid promo followed by a strong match. When the match broken down, The Miz would be hit with a Phenomenal Forearm and then Styles was caught in the End of Days. Baron Corbin picked up a clean win over the former WWE World Champion in a Fatal Four Way match that was wild from beginning to end.

I really enjoyed how Smackdown kicked off the night. It gave much more importance when they were put into a Fatal Four Way instead of a tag team match. With Baron Corbin, he came out and bashed The Miz. It was not the smartest idea, considering he is a heel an the Seattle crowd despises The Miz. Anyways, it still showed us that he is improving on the mic and is getting a great push to potentially become a champion in 2017. The other men did exactly what they needed to do and that was to feed off of the hot crowd. Great idea starting with Daniel Bryan in his hometown and for him making this match. I was surprised to see AJ Styles take the clean loss. I will say it’s a great sign for Baron Corbin, but do not be surprised if his WrestleMania match isn’t something noteworthy or exciting. It is going to be a stacked card with many matches already discussed and planned with management.

WZ 7.5

Nikki and Natalya Get Personal

Both women were separated and Tom Phillips is able to interview them via split screen. Natalya talks about how Nikki Bella is not a good wrestler and how she is jealous of Nattie. She also says that she would be married to John Cena is she was not married. Nikki takes a few shots at Natalya being lonely and only having cats. Nikki ends up leaving the interview as Natalya smirks at her final comments.

Why is WWE not letting Nikki Bella talk about Tyson Kidd? This would be GOLD because it is real. You can have her talk about how Tyson Kidd can’t wrestle, how he is injury prone and how her man is heads and shoulders better than hers. It shocks me that they have not gone this route, especially considering the amount of times John Cena’s name has been brought up.

If WWE really wants to put John Cena and Nikki Bella on the same team at WrestleMania, they might want to reconsider. This is personal, but it is not all the way. I would expect something like this to be scripted for two months and the use of Total Bella could COMPLETELY devalue John Cena on the biggest stage of the year. That smells more like a September storyline, not a WrestleMania one.

WZ 5

Josh controls most of the creative writing and ideas for the show on a weekly basis, as well as an on-air talent.

Aside from working with WrestleZone, Isenberg began his career in Broadcast Journalism interning at ESPN and worked with CBS Radio for three years. He has also had the opportunity to interview some of the best athletes and performers alive, including Andrew McCutchen, Ben Roethlisberger, Chris Jericho, Billy Gunn, Karl Anderson, Matt Hardy, Steven Strasburg and others.

Currently, Josh Isenberg works for Major League Baseball in their Advanced Media Productions. He grew up in Pittsburgh and went to Point Park University, which is where Chair Shot Reality is filmed each week.

His life outside of his obsession with wrestling include being a savant for Seinfeld, NFL, NBA, MLB and many television shows. He also has an undying love for musicals, which includes many shows he was a part of in high school. Some of his favorite wrestling moments can be linked to such superstars as Edge, The Rock, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and The Great Khali.