At the WWE Elimination Chamber post-show, WWE CCO Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque addressed John Cena’s shocking heel turn in Toronto. Levesque, who has shared the ring with Cena in the past, admitted that what happened in the Rogers Centre may have been the most powerful moment he’s experienced.
“I’ve been fortunate to have been around a lot of the biggest things in this business in the last , say 30 years. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt a more powerful moment.”
Levesque said that this moment was one fans didn’t see coming, and one that John didn’t need to do. Rather than rest on his laurels as a nostalgia act, Cena is continuing to develop his character, a dedication to the craft Levesque finds admirable.
“It is now or never, and you can ride that out and rest on the things you have done, and you couldn’t really blame John for doing that… or somebody like him can double down and say ‘Screw it, I want to be challenged to the last moment.'”
Cena’s heel turn blew the expectations fans had for Elimination Chamber out of the water, Levesque added. With WWE’s ‘Greatest Of All Time’ now aligned with the Final Boss, the road to WrestleMania is well underway, and proving to be one of the most unpredictable journies to WWE’s grandest event of the year.
Cody Rhodes got a huge ovation from the crowd after the shocking conclusion to Elimination Chamber from Toronto.
The ending to the latest WWE PPV was one for the ages as John Cena picked up a huge victory in his final Chamber match, pinning longtime rival CM Punk. The Undisputed WWE Champion came out to congratulate the wrestling legend on his victory before both got interrupted by The Rock with Travis Scott.
The Great One demanded an answer from Cody Rhodes and as expected, the American Nightmare refused to sell his soul to the Hollywood star. The unthinkable took place afterward as Cena turned on the WWE Champion and aligned himself with The Final Boss.
John Cena went on a mean streak after shockingly turning heel and he beat Cody up with every weapon in sight. The conclusion of the segment was The Rock beating Rhodes up with the belt he showed on SmackDown last night, after smearing Cody’s blood on it.
The trio of Cena, Rock and Scott slowly exited the ring and posed at the entrance way to end the show. Cody meanwhile remained in the ring as the medical staff and all three of the commentators for the show Michael Cole, Pat McAfee and Wade Barrett came to check up on him.
The former AEW star refused the help however. He got a huge ovation from the crowd as he got up by himself and slowly made his way to the back, still unsure about what had just transpired.
The wrestling world was stunned at WWE Elimination Chamber: Toronto as John Cena turned heel and aligned himself with The Rock. After Cody Rhodes refused to give up his soul to the Final Boss, Cena attacked the man he will face at WrestleMania 41.
Cena’s heel turn, his first in over two decades and a turn almost everyone assumed would never come, has unsuprisingly sparked a ton of reactions. On X, Drew McIntyre argued that Cena was a hypocrite and expressed his issue with his Elimination Chamber match exit.
There’s still plenty of questions as to what John Cena’s direction will be going forward, despite plans for his match at WrestleMania 41 being locked in. Nevertheless, this is shaping up to be the most suprising road to WrestleMania in recent memory, one that will see Cena and The Rock seek to destroy the American Nightmare
The Rock came out to confront Rhodes, telling the Undisputed WWE Champion that he needed the soul of the American Nightmare. Rhodes not only said no, but made that point clear, telling the Final Boss to “Go F*** Yourself!”
Cena and Rhodes embraced, signifying a mutual respect ahead of WrestleMania 41. When The Rock gave the signal to Cena though, the unthinkable happened, as John Cena turned heel. A low-blow to Rhodes signified John’s betrayal, and he and Rock (with assistance by Travis Scott) brutalized the WWE Champion.
A heel turn has been something almost all fans expected to never happen for John, who wil end his in-ring career later this year. With WrestleMania likely marking Cena’s final chance to become a 17-time World Champion, the WWE icon won’t let anything hold him back, even if it means losing his soul in the process.
John Cena has punched his ticket on the road to WrestleMania 41 by winning the Men’s Elimination Chamber Match in Toronto’s Roger’s Centre. Cena outlasted Logan Paul, Drew McIntyre, Damian Priest, Seth Rollins, and finally CM Punk to secure the win.
With this victory, Cena has earned an Undisputed WWE Championship match against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41. This will mark Rhodes’ fourth WrestleMania main event, and the sixth for John Cena.
Cena’s victory has put the WWE icon in prime position to capture his 17th WWE World Championship, a feat Cena has made clear he plans to accomplish. With John’s in-ring career coming to an end this year, WrestleMania 41 may indeed prove to be John’s final opportunity to accomplish what nobody in WWE has done before.
WWE’s Apex Predator Randy Orton made a surprise return at WWE Elimination Chamber, after spending months out of action thanks to Kevin Owens. In the third match of the night, Owens defeated Sami Zayn in an Unsanctioned Match, one WWE had no legal responsibility over.
After the match, Owens continued his attack and aimed to end the career of his friend/rival. This brought out Orton, who had been taken out in late 2024 with a piledriver from Owens. After downing the Prizefighter, Orton teased using a steel chair, but instead attempted to hit his dreaded punt kick on the former Universal Champion. Security kept Orton from hitting the move, while Owens was able to escape to the back.
Orton also teased pointing at the WrestleMania 41 sign, suggesting that he has plans for the two-night megashow set for April 2025. It remains to be seen what the Viper has planned, but Randy Orton is on the road to the Showcase of the Immortals, and hungry for payback on Kevin Owens.
Bianca Belair has punched her ticket on the road to WrestleMania 41 by winning the Women’s Elimination Chamber Match in Toronto’s Roger’s Centre. The EST outlasted Bayley, Naomi, Roxanne Perez, Alexa Bliss, and finally Liv Morgan to secure the win.
This was a hard-hitting affair from before the match got started, as Jade Cargill returned and attacked Naomi, who Jade believes attacked her at SmackDown in November 2024. The finish of the match saw Belair counter Morgan’s ObLIVion to hit the KOD and win the match.
While it’s now known who will challenge for the Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania 41, the question remains as to who Belair will face. On the March 3, edition of WWE Raw, Rhea Ripley will defend the Women’s World Championship against IYO SKY. The winner of this match will face Belair at WrestleMania 41.
This win marks Belair’s returns to the singles title picture after spending the past year in the tag-team division, a run that saw her become a two-time tag-team champion. Now, Belair plans on holding gold again, though also seeks answers about the actions of Jade Cargill.
Jade Cargill made her stunning return to WWE programming at Elimination Chamber 2025, and wasted no time in attacking her alleged attacker. Before the Women’s Elimination Chamber match begun, Cargill made her first appearance in months, earning a huge pop from the Toronto crowd.
Cargill attacked Naomi, leaving the commentary team to speculate that the Glow was the one who had attacked Jade back in November 2024. After the beating Naomi took, the former Women’s Champion was deemed unable to compete and eliminated from the match.
The mystery around the attack on Cargill had been going on for months, with Naomi, Bianca Belair, and Liv Morgan all being suspected of being responsible. Naomi certainly benefitted the most from Jade’s absence, as she stepped in and became a Women’s Tag Team Champion with Bianca Belair in the Storm’s absence.
While Cargill’s attack doesn’t confirm Naomi as the attacker, it confirms that Jade believes her former friend ambushed her in late 2024. Fans will have to wait and see what Naomi has to say now that the finger of suspicion has been pointed directly at her.
With WWE Elimination Chamber 2025 just hours away, preparations are in full swing at Toronto’s Rogers Centre, where the event is set to take place on March 1. Excitement is building, and now a first glimpse at the production setup has emerged.
We’ve obtained an image of the construction process, showing the iconic Elimination Chamber structure being assembled. The photo also captures early entrance tests, with Drew McIntyre among those seen rehearsing:
Over 30,000 WWE fans will be in attendance for WWE’s final premium live event before WrestleMania. The double main event features Men’s and Women’s Elimination Chamber matches to determine Cody Rhodes and Rhea Ripley’s challengers at WrestleMania 41.
Additionally, WWE has confirmed that rapper Travis Scott will make an appearance during the Premium Live Event, adding a high-profile celebrity presence to an already highly anticipated night.
The Rock is immensely confident that Cody Rhodes will do the ‘right’ thing and agree to be the Final Boss’ champion. On X (fka Twitter,) The Rock shared that Cody will agree in a move that will forever change the city of Toronto.
The Rock appeared during the February 21, edition of WWE SmackDown, where he made clear that he wants the ‘soul’ of the American Nightmare. During the February 28, episode, The Rock showed Rhodes the perks of agreeing to his request, including personal security, a private locker-room, and a brand-new truck.
Rhodes knows what it’s like to run afoul of the Final Boss and was on the receiving end of multiple beatings by The Rock in 2024. With The Rock now willing to work with Cody (albeit under Rock’s rules,) Rhodes has seem conflicted as whether to reject, or accept, The Rock’s request.
Rhodes will make his decision as part of a stacked event that will feature two Elimination Chamber matches and the in-ring return of WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus. While it remains to be seen whether Cody agrees to give up his soul to the Final Boss, it’s clear that whatever decision Rhodes makes will have a profound effect on his Road to WrestleMania 41.
WWE 2K25 is mere days away from release, but fans are already getting teases at future downloadable content. In a series of posts on X, WWE teased the arrival of several notable stars.
The cherry blossoms hint the release of a Japanese talent, likely WWE NXT Women’s Champion Giulia, who features cherry blossoms in her entrance. The second image depicts the city of Detroit and hand gestures in the image certainly tease the Motor City Machine Guns, two men not available at launch. The third image is of Santiago, Chile, teasing WWE NXT Women’s North American Champion Stephanie Vaquer.
This wasn’t WWE’s only tease about upcoming content, as a second video was shared shortly after the first.
The first image shows a bandana and New York City, with some fans speculating that this is a tease of the late New Jack. In the second image, a fan’s prominent hand gesture certainly teases Penta, while the J in an NXT ring has led to speculation of TNA World Champion Joe Hendry being in WWE 2K25. The third image features a Prime bottle, though with Logan Paul already a playable character, this could be for IShowSpeed or KSI. The most obvious tease comes in the reflection of the water, prominently featuring Bull Nakano.
WWE 2K25 is set to release on March 14, with the Deadman and Bloodline Editions of the game set to release one week early for eager gamers. With expectations sky high for the upcoming video game, fans won’t have to wait much longer to play the literal biggest wrestling video game of all time.
WWE returns to Toronto this Saturday for the 2025 Elimination Chamber, the final stop on the road to WrestleMania 41. Taking place at the iconic Rogers Centre, this event promises high-stakes action, emotional rivalries, and a pivotal moment for the Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes as he faces an ultimatum from The Rock.
With two Elimination Chamber matches and a card packed with drama, fans are in for an unforgettable night.
How to Watch
Start Times:
United States: 7:00 PM ET / 4:00 PM PT
United Kingdom: 12:00 AM GMT (Sunday)
India: 5:30 AM IST (Sunday)
Australia: 11:00 AM AEDT (Sunday)
Broadcast Details:
United States: Peacock
International: Netflix
Match Card
Men’s Elimination Chamber Match
John Cena vs. CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Logan Paul vs. Damian Priest vs. Seth Rollins
Six of WWE’s top stars will battle for a shot at the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania. This match marks John Cena’s final Elimination Chamber appearance as part of his farewell tour, while CM Punk looks to continue his resurgence in WWE. With unpredictable competitors like Logan Paul and seasoned veterans like Rollins and McIntyre, chaos is guaranteed inside the steel structure.
Women’s Elimination Chamber Match
Liv Morgan vs. Bianca Belair vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley vs. Naomi vs. Roxanne Perez
The winner of this match will secure a Women’s World Championship opportunity at WrestleMania. Liv Morgan has momentum after a crafty win over Iyo Sky, while Bianca Belair and Alexa Bliss bring their championship pedigree into the mix. Rising star Roxanne Perez and returning Naomi add intrigue to what promises to be a show-stealing contest.
Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens — Unsanctioned Match
Longtime friends turned bitter enemies collide in an unsanctioned match that guarantees no rules and no limits. Owens’ betrayal of Zayn after the Royal Rumble has reignited their storied rivalry, which spans over two decades. With both men fighting in their home country of Canada, this could be the most personal and brutal chapter in their saga.
Hometown hero Trish Stratus returns to action alongside WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton in a tag team clash against Nia Jax and Candice LeRae. Stratton’s ongoing feud with Jax adds tension to this matchup, while Stratus aims to deliver “Stratusfaction” to her Toronto fans.
Cody Rhodes Gives The Rock an Answer
The Rock has issued an ultimatum to Cody Rhodes: embrace his offer to become “his champion” or face the consequences. As Rhodes approaches one year as Undisputed WWE Champion, this decision could alter his legacy forever. Fans are eager to see how this confrontation unfolds.
With WrestleMania on the horizon, every match at Elimination Chamber carries immense stakes. Don’t miss this blockbuster event live from Toronto!
Christopher Daniels has named his longtime friend as one of the leading voices of reason in the AEW locker room.
The Fallen Angel has worked extensively with Samoa Joe throughout his career. Whether it’d be ROH, TNA or AEW, the two stars seemed to follow more of the less the same path, being a part of each other’s journey at every turn.
During his recent appearance on AEW Unrestricted podcast, Christopher Daniels talked about his long-standing relationship with the former AEW Champion. He claimed that knowing him for so long is very cool:
“It was sort of cool to see Joe grow from the young guy that I met him in UPW in like 1999, 2000. Wrestled him there for the UPW heavyweight championship, wearing his own t-shirt, blonde hair, slapping the crap out of me. To going to Ring of Honor where he became such a staple. One of the longest reigning ROH champions.
Then going through TNA where he became TNA World champion. Then seeing him become successful in WWE and then coming to AEW. He’s grown so much and become such a figure in professional wrestling. To say I knew him when is very cool.”
Christopher Daniels explained that his relationship with Samoa Joe is not only professional and the two are very good friends in real life. He also described what the former TNA champion means to the AEW locker room:
“The fact that he’s one of my best friends, I stood up for him at his wedding. He held my baby daughter when she was a couple weeks old. He’s basically Uncle Joe here in the house. To see the success that he’s become, and sort of the one of the leading voices of reason in the locker room, like Joe knows what works in professional wrestling.
Above all that he’s just one of the coolest guys you’ll ever meet. He’s got swagger, he’s got fucking aura. That’s Joe man. That’s just been Joe since 1999 and probably for another 30 years going forward. He’s going to be just like that.”
Apart from this, the former ROH Champion got emotional talking about his retirement and said he’ll be thanking everyone who made his wrestling dream possible. You can check out his remarks here.
Tonight’s WWE Elimination Chamber Premium Live Event emanating from Toronto’s Rogers Centre is already generating considerable anticipation, and the potential for a surprise appearance has further heightened the excitement for fans.
Jade Cargill looks to be returning on this show as she has reportedly been spotted close to the event’s location. PWInsider.com has reported that Cargill was sighted in Buffalo, NY, on Friday, a location within a short driving distance of Toronto.
The timing of Cargill’s sighting has fueled speculation about a potential surprise appearance at Elimination Chamber. For weeks, fans have speculated that Naomi may have been the mystery attacker behind Cargill’s absence from TV.
A confrontation between Cargill and Naomi during tonight’s show is a distinct possibility, adding another layer to an already newsworthy-looking show. Earlier this week, WrestleVotes revealed that Cargill has received medical clearance, signaling her imminent return to active competition.
This news follows her being off television since mid-November, when an on-screen attack was used to write her off television. Initially, there was speculation that Cargill had sustained a legitimate injury, causing an extended absence.
However, subsequent reports indicated that she had been training at the WWE Performance Center ahead of her return.
Adam Cole says Bryan Danielson has earned the right to do what’s right for him after so many years of doing what’s right for everyone else.
The former AEW Champion said goodbye to his full-time wrestling career at the WrestleDream PPV in October last year. His contract with the company had already expired and the American Dragon dropped the title to Jon Moxley at the event.
During a recent interview with In The Kliq podcast, Adam Cole discussed his friendship with the wrestling veteran. When asked about Danielson taking retirement from full time action, the former NXT Champion said that he wants Bryan to do what’s best for him:
“Yeah, you know I, in every sense of the word, want Bryan to do what’s best for Bryan because Bryan has always done what’s best for the company and what’s best for everybody else. Bryan is one of the most unselfish just wonderful and talented wrestlers I have ever met. He’s an amazing amazing human being.”
The Respect And Love Will Never Go Away: Adam Cole
Adam Cole noted that he feels sad to know that Bryan Danielson’s full-time run has come to an end. However, his health and well-being is above everything else:
“It breaks my heart to know that I’m not going to be able to see Bryan wrestle full-time because again, he is one of the absolute best to ever do this. So of course that’s sad.
But again when it comes to Bryan’s health and when it comes to Bryan being the best version of him, that’s what I want for him. He gave his entire life to professional wrestling. He’s going to be missed but that respect and that love will never go away. I think the world of Bryan Danielson.”
Before his match with Moxley, Bryan Danielson had noted that he had been dealing with neck issues similar to what led to his first retirement back in 2016. Since his WreslteDream match, he has been backstage at numerous AEW shows but has claimed that he is 50/50 on the possibility of wrestling again.
The Undertaker is happy to see how CM Punk has changed.
The Dead Man recently had an interview with Daily Mail. He talked about things such as Triple H and Shawn Michaels being in charge of WWE and how the backstage environment today is much calmer than his time in the business.
Speaking about CM Punk’s behavior since his WWE return in November 2023, The Undertaker claimed that the Straight Edge Star is a ‘truly different person’ than he was during his first run with the company:
“I’m not around the day to day like I used to be, but every time that I have been at an event and have seen Punk, he is a truly different person. He’s very friendly, outgoing, can hold a conversation and I see him mentoring a lot as well, which obviously makes me happy, him being one of the greats of his generation.”
The Undertaker explained that Punk has matured a lot after going through the journey in life and he doesn’t worry about small things anymore:
“I think there’s just a journey you have to fly through and go through in life to get to that point where you don’t sweat the small stuff anymore and you enjoy the things that you have.”
Punk has not only changed his behaviour but the former World Champion has also changed his opinion on people such as The Rock. You can check out what he said about The Great One’s surprise return to WWE programming last week here.
Though Big E’s future in the ring remains uncertain, the former WWE Champion hopes to sees big things in the future of one of NXT’s top names. Taking to X (fka Twitter,) Big E shared that he is a big fan of WWE NXT Champion Oba Femi. Not only has Big E been impressed by The Ruler, but hopes to see plenty of gold in the future of the Nigerian Superstar.
Femi, a recruit from WWE’s Next-In-Line program, has certainly impressed since joining WWE NXT. In 2024, Femi broke the record for the longest-reign as WWE NXT North American Champion. He has similarly impressed in 2025 as he defeated Trick Williams to become NXT Champion during NXT New Year’s Evil in January.
Femi’s work has gained the interest of talent from outside WWE as TNA X-Division Champion Moose confronted Femi during a recent edition of WWE NXT. Femi responded by showing up in TNA iMPACT and the pair were on opposing sides of a six-man tag-match won by Moose and The System. The pair will battle at WWE NXT Roadblock with Femi’s NXT Title on the line.
As for Big E, March 2025 marks three years since the broken neck injury that has derailed his in-ring career. Nevertheless, Big E has remained an active part of WWE programming, and is excited to see what’s to come for The Ruler.
There’s been plenty of talk about Cody Rhodes’ soul, an abstract that The Rock seeks to claim, but could CM Punk prove to be an effective Plan-B for the Final Boss? Before the February 28, edition of WWE SmackDown, an Elimination Chamber kick-off event took place, where Punk made an appearance. Speaking candily, Punk acknowledged that 2025 could be his final opportunity to headline WrestleMania, and failing to earn a title match in the Elimination Chamber could result in Punk calling in a favor.
On SmackDown, Punk further teased an unconventional route to the WrestleMania 41 main event. Backstage with Cody Rhodes, Punk said he wants Rhodes to reject the offer. However, Punk admitted that in his younger days, he would have accepted The Rock’s offer to guarantee main event success.
Punk has yet to headline WrestleMania, one of the few accolades the Best in the World is missing from his career. If Cody turns down the Brahma Bull, then it’s entirely possible that Punk will agree to be The Rock’s champion, knowing the perks that would come with this role. Fans will have to stay tuned to see what decision Cody makes, and whether CM Punk gets involved in the issues between the Undisputed WWE Champion and the Final Boss.
The Straight Edge star was one of the harshest critics of The Great One when he returned to WWE back in 2012-2013. Punk who was the WWE Champion at the time took shots at the Hollywood star for being part-timer and stealing the main event spot away from hard-working full-time talents.
During a recent interview with The Daily Mail, however, Punk expressed a much softer opinion on part-time talents. He noted how Rock’s return will affect everybody in the company but also discussed how the WWE schedule is much lighter now with house shows almost completely eliminated from the lineup:
“I’m sure it’s going to trickle down and impact everybody. I think one of the difficult parts of this being so big and there’s so many moving parts, and you’re seeing it with [John] Cena now. Definitely, I have a different perspective now than I did ten years ago, when I was working with The Rock.
It was easy for everybody to say, ‘You’re not here. We’re grinding, we’re doing this.’ The schedule now is so much more limited than it was ten years ago. I can’t point a finger at somebody else now and say, ‘Well, you’re not here.’ Plus, a guy like John Cena, to me, he’s a busy dude. He’s earned that right.”
CM Punk noted that he is less inclined to call out someone like John Cena for not showing up while he is on his path to retirement. He added that there’s a flip side of the coin with many talents in the locker room who may be thinking that they’re grinding every week.
According to Punk, however, at the end of the day everyone just wants to rise to that level despite being inclined to poke fun at it at the same time:
“There’s no denying what a giant box office star The Rock is. I think peeling back a little bit and him being ‘Final Boss’ instead of being happy-go-lucky Rock, I think that is a character that can say, ‘Yeah, I’m not here all the time. Yeah, so what? I’ll show up for eight minutes every six months, and it’ll still be the biggest.’
I think there’s freedom and there’s an air to play with that a little bit, and it makes it better and more real and more exciting for everybody.”
There is a possibility that CM Punk will come face to face with The Great One this Saturday at the Elimination Chamber PPV. The former AEW star will be competing in the cage match at the event and speculation is that Rock could get involved if Cody Rhodes ends up refusing his offer.
At WWE Elimination Chamber: Toronto, The Rock hopes that Cody Rhodes will make ‘the right choice’ and give up his soul to The Final Boss. On the February 28, edition of WWE SmackDown, The Rock made his last-ditch attempt to win over the Undisputed WWE Champion by showing him what life would be like as The Rock’s champion.
Rhodes arrived to the arena flanked by security, who escorted him to a private dressing room. There, the American Nightmare received first-class treatment, including a bounty of food (some of which had already been consumed by R-Truth.)
Later in the show, Rhodes was gifted an American Nightmare-branded truck, another gift from the man who hopes Cody makes’ the ‘right’ decision. The Rock then appeared via video to share that he and Cody had been speaking, and both had spoken with Cody’s late father Dusty. The Rock ended with another gift for Rhodes, a weight belt with ‘Cody’s Soul’ and June 11, 2015 emblazoned upon it. That date is significant for being the day Dusty Rhodes died.
Cody Rhodes has a huge decision to make at WWE Elimination Chamber: Toronto, as saying no to The Rock could prove disastrous. It remains to be seen what choice Cody will make on this pivotal point on the Road To WrestleMania 41.
The Wyatt Sicks’ lattest cryptic message on social media can be solved if one has an adept knowledge of horror films of the late 1980s. On X (fka Twitter,) the macabre faction shared the following message.
Fans of the horror film franchise Hellraiser were quick to decipher this code. The ‘HR1987’ alludes to the film’s title and the year it was released. WHSSTSY is a nod to one of the most iconic lines in the film, when the lead Cenobite Pinhead tells protagonist Kirsty Cotton “We have such sights to show you.” When Kirsty asks Pinhead what he and the Cenobites are, the iconic horror movie character tells her “Demons to some, angels to others” (D2SA20.) Not only is this an iconic line from the movie, but served as the film’s tagline on promotional material.
The last line of the post “the time draws near,” is not lifted from Hellraiser, but teases that whatever the Wyatt Sicks has planned, it won’t be long until fans learn of it. SmackDown also saw a glitch for the faction which signified that Alexa Bliss will work closely with the group going forward.
With Bliss set to compete in the Women’s Elimination Chamber match, fans may learn of the Wyatt Sicks’ plans sooner than later. With the group having “such sights” to show the WWE Universe, expect something big to come from Uncle Howdy and his allies.
Cody Rhodes got physical after this week’s episode of SmackDown went off air.
Tonight’s show continued from The Rock’s promo last week where The Great One demanded that the Undisputed Champion give him ‘his soul.’ Multiple top WWE stars greeted the American Nightmare backstage throughout the episode. People like The Miz, Drew McIntyre, and CM Punk gave Cody their opinions on how he should respond to the offer.
The closing segment of the show saw Michael Cole bringing out Rhodes and explaining that becoming The Rock’s champion would result in benefits like Cody being able to choose his opponents and work schedule and more. Cole then got a message saying The Great One had another gift for the WWE Champion.
A truck painted with Cody’s logo was then brought out and the Rock himself appeared on the big screen to cut another promo. He talked about Dusty Rhodes’ passing and hoped that the current world champion would make the right choice tomorrow night.
The broadcast concluded with a confused Cody Rhodes standing by the truck but things didn’t end there. After the episode went off air, Solo Sikoa sneak attacked his longtime rival. The leader of the New Bloodline continued his attack bringing Cody into the ring.
When Sikoa tried to introduce a chair into the mix, however, Cody turned things around. He delivered a Cross-Rhodes to Sikoa to take him out. Rhodes then cut a short promo and gifted his weight belt to a young fan to end the night.
WWE Elimination Chamber is right around the corner, and one legend of the ring hopes to extend their surprising undefeated streak as part of the event. In tag-team action, WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton will team with Trish Stratus to take on Nia Jax and Candice LeRae.
This will be Stratus’ eighth time competing in a tag-team match in her native Canada, and currently, the WWE Hall of Famer sits at an impressive 7-0 winning streak. Over her career, Stratus teamed with Steve Blackman, Bubba Ray Dudley, Spike Dudley, Jacqueline, John Cena, MVP, and her bestie Lita in the Great White North.
H/T to @WWEStats for uncovering this stat. Stay tuned to SEScoops for more interesting wrestling facts and statistics.
Stratus’ upcoming tag-team match will be significant for several reasons, both professional and personal. On Busted Open Radio, Trish shared that this will not just be a homecoming to Toronto, but it will also be her first match that her children will get the chance to watch live.
“It’s really wild that they’re going to feel that, they’re going to be apart of it … it could be the last time I ever perform in Toronto, and it is actually the first time they’re going to see me wrestle live.”
Stratus has two children, an eleven-year-old son and an eight-year-old daughter. Stay tuned to SEScoops to see if Stratus can go 8-0 in Canada alongside Stratton, or if Nia Jax and Candice LeRae have the last laugh in Toronto.
Fans at the February 28, edition of WWE SmackDown were ecstatic to hear John Cena’s entrance theme, until they learned that the WWE icon wasn’t appearing. In a tense segment, Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, and Damian Priest all spoke about the upcoming Men’s Elimination Chamber match, a bout all four men intend on winning.
The topic of Cena, and his absence from programming despite his farewell tour, was brought up, with McIntyre asking “What would your old self say about how big you’ve gotten, John?” The crowd popped massively to hear Cena’s entrance theme play, expecting the 16-time WWE World Champion. What they got instead was Logan Paul.
Paul mocked the fans in Toronto for being excited to see the WWE icon, claiming that “John Cena doesn’t care about you.” After further goading by the Maverick, CM Punk charged at Paul, who ran to the back before things got physical.
Though fans didn’t see Cena at SmackDown, the 16-time World Champion will be a part of the Men’s Elimination Chamber match. With a Undisputed WWE Title match at WrestleMania 41 hanging in the balance, Cena and his compatriots will hold nothing back in Toronto’s Rogers Centre.
The late great WWE star was known for his incredible ring awareness and for using his surroundings to outsmart both the referee and his opponents to win matches. There are many current wrestling stars who took inspiration from Eddie in their careers and Carmelo Hayes proved that he is one of them.
The former NXT North American Champion had the monumental challenge of going up against Braun Strowman in a singles match during this week’s episode of SmackDown from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
— Wrestling Pics & Clips (@WrestleClips) March 1, 2025
Even with The Bloodline interference in the bout, it didn’t look like the Monster Among Men would be going down easy.
This is when Carmelo changed his strategy. As the referee had his back turned, Hayes used the chair introduced by Solo Sikoa and pretended to have been hit by Strowman after hitting it on the canvas.
Believing him to be the victim, the referee declared Carmelo Hayes the winner of the bout. The young star quickly retreated from the ring after the bell, leaving Braun Strowman to powerbomb Tama Tonga in frustration to end the segment.
The win earns Carmelo Hayes a spot in the announced #1 Contenders Triple Threat match for the US Championship alongside LA Knight and Jacob Fatu.
