10 Impulse Reactions Following WWE Elimination Chamber 2017

5. Feel The Glow

Baron Corbin Dean Ambrose
WWE.com

More unexpected than the title switch that would occur in the main event, the dethroning of Alexa Bliss by Naomi provided the biggest surprise of the night but played well on the former 'Funkadactyl's impressive SmackDown Live! growth since last year's Brand Extension.

With a crowd-pleasing entrance, a reasonable array of high impact moves, and some passable character development, Naomi has benefited from the glut of in-ring female talent loaded on to the blue brand, and had boosted her credibility amongst fans with non-title victories over the former champion in recent weeks.

Bliss was the breakout female star of 2016 on Tuesday nights, so it was disappointing to see her title reign abbreviated in her first pay-per-view defence. However, if audience reaction in the post-match was anything to go by, Naomi certainly deserved it.

The drama in the division between now and WrestleMania appears to be if the new titleholder can hold onto the belt long enough to march into her own hometown of Orlando as the reigning champion, with a forthcoming rematch ordered by a seething Alexa on Talking Smack immediately following the pay-per-view.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett