12 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Feb 12)

2. A Lazy Elimination Chamber Warm-Up

Sonya Deville Mandy Rose Carmella
WWE.com

As far as in-ring action goes, WWE built towards the women's Elimination Chamber with the exact same match as last week, as The IIconics, Carmella and Naomi, and Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose all faced off. The repetition is lame, but at least they switched it up by decreeing that whoever won the bout would be guaranteed the advantage of not starting the Chamber.

The bout offered nothing to get excited about. The IIconics did some solid heel work (we'll get to them later), but the action was too basic to get the adrenaline going. As such, the wrestlers never really got out of first gear, let alone second or third, and while Naomi's split-legged Moonsault looked great for the victory, it came just moments after we'd returned from a momentum-gutting commercial break.

Pinning Rose gives Naomi a boost in their feud, and the loss means 'Fire & Desire' most now start the Chamber against Bayley and Sasha Banks. An interesting pair-off, particularly as Mandy and Sonya began last year's bout by double-teaming Bayley, but this match didn't hit the mark.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.