4 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (6 Feb - Results & Review)

4. The Problem With That Main Event

Listen, let's be fair about things across all divisions: Tiffany Stratton was an obvious winner in the earlier Elimination Chamber qualifier, but the men’s one took that formality thing and doubled down on it. Neither Solo Sikoa nor Aleister Black were ever going to beat Randy Orton to the Chamber, and everyone bloody well knew it as soon as the match was announced.

Obvious results aren't always the biggest issue in the biz, but analysing the cast of characters involved makes it clear why nobody was all that interested. Black’s feud with Damian Priest directly failed to help either man or give them momentum coming out of it, and Solo has been involved with The Wyatt Sicks too long for fans to take him seriously at a main event level.

Thus, the whole headliner came across as a slog until the crowd-popping RKO moment at the end.

It felt like these guys were moving through mud until the referee told them it was time to go home. Plus, the finish with Solo hesitating on his Samoan Spike before Orton hit an RKO made Sikoa look a bit silly too. Why doesn't he spin his rivals around and thump them with his thumb anymore? Does Randy have eyes in the back of his head or something?!

Matches like this one expose the problem with some of Hunter's rivalries. They rarely achieve as much as they should. Black and Solo aren't better off for recent issues, which defeats the entire purpose of running with those storylines in the first place.