8 Match Star Ratings For WWE Elimination Chamber 2020

2. Braun Strowman Vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Sami Zayn & Cesaro - Intercontinental Championship Match

WWE Elimination Chamber 2020 Sami Zayn Braun Strowman
WWE.com

A dumb, dumb, profligate dynamic, this was dragged through sheer force of will and commitment by Sami Zayn, on a quest to go viral, into acceptable and halfway entertaining territory.

He was excellent value, even in a miscast role. He pulled that role off, because he's such a polymath, which leads one to wonder why in the hell he is playing this role. He played the smug, slimy chickensh*t to perfection, using expert timing, punch-me-square-in-the-f*cking-face expressions and even brilliant sartorial choice to get himself over as an undeserving geek champion. Imagine the level of thought and what it went it to. This company does not deserve him.

He dispatched Shinsuke Nakamura to grind Braun Strowman down in what was an unremarkable heat segment made all the more uninteresting by how often we have seen it - it has been months - and even inspired sequences were undermined by that weird and damaging dynamic. Nakamura splatted Strowman's head into the ring post with his knee in a well-timed and vicious spot. This convincingly subdued Strowman in the context of this silly stipulation, but shouldn't three men taking it in turns to beat one man up subdue that one man without a scheme?

Zayn was funny when he over-celebrated because he's really good at this.

Star Rating: ★★½

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!