8 WWE Elimination Chamber 2021 Impulse Reactions

5. Bobby Lashley (c) Vs. John Morrison Vs. Riddle

The Miz
WWE

Well-worked and hard-fought, there was a lot to enjoy about this if you can stomach Riddle becoming United States Champion as the babyface conqueror of Bobby Lashley. Or stomach Riddle at all, for that matter.

Pooling their resources earlier on, Morrison and 'The Original Bro' attempted to work together before realising it was a barely functioning strategy anyway. Lashley's strength - as always - was amazing, to the extent that he practically babyfaced himself swatting away the challengers like the buzzing flies they were.

It only went to pieces for him when he was undone by a technicality. Utilising the lesser-mentioned No-Disqualifications-In-Triple-Threats rule, Riddle battered both John Morrison and Lashley with MVP's crutch before taking down Morrison with the Bro Derek for the win. Riddle did what WWE babyfaces do and got the f*ck out of there afterwards so he could lie on the ramp clutching the belt like he'd stole it, like all the big heroes of wrestling's rich past.

It brought into sharp focus how grim it felt to see him with a title at all, though one can only hope for bigger and better things for 'The All Mighty' from here.

 
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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