WWE Elimination Chamber 2019: Star Ratings For All 7 Matches

4. Finn Bálor Vs. Bobby Lashley & Lio Rush - Intercontinental Championship Handicap Match

Stars Daniel Bryan Kofi Kingston
WWE.com

Gauging the temperature elsewhere online, this review is slightly kinder than most, but here comes the faint praise: it wasn’t a Bobby Lashley singles match. It was very, very slightly different and very, very slightly superior to bog-standard RAW fare.

One sequence stood out from the anticipated rest hold-heavy work and unimaginative double-team heat spots: Bálor’s unique back body drop escape that sent Lashley tumbling out of the ring, which led to Lio tripping Bálor’s leg. The resulting chase then led to Lashley showing his actual strength—his strength, not the rest hold bullsh*t any WWE heel can and does do—by lifting Bálor high into the air and crashing him into the barricade. Bálor’s history with such a spot briefly evoked an elusive emotion in a match that otherwise was just there.

Lio Rush instigated the finishing sequence with his deluded pissant bit—imagine a Bálor Vs. Rush match on virtually any other stage for proof of RAW’s broad, boring storytelling mentality—which cost his man the Intercontinental Title.

It was fine. The result promises more than the match delivered, but the real story of the match only brings into focus RAW’s systemic failures. Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush broke up bang in the middle of WrestleMania season, and there’s barely enough heat in it to warrant the Battleground Kickoff.

Star Rating: **1/4

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!