WWE Wrap-Up
This week in WWE: Strowman gets even as the odds get even more stacked for Styles
Feb 14, 2018, 4:23 pm
Braun Strowman gets even with Elias in a big way. Photo by WWE.com
This is a weekly look at the action in the WWE:
Raw
John Cena opened Raw explaining to fans how he has to win the Elimination Chamber Match, because, if he does not, he’s not sure he has anything for WrestleMania. The Miz was not thrilled with what Cena had to say, and explained why he will be the one to face Brock Lesnar in New Orleans. This caused Cena to challenge Miz to a match; the loser enters the chamber first. Miz put up a valiant effort, but an Attitude Adjustment from the middle rope put Miz away. The Revival fabricated an advantage for themselves when they attacked Gallows and Anderson before their match. Their effort proved to be fruitful as they were able to pin Anderson to win the match. Kurt Angle revealed that his son, Jason Jordan, suffered a serious neck injury; thus, he will be missing WrestleMania. Seth Rollins came out to wish his former partner a healthy recovery, and to request an opportunity in the Fatal Fourway to determine who will be the last entrant at the Elimination Chamber. Angle, eventually, obliged and granted Rollins the chance to enter the match.
Bayley and Sasha Banks got to air out their differences in the ring, and, boy did they. The match was as hard hitting and aggressive as the last few weeks’ matches have been. Bayley won the match after hitting Banks with a Bayley to Belly from the middle rope to win the match. Nia Jax surprised both women and attacked them from behind. Alexa Bliss persuaded Mickie James to tag with her against Absolution. The mind games of Absolution proved to be too much, though, as Mandy was able to pin James after a distraction from Sonya.
Elias’ concert this week was interrupted in the most creative way possible, Braun Strowman’s concert, with a giant bass. Unfortunately for Elias, Strowman got some sweet revenge by breaking that bass on Elias’ back. Sheamus’ gamble to the top rope in his match against Roman Reigns burned him as Reigns caught him with a giant Spear to win the match. Michael Cole revealed that Ivory will be joining this year’s class of the WWE Hall of Fame. The “Second Chance” Fatal Fiveway between Wyatt, Hardy, Crews, Rollins and Balor closed the show. Crews and Wyatt were going at it on the top rope when Balor and Rollins worked together to power bomb both of them. Both men went for the pin, leaving the referee confused on who the winner of the match was. After Raw, Kurt Angle took to Twitter to announce both men will enter The Elimination Chamber Match.
Highlight of the Night: C’mon, really? It’s Braun with the bass. No question or debate to be had. How do you get even with a man who broke a guitar on your back? You freaking break a giant bass on his back. It’s only fair.
SmackDown Live
Dolph Ziggler came to the ring for his match against Baron Corbin, only Corbin never makes it to the ring thanks to an attack from Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. The two raced to the ring and attacked Ziggler as well. Charlotte continued on her quest to defeat every member of the Riott Squad by defeating Sarah Logan with a nasty Natural Selection. Two down, one to go. Shane McMahon explained to Daniel Bryan that Corbin and Ziggler will still get their chances to challenge for the WWE Championship via singles matches against Zayn and Owens. The first of these matches saw Baron Corbin defeat Kevin Owens after hitting him with an End of Days.
Bobby Roode announced he will be keeping the Open Challenge tradition going for his United States Championship. He admitted that he was hoping Randy Orton would challenge him, after he surprised him with an attack last week. Sure enough, Orton answered but so did Jinder Mahal. The former WWE Champion came out to stir the pot between Orton and Roode, and it worked as he caused them to begin to brawl before eventually hitting both of them with Khallas. Benjamin and Gable interrupted Big E’s attempt to break the world record for most pancakes eaten in one sitting. They insulted the New Day’s seriousness before tossing their pancakes. This, of course, lead into a match. The New Day would pick up the win with the Midnight Hour. Sami Zayn did what he could to prevent Dolph Ziggler from joining the match at Fastlane, but one Super Kick spoiled his plan, and Ziggler pinned him for the win.
Highlight of the Night: The New Day keep finding creative ways to feud with their opponents. Add to that their awesome BHM gear, and you have a recipe for a fun segment involving the most creative tag team of this generation.
Boy, were this weeks’ shows about stacking the odds. Raw’s main event became a Fatal Fiveway, and the ridiculous finish made the Chamber match the first ever to feature seven wrestlers. That being said, we finally know who will be in the match and how it will work. It will be fun to see how Miz weasels his way through the match, despite being the first entrant to the match.
On the blue brand, the odds just got stacked that much more against WWE Champion, AJ Styles. The addition of Corbin and Ziggler will make for a ridiculous main event. This, hopefully, changes nothing. If they were to steer away from Styles vs Nakamura at ‘Mania it would be a crime.
Sprinkle in some ridiculousness like Braun’s bass and Big E’s pancake binge and you’ve got another solid week. Next week will be Raw’s go home show before Elimination Chamber, so we should expect less funny business as Raw closes the door on their PPV’s before WrestleMania. SmackDown Live definitely has an intriguing main event for Fastlane, these next couple of weeks should be a build for the remainder of the card.
It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
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