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.
What looked like a minor blip after an emotional series win in Los Angeles has turned into something more concerning for the Houston Astros.
Swept at home by a Guardians team that came in riding a 10-game losing streak, the Astros were left looking exposed. Not exhausted, as injuries, underperformance, and questionable decision-making converged to hand Houston one of its most frustrating series losses of the year.
Depth finally runs dry
It would be easy to point to a “Dodger hangover” as the culprit, the emotional peak of an 18-1 win at Chavez Ravine followed by a mental lull. But that’s not the story here.
Houston’s energy was still evident, especially in the first two games of the series, where the offense scored five or more runs each time. Including those, the Astros had reached that mark in eight of their last 10 games heading into Wednesday’s finale.
But scoring isn’t everything, not when a lineup held together by duct tape and desperation is missing Christian Walker and Jake Meyers and getting critical at-bats from Cooper Hummel, Zack Short, and other journeymen.
The lack of depth finally showed. The Astros, for three days, looked more like a Triple-A squad with Jose Altuve and a couple big-league regulars sprinkled in.
Cracks in the pitching core
And the thing that had been keeping this team afloat, elite pitching, finally buckled.
Hunter Brown and Josh Hader, both dominant all season, finally cracked. Brown gave up six runs in six innings, raising his pristine 1.82 ERA to 2.21. Hader wasn’t spared either, coughing up a game-losing grand slam in extra innings that inflated his ERA from 1.80 to 2.38 in one night.
But the struggles weren’t isolated. Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort, and Steven Okert each gave up runs at critical moments. The bullpen’s collective fade could not have come at a worse time for a team already walking a tightrope.
Injury handling under fire
Houston’s injury management is also drawing heat, and rightfully so. Jake Meyers, who had been nursing a calf strain, started Wednesday’s finale. He didn’t even make it through one pitch before aggravating the injury and needing to be helped off the field.
No imaging before playing him. No cautionary rest despite the All-Star break looming. Just a rushed return in a banged-up lineup, and it backfired immediately.
Second-guessing has turned to outright criticism of the Astros’ medical staff, as fans and analysts alike wonder whether these mounting injuries are being made worse by how the club is handling them.
Pressure mounts on Dana Brown
All eyes now turn to Astros GM Dana Brown. The Astros are limping into the break with no clear reinforcements on the immediate horizon. Only Chas McCormick is currently rehabbing in Sugar Land. Everyone else? Still sidelined.
Brown will need to act — and soon.
At a minimum, calling up top prospect Brice Matthews makes sense. He’s been mashing in Triple-A (.283/.400/.476, 10 HR, .876 OPS) and could play second base while Jose Altuve shifts to left field more regularly. With Mauricio Dubón stretched thin between shortstop and center, injecting Matthews’ upside into the infield is a logical step.
*Editor's note: The Astros must be listening, Matthews was called up Thursday afternoon!
The Astros are calling up Brice Matthews, their top prospect on @MLBPipeline
via @brianmctaggart pic.twitter.com/K91cGKkcx6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 10, 2025
There’s also trade chatter, most notably about Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, but excitement has been tepid. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but compared to who the Astros are fielding now, Mullins would be a clear upgrade and a much-needed big-league presence.
A final test before the break
Before the All-Star reset, Houston gets one last chance to stabilize the ship, and it comes in the form of a rivalry series against the Texas Rangers. The Astros will send their top trio — Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown — to the mound for a three-game set that will test their resolve, their health, and perhaps their postseason aspirations.
The Silver Boot is up for grabs. So is momentum. And maybe, clarity on just how far this version of the Astros can go.
There's so much more to discuss! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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