The Problem with Wrestling Fans

*Spoilers for the Elimination Chamber ahead*

Elimination Chamber took place last night, a really solid PPV in the buildup to WWE’s biggest event of the year, WrestleMania. Daniel Bryan proved why he’s arguably the best wrestler of all time vs Drew Gulak, the tag team chamber match was wonderful, crazy chaos, the Street Profits looked like a million bucks, and storylines progressed further into the show of shows. What really stood out to me more than anything was the women’s Elimination Chamber and the booking that accompanied the match.

Before I dive into the details of the main event, I’ll preface this by saying I understand why people don’t love Shayna Baszler matches. They’re pretty methodical but not in the way Bobby Roode is “methodical”, a code word for being slow and boring. Shayna’s approach is much more psychological, breaking down an opponent little by little, weakening the opposition for the suffocating submission, the Kirifuda Clutch. I’ve always found her matches incredibly refreshing because in a world where Johnny Kickout and Tommaso Ciampa go 45 minutes for no good reason, Baszler hones in on a shorter match that feels more like a real fight. Rather than kicking out of 11 finishers in 15 minutes to “This is Awesome” chants, Shayna matches typically feel more intense. Having a wrestler that can actually fight brings an interesting dimension to a…