WWE SmackDown LIVE results, Feb. 12, 2019: The Viper strikes and secures the most coveted spot in the Elimination Chamber Match

Reveling after Mr. McMahon anointed her as the new WrestleMania 35 challenger to Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair arrived on SmackDown LIVE confident as could be. The Queen claimed that Mr. McMahon made a smart business decision by putting her in the place of the now-suspended Becky Lynch because she was the backbone of the Women’s division, and The Man was simply a flash in the pan. The Queen then made a promise: To dedicate her WrestleMania victory to her “best friend” Becky. Flair then promised she would be front row for Rousey’s Raw Women’s Title defense this Sunday at WWE Elimination Chamber against Ruby Riott … a match that she clearly now had a serious vested interest in. 

The three teams representing Team Blue in the Elimination Chamber Match to crown the first-ever WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions this Sunday faced off in a pressure-packed Triple Threat Match. Much like on Raw last night, the team that suffered the defeat in this bout would join Raw’s Sasha Banks & Bayley as the first two teams to begin the contest this Sunday.

With the stakes so incredibly high, all three teams were laser-focused on prevailing and making sure they weren’t the ones defeated ... well, at least two of them, as The IIconics never actually tagged into the contest. In the pivotal moments, Naomi finally got to release weeks of frustration on Mandy Rose, and The Glow connected with the Split Legged Moonsault on God’s Greatest Creation for the win, ensuring that Fire & Desire would kick things off inside the Chamber on Sunday.

However, Fabulous Glow would not be able to celebrate for long, as The IIconics finally made their move, blindsiding the victorious Naomi & Carmella with a brutal assault, leaving them laying outside the ring and making their own major impression ahead of Sunday.

Well, it’s safe to say that the first-ever edition of “McMiz TV,” co-hosted by SmackDown Tag Team Champions Shane McMahon & The Miz, was quite lively.

With their WWE Elimination Chamber opponents The Usos as their guests, the two teams first started out by playing the “Tag Team Game” to determine which partners knew each other better. Off-put by The Usos feisty demeanors, however, Miz and Shane showed they were not intimidated by their bold challengers. Tensions rose when The Miz brought up Jimmy’s recent drama with Mandy Rose, and Shane-O-Mac told The Usos they were going down this Sunday. The Usos response? Swiftly kicking The Best Tag Team in the World with superkicks in stereo.

My, oh my, this one became personal QUICK.

WWE Champion “The New” Daniel Bryan and his intellectual peer Rowan arrived at the onset of this Gauntlet Match that would determine who would enter last in the WWE Title Elimination Chamber Match this Sunday with a very simple and direct message: Bryan was trying to inform the WWE Universe about how he was a martyr for competing in the Elimination Chamber Match this Sunday, but he was soon interrupted by his first opponent in the Gauntlet Match, Kofi Kingston. Kofi was chosen as The New Day member to replace Mustafa Ali after Ali was injured by Rowan in last week’s melee between the Elimination Chamber Match participants.

Bryan and Kingston went at it ferociously, with Bryan trying to wear Kingston down and Kofi pulling out all the stops to take down the WWE Champion. In the clutch, after several brutal exchanges, Kingston survived the LeBell Lock and interference from Rowan (who was quickly neutralized by Big E & Xavier Woods at ringside before the official threw them both out) and then hit a picture-perfect Trouble in Paradise to eliminate Bryan.

Kofi couldn’t bask in the shocking moment for too long though, as next out was Jeff Hardy. The two dynamic competitors went back and forth, but an exhausted Kingston put him down for three with the SOS.

Kingston would then attempt to continue his hot streak against Samoa Joe. The Samoan Submission Machine used his fresh legs to wear down the New Day member, but Kofi somehow countered the Coquina Clutch into a pinning attempt that shockingly defeated Joe. Samoa Joe viciously attacked Kingston after his elimination and once again trapped him in the Coquina Clutch on the outside of the ring. However, Kofi’s next opponent AJ Styles came rushing out to get Joe off The Dreadlocked Dynamo, chased him off and then checked on the downed Kingston.

Even with all the damage he had suffered, Kingston insisted on carrying on with the Gauntlet Match. A hesitant Styles complied after a passionate Kofi aggressively got in The Phenomenal One’s face, shouting “Fight me! I’ve been doing this for too long!” and shoving him in the face. Kofi gave it everything he had, battling through fatigue at every turn, but when Styles applied the Calf Crusher with nowhere for Kingston to go, he was forced to tap.

The New Day came rushing down to pick up what was left of the drained Kofi. Styles then waited for the arrival of the final entrant, Randy Orton, but The Apex Predator never made the walk down the ramp. No, instead, Orton came from behind The Phenomenal One, hitting an RKO out of nowhere to claim the victory in an absolutely unbelievable match.

With The Viper securing his position as the final entrant into the Elimination Chamber Match, is he now the favorite to leave as WWE Champion this Sunday?