WWE Elimination Chamber 2017 Results: Alexa Bliss' Reign Ended Too Soon

Alexa Bliss’ first SmackDown Women’s Championship reign should have had more to it.

Alexa Bliss had a nearly three month build toward the SmackDown Women’s Championship. She then defeated Becky Lynch at TLC to win the belt, followed by multiple successful defenses. Her character work had been excellent as well, leading to WWE running with her momentum by putting the belt on her.

Heading into Elimination Chamber, Bliss had a match set with Naomi. These two had feuded for the past few weeks with the latter scoring multiple pinfalls to give her the upper hand. Ms. Five Feet of Fierce showed she couldn’t stand up to the Glowing Superstar, which continued on Sunday night.

The match that Bliss and Naomi put on would be an entertaining one, especially with the dramatic near-falls and the athleticism displayed by both. However, we saw a title change here with Naomi winning her first-ever championship in WWE. It would provide a great moment for her after being given chances in the past, but never being allowed to follow up on them. This changed with the victory and heartwarming moment where she spoke to the fans.

However, the moment created for Naomi would be a detriment for Bliss, whose title reign felt like it could have lasted longer.

The former NXT star had come into her own as the leading heel on SmackDown, toppling the leading babyface, Becky Lynch, and aligning with Mickie James in her return. So it seemed WWE would be giving Bliss plenty to work with as she steadily improved throughout the fall and into 2017.

For Bliss’ title loss to be more accepted, there could have been a longer in her feud with Naomi. It would have made for a more fitting payoff to the former Team B.A.D. member getting her first-ever title win, even though she received an overwhelming response, to begin with. If we had four-six weeks of intense promos and brawls to highlight the emotion, that would have helped too. All there had been to go off of was Naomi getting pinfalls. It showed she had the edge, but as the basis of the feud, and to lead to a title change — it seems underwhelming.

Alexa Bliss’ main roster career is still young and there could be another title reign or two to come. However, at just over two months, her first run could have ended smoother and lasted longer.