We’re fast approaching the final stop on the Road to WrestleMania 36 and I can quite honestly say that it feels like one of the least inspired pay-per-view events of all time. Having come off a pretty disappointing episode of the Saudi Arabia chronicles, WWE has a lot to make up for with the often exciting Chamber event. Even if fans are either burnt out on the constant ‘hype’ of WrestleMania season, or simply aren’t paying attention before the big show in April, the Chamber matches can sometimes be a fun affair.
This year we have two Elimination Chamber matches on the card, a few championship matches and a grudge match worthy of WrestleMania itself, unless it turns out to be yet another vehicle to put over the 50+ year old Undertaker.
We’re going to run down each individual match and provide you with some vague insight to the illogical booking decisions behind them. Make sure you drop your own predictions and hot takes in the comment below.
Women’s Elimination Chamber Match
I think it’s safe to say that this specific Elimination Chamber match could go down as one of the most predictable to date. Becky Lynch’s WrestleMania opponent will be determined in the show’s main event, pitting six of the headlining names of the RAW Women’s Division against one another in the chamber. Unless you were clinically insane, you’d be putting your bets on ‘The Queen of Spades’ to walk away with a dominant win.
WWE are sometimes prone to a curve ball here and there, but with most reports suggesting that plans for Becky/Shayna have been pretty much confirmed since the start of the year, then this match is a one horse race. This should be Bazsler’s match, a coming-out party of sorts for her on the main roster. The more casual audience might still be unaware of how much of a threat Shayna is to ‘The Man’, if anything, an Elimination Chamber match is going to be a fantastic way to put her over as the next big thing.
Perhaps the focus of the match will start building one or two other feuds in the Women’s Division, maybe the growing tensions between the former members of The Riott Squad, or giving the Women’s Tag Team Champs something to work with heading into the ‘Grandest Stage’ next month, but ultimately this is going to be the Shayna show.
Winner: Shayna Bazsler
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber Match
The right team won at Super ShowDown; John Morrison and The Miz walked away with the win over The New Day and the SmackDown Tag titles suddenly became ten times more interesting. Here we are less than a fortnight later and the blue belts are on the line in a huge Elimination Chamber match. If anything, this shows how much star power both JoMo and The Miz hold as a unit, and goes to show how great of a decision it was putting them back together on TV.
The A-List team will be defending against The New Day, The Usos, Heavy Machinery, Ziggler & Roode and Lucha House Party in what should be a really fun Chamber match. There’s plenty of names in the fray that could put together some really innovative spots, so if you’re tuning in for anything this Sunday, make sure this match is on your radar.
Morrison and The Miz have barely scratched the surface with their reunion tour, so it would be a mistake stripping them of the titles this early on in their return run. Unless WWE have plans to split the duo up in time for a WrestleMania singles bout, I see them walking away with the W in their first title defence.
Winner: John Morrison and The Miz
Braun Strowman vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro & Sami Zayn – Handicap Match for the Intercontinental Championship
In terms of sheer talent, this match is the most interesting on the card. Putting Nakamura, Cesaro and Zayn in the ring together should only lead to magic, whether that be as a trio or as opponents. Regardless of wrestling ability, this is purely going to be an exhibition of how god dang powerful Braun Strowman is, as he’ll likely steamroll over all three men once he hits his stride.
Strowman has only recently won his first singles title in WWE, and I doubt the boys backstage will want to take that away from him so soon after. Nakamura’s title reign wasn’t exactly spectacular, and I doubt there’s enough confidence in either Cesaro or Sami Zayn to carry the mid-card belt into WrestleMania this year, as much as they both deserve a chance.
Maybe this will lead to a really fun triple threat in the coming weeks, one can hope right?
Winner: Braun Strowman
Aleister Black vs AJ Styles – No DQ Match
Oh boy, this should be a fun 15 minutes!
AJ Styles and Aleister Black have the opportunity to absolutely knock it out of the park just before WrestleMania comes along to suck all the spotlight away from them. Honestly, I’d be more excited to see this on the ‘Mania card than the looming Styles/Undertaker conflict.
Black has been on the precipice of becoming a huge star in WWE as of late, but has yet to be given a big win to start his run as a main-eventer on RAW. This is his best chance, but has possibly come at the worst time. Styles needs a big win heading into his match with ‘Taker, and what better time than at Elimination Chamber. The added stipulation of No DQ makes for an intriguing scenario where The Undertaker could make another unannounced appearance and cost AJ the match, handing the win to the equally mysterious Aleister Black.
With all this in mind, it could go either way. Knowing WWE, however, I think they’ll want to give AJ the rub in this match, making him look like one of the most impressive performers to give ‘The Deadman’ a run for his money at WrestleMania.
Winner: AJ Styles
The Street Profits vs Seth Rollins & Murphy – RAW Tag Team Championships
In what was quite a surprising turn of events, The Street Profits defeated Seth Rollins and Murphy to claim their first RAW Tag Team Championships on Monday Night RAW. Honestly, I didn’t see WWE handing Dawkins and Ford a big title win this early on in their main roster careers. Up until now, they hadn’t really accomplished anything in the division, and seemingly jumped over some other teams who had been next in line for a run with the belts.
I mean, at this point, the Raw Tag Titles are practically meaningless. There hasn’t been a single memorable reign in recent memory and they’re used more as props than they are merit. Despite this, The Street Profits are one of the more popular duos in WWE and have the talent to start clawing back some credibility in the RAW Tag division.
I imagine their pay-per-view rematch will be a rinse and repeat of their match from RAW, but it should be a fun affair nonetheless. Rollins & Murphy are two more than capable athletes that deserve to be on the card, but hopefully they’ll be given something slightly more high-profile to work with for WrestleMania.
Winner: The Street Profits
Andrade vs Humberto Carrillo – United States Championship
The United States Championship has been fighting off the afterthought vibe for the best part of a year, but with the recent shenanigans between Andrade, Rey Mysterio, Humberto and Angel Garza, it’s turning into a scene worth keeping your eye on. WWE has done a great job at elevating the Latino representation as of late, with the additions of Humberto Carrillo and Angel Garza to help diversify the RAW roster. Seeing them involved in the mid-card exhibition should be a great opportunity for both Andrade and Carrillo to show the world what they’re made of, and finally give WWE the fresh Latino stars they’ve been craving for a while.
Cruiserweight stars like Andrade and Humberto seem to forever be kept on a short leash when it comes to his PPV matches. They occasionally break the typical conventions of a main roster singles match, but are always reigned in by the uninspired structures of a 10 minute bout.
Hopefully this match will usher in something slightly more exciting for WrestleMania this year. With some fans speculating that we might see a fatal-4-way between the four Mexican competitors with the US Championship on the line, this could be a real turning point for Latinos and Luchadores under the WWE umbrella.
Back to the match at hand, Andrade’s probably going to retain. He is the bigger star and undeniably the more well-rounded performer. Taking nothing away from Carrillo, Humberto has achieved a lot in such a short time and will learn plenty from this match. Hopefully it will do Humby favours as he continues to grow as a singles star on RAW.
Winner: Andrade
At this time of writing, there’s yet to be any more matches confirmed from the SmackDown side of things. I suspect WWE will put at least another two matches on the card before Sunday, just to help beef up the undercard and create some pre-show fodder.
With big WrestleMania stars like Roman Reigns, Drew McIntyre and The Fiend all without a scheduled match for the go-home PPV, you’d think WWE might want to pull their thumbs out before the show.
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