Who will walk out of The Elimination Chamber as the winner and #1 contender to Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship at WrestleMania 34?
At the Royal Rumble, it was Shinsuke Nakamura who came out victorious. That meant that he would be able to choose which world champion he wanted to face at WrestleMania 34.
Shinsuke obviously chose the match that everyone has been dying to see in WWE when he chose to face SmackDown Live’s WWE Champion, AJ Styles. So, that means Brock Lesnar is still without a contender to his Universal Championship at WrestleMania 34.
Kurt Angle then decided that Brock’s WrestleMania challenger would be decided inside the Elimination Chamber. The likes of Braun Strowman, Elias, John Cena, Roman Reigns, and The Miz all earned their spots by winning qualifying matches.
Then, there was a second chance fatal four way match to decide the last participant that got turned into a fatal five way match after Seth Rollins claimed he had yet to receive an opportunity to qualify for the Elimination Chamber match.
That match ended in some confusion as both Finn Bálor and Seth Rollins pinned Bray Wyatt for the win, and thanks to some lazy booking, Kurt Angle just decided both would be in the Elimination Chamber match instead of dealing with the controversy.
Now we have the first ever seven man Elimination Chamber match where the winner meets The Beast at WrestleMania. So, let’s take a look at how these seven competitors stack up against each other.
Photo by WWE’s Twitter
7. Elias
Elias’s rise to stardom within a year’s time has been a pleasant surprise for the WWE Universe. After a subpar showing at NXT, Elias was brought up to the main roster with very little hype behind his name.
Regardless, Elias has risen up the card by having the most entertaining segments on Raw each week. He is able to play the crowd like a fiddle (or guitar) and puts in humor with his cheap local crowd heat.
Not only is Elias entertaining, though. He has shown exciting brutality by breaking his guitar over opponents like Finn Bálor and Jason Jordan, and he’s no slouch in the ring, either. He’s been able to put on great matches with Finn, Roman, and even John Cena.
So, right now, Elias is a hot commodity, and he is getting his first taste of the main event scene with this Elimination Chamber match. He already defeated John Cena and Braun Strowman in a main event of Raw to become the last entrant to enter the Elimination Chamber match.
While he may be the last to enter the match, he is sadly also last on the list of likely winners. Yes, Elias is entertaining and deserves to move up the card, but he is nowhere near ready for the main event of WrestleMania against Brock Lesnar.
Elias should hopefully find a match on the WrestleMania card, but until he proves to be a longstanding draw for the company, it is unlikely that he’d get a world title match…especially if Braun is bringing another cello to the Elimination Chamber.
Credit: WWE.com
6. The Miz
While 2018 may end up actually being the year of The Miz, The Elimination Chamber match will not be the match of The Miz, and this is no knock on The A-Lister. The man has done so much for the company for the past couple of years and is undoubtedly deserving of another world title run.
The only problem is that The Miz already has a strap of his own. He is now the second longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time, and right now that is where the focus of his character is at.
So, rather than an Intercontinental Champion taking on a Universal Champion at WrestleMania, it would be better for The Miz to defend his championship and provide another Superstar a quality spot on the ‘Mania card.
Also, after his loss on Raw, the odds aren’t looking so great for The Miz. His loss to Cena now means that The Miz has to enter the Elimination Chamber first, which means his typical game plan of hiding and picking his spots will be out the window. So, The Miz could have a very short stay in the match and could even be the first one eliminated.
We most likely won’t see The Miz come out victorious at Elimination Chamber, but we could see his WrestleMania feud begin to develop from there. There’s a good chance that he could be defending his Intercontinental Championship against any of the other losers in the Elimination Chamber.
Photo Source: WWE.com
5. Finn Bálor
Finn Bálor has won over the hearts of the WWE Universe lately. After some poor booking upon his return from injury, Bálor has hit his groove now that he has joined forces with Gallows and Anderson to officially form the Bálor Club.
The first ever WWE Universal Champion is undoubtedly one of WWE’s top stars right now as he boasts a loud crowd reaction every time he appears on TV, but it doesn’t look like he will claim WWE’s top spot at WrestleMania just yet.
First, Finn was rumored to face Brock for the belt before WrestleMania. Then, it was rumored that Finn was deemed “not over enough” to face The Beast, and then the word was that the plan was to actually avoid Brock to protect Finn’s undefeated Demon character.
So, that form of protection will continue at WrestleMania, too, as Finn won’t get the chance to face Brock Lesnar there. But, there’s no need to fear. Finn is coming into his own on the main roster beside his Good Brothers and could be in store for a quality WrestleMania feud.
Finn is a valuable asset but with Raw being the land of giants with guys like Strowman, Reigns, Lesnar, and now Cena all in the main event mix, he would be better suited elsewhere on the card. Hopefully, he should have a good showing in the Elimination Chamber just as he did in the Royal Rumble, but I don’t expect him to come out victorious.
I mean, the fact that he isn’t going in as The Demon should be a dead giveaway that this isn’t a make or break match for Finn, but I suspect The Demon will be out to claim gold of some sorts come WrestleMania.
Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter
4. John Cena
Believe it or not, the face of the franchise, John Cena, also known as Super Cena, is not at the top of this list. While Cena chasing his 17th world title reign heading into WrestleMania would be a great story, it’s not the story he or the WWE Universe need right now.
Brock Lesnar being champion is a great thing because it gives credibility to the Universal Championships due to his legit fighting background and track record in WWE, but it has more than run its course.
Raw is hurting by having a part time world champion now because the “face” of the brand is hardly ever there. So, to have two part timers, Cena and Lesnar, fight over the belt at WrestleMania could cause fans to turn on both of them (more than they already have), and it would spell disaster for the Raw brand after ‘Mania.
Also, we’ve already seen Cena vs. Lesnar a few times, and it’s time for a fresh feud for Cena. So, expect Cena to be doing some eliminating in the Elimination Chamber, but expect him to get pinned by someone he could start a WrestleMania feud with.
People like Elias, Finn, and Braun Strowman all have some unsettled business with Cena and could easily spark a WrestleMania feud with him in the Elimination Chamber. However, there’s plenty of different roads to WrestleMania Cena could take.
He could feud with some of those entrants, jump ship to SmackDown to feud with one of their top guys, OR there could be something special in store for The Face That Runs The Place: a match with The Undertaker. Could it happen? Maybe. But there are certainly other options out there for Cena, so expect someone else to come out victorious in this Elimination Chamber match.
credit: wwe.com
3. Seth Rollins
Poor Seth. This guy’s 2017 and first month of 2018 haven’t been too kind to him. From bad booking to injuries, Seth Rollins has suffered it all but has come out stronger than ever just in time for WrestleMania.
First, he got injured and almost missed out on another WrestleMania. Then, he suffered some terrible booking as he feuded in a lackluster feud with Bray Wyatt, which he lost. Then, his white hot Shield reunion came to a halt when Roman got sick and Dean Ambrose got injured.
So, plans had to change for The Architect as he jumped ship to a new tag team with Jason Jordan. Sadly, it ended the same way with Jordan getting injured and leaving Rollins with no partner or direction heading into WrestleMania 34.
Regardless of all the setbacks, Seth has picked up steam as a top babyface by reintroducing his Curb Stomp/Black Out finisher and belting out fiery and passionate promos. Rollins has reminded us all that he is more than just apart of a tag team. He is a top guy.
So, with no direction at the moment, Seth Rollins was thrown in as an extra in the second chance qualifying match for The Elimination Chamber, and then he was the seventh man added in the actual Elimination Chamber match.
Many think this is just to give Rollins something to do at Elimination Chamber, but it could be the start of a great WrestleMania story. Sure, he could very easily lose, or he could be the ultimate underdog defeating the odds another time as he goes on to face Brock Lesnar after enduring his year in wrestling.
Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter
2. Braun Strowman
Who is hotter than Braun Strowman in WWE right now? I’ll answer that for you: No one. Strowman continues to be the most over Superstar on the roster month in and month out and looks like he only grows in popularity and character.
He started out as just a big man who can flip things and move well in the ring. Now he’s a big man that flips bigger things that exudes charisma. From his “Get these hands” catchphrase to playing and destroying a cello, Strowman personifies sports entertainment.
He has been an unbeatable monster since straying away from his Wyatt Family ties, and he has a really deep story with Brock Lesnar that goes all the way back to SummerSlam. At SummerSlam, Strowman destroyed Lesnar (and everyone else), but Brock was able to get a pin on Roman.
So, Braun demanded a one on one match with The Beast, which was a brutal match that ended when Strowman was caught off guard by Lesnar’s Kimura Lock that gave Lesnar the momentary advantage.
This could have damaged Strowman, but it looked like it only made him stronger and hungrier for the gold. He got another match with Lesnar, but it was a triple threat match that he dominated only for Lesnar to get a pin on Kane. That match finished with Strowman yelling out that Lesnar didn’t pin him.
So, will we get the conclusion to this ultimate rivalry on the platform that it deserves? Well, we most certainly should see Strowman dominate, come out victorious, and overcome Lesnar at WrestleMania 34.
The only problem is that there is a certain dog that isn’t ready to give up his yard…
Credit: WWE.com
1. Roman Reigns
Come on, did you really think anyone else would top off this list? Roman Reigns is destined for the main event of WrestleMania 34. Even though he didn’t win the Rumble, it is almost a lock that Reigns vs. Lesnar for the Universal Championship will headline ‘Mania.
This would be the Roman’s fourth WrestleMania main event in a row and his second squaring off against Lesnar. He still has some unfinished business with The Beast as their WrestleMania 31 match ended in Rollins cashing in and winning the match to close out the show.
Ever since Lesnar won the Universal Championship from Goldberg, it was rumored that Reigns would be the one to take the belt from him at ‘Mania, and it looks like the WWE higher ups haven’t changed their minds.
Reigns fell short of solidifying his spot in a world title match at the Royal Rumble, so it looks like the Elimination Chamber match will be his ticket to WrestleMania. While hardcore fans would scowl at the idea of Reigns winning, his 2017 is deserving of another world title reign.
He had an epic clash and series of matches with Braun Strowman, defeated John Cena and developed his promo game, got fans back on his side with the Shield reunion, put on a few great matches as Intercontinental Champion, and now without the midcard strap, he has a clear path to Lesnar’s title.
Next: 3 Potential WrestleMania Opponents For Rollins
I’m sure Roman Reigns won’t be getting the most eliminations in the match (leave that to the Monster), but I’m fairly certain he will at least get the last one. WrestleMania 34 will be all about Reigns vs. Lesnar, and it starts with the Elimination Chamber.