Credit: WWE.com
How will WWE’s Elimination Chamber matches set the stage for its participants on the Road to WrestleMania?
So here we are, gentle reader, merely a few days away from the WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event and I have a treat for you. It’s a lollipop and honestly, since I can’t actually give it to you, I’m going to eat it right now.
But hey, what I can give you is this great article where I predict the outcomes for some of the participants in the Men and Women’s Elimination Chamber Matches. It’s not as much straight up predictions, but rather how I expect the Elimination Chamber results to define this year’s WrestleMania card. Let’s go for it!
Roman and Alexa Win
There are a lot of narratives running around the Internet Wrestling Community™ but I am not expecting big surprises as far as the winners of the Elimination Chamber matches are concerned.
On the men’s side, Roman Reigns is winning. I know a lot of people are banking on some kind of swerve because of Seth’s performance last Monday, but WWE had a window of opportunity to throw a curveball in the buildup to the Universal Championship match at WrestleMania, but that ship has sailed. Sailed right through that window. It’s all going to be about focusing on making the Reigns/Lesnar main event that they have been planning for the past year into something special. Otherwise, this entire year of Lesnar holding the belt will be pretty anticlimactic.
As far as the women’s EC match goes, there’s no doubt in my enticingly pulpy brain that Alexa Bliss is walking out of the Chamber with her title. She will likely survive the match by turning on Mickie James at the last possible moment to retain.
I understand that she’s not everyone’s favorite and is somewhat polarizing, but she has been the face of the Raw women’s division since jumping to the Red Brand after WrestleMania last year. She’s also arguably the only properly booked member on the roster. It wouldn’t make sense for her to not go into WrestleMania as the champ.
In fact, if I can be so bold, I don’t think she’ll be fighting Asuka at WM, but rather Mickie James, with whom she has great chemistry. Turning on James will give the motivation to push for a proper feud, culminating in a potentially great match where James can work her magic to bring out Alexa’s strengths and make her look like a million bucks.
Credit: WWE.com
Seth and Finn Collide
Ever so slightly teased over the past few weeks, I’m under the impression that Newly Minted Mega-Babyface Seth Rollins will have a serious run-in with Finn “That Guy Who’s Over” Bálor in the men’s Elimination Chamber match to set up the only probable and logical program for both these guys at WrestleMania. Likely to be booked to serve as Raw’s counterpart to SmackDown Live’s offering of Styles vs. Nakamura, Seth and Finn are two exceptionally gifted wrestlers who can put on a barn burner. And since I am of the belief that WWE really wants to steal some thunder away from New Japan with the core audience. Giving these two guys the platform to make it happen makes sense.
Credit: WWE.com
Sasha and Bayley Stop Being Friends
This is the time to kill Sasha Banks and Bayley’s friendship. WWE has been teasing it for so long now, it’s starting to feel like we’re a German David Hasselhoff fan waiting for that new album to drop. As I mentioned earlier, the story of the Women’s Elimination Chamber Match is about how the three pairs of allies will interact with each other when confronted with the “every woman for herself” aspect. In this case, the most likely outcome is Sasha either eliminating or contributing to Bayley’s elimination, which should lead to a match between the two at WrestleMania. I’m not saying that Sasha is turning heel at EC, but if she doesn’t, it will be a nice, slow, tense build to WrestleMania.
Credit: WWE.com
Braun and Elias and Miz, Oh My!
If I look into my crystal ball, which is actually not a ball but my notes and not made of crystal but rather from 32-pound 100-brightness copy paper, this one has triple threat written all over it. I would say Elias gets some measure of revenge over Braun, forcing him out of the Elimination Chamber match. Then, on Monday, when Elias interrupts a Miz promo to demand an Intercontinental title match, Braun comes out to not only challenge Elias but request an IC title shot of his own. All of a sudden Kurt Angle’s music hits, he jabberjaws into a microphone and boom: We have ourselves a Triple Threat match for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania (which Braun will win, BTW).
Credit: WWE.com
Big Match John’s Big Ol’ Road To WrestleMania
So John Cena’s been whining that he doesn’t have a clear path to WrestleMania for the first time in sixty thousand years or something. Since he will not be winning the Elimination Chamber match, I think this will be one of the major stories to come out of the pay-per-view. So if all six of the other guys have their matches and feuds set, what’s left for John?
It’s simple: A big attraction match at WrestleMania. It can’t be a fight against any of the current roster guys, though. It has to be a legend, a superstar, someone who isn’t currently active on the roster, but big and well-loved enough to make this match a really big deal.=
Undertaker, you say? This is me wagging my finger at you. Think bigger and more physically capable, kids.
Next: The Top 10 Greatest Moments In Elimination Chamber History
Imagine Cena at Raw Monday night. Imagine him being all gloomy in the middle of the ring, complaining about not having his WrestleMania spot this year. Then suddenly “Break The Walls Down” hits and Chris Jericho walks out and challenges John to a match at WM.
John Cena vs. Chris Jericho at WrestleMania this year. Tell me you don’t want that.