Elimination Chamber is the final pay-per-view before WrestleMania 41. Though the card is only four matches (so far), WWE has done a good job of hyping their return to Canada this Saturday. Let’s quickly get started with the first match
Men’s Elimination Chamber Match: John Cena vs. CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Logan Paul vs. Damian Priest vs. Seth Rollins
I had John Cena for the win for the longest time until The Rock returned. I’m assuming that Cody Rhodes is turning down The Rock’s proposal. That means someone else could step up and be Rock’s champion.
This opens the door for someone like John Cena or even Logan Paul! Paul is the type of guy who would relish at wanting more fame and money. I genuinely don’t know what the former United States Champion is doing at WrestleMania. The tease of going after the world heavyweight title was just a red herring. And Paul has been secretly building something with CM Punk. First The Royal Rumble elimination and then their go-home confrontation.
Then there’s Drew McIntyre - aka The Chosen One. The irony of McIntyre working for the Bloodline leader would be amazing as the former WWE Champion has shown to be hypocritical in the past. Plus, who could forget that The Rock was the man who gifted him that huge sword.
Seth and Damian aren’t winning. Seth’s thing seems to be against Roman still. Damian’s plans seem to be up in the air. It feels too soon for him to turn heel again, but he notably lacks any direction as a face at the moment. Still, I just don’t see him winning right now.
Heel John Cena would be great! But there’s skepticism on whether WWE would turn Cena heel during his retirement year. The story is there for him to do so. The guy hasn’t won a match in years and Cena is the ultimate company guy. It would be cool to get a heel John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes, but man, I just don’t see that right now.
And CM Punk. He’s been anti-authority for years, so it would be a true shocker for him to align with The Rock. Punk has made it known that he wants to main event a WrestleMania, so he has a reason to side with Dwayne as well. So many intriguing options and Cody’s opponent is an easy choice. Still, this is John Cena’s last WrestleMania, and him trying to capture the world title for the 17th title is huge. But, I can see a scenario where CM Punk gets the win and Cena is added later on. Maybe Cena loses again and out of desperation, he goes to the only man that can help him - The Rock. Cena did say that he in the main event was “best for business”. I’ll be damned, I changed my mind.
Winner: CM Punk becomes the number one contender to Cody’s Undisputed Championship
Women’s Elimination Chamber Match: Liv Morgan vs. Bianca Belair vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley vs. Naomi vs. Roxanne Perez
Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley? This is the perfect time to do this match. But I still feel that it was Belair who attacked Jade. They can easily have their match on Night One. Roxanne Perez is still new and I don’t get the sense that WWE is ready to put her in such a spot yet.
Naomi is also a good candidate for attacking Jade. Her reaction to that Liv and Raquel footage was too over-the-top. I don’t see her winning as well. Bliss is an interesting choice, but it seems that the company is still trying to figure out who she is.
As sad as this is to say, Bayley feels like yesterday’s news. This isn’t a shot at Bayley as she’s still a great performer, but WWE hasn’t told an interesting story with her for a while now.
She seems to be playing the good hand role at the moment. You would think that Liv Morgan would be eliminated from this equation, but a triple-threat match makes more sense as time goes on. WWE has been building up something with Iyo, Liv, and Rhea. I like Iyo Sky being in the world title picture at WrestleMania, but I think one match is too irresistible to not make.
Winner: Bianca Belair
Unsanctioned Match: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
Another hard match to choose from. I genuinely believe that Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton is the WrestleMania match for Owens. It’s always possible that Orton makes his return here and helps Sami get the win. But WWE may want to have the former Universal Champion looking strong going into Las Vegas next month.
Plus, Sami can always take the loss. The company isn’t particularly building something big for him at WrestleMania; to be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was a part of some multi-man match. If Sami wins, it won’t be clean, but I think America’s favorite Canadian is walking out of this one a winner.
Winner: Kevin Owens
Tag Team Match: WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton & Trish Stratus vs. Nia Jax & Candice LeRae
I guess Charlotte Flair can cause a distraction so Tiffany and Trish can lose, but this match should be about putting over the champion before her big title fight in Las Vegas. Had it been Charlotte and Nia then I would’ve easily had them penciled in for the win, but Candice LeRae is in the match for one main reason.
Winner: Tiffany Stratton and Trish Stratus