The Road to Wrestlemania takes a bumpy detour with Elimination Chamber. Would you believe the main events are Elimination Chamber matches? If only the PPV name hinted towards that. WWE should get on top of that.
Now that my terrible joking is done, let’s get to the matches. Before I begin, I’ve decided to predict the Elimination Chamber matches by breaking down each competitor’s chances. Keep that in mind while reading.
Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE Championship
CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho vs. The Miz vs. R-Truth vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston
CM Punk- The defending champion may have the deck stacked against him, but he stands the best chance of winning, in my opinion. Since it’s clear that him and Jericho are clashing at Wrestlemania, it’s only logical either he or Y2J leave with the gold. Of course, somebody else could win and the battle between the best(s) in the world is for pride and bragging rights.
Chris Jericho- The only flaw people see in Punk retaining is not being able to set up Jericho/Punk. If Jericho wins, it’s an easy rematch clause scenario. To me, that’s not necessary. If they want Jericho/Punk to be for the title, they can easily have Chris win a #1 Contender’s Match. Hell, he could simply challenge Punk and both parties agree, setting up the match. It’s happened in the past.
The Miz- Last year’s WWE Champion going into Wrestlemania has had a bit of a downfall lately. It’s not as severe as many have made it out to be. He’s still a featured wrestler. He just seems to have dropped a bit in status. I still see another reign as WWE champion down the road, just not now. The only chance I see of him winning is for Sheamus to challenge him at Wrestlemania, which is grossly unappealing.
R-Truth- Unless him and Miz collide for the title at Wrestlemania, R-Truth doesn’t have a chance in hell of winning this match. He’s in a strange state of his career right now. His heel turn got abruptly ended due to a suspension and he’s gradually settling back into face territory (while still maintaining his crazy persona). Unlike the last two years when he competed in this match, he doesn’t feel like filler. He’s risen up in the rankings, just not quite for a WWE title run yet.
Dolph Ziggler- Unless they gave him a quick reign and hotshot the belt back to Punk, Dolph doesn’t stand a good chance of winning. The best chance he had was last month at the Royal Rumble. Even then, his chances weren’t astronomical.
Kofi Kingston- Just like his other entries in the Chamber, he’s simply there for some cool spots. He’s filler, but at least in an entertaining way. The Miz was right when he said Kofi was an afterthought in this match.
Winner: CM Punk
Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Championship
Daniel Bryan vs. The Big Show vs. Wade Barrett vs. Cody Rhodes vs. The Great Khali vs. Santino Marella
Daniel Bryan- Up until Randy Orton was taken out of the match, I felt Bryan had a good, but not great chance of retaining. I’ve seen him entering Wrestlemania in a World Heavyweight Championship match ever since he won the belt. I just felt he would lose it here to Orton then face both him and Sheamus in a triple threat. I still see that happening, but with Bryan still defending. Sheamus will decide to challenge Bryan and Orton will claim he never got his rightful title shot due to Bryan knocking him out. Therefore, he’s inserted into the match.
The Big Show- If his rumored match with Shaq falls through, Big Show may walk out of Elimination Chamber with the gold. Since his feud with Bryan is far from over, they can have their blow-off match at Wrestlemania. Bryan doesn’t need to lose the title in order for that to happen. But, WWE does like pulling surprises like that.
Wade Barrett- His chances of winning lie solely on when Orton comes back. I assume Randy will be in good condition by Wrestlemania, so another Barrett/Orton clash could happen, this time with the gold on the line. The only problem with this theory is that this feud has been done to death by now. Wade is better off moving on and winning the title further down the road.
Cody Rhodes- The Intercontinental Champion may not have great odds of winning, but he’ll probably be the standout in this match. I’m still uncertain if Cody will ever win the World title, but I definitely see him feuding for it a lot in his career. This match is a good start.
The Great Khali- I still don’t know why Khali’s in the match. I guess since they were replacing Mark Henry, they felt they needed somebody bigger. This way Bryan can tout he’s a giant killer. I know Khali is an attraction, which is actually fitting. That’s all he’s here for; a quick attraction.
Santino Marella- Randy Orton’s replacement has about as much chance of winning as I do of landing a date with one of the Divas. Santino is the pure definition of filler. It’d be nice if they let him last longer than most would think. That way they can build him back up to the midcard titles. Maybe him being in this match is a blessing for him.
Winner: Daniel Bryan
Ambulance Match
Kane vs. John Cena
This feud has taken a weird turn, to say the least. After last week’s Raw, it’s easy to forget that Kane is even featured in this feud. The Cena/Ryder/Eve love triangle has taken over, making this match seem like a throwaway. Which it always was, since Cena is biding his time until facing The Rock at Wrestlemania.
I never thought I’d see the Ambulance Match appear again, but here we are. It’s fitting that Kane has been in both of them (the other being his match against Shane McMahon at Survivor Series 2003). I know a lot of people feel this gimmick was thrown together. But, ambulances have been the highlight of this feud for the past month. Ryder’s been in ambulances more than he has been in Eve.
We all know who’s winning this match. They could pull a fast one on us and have Kane be victorious. Not that it matters. Cena will still face The Rock. He’ll probably just have another victory under his belt going in.
Winner: John Cena
Divas Championship
Beth Phoenix vs. Tamina Snuka
Finally! The Divas division (I still hate calling it that) has a fresh feud. Not only that, but the match itself has a great chance of being good. Both Beth and Tamina are talented females who are actually entertaining to watch in the ring. I know some have complained about this match happening. I’m not, as I’d rather see this then Eve, Kelly Kelly or the Bellas in a match.
As for Tamina’s chances, they’re slim. She was hotshotted into this title match (though with good build). Now that Kharma’s back, her facing Beth at Wrestlemania seems almost certain. Just like Kane with Cena, Tamina is just keeping Beth busy. That’s not a bad thing, as she could put forth a tremendous effort and stand out from the pact. Here’s hoping.
Winner: Beth Phoenix