411’s WWE Elimination Chamber Preview

~THE STAFF~
* He predicted the coming of the Elimination Chamber back in 1967, and wrote about it on another website, which is amazing because both he (and the Internet as we know it) weren’t even born. He is Mr. JUSTIN WATRY.
* 411 contributor, Mr. KEN HILL.
* 411 contributor, Mr. Mitch Nickelson.
* 411 columnist, Mr. Jake Chambers.
* 411 columnist, Mr. Mike Hammerlock.
* 411 reviewer, Mr. Kevin Pantoja.
* He’s back and better than ever, Mr. Steve Cook.

Handicap Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. Kalisto and Apollo Crews

Steve Cook: This is just the most bizarre feud. Dolph turns against his friends Kalisto & Crews, who we didn’t really know were friends of Dolph until he stabbed them in the back, but I guess with Zack Ryder on the shelf with a knee injury Dolph was kind of low on people to make a statement by beating up on. He told us that he turned heel in order to find more success, but it’s been a mixed bag at best. What he has been able to do is beat up Kalisto & Crews with steel chairs, so Daniel Bryan booked Kalisto & Crews against Ziggler in a handicap match. The odds are stacked against Dolph, but I’ve got a feeling that he’ll have something (or someone) up his sleeve to come out the victor. Because otherwise you’ve got two good guys beating one bad guy, and who looks good in that scenario?

WINNER: Dolph Ziggler

JUSTIN WATRY: First of all, this is ridiculous. Kalisto is a great talent and has all the makings of legitimate star. Same for Apollo Crews. How he has NOT been bumped up the card since the WWE Draft is beyond me. The fact that they have to be put together to take on ONE man (Dolph Ziggler) is kinda baffling. I know this is just the heel putting his foot in his mouth by saying he could both at the same time, but my point stands. Kalisto vs. Zig Zag is a fine mid-card feud for Smackdown. Apollo Crews vs. Zig Zag is a fine feud for Smackdown. Both of them though, ugh! I don’t know. This reeks. Worst of all? Ziggler will probably win. Hoping not.

WINNER: Dolph Ziggler

KEN HILL: I’m not 100% on what they’re doing with Ziggler. If anything, the crowd seems to love watching him go apeshit on Crews and Kalisto with steel chairs, although I believe that says just as much about their lack of presence with the live audience as it does for Ziggler’s much-needed shift in character. However, for that shift in character to truly “kennect” with the fans, he needs solid, if heelish and somewhat underhanded victories, and this would be a proper place to start.

WINNER: Dolph Ziggler

Jake Chambers: As good as Smackdown Live seems to be these days, they’re overreaching if they think it’s possible to salvage Dolph Ziggler’s in-ring career at this point. The perennial “never got the right opportunity” guy, has actually had so many opportunities that it’s conked us all into amnesia about how rarely he can ever come through with a great match. Kalisto and Apollo Crews are both more interesting to me, if only because we haven’t seen them disappoint as much as Dolph, and I would rather watch these guys against each other than as fodder for some go-nowhere Ziggler angle.

WINNER: Dolph Ziggler

Mike Hammerlock: Fans lustily approved of Ziggler beating down Crews and then Kalisto on Tuesday. He might be in danger of his heel turn becoming a face turn if he continues to lay waste to the directionless faces on the roster. It’s kind of interesting psychology having Dolph attack avatars for his former self. Not since Foley went all Mankind has pro wrestling mined the depths of self-loathing. Fans would eat that with a spoon.

WINNER: Dolph Ziggler

Kevin Pantoja: Some people rejoiced when Dolph Ziggler turned heel. Not me. I’ve never bought into him as a heel. He only ever drew heat because of Vickie Guerrero. He was always more into “stealing the show” than being a heel. Anyway, he had a good second half of 2016 so there’s some hope. Not in this match though, despite me being a fan of both Kalisto and Apollo Crews. Booking the heel to have the disadvantage in a handicap match is just dumb. It would have been better if Dolph took out Kalisto and Crews tried getting revenge for his little buddy. Instead, the babyfaces will have the advantage, which makes it tough to draw sympathy. I hope they can pull off something good, but I don’t see it happening. Dolph wins via nefarious terms.

WINNER: Dolph Ziggler

Mitch Nickelson: Dolph truly needed this new change of attitude, but his current quality of opponents isn’t really helping him all that much. I think Crews and Kalisto are good wrestlers so please don’t read this as a knock on their talents but they’re definitely lower tiered guys. If I have to choose between stale babyface Ziggler losing to A.J. Styles over fresh heel Ziggler beating Kalisto and Crews, I’ll take the former. Hopefully he wins here and moves on to a feud that I can get behind a little easier.

WINNER: Dolph Ziggler

Natalya vs. Nikki Bella

JUSTIN WATRY: Nikki Bella beats Natalya, and this story line officially wraps up. My assumption is Nikki will be in a high profile WrestleMania spot this year, and Nattie will not. Thus, it is pretty straightforward there. Truthfully, I have not actually been THAT disappointed with their on/off feud since Survivor Series. The mystery attack was a good way to begin things, and it culminates in a well-built pay-per-view battle. No complains there. The one mis-step was weeks back when Natalya just randomly admitted to being the culprit. Could have hyped up the reveal a bit more. From there, it has been a slow count down to Nikki winning and moving on. That happens on Sunday.

WINNER: Nikki Bella

Jake Chambers: I liked the comment Nikki made in her face-to-face with Natalya on Smackdown this week about Nattie only ever being good at “wrestling” and what is she going to do when Nikki out wrestles her? It’s an intriguing comment from someone who, like her common-law spouse John Cena, has to constantly take criticism for being a poor wrestler, while Natalya seems always to float by on the reputation of a good “worker” because we all know where she came from. But Nikki, also like Cena, works on a higher level because she has been able to do what few can: be as popular with the mainstream audience as she is good in the ring. So while Natalya is destined to be enhancement talent, the quality of the match depends on what she is able to do to help Nikki shine, who should win here and go on to a marquee match of some kind at WrestleMania.

WINNER: Nikki Bella

Mike Hammerlock: Their promos have taken the exit to Bitch City, but I hold out hope for the wrestling here. Natalya can work in the ring and Nikki’s functional. And what they’re supposedly fighting about doesn’t matter. Sorting out which one is better is the only real reason they need for this fight. Could be a heel here win to set up multiple Nikki victories (Niktories?) in the future, but I’ll guess they skip right to Nikki owning Natalya.

WINNER: Nikki Bella

Kevin Pantoja: This feud is pretty much just a shittier version of Carmella vs. Nikki. Carmella/Nikki was miles better than it had any right to be. I can’t say the same here. Wooden acting and promos have surrounded some decent backstage brawling. I suspect the match will be okay. It’s an interesting mix because Nattie has gotten by on people saying how good she is in the ring, while Nikki has gotten flack for the opposite. I think Nattie isn’t quite that great and Nikki isn’t that bad. Nikki should win this because she’ll most likely be in a prominent role at WrestleMania. Natalya won’t.

WINNER: Nikki Bella

KEN HILL: While I feel like this has mostly devolved into “Girl, you be talkin’ cray cray!”, I can at least appreciate the feud having a level of drama and depth added to it, even if it’s just a big front for Total Divas and Total Bellas. That being said, I’m kinda split on this; Nikki pointed out that if Natalya, who claimed she could wrestle circles around Nikki (not an entirely untrue claim), loses out on Sunday, where does that leave her? If Nikki were to lose, it would most likely further the doubt we can (barely) see on her mind about her and John, which could very well lead to him “proposing”…a tag match to shut up the supposed “IT” couple of Miz and Maryse at WM 33.

WINNER: Natalya

Steve Cook: This matter between Nikki & Nattie has gotten more personal by the week. Lots of name calling, trash talking & cat fighting, just like you’d expect from two reality show & pro wrestling veterans. Natalya took the advantage on Tuesday night, attacking Nikki on Talking Smack and leaving people to wonder if Nikki would be 100% for Elimination Chamber. I figure that whether or not Nikki is 100% ready to go, she’ll be able to rise above hate & overcome the odds. She’ll never give up, that much is for certain.

WINNER: Nikki Bella

Mitch Nickelson : I find myself enjoying this Total Divas drama way more than I would’ve expected. It’s silly that Nattie’s biggest verbal jabs is that Nikki’s man won’t ever marry her but as a recovering VH1 Reality TV addict (the Flava of Love/I Love Money era was great TV) there’s something here that I can get behind. Will this be good? I think so – they’re both pretty good in the ring. I think Nattie will focus on whatever facial injuries Nikki suffered from the Talking Smack attack and pull out a victory. Nikki will win the war but it probably won’t be over at Elimination Chamber.

WINNER: Natalya

Mickie James vs. Becky Lynch

Mitch Nickelson : There’s no reason for Mickie James to come back to WWE simply to lose in her first big match. She’ll have plenty of time to put over the younger talent but Becky can take a loss here and not get hurt much by it, especially if Mickie uses nefarious tactics to win. James will be a good challenger for whenever a babyface finally dethrones Alexa. It’s good to keep her strong with a win for now.

WINNER: Mickie James

JUSTIN WATRY: Rumor is we are set for some kind of past vs. present women’s match at Mania. Only seems logical that the two teams would be captained by Mickie James and Becky Lynch. My belief is the present would win out over the past. Thus, Mickie is victorious at Elimination Chamber. She can gloat for a few weeks, maybe even getting a veteran legend to help out on Sunday. Then we can begin the hype. Somehow though, fans may end up cheering for Mickie and whoever else is brought in. Kind of a mess when you think about the reported idea. Sorry to say, but another loss for Becky Lynch is the best result. She does seem to lose a lot. Yeah, it doesn’t matter too much if fans continue to support her. At the same time, her moment in the sun had better come in Orlando.

WINNER: Mickie James

Jake Chambers: Becky Lynch continues to be the anchor of the Smackdown women’s “division” and her energy and charisma, not to mention great ring work, are what separate this show from the dreary RAW women’s wrestling scene. While the mood on RAW is allowed to be somber due to the domination of an arrogant heel, the inability of corporate WWE’s blue chippers Sasha Banks and Bayley to incite any next level drama or energy into their forced pushes holds back the women’s matches on that show. However, Becky Lynch has Rey Mysterio-like powers of resonating with a crowd mid-match, and that makes even her losses in a feud (like I expect here) a compelling aspect of the serialized success of Smackdown.

WINNER: Mickie James

Mike Hammerlock: This is going to be a boss match. Won’t surprise me in the least if these two steal the show. Mickie is the kind of vet talent who makes everyone look better. She’s like the opposite of her husband in that way. Anyway, good to see the ladies getting so much attention on this card. I’m figuring Mickie wins so that Becky must seek revenge in the future.

WINNER: Mickie James

Kevin Pantoja: Honestly, I’d have saved this to be the WrestleMania Smackdown Women’s Title match but I assume we get some kind of multi-woman match for each brand. Mickie and Becky sold the hell out of this match during the contract signing on Smackdown. it baffles me that Charlotte gets so much praise, when I feel like Becky has been MILES better over the past year. If Mickie is on her game like she was at TakeOver: Toronto, this could have show stealing potential. Mickie is 0-2 in tags since returning if I’m right and could use the win. Becky can survive a loss as the best babyface female around.

WINNER: Mickie James

KEN HILL: This is another one I’m a little unsure about, but I’ve enjoyed the fire from both ladies; Mickie’s got a chip on her shoulder from being unappreciated for helping to jump-start the Women’s Revolution, and Becky’s simply out for revenge and to prove Mickie isn’t the be all, end all of women’s wrestling. On the one hand, it’s Mickie’s first singles PPV match back on the main roster and that usually necessitates a win. On the other hand, this is Becky’s rebound feud since losing out on her rematch for the SD Women’s Title. Given that Mickie seems to be in the Jericho part-timer role of enhancing the current crop of talent, my best assumption would be that “Straight Fire” takes the duke here.

WINNER: Becky Lynch

Steve Cook: I find myself siding with Mickie James in the personal dispute between these two talented ladies. She, along with Trish Stratus & Lita, started the Women’s Revolution back in the early to mid 2000s. Becky and her fellow Horsewomen that came up through the NXT ranks seem to want to take all the credit for the success of women’s wrestling these days, so it’s only natural that there would be some pushback from one of the people responsible for the last time women’s wrestling was respected by the WWE Universe. Mickie may be older now, but she’s also wiser, and her tenure in TNA Wrestling & match with Asuka in Toronto showed that she’s yet to lose a step in the ring. If Becky is too busy coming up with puns to use on social media to focus on this match, she’ll find herself on the wrong side of the results page.

WINNER: Mickie James

Randy Orton vs. Luke Harper

Mitch Nickelson : This is one contest that has my piqued interest. Randy Orton needs to stay strong because he’s locked in to a WWE Championship Match at WrestleMania. I lean towards him not losing, however that’s not a lock. Even though it appears that the Wyatts have completely disintegrated as a unit, I think the Luke/Bray alliance might ultimately still prove to be alive. Perhaps Bray helps Luke get the victory here, planting seeds for another bit of interference later in the night? My gut tells me I’m probably wrong, but I’m going with the underdog here. I’d love to see Harper get a huge singles win. It would set up a very fresh title challenger for Orton post-WrestleMania, too.

WINNER: Luke Harper

JUSTIN WATRY: In 1999, Royal Rumble winner Vince McMahon lost at the February pay-per-view. In 2000, Royal Rumble winner The Rock lost at the February pay-per-view. In 2001, Royal Rumble winner Stone Cold Steve Austin lost at the February pay-per-view. In 2002, Royal Rumble winner Triple H lost at the February pay-per-view. Long live the Attitude Era! This is the new era. The 2017 Royal Rumble winner Randy Orton isn’t losing on Sunday to Luke Harper. It would be cool and unexpected in the saga of The Wyatt Family. However, we are about to enter a WWE Championship feud. Mr. RKO losing to John Cena on Smackdown LIVE is one thing. Doing the same to Harper, come on! I am a fan of the yeah, yeah, yeah guy like everybody else, but there are bigger fish to fry right now.

WINNER: Randy Orton

Jake Chambers: Ah, the arbitrary lame duck “Road to WrestleMania” match for the Royal Rumble winner. Nothing demonstrates the WWE’s reliance on repeating the same formulas better than this sure-to-be-fine yet predictable match. Even an unlikely Luke Harper win still relegates the guy to some kind of multi-man ladder match, pre-show contest, or Battle Royal at WrestleMania anyways, so win or lose, what does it matter?

WINNER: Randy Orton

Mike Hammerlock: I don’t 100% know what they’re doing with Luke Harper, but I’m glad they’re doing something. The whole Wyatt Family situation seems fluid. I’m hoping we’re in the early stages of something weird, though I suppose this could be nothing more than Erick Rowan’s abortive face turn when he claimed he didn’t like bullies. As for the outcome, Randy Orton has the golden ticket to WrestleMania. He’s not losing here.

WINNER: Randy Orton

Kevin Pantoja: The best possible outcome, though it’s unlikely, of Randy Orton winning the Royal Rumble would be a Orton/Wyatt/Harper at WrestleMania. The thought of three good workers with history and a compelling story to tell fighting for the title would be great. I know Harper being involved would seem odd but it would make sense and I love Harper, so sue me. If I were choosing with my heart, I’d go with Harper to set up something interesting heading into WrestleMania. But I’m choosing with my brain. Randy Orton is Randy Orton. He’ll win.

WINNER: Randy Orton

KEN HILL: While I like the recent fire we saw with Harper laying out Wyatt to a very discernible pop and how it COULD lead to Harper pulling off an win here, opening up the possibility of a Triple Threat at WM 33 (The Wyatt Family EXPLODES!), we all know this is to keep Orton fresh coming off his Rumble victory. This could very well be the underrated match of the night.

WINNER: Randy Orton

Steve Cook: I love me some Luke Harper. He’s a big guy that can work with wrestlers of any style & any weight. Anything you want from Luke in the ring, he’ll give to you in spades. I don’t love his chances in Phoenix against the man who won the Royal Rumble two weeks ago. Randy Orton may have come up short against John Cena on Tuesday night thanks to Harper, but that’ll make him even more determined to take out his former Wyatt Family brother. This should be a pretty great match. I know these guys have been looking forward to wrestling each other on a major stage and both will be on their A game.

WINNER: Randy Orton

Smackdown Women’s Championship Match: Champion Alexa Bliss vs. Naomi

Mitch Nickelson : It’s great getting to see Naomi getting a chance to shine as a singles competitor because she’s been overlooked for quite some time. Even though she has a few silly tools in her arsenal of offense (ex. – inverted headscissors stinkface), she can go in the ring. Plus, that entrance with the fluorescent lighting is really cool. Does that mean it’s her time to carry the SmackDown Women’s Title? I feel like it’s easier to figure out a WrestleMania scenario with Bliss as the title holder but even so, I’m going to take a gamble and pick the challenger instead.

WINNER: Naomi

JUSTIN WATRY: Three women’s matches on a pay-per-view. A single brand one at that. Good thing I gave the revolution time in 2015 to develop and didn’t immediately write it off after a month. Ah, the joys of being a knee-jerk cynic. What a way to live life, huh? Alexa Bliss is better than Naomi. At everything. Everything except sliding down the ramp. Even that, who knows? Zero doubt in my mind the champ retains. I don’t care if WM33 is in Orlando, Tokyo, Egypt, New York, or Antarctica, Naomi shouldn’t hold the Women’s Title.

WINNER: Alexa Bliss

Jake Chambers: I’m sure everyone is as stunned as me that not only are there three women’s singles matches on this card but all three are interesting matches that we can actually look forward to. I hate to begrudgingly accept that maybe the women’s “division” is actually a division of some kind, even though the WWE can pull the rug out from under it at any time. And this could very well be that time. If Naomi, a regular of the terrible “Diva’s division” can’t have a good-to-great match with the undersized, slightly green Alexa Bliss, then it might be a sign that the WWE needs to pull back on the idea of booking this many women’s matches on one event. However, if this match is a killer, and doesn’t feel repetitive after the previous two women’s matches, they can set a standard here for future Smackdown shows (at least). And that is so much more of a success for the “division” than just having a “historic” main event spot forced on us.

WINNER: Alexa Bliss

Mike Hammerlock: Naomi’s pinned the champ a couple of times now and I think we know how this goes from here. I wish I could believe Naomi has a chance. I think she’s a much more interesting character after years of getting passed over for the newest thing. She’s been hiding in plain sight. Also, Naomi’s entrance would play much better at WrestleMania. I’ll say it again, bring in Major Lazer and she could win the Internet. Alexa still works too heel by numbers for me. She says appropriately nasty things and cheats to win, but it’s not very inspired. For instance, Miz does all of that much better. A loss might actually force Alexa to do something interesting. Unfortunately I’m guessing they go status quo.

WINNER: Alexa Bliss

Kevin Pantoja: Natalya is boring, but Naomi is right up there next to her in that category. In fact, they’re the only two women currently on Smackdown who I don’t care about. I’ve enjoyed some of the Carmella/James Ellsworth stuff, but after the performances she put on from a character standpoint during the Nikki feud, she deserves to be featured more. Naomi has never interested me outside of a fun entrance. Their match at No Mercy was complete garbage but with more time to plan, hopefully this one is better. It’s Naomi, so I’m not expecting a ton and as much as I love Alexa, she isn’t quite ready to carry someone. Alexa NEEDS to retain.

WINNER: Alexa Bliss

KEN HILL: I might’ve gone with Naomi here if she hadn’t blatantly pointed out that WM 33 is going to be in her hometown of Orlando, which makes me think they hold off on her winning the title until then so WWE can get a big undercard pop to kick off the show when she actually does.

WINNER: Alexa Bliss

Steve Cook: Naomi is a very streaky competitor. Once in awhile she gets on a hot streak and ends up receiving a title match on a PPV. Then she cools off a little bit and we don’t hear from her again for months. Her lack of consistency leads me to believe that she won’t be the one to knock the Wicked Witch of WWE off of her perch. Bliss is one of the success stories of the brand split, and I think her run as champion continues at least to WrestleMania.

WINNER: Alexa Bliss

SmackDown Tag Team Championship Turmoil Match: Champions American Alpha vs. The Usos vs. Heath Slater & Rhyno vs. Breezango vs. The Ascension vs. The Vaudevillains

Mitch Nickelson : For all that SmackDown does right, this brand has really struggled to get their tag team division going. And it’s not like the talent isn’t there. I don’t have a ton of investment in the buildup to this contest but I do recognize that it could end up being an enjoyable match. I see the champions retaining.

WINNER: American Alpha

JUSTIN WATRY: No explanation needed.

WINNER: American Alpha

Jake Chambers: Um… the nightmare side of the NXT call-up coin is here to ruin the show! I mean, they’ve got to give it to the Usos again, right? None of these other teams are any good, outside of maybe the Heath Slater/Rhyno gimmick that was working for about 2 weeks, 5 months ago. Anything less than the Usos means pre-show matches and multi-man nonsense for this mess of a tag team division in the foreseeable future.

WINNER: The Usos (hopefully)

Mike Hammerlock: Well, let’s just assume Breezango and the Ascension aren’t winning here. I think that counts as unconscious knowledge. Slater & Rhyno have been off the radar recently too. The Vaudevillains got a boost on Tuesday, so it looks like we should taken them semi-seriously. The Usos have been stuck in neutral for a while, but they have actual credentials. Ultimately I think it’s just a big pile of teams designed to make American Alpha looks like studs … until the Revival shows up.

WINNER: American Alpha

Kevin Pantoja: Come on people. This one is easy. I thought they would go with a tag Elimination Chamber like 2015 considering the PPV and the amount of teams involved. A turmoil match could be fun though and we haven’t had one in a while. All of these teams are relatively fine, especially in short bursts but the result is obvious. Nobody is ready to take the titles from American Alpha. I originally thought the Usos would be the team in between Slater & Rhyno and AA, but the Wyatts worked better there. AA retains and probably doesn’t drop the titles until a new team arrives. The Revival perhaps?

WINNER: American Alpha

KEN HILL: I think it’s adorable that WWE thinks one multi-man tag win and an on-air rub from Daniel Bryan will immediately make us put The Ascension in the hot seat to win the tag straps. Aside from that, there’s been absolutely zero indication that Konnor and Viktor, or any other SD team for that matter, are anywhere near the league of American Alpha. Plus, Alpha haven’t had a proper feud since winning the straps from the Wyatts, why hotshot the belts here when a lengthy, competitive run could actually do the tag division some good?

WINNER: American Alpha

Steve Cook: I don’t think the wide-openness of the SmackDown tag team scene serves the top teams in the division very well. A team like American Alpha that hasn’t been around on the top shows long enough to establish themselves with the general fanbase would be better off facing strong antagonists that could play off them in & out of the ring & help establish their personalities. Or, they could run through these other teams one by one & be unbeatable wrestling beasts. As it is, they’re bouncing around with a hodgepodge of mid-range tag teams, most of which aren’t seen as a threat but got into the mix without doing anything to earn it. When’s the last time Breezango or the Vaudevillains won a big-time match? The Ascension got the win in the 12-man tag on Tuesday night, but I think the last time they won before that was against the New Age Outlaws. I haven’t seen anything from the challenging tag teams in this match to tell me they can win, so the champions are the pick by default.

WINNER: American Alpha

Elimination Chamber WWE Championship Match: AJ Styles vs. The Miz vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Baron Corbin vs. Champion John Cena

JUSTIN WATRY: Already broke this all down in my last column earlier in the week. Bray Wyatt as WWE Champion vs. Randy Orton as the Rumble winner is really the only logical endgame. It has been building for months, so it has to come to a head at WrestleMania. You know, long-term story telling we all beg for. Yeah. I understand AJ Styles and Orton repeatedly state their desire to wrestle each other in media interviews. However, that can come in the spring/summer months. Appears everybody but Bray has other plans for March and April. My only hesitation is John Cena JUST won the championship. Is there any way he wins on Sunday but then loses to Bray on a jam packed episode of Smackdown LIVE at the end of February or something? A heel costs Cena the match (take a guess who), and they start their rivalry. Plus the Blue Brand gets a bump up in the television ratings on the Road to WM. When was the last time the WWE Title changed hands on TV? Bottom line: Cena as champ doesn’t work with Orton as the Rumble winner. Bray Wyatt does. A long time in the making…

WINNER: Bray Wyatt

Jake Chambers: As bad as the Randy Orton/Luke Harper match is for predictable Road to WrestleMania filler-PPV crap, bringing back the Elimination Chamber to tread water between the Rumble and the Grandaddy of Them All, is a backwards move in my opinion. And one that comes along with the WM card leak of all leaks; that Bray Wyatt is going to win the WWE title to defend against Randy Orton at WrestleMania.

Ugh.

These leaks man, they’re killing me. When the Roman Reigns/Brock Lesnar WrestleMania 31 main event was leaked, it killed the Rumble that year, and Fastlane despite the tease that maybe it was all a fake leak to make Daniel Bryan’s win over Reigns all that much more exciting. Nope, the leak was true. Last year we all heard it was going to be HHH vs. Reigns at WrestleMania, which again ruined the outcome of the Rumble and gave us another meaningless Fastlane main event that got our hopes up that something different was going to happen… but it didn’t, the leak was true. As bad as those two ideas were, a Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton match has got to be even more maddening, especially at the cost of a match with John Cena or AJ Styles (not to mention The Miz). While the Wyatt/Orton tag team was been okay (I hesitate to call it a storyline, since there seems to be no story), it’s still Bray “Horrible Matches, Worse Promos” Wyatt and Randy “Worst WrestleMania Main Event in History” Orton in a match that makes little sense considering that they are a team.

The idea that Owens/Jericho and Wyatt/Orton will have matches at WrestleMania kind of defeats the purpose of us embracing them as a team in the first place. If the eventual outcome was a break-up at WrestleMania all along, then we saw it coming from the beginning and that’s just too boring, too predictable, and I’m hoping the WWE isn’t really going that way twice in one show. You know, friends can actually BE friends! Besides, it’s crazy to me to think that they’re going to bury John Cena, (arguably the greatest WWE superstar of all time and easily the best big match wrestler they have on the roster) in some midcard match, only to have the coveted WWE Title even more lost in the shuffle with a lower midcard match at a WrestleMania. I have no idea how WWE digs themselves out of the hole that is the leaked WM card, especially with no CM Punk-type left to quit and shake things up (is it too late for Kevin Ownes to fulfill this role before his humiliation at Fastlane?), but I’m hoping against all rational logic that Bray Wyatt is not the winner here.

WINNER: John Cena (please!)

Mike Hammerlock: Oh, Elimination Chamber, I missed you. The EC is a reliably good match. Well, it is except for that Intercontinental title debacle they held in 2015. This match should help erase that one from our memories. Everybody in here is at least mildly interesting, except for maybe Ambrose. He’s terrible with secondary title reigns. For whatever reason, and I don’t think it’s on purpose, they always book him not to give a rat’s ass about his belt. Sure enough, here he is wrestling for another belt. Rumor is Bray Wyatt is winning this puppy. I’m cool with that, though if Bray and Randy are dancing at WrestleMania I hope the WWE has the good sense to recognize Bray is the face in that encounter. It would be kind of a shame for John Cena to lose the belt so soon after winning it. It would make #16 seem a little less special in retrospect. Also, I find it nearly impossible to believe Cena and Nikki will be facing Miz and Maryse at Mania, or that AJ will be up against Shane McMahon. It would seem a smart booker would want to put Cena-Styles on a WrestleMania card. It is possible Vince has a rare flash of good sense before this event and decides an AJ win here sets up Cena for chasing #17 at Mania (in a three-way with Orton). In fact, that makes way too much sense not to happen. So I’m picking it.

WINNER: AJ Styles

Kevin Pantoja: I love Smackdown. They’ve had a short time to build this match but I’m intrigued. All six guys come across as main eventers and kudos to Smackdown for elevating The Miz and Baron Corbin. They’ve been among my favorite acts in the entire WWE since the brand split. We’ll do process of elimination here. Corbin won’t win because it’s too soon for him. This is more about him having a great performance (like the match with AJ and Ziggler at the end of last year). I can’t see Miz winning though if he did, I would be overjoyed. He’s been one of the company MVPs for a long time. Dean Ambrose is the Intercontinental Champion, so he won’t win. AJ Styles, as incredible as he is, just had a run and won’t get another now. If they wanted him to enter Mania as champion he would have retained at the Rumble. It comes down to Bray Wyatt and John Cena. My money is on Bray. He can finally shed the feeling that he loses big matches and it sets up Orton/Wyatt at Mania. I much prefer their split be over the title and not some lame “Orton was infiltrating them and not really a member the whole time” thing. Cena gets a short reign but I suspect his record breaking 17th reign be a longer one.

WINNER: Bray Wyatt

KEN HILL: We can immediately rule out that Cena’s retaining here for three solid reasons:
1.) We just had the supposed WM main event on Smackdown, with a (semi) clean win to boot. No way they do a repeat.
2.) The Orton-Wyatt feud’s been simmering for months, and Randy will finally look to spring the trap on Bray. What better way than to “free” the WWE Title from his grasp at Mania?

3.) Miz can cost John the title here, claiming that all the talk about John and Nikki has taken focus off of the true power couple in Miz & Maryse, leading to the proposed mixed tag match at WM 33.

While the last one’s more my personal belief than a reason, John doesn’t have a “dance partner” for WM 33 since Taker is slated to face Reigns, and it seems like his feud with AJ is sitting on the backburner for the time being; with the increased on-air talks about his relationship with Nikki, methinks that WWE may very well be looking to create a modern-day “Macho Man/Elizabeth” scenario with a wedding proposal (and before the commenters send for the firing squad, it sickens me as well to even think of comparing the best couple WWE lore has had to offer to the future Mr. and Mrs. Bella).

WINNER: Bray Wyatt
I broke down the competitors in this match in my Elimination Chamber 2017 Prognosis, a pretty solid read from where I sit. Here’s what I had to say about who I think will come out on top.

So who do I think will win? We can rule AJ Styles out since he’s due to get a title shot sometime soon. (Will he? I guess we’ll have to find out.) Dean Ambrose already has a championship and I don’t think he’s getting another one. Baron Corbin isn’t ready yet. The Miz would be an interesting choice but I don’t see it happening. It comes down to two guys…it’s always tough to pick against John Cena, but I already said Bray Wyatt & Randy Orton are WrestleMania Bound. I’ll stick with that pick.

The one thing that makes me wonder about my pick that I neglected to mention…there’s still plenty of time before WrestleMania for the title to change hands again. Maybe Cena wins here & Bray somehow gets the championship in another match? Cena has proven to be a fighting champion over his illustrious career, and if Bray makes the challenge I have no doubt he would accept. Nevertheless, I’m going to stick with the Eater of Worlds exiting the Chamber with his first WWE Championship.

Mitch Nickelson : There’s plenty of moving parts to dissect here but in short, I agree with the sentiment that Bray is going to win. Wyatt with the WWE Title makes the most sense considering Randy Orton will be challenging for it at WrestleMania. Seeds will be planted for that during this chamber match. Miz is always one of my favorite heels so it’ll be great to watch him inside this environment. It will also be good to see Baron Corbin in this. He’s been doing well when paired alongside these top talents. Hopefully this is another chance to prove that he belongs.

WINNER: Bray Wyatt

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