411’s WWE Elimination Chamber 2026 Preview

Hello folx and welcome to 411’s Elimination Chamber preview! Tonight, we are at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, for Elimination Chamber 2026! I always like the Chamber matches; I guess I’m just a sucker for timed surprise entrants. The matches are usually fun and brutal, and the timed entrances keep things interesting.

Along with the Men’s and Women’s Elimination Chamber matches to determine who will face Drew McIntyre and Jade Cargill at WrestleMania XLII. We will also see AJ Lee try to win her first Women’s Intercontinental Championship as she takes on rival Becky Lynch. Finn Balor is also looking for championship gold, as he gets a rematch against CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship!

Women’s Elimination Chamber
Tiffany Stratton vs. Rhea Ripley vs Alexa Bliss vs Asuka vs Kiana James vs Raquel Rodriguez

Image Credit: WWE

Well, unlike the men’s, we only have one new face here. Kiana James was a surprise entrant to the match, especially when they could have gone with Giulia. Let’s get through the women who aren’t likely to win.

Alexa Bliss is more likely to be involved with the Tag Team Championships and her eventual feud with Charlotte. James will hopefully get enough to look good out there. And I don’t think we need another Stratton vs Cargill match. I also think it’s time for Stratton to move to Raw.

That leaves us Asuka, Rodriguez, and Ripley. I would actually dig a Rodriguez win if she were finally going to get her first World Championship at WrestleMania. It would be even better if Morgan lost against Vaquer. Because then we would get to see their relationship really start to break down. But as much as Rodriguez has improved, I don’t think she can give Cargill a good match at WrestleMania. I think her time is coming, but it will be against Vaquer or Morgan.

That leaves Asuka and Ripley. Asuka could give Cargill a good match; she was able to pull decent matches out of Nia Jax back in NXT, and Cargill is at least better than super green Jax. But like Bliss, I think Asuka is going to be involved in the Tag Team Championship match.

So, that leaves us with Rhea Ripley. She isn’t just the most popular woman; she is in the top three most popular wrestlers in the WWE. She is also probably the best bet for Cargill to have a good WrestleMania match. Ripley is more than capable of carrying Jade. Also, if Ripley wins and beats Jade, she can move over to SmackDown and have a fresh roster to feud with. Off the bat, I’m excited for Giulia and Green. She could also have a great feud with Grace.

So, Ripley wins here; with her and IYO losing the Tag Team Championships last night just solidifies it. Also, she made Legend look strong in the match, so it’s another ready-made feud.

Winner: Rhea Ripley

WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship
AJ Lee vs. Becky Lynch

Image Credit: WWE

This feud dates back to the build-up to September’s Wrestlepalooza. Lee came back to help even things up for her husband, CM Punk. Punk & Lee would beat Rollins & Lynch at Wrestlepalooza, and Lee would make Lynch tap, leading her team to victory at WarGames. Since then, Lynch has been feuding with Maxxine Dupree over the Intercontinental Championship.

Lee would return to Raw and challenge Lynch to a title match at Elimination Chamber, leading us to tonight.

While I could see this going either way, another Lynch loss will end the feud. Lee can take the loss, especially if it’s not clean. I’m also not expecting this match to be anything super special. Lee hasn’t had a singles match since returning, so she has been able to hide her rust behind the others in her matches. This will just be her out there.

On the plus side, she will be out there with one of the best women’s wrestlers ever. Lynch should be able to help guide Lee to a decent, if not good, match. Hopefully, Lee can finish knocking off the rust in time for WrestleMania, because we all know that is the final destination for these two. Lee can get the big win at WrestleMania, then drop the belt to Nattie a few months later.

So, I’m calling this for Lynch, due to shenanigans, leading to a rematch at WrestleMania. This will be the weakest match on the card. I’m not saying it will be bad, but it won’t be an all-time classic.

Winner and still WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion: Becky Lynch

Men’s Elimination Chamber
Randy Orton vs. LA Knight vs Cody Rhodes vs Je’Von Evans vs Trick Williams vs Logan Paul

Image Credit: WWE

I could make a case for each of these guys to win. All of them could provide good matches and build-ups with Drew McIntyre. I think the odds-on favorite is Cody Rhodes. And if that is the case, I hope they do something to make the match different, because we just went through several months of Cody vs Drew.

Evans and Williams are getting the big showcase here; they are only a couple of months into their main roster run and are already in the biggest match of their careers. I am expecting something crazy from Evans, maybe an OG Cutter off a pod. Or with Orton involved, I’d love to see Orton hit an RKO, only to get with an OG Cutter Out of Nowhere!

Williams has the most to prove; he has come in hot and oozes charisma, but he needs to show that he has the in-ring chops to back it up. He improved a lot in 2025. His run as the TNA World Champion helped him to step his game up. If he can keep his momentum going, I could see him as a World Champion within the next couple of years.

We will probably get more with the masked man to take out Paul. Which was probably the plan for Reed.

More than anyone, Knight could really use the win here. This is getting to an ROH level of not striking while the iron is hot. If Knight doesn’t win here, he needs a big win over the Vision at WrestleMania and then let him get the Money in the Bank win this year.

Orton wants number 15; this could be his way there. This would also give him his 20th WrestleMania match, only three behind Triple H and seven behind The Undertaker. I don’t think this is how he gets there, though.

And then we come to Rhodes, as I stated above, he is the odds-on favorite to win. And based on the people in the match. I am going with him as well. I just really hope we get Fatu and maybe Zayn into the main event as well.

They’ve been building this whole thing up to be a Fatal Four-Way. And I really hope that’s what we get. Because we’ve had plenty of Rhodes vs McIntyre and it needs something to freshen it up.

Winner: Cody Rhodes

WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Finn Balor vs. CM Punk

Image Credit: WWE

Ugh, this match is going to hurt to make a prediction for. I want Balor to win so badly. He has more than earned another shot at the top, even if it’s just for a few weeks. He has long been one of my favorites, and getting to see him not only win the World Championship but then main event WrestleMania? It would be beautiful to see.

But I doubt it’s going to happen. At least this one won’t end with a gods damned top rope breaking, and zero follow-up. We already know the match will be great; they had a banger in Belfast, and it will be no different in Chicago. The crowd is always hot in Chicago, and adding Punk brings them to the next level.

Punk winning is the most likely choice here; he has a clash with Reigns at WrestleMania. But what if they add just a little wrinkle, a replay of last year’s Women’s World Championship match? Let Balor win the title and make it a Triple-Threat. The match would still have the gravitas it would have had without Balor, and we get something even more special.

Look, I know, I know it’s not going to happen, but this girl is going to go with their heart and dream big tonight. I know this is going to be wrong, I know Punk is winning. I know that you don’t have to tell me I’m wrong, I know it. And I just can’t help it. I want Balor to win, and I’m going to predict that he is going to win. Because I think there is money in Punk vs Reigns vs Balor.

Winner and new WWE World Heavyweight Champion: Finn Balor