This can be a good show. Or this could be another hard show to sit through. Either way, here are my predictions for tonight's Elimination Chamber event.
Pre-Show
WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Akira Tozawa
I don't watch 205 Live. Therefore, I'm going with the only guy who makes 205 Live matches watchable the one time a month I get to see them.
Prediction: Buddy Murphy retains.
Main Show
1) Handicap Match
WWE Intercontinental Championship
Bobby Lashley (c) and Lio Rush vs. Finn Balor
The "Wee Little Man" that was given a playhouse months ago and fed to Brock Lesnar last month will fall again on this show. Bobby Lashley has little to nothing going for him as Intercontinental Championship, but that's better than what Finn Balor has gotten in a year or so. Balor will likely take the Intercontinental Championship eventually. But he'll have to do it with a little face paint on and the smoke and mirrors. It's the only part of him Vince McMahon finds interesting other than making him smile every chance he gets.
Prediction: Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush win; Lashley retains.
2) Raw Women's Championship
Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Ruby Riott
Seriously? You need me to predict this. Ruby gets a couple moments, but Rousey is not losing this title until WrestleMania. The question is whether Charlotte and/or Becky Lynch will get involved somehow.
Prediction: Ronda Rousey retains.
3) SmackDown Tag Team Championships
The Miz and Shane McMahon (c) vs. The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso)
After what happened last week involving the drunk and disorderly arrest of Jimmy Usos, I don't see this going any other way than a Miz and McMahon victory. Expect Shane to pin Jimmy Uso. That'll teach ya, pal! (And for the record, there is "NO CHANCE IN HELL" that Vince McMahon is going to fire The Usos. You expect him to just hand them to AEW with a ribbon and wrapping paper, for God's sakes?! Plus that family means too much to The McMahons, especially with The Rock and Roman Reigns being major parts of the WWE conglomerate still.)
Predictions: McMiz McRetains. And I McGag at the mention of them being the Best Tag Team in the World.
4) No Disqualification Match
Baron Corbin vs. Braun Strowman
Is there any wrestler that has lost more momentum and standing than Braun Strowman has? Ever since they needlessly turned him heel the night after SummerSlam just to get Roman Reigns over, his career has seemingly come crashing back down. It's sad to see, but it is truth.
At this point, I think Vince has much more interest in Baron Corbin at this point. Plus when you consider that Corbin lost to Strowman at TLC and the fact that Drew McIntyre is not on this show, I think you know what's going to happen. Kurt Angle might try to interfere to save Strowman, but we've seen what a Claymore Kick will do to Angle. I'm predicting Baron Corbin gets the win here to continue the feud until WrestleMania.
Prediction: Baron Corbin
5) Elimination Chamber Match
WWE Championship
Daniel Bryan (c) vs. AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton vs. Samoa Joe vs. Kofi Kingston
You expect me to believe that they gave Daniel Bryan a new "Hemp-Based/Eco-Friendly" WWE Championship just for him to lose it this close to WrestleMania? There is no chance of that happening. So, the outcome is blatantly obvious here (barring any legit injury). The real question is what else happens during this match.
- AJ Styles and Randy Orton are likely going to start a program soon. (No one wants to see Styles and Bryan go at it again in a dead spot on a 5 Hour Show.)
- Samoa Joe is always going to be the guy that challenges for titles and never wins them on the main roster. That's just his role in WWE, and that's not a bad one. At least he's on TV unlike some others on the SmackDown roster. But I've given up hope that Joe ever wins that WWE Championship or Universal Championship. It's just not in the cards.
- Jeff Hardy is a novelty act at this point and would never get the push to be a WWE Champion again.
- Kofi Kingston.... this could be interesting. Was the 1 Hour performance on SmackDown a harbinger of things to come for him? Kofi will undoubtedly get his high spots in. But could they be setting up an unlikely match between Kingston and Bryan at WrestleMania? I like the idea of that more and more as I think back to that Gauntlet Match at SmackDown. They tore the house down for 25 minutes.
So, my prediction is that Daniel Bryan retains by last pinning Kofi Kingston. But it will be because Kingston will probably start the match and be beaten to hell by the finish.
Prediction: Daniel Bryan retains.
6) Elimination Chamber Match
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship
Nia Jax and Tamina vs. The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan) vs. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville vs. The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce) vs. Bayley and Sasha Banks vs. Naomi and Carmella
To me, this is the most interesting match of the night. You are guaranteed to see the crowning of the Inaugural WWE Women's Tag Team Champions. But I think you can disqualify one team off the bat. That team is Naomi and Carmella based on what have been dealing with in the news the last week. I think you can also eliminate The IIconics because they just aren't there from an in-ring perspective.
Now, you can make a good case for either The Riott Squad or Mandy and Sonya getting the titles. I think both teams are ready to have the titles and could really use the boost of being the first Women's Tag Team Champions. Of the two, I'd more like to see Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan get it. I felt horrible for Liv Morgan when Brie Bella nearly kicked her head off in a careless botch. No team has been tested through the fires of WWE like The Riott Squad. They have grown on me as a stable and grown above the "Absolution-Lite" perception many of us (myself included) initially gave them.
But the problem is that you have two tag teams with much larger names in them. Sasha Banks and Bayley make a lot of sense to be the first WWE Tag Team Champions. They've been through a 2 year storyline almost at this point in WWE's main roster. They are part of the WWE's original Four Horsewomen of NXT. And that's why they aren't going to win this. For every hero to climb to the top, they must be able to defeat a villain. Enter the most hated female wrestler in the IWC: Nia Jax and her partner Tamina. Whether you love Nia Jax or Tamina, it is irrelevant. Nia gets a big heel reaction from the crowd whenever she is on TV. Need proof? Check out her entrance in the Men's Royal Rumble. The crowd loved seeing her get her comeuppance in that match. But that is what also makes her a prime candidate to win the Tag Team Championships.
My thoughts are that you give these titles to Nia and Tamina. Let them run with it until, at least, WrestleMania. There, have them defend their championships against Sasha Banks and Bayley. Then, you can really have fun. Do you book Sasha and Bayley to finally win the championships? Or, on The Grandest Stage of Them All, do you turn Bayley or Sasha against the other to take this whole storyline into the blood feud (that WWE was trying to do desperately last year around this time)? You can have a lot of fun with that match if it happened.
Prediction: Nia Jax and Tamina become the Inaugural WWE Women's Tag Team Champions.
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The Chamber matches are the only ones I'm really looking forward to, and one of them is very predictable in terms of their outcome. So, this could be a long night. Or it could be awesome. We'll see what happens.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness.
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