Every year on the road to WrestleMania there’s one final trial WWE Superstars have to pass before they can enter the gates of Valhalla — the Elimination Chamber. Be it man or woman, the Elimination Chamber is feared by every Superstar who steps inside, and with good reason. Every Superstar knows that once they that cross the chamber’s threshold, the chain and metal surrounding them promise to deliver a match filled with pain.
This year, there are two matches set to take place inside the Elimination Chamber — one will see six of Raw’s female Superstars battle it out to become the No. 1 contender for the Raw women’s championship, while the other will see six of SmackDown’s tag teams destroy one another to capture the brand’s tag team championships.
WWE Elimination Chamber is this Sunday, March 8 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. The kickoff show begins at 6 p.m. ET and the event will be available through Pay-Per-View or by streaming live on the WWE Network.
United States Championship: Andrade (c) vs. Humberto Carrillo
WWE
Humberto Carrillo has been chasing the United States Championship for months. Yet whether through Zalina Vega, Angel Garza, or Andrade himself, Carrillo has come up short time and time again. Is Elimination Chamber the missing link in the chain that will finally allow the young upstart to sling the United States Championship over his shoulder at WWE Elimination Chamber?
Jay: So I’m trying to pick out a sofa on Wayfair. I’ve never used the site, I’ve never bought a couch, and I’ve never trusted myself with furniture purchases – so I’m very much drenched in uncertainty. Wayfair is talking about stuff like microfibers, and upholstery, and settee’s and what the hell is a settee? Black goes well with the other furniture I have, so I spent a few hours looking at those before I realized having a black couch is probably very sketchy so now I’m looking at blue ones.
Why am I talking about buying couches? Because microfibers are more interesting than this match we’ve seen every week since f***ing September.
I don’t think they even formally announced this match, we all just assumed it would be there. And since this match has been going on for 6 months, you’d think at some point they’d have told us who Humberto Carillo is but again – disappointment is in vogue. I’d rather scour Wayfair for couches than watch this match.
Winner: Wayfair.
Shane: So, yet another match we’re getting for the 100th time this calendar year. And another match for these two on the kick-off show. Why couldn’t they just make it a fatal-four-way with Rey and Angel Garza in it to make it a little more interesting? Or better yet, find two more competitors like, I don’t know R-Truth and Ricochet and make it another Chamber match? I’m going with Andrade, just because.
Winner: Andrade
Forrest: Glad Andrade is back but I would rather see a Carillo-Garza title match at this point, which I think they’re going a roundabout way of getting to (a plan that has been simmering for some time, but was waylaid by Andrade’s suspension).
Winner: Humberto Carillo
No Disqualification Match: AJ Styles vs. Aleister Black
WWE
After suffering a beatdown at the hands of AJ Styles and The O.C. backstage on the Feb. 24 edition of Monday Night Raw, Aleister Black is on a man on a mission. That mission? Revenge. Of all the Superstars on Raw Black may be one of the most dangerous that you could go and make an enemy of. But if the Phenomenal One can face down The Undertaker, is Black really that much scarier?
Shane: The No DQ stipulation already tells me what is going to happen in this match; The O.C. will get involved and Aleister Black will lose his second match in a week. Great.
Winner: AJ Styles
Forrest: They’ll draw this one out a little longer as Aleister is the perfect warm-up for an eventual Styles-Undertaker match at WrestleMania.
Winner: Aleister Black
Jay: This match will be great but it’s all prelude for Styles vs. Taker. It’s a no DQ match so expect a lot of chicanery with Gallows and Anderson. Black will win after Taker interferes in some fashion to build Mania
Winner: Aleister Black
Intercontinental Championship Handicap Match — Braun Strowman (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro & Sami Zayn
WWE
Since conquering Nakamura to capture his first ever WWE Single’s Championship, Braun Strowman has been the sole target for the former titleholder and his cohorts Cesaro and Sami Zayn. Most recently, Elias and Strowman defeated the three troublemakers in a Symphony of Destruction Match that saw the champ put Nakamura through a table. Suffice to say, the evil trio wants revenge and thanks to some fancy wordplay by Sami Zayn, Strowman will now face all three in a 3-on-1 handicap match.
Jay: Why? Strowman is going to win this but why? He’s already been established as a monster. He’s already trucked through them when he won the title. What is this doing for any of them? Where are we going to go after this? So many questions and, worse, I can’t seem to care about the answers.
Winner: Braun Strowman
Shane: I could care less about this match. These championship handicap matches have been overdone for years now and the results are always the same. Does anyone really expect Strowman to not win this? I just hope after this match, all parties move on to something different and Strowman enters a somewhat meaningful program heading into Mania.
Winner: Braun Strowman
Forrest: Dream match? Shinsuke reclaims his title and they book it better this time around — the man took a piano to the head for this company! Realistically? I know WWE doesn’t know what to do with The King of Strong Style let alone Sami and Cesaro.
Winner: The Monster Among Men, Braun Strowman
Raw Tag Team Championship — Seth Rollins & Murphy vs. The Street Profits (c)
WWE
WE WANT THE SMOKE! After failing to get the job done at Super ShowDown the Street Profits redeemed themselves this week on Raw by defeating Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy to capture their first ever Raw Tag Team Championship Titles. Can the Street Profits successfully defend their fledgling reign as champs against some seriously ticked off challengers? Time to find out if they really want the smoke.
Jay: It’ll be the third time in just over a week we will have seen this match. The Street Profits will take it. Sure, whatever.
Winner: The Street Profits
Shane: Another match that I just don’t care about. We have seen this far too many times. The match will be good just because Rollins and Murphy are in it. I’m going with Street Profits just because I don’t like it when the WWE plays hot potato with any of their championships.
Winners: The Street Profits
Forrest: Man, y’all are really down on EC this year, huh? I think there’s a lot of good wrestlers here despite stupid decisions by bad creative. The Street Profits are an energetic and engaging tag team and I hope they have a good run with this title, especially because continued loses actually furthers Seth’s crucifixion angle. It’s better than knocking off SNL at least!
Winners: Profits are up!
Natalya vs. Liv Morgan vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Asuka vs. Ruby Riott vs. Sarah Logan (Elimination Chamber)
WWE
The road to an opportunity against Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Title at WrestleMania goes through the Elimination Chamber. Natalya, Liv Morgan, Shayna Baszler, Asuka, Ruby Riott and Sarah Logan will all look to show the world on Sunday why they’re the woman who can take down The Man at the biggest show of the year. The Queen of Spades and Asuka are easy favorites, while the ruins of the Riot Squad will look to prove that they’re just as strong on their own as they are as a group.
Jay: I have high hopes for this match but disappointment is in vogue. Shayna is going to win this but the only other time she was in such a large, multi-person match was in War Games this past November, and even then it was a 4-on-2 handicap match when she entered the fray. She’s best when things are one-on-one and she can showcase her brutal methodology so it’ll be interesting to see how she performs. Asuka is here to lose to Baszler, Natalya is there to coach up the place, while Ruby, Logan, and Liv will have their own B-Story play out during the match. I predict that it will actually come down to Baszler and Liv–to get that underdog pop from the crowd–only for Liv to get cutdown by Riott and/or Logan and then get wrecked by Baszler. Again, I think this will beat expectations but I’m just not excited for it.
Winner: Baszler
Shane: The only logical winner in this match is Baszler. If they are truly going to build Baszler into a threat for Becky (I know, she kinda already is) then she has to absolutely destroy the other five competitors. If anything else but that happens, I will be utterly disappointed.
Winner: Shayna Baszler
Forrest: There’s a lot of potential for cool story telling in this match! Shades of Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai at War Games with the (former) Riott Squad, Asuka and Shayna — arguably Becky Lynch’s greatest rivals — coming face-to-face after Shayna’s playfully aggressive defeat of Kairi Sane on Raw and…Natty’s there, too! Shayna at Becky is going to be one hell of a match at ‘Mania but I’m excited for the potential here.
Winner: The Queen of Spades, Shayna Baszler
SmackDown Tag Team Championship — The Miz & John Morrison (c) vs. The New Day vs. Heavy Machinery vs. Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler vs. The Usos (Elimination Chamber)
WWE
After an unexpected victory against the seven-time Tag Team Champions The New Day at Super ShowDown, the newly-crowned SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Miz & John Morrison will defend their titles against five other tag teams inside the Elimination Chamber: The New Day, The Usos, Heavy Machinery, Lucha House Party and Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode. These teams represent some of the best Tag Team talent in wrestling. Can Morrison and Miz measure up or was their victory at SSD a fluke?
Jay: This will be either great or terrible. This has all the makings of a disaster, but excluding Heavy Machinery, everyone in the match is a seasoned veteran. Morrison and Kofi always deliver in these settings. Roode, Ziggler, and The Miz are phenomenal storytellers. The Usos and The New Day can have a match with each other every day for thirty years and still find ways to make it entertaining. Lucha House Party will jump off some stuff. And Otis and Ziggler have their simmering subplot. Miz and Morrison will take it, but it speaks to the health of the tag division that booking this match is even possible and I predict it will be a match of the year contender.
Winners: Miz and Morrison
Shane: Kofi Kingston AND John Morrison in one Elimination Chamber Match!? Yes, please! I have high hopes for this match as all the participants are strong workers. I’m looking forward to another Usos and New Day confrontation (perhaps these two teams will start the match off?) and the inevitable Otis/Ziggler sub feud playing off in the match will have a moment to shine as well. With all this in mind, I still think Miz and Morrison will win as it is too early to take the straps off them.
Winners: Miz and Morrison
Forrest: Another match with a lot of good storytelling potential! New Day are hot off their title loss at Super ShowDown, I’m invested in Dolph and Otis, and The Usos always put on a good show, especially in gimmick matches. Morrison and Big E had a fantastic solo match at a recent house show I was at, and I’m hoping to see some of that energy re-captured here despite knowing in my heart of hearts that Miz and Morrison will retain.
Winners: Miz and Morrison hey hey ho ho!
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