Who will walk out of WWE Elimination Chamber 2017 with a victory?
On Sunday night, the 2017 WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view will take place from the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, AZ. This is SmackDown Live’s first brand-exclusive show of the year as well, which will get us one step closer to WrestleMania 33 in April.
The focus of this event will be on the Elimination Chamber match, which returns for the first time in nearly two years. John Cena is set to put the WWE Championship on the line against five other superstars, all of whom have the hope of main-eventing WrestleMania with Randy Orton for the title.
Along with the chamber, there will be six other matches taking place, including two of SmackDown Live’s three other titles being defended. Four non-title bouts are set too, some of which could have WrestleMania implications.
So what could happen at Elimination Chamber?
Credit: WWE.com
Dolph Ziggler vs. Apollo Crews and Kalisto
A two-on-one handicap match with the babyfaces on the side with more superstars? You don’t often see that, unless it’s Braun Strowman clobbering a handful of enhancement talents. That’s the case here with Dolph Ziggler facing Apollo Crews and Kalisto.
The potential dynamic here is interesting. You have two babyfaces trying to overcome the heel, who hasn’t been able to get quality wins since turning last month. His highlight was kicking Jerry Lawler in the chest, but other than that, things haven’t gone Ziggler’s way. However, he found his escape by using steel chairs on Crews and Kalisto and the two who have fought back against this anger-filled Showoff.
The problem with this feud is the fans love Ziggler’s heel persona. They have no interest in Crews or Kalisto, two bland babyfaces that haven’t found their footing in the brand split. So you get reactions like the ones from last Tuesday’s SmackDown Live, which had the fans chanting, “One more time” when Ziggler hit them with chairs.
The story here is all about Ziggler and nothing with Crews or Kalisto. There’s no reason for this team to win and they’ll likely fall at the hands of the former Spirit Squad member.
Prediction: Dolph Ziggler defeats Apollo Crews and Kalisto
Credit: WWE.com
Randy Orton vs. Luke Harper
Perhaps the most interesting undercard match from Elimination Chamber will see Randy Orton and Luke Harper go head-to-head. This comes after Harper officially left the Wyatt Family, which would be due to tensions with Orton and Bray Wyatt.
Harper is in brand new territory as a babyface. The WWE fans have yet to see him like this since his days in NXT, but so far, so good. He got a rabid reaction from the Key Arena after decking Wyatt with a discus clothesline, one week after teasing that he may not be able to hit his former leader. All the emotions and body language that Harper put into this were incredible, even Sami Zayn-esque. He’s a shockingly easy person to get behind, which could push him up the ranks of the weak babyface crop on SmackDown.
As for Orton, he has a free pass to WrestleMania 33 after winning the 2017 Royal Rumble match. He already pinned John Cena in a tag match and lost going one-on-one a week later. WWE has done this in the past with Royal Rumble winners and Money in the Bank holders by having them get pinned clean in the ring. With a guaranteed WWE Championship match waiting for them, they constantly lose and see their credibility decline (e.g. Seth Rollins in 2014 and Sheamus in 2015). Granted, Orton’s has been established for over a decade, but it still drains the prize that the Superstar had won. It’s somewhat of a concern coming into this match.
The path here is tricky — do you give Orton the win and momentum or have Harper continue on with what he started? That’s if WWE wants a clean finish for this. If not, it may be best to have this end in a disqualification. It doesn’t do much for either Superstar, but it’s a classic way of WWE trying to take the easy way out in “protecting” them.
Prediction: Match ends in a disqualification
Credit: WWE.com
Nikki Bella vs. Natalya
Nikki Bella vs. Natalya has been the ultimate blood feud of Elimination Chamber, which is saying something with Becky Lynch vs. Mickie James and Randy Orton vs. Luke Harper getting somewhat of a bigger spotlight. The verbal attacks and brawls these two “Total Divas” stars have been through since December have been brutally physical and blurred the lines of real and fake, which is a recipe for success in the 2017 version of WWE.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see this match not even happen given the angst these two have toward each other. They can’t keep things cordial for a second, so expect things to break down between Nikki and Natalya fairly quickly at Elimination Chamber.
For most of her grudge matches, Bella has come out on the winning side, including against Carmella. For “Total Divas”, “Total Bellas”, and other entertainment purposes, expect the Fearless One to win this and potentially move into the title scene.
Prediction: Nikki Bella defeats Natalya
Credit: WWE.com
Becky Lynch vs. Mickie James
A feud that all began with a woman under a La Luchadora mask has turned into Becky Lynch and Mickie James going after each other in another blood feud. It hasn’t been as vicious as Nikki Bella and Natalya’s, but has been noteworthy since James revealing herself as La Luchadora.
Mickie has shown off her fantastic promo skills over the past few weeks, laying into Lynch and talking about how she should respect everything’s she’s done in the ring, including beating Trish Stratus at WrestleMania 22. The former WWE Women’s Champion is back and it’s great to see, especially with her working with the younger part of the SmackDown Women’s Division.
Lynch has been after James for most of the past month, but hasn’t been able to gain an upper hand on her. It’s also deviated her attention from the SmackDown Women’s Championship, something that could change with a win here.
As for the result, this one could go either way with this being James’ first PPV singles match since returning, and Lynch being without a big win for a few months. If this feud is going to continue past Elimination Chamber, then James winning would send the Irish Lass Kicker back after her. Maybe Alexa Bliss interferes to assist in the finish.
Prediction: Mickie James defeats Becky Lynch
Next: SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match
Credit: WWE.com
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Turmoil MatchAmerican Alpha (c) vs. Heath Slater and Rhyno vs. Breezango vs. The Usos vs. The Ascension vs. The Vaudevillains
Let’s start out with this: the SmackDown Tag Team Division is weak. After losing the Hype Bros and the Wyatt Family for injury and storyline reasons, this has left the tag team crop dry. Now teams like the Vaudevillains, the Ascension, and Breezango are getting a title match after, well, just showing up in the ring — literally. The same goes for the Usos, who once had momentum when they turned heel, which drifted away within a few weeks.
Unfortunately, Heath Slater and Rhyno’s storybook 2016 has taken a turn for the worst too. They haven’t really done anything wrong, but they’re not relevant and barely get TV time. It’s a far cry from the free agent story that made Slater nearly must-see on SmackDown. Now he’s just another guy in a lackluster tag division.
Then there’s American Alpha, who didn’t seem ready for a title win, but got thrust into the picture when Zack Ryder went down. They hadn’t established the connection with the main roster fans like they did in NXT, as no character has been developed for them. There wasn’t a journey to the top for them either with WWE simply giving them a “moment”. Moment booking can work if the WWE Universe cares about the Superstars, but there hasn’t been much substance with Jason Jordan and Chad Gable over the past few months besides their in-ring prowess.
Heading into their SmackDown Tag Team Championship defense, there’s little reason for them to drop the belts to any of the five teams they’re facing. None of them stand a chance at winning the titles and giving it to any of them would be a strange call. The only issue is if American Alpha disposes of all of these teams, there’s nobody left to face them. Does that mean the Revival are incoming? Or that we’re getting a title change here?
For now, we’ll take the safe route with American Alpha winning and retaining.
Result: American Alpha retains the SmackDown Tag Team Championship
Next: SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Credit: WWE.com
SmackDown Women’s Championship MatchAlexa Bliss (c) vs. Naomi
The SmackDown Women’s Championship gets its first PPV defense after six of the women from Tuesday nights competed in a tag match at the Royal Rumble. A feud that began before and has continued since the show is Naomi targeting Alexa Bliss for her title. It started with the champion oddly coming out to answer the challenge of the former Funkadactyl, which then led to the events of Naomi successfully getting a pinfall over Bliss multiple times.
Well, when WWE gives the challenger clean wins over the champion before their title match, it should point out the obvious — no belt is changing here.
Naomi is talented and deserves an opportunity at the title, but WWE has placed her in this spot before and pulled the plug on a push every time. From her run with the Usos, to the tag team with Tamina, and now this. While it’s not a foregone conclusion that she’ll lose, it just seems like the same story behind told.
As for the match itself, Bliss and Naomi didn’t mesh well with their one-on-one match at No Mercy in October 2016. They had a do-over in January, which produced slightly better results, but wasn’t remarkable. Hopefully, we’re headed toward a better bout here with Nikki Bella vs. Natalya and Becky Lynch vs. Mickie James arguably getting more focus than this.
Prediction: Alexa Bliss retains the SmackDown Women’s Championship
Credit: WWE.com
Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE ChampionshipJohn Cena (c) vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Baron Corbin vs. The Miz vs. AJ Styles vs. Bray Wyatt
To close out Elimination Chamber, six of the top stars of SmackDown will head into the match of the same name as the PPV. It will be the first time since May 2015 that the Elimination Chamber has been used, and actually, the first time since February 2014 that a World title will be defended in it.
John Cena will be defending the WWE Championship against Dean Ambrose, Baron Corbin, the Miz, AJ Styles, and Bray Wyatt inside the Chamber. It’s the first time Cena has had to put the belt on the line since winning it at Royal Rumble 2017 — his 16th world title win.
The story of this match will be Randy Orton lurking in the background as the opponent for whoever wins this. He’ll face them at WrestleMania 33 in one of the top bouts of the show. It could be Cena, who he has battled plenty of times before. Dean Ambrose would be a fresh opponent, along with the Miz and Baron Corbin. AJ Styles may be the one who would have the best match with the Viper, if anything.
However, there’s one man standing in this — Wyatt. Rumors and speculation aside, it makes the most sense from a storyline perspective.
Having Orton vs. Wyatt at WrestleMania 33 culminates a story that began back in August 2016. They hated each other for a few months, but the Apex Predator surprisingly decided to join forces with the Eater of Worlds and Luke Harper. Since then, they have held the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, lost them, and had Harper leave the group. There’s been no sign of dissension between Orton and Wyatt, but there’s still plenty of time for that to develop.
The kick-starter for this program would be Wyatt winning the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber. This would lead to a standoff between the two on the following episode of SmackDown over the title, and begin to push things forward from there.
As for Cena, this would leave his 16th world title reign ending at just 14 days. It’s disappointing, but expected with his short-term commitment to WWE and the lack of a celebration given to him at the Royal Rumble. There’s also nothing being teased with him at WrestleMania, so hopefully, this match provides a clue of what may be in store for him.
Prediction: Bray Wyatt wins the WWE Championship
What could happen with each of these matches at Elimination Chamber? Who will walk out victoriously?
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