Mani's 6 Degrees: WWE Elimination Chamber Preview

Welcome to Mani's 6 Degrees!

For those who have not read one of these articles, here is a quick overview of the format. Similar to the six degrees of separation idea, I will give my thoughts on five different superstars while connecting them all together through past interactions or feuds.

Usually, one superstar will be the focus of the article, but since Elimination Chamber is tomorrow, it is a special preview edition.

The main focus of the article, who will be Daniel Bryan this week, will be both the first and last slide in order to bring the slideshow "full circle."

For a little preview, check out last week's edition here.

So with the final PPV on the Road to WrestleMania less than two days away, let's get started!

1) Daniel Bryan

So now Daniel Bryan might lose his championship to...Santino Marella? Can anybody actually see that scenario happening?

The objective of the Elimination Chamber is to give six guys a shot at the title that might actually win the strap. Usually, we can tell which guys do not really have a chance of succeeding, but at least they are mostly upper-mid-card-to-main event performers who can deliver in the ring.

The SmackDown Elimination Chamber has not one, but two of these men: Santino and the Great Khali. Neither of them have a chance of winning, and neither of them should be in the main event. Khali can barely walk, and Santino is a comedy act, but nothing more.

Without Randy Orton in this Chamber, it seems that Bryan can cruise to victory and move on to WrestleMania. His slow heel turn is just about complete, and he is starting to get the reaction he wants with his self-absorbed personality.

Although this Chamber match showcases the future in Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes, their chances of actually winning tomorrow are slim to none. Bryan is the champ walking in, and he is now the heavy favorite to walk out with the belt as well.

It is quite amazing to see Bryan with a great chance of being the World Heavyweight Champion. There have been doubts ever since he started in NXT, and him defending at WrestleMania would be a much bigger moment than winning his first United States Championship against...

2) The Miz

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Yes, the Miz is in the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber, and yes, he lasted 45 minutes in the Royal Rumble, but he will not be the champ at WrestleMania for the second straight year.

Actually, the Miz is one of a few of the bigger stars that is in jeopardy of getting lost in the shuffle over the next month-and-a-half.

It was just last November that the Miz teamed with R-Truth to face The Rock in his first match back in over seven years. The WWE had the confidence in him to be on the other side, but for some reason, the Miz got blamed for a lower-than-expected buy rate.

Throw in the botched catch of R-Truth a couple of weeks ago, and it is interesting to see how quickly someone could end up in the doghouse. Miz showed aggression and attitude in his promo last week on Raw, and that may be due to some of the things going on backstage.

So what is in the future for Mr. Awesome? Hopefully, a face turn and a feud with Del Rio. Miz as a heel has been going on for a long time, and the fans do not really see him as a serious bad guy anymore. With Del Rio's recent comments towards the Miz in an interview, these two men will probably feud together on a WrestleMania card that is loaded at the top.

Still, a low-card feud with Del Rio might be the best scenario, and that is nowhere near his main event feud and match last year with...

3) John Cena

How does John Cena look right now just a month-and-a-half away from his huge match with The Rock?

Pretty weak.

As I mentioned in my last article, Cena has not had the upper hand on Rocky since the Raw before WrestleMania XXVII, and his love triangle and current feud with Kane is not doing anything to help that.

The real problem here is that most viewers are aware that Cena is almost in a holding pattern until The Rock shows up on Raw again. Because of this, it all but guarantees finality to this two-month attempt at embracing the hate at the Elimination Chamber.

Michael Cole mentioned on Raw that there has not been an ambulance match in almost 10 years because of their brutality. What he should have said is there has not been one of these matches in years because the idea sucks.

I understand the desire to be creative, but a no holds barred or falls count anywhere match would fit the bill just fine. Both of those contests would still allow Cena to get the closure on this feud that he needs to move on to Rocky.

Unless there is some sort of interference, it is hard to see Cena not winning this one. It will be a relief, since this feud is nowhere near last year's against CM Punk and in 2005 against...

4) Chris Jericho

In each Elimination Chamber match, there are only two men that could feasibly walk out with the title around their waist. On the WWE title side of things, Jericho is the guy that could be the champion at the end of the night.

CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho is looking solid for WrestleMania, and creative may feel that Punk is better off chasing the title rather than defending the strap. That is wrestling booking 101: heel is the champ, face chases title and succeeds at the big show of the year.

On the other hand, Punk has proven to be a worthy champion so far. In an era when champions do not hold on to the belt very long, Punk has been the WWE Champion for almost three months. In the past few years, only the Miz last year and Triple H in 2008 have had longer WWE title reigns.

So although Punk has been a credible champion, it makes the idea of Jericho winning at the PPV much more likely. While I believe having the title change hands too many times causes the belt to lose its prestige, it would give Jericho big momentum heading into the feud.

Sure, Jericho has been talking trash for the past couple of weeks, but we still all remember the silent return that ended in...a second-place Royal Rumble match finish.

A second- or lower-place finish in the Elimination Chamber would make him look weak in the eyes of most fans, and he will have to work harder to get Punk's attention and be taken seriously as a challenger.

If Jericho wins, it would be the second WWE title in his career. That would tack on to the long list of titles he has won, which includes the tag team championships with...

5) Big Show

Like Jericho on the Raw side, the Big Show is the only man that has a chance of taking down Daniel Bryan's title reign.

That is, of course, if he will not be facing Shaq on April 1st.

There has been some interesting interaction on Smackdown between Sheamus and Show, and it could be a backup plan in case they decide to pull the trigger on that feud. While both men would do their best, it would not be a great match, and Bryan vs. Sheamus seems like the better way to go.

As the largest athlete in the world, the Big Show has appeal that no other superstar can bring to the table. It is why he is most often paired with celebrities, and that seems to be the case with Shaq as well.

Can Shaq bring it in the ring? Probably not, but Show was able to get an entertaining contest out of Floyd Mayweather Jr. four years ago, and he could do the same this year.

On the other side of the coin is the fact that Show deserves at least one decent title run. He has been around the top of the card for over a decade, yet he has never held a major title for longer than a month (not counting the revived ECW Championship here). He is an established veteran that gives his all for the company, and he deserves that opportunity.

Instead, it looks like Show will head the celebrity route, and his finest accomplishment will be a 45-second title reign that was ended by...

6) Daniel Bryan

So that brings us back to Daniel Bryan, the current and most likely future World Heavyweight Champion.

The only thing that would keep him from holding the title is some sort of surprise entrance. With both the Great Khali and Santino scheduled for the match, it gives the WWE two opportunities to have other superstars enter in their place.

Even though Orton reportedly has a concussion, there is the outside chance that we are being played and he will make an entrance.

What about Christian? He is just about due to return, and he could make his presence felt in the Elimination Chamber.

Even a guy like Alberto Del Rio might think about switching brands and trying to get his hands on the World Heavyweight Championship.

Although the WHC Elimination Chamber is one of the weakest in history, it can easily provide some surprises with a change of entrant or two. But if not, it will be quite difficult to not see Daniel Bryan as the champ at the end of the day.

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