WWE Elimination Chamber 2012: Why February Event Is Important Step to 'Mania

Even though Elimination Chamber tends to get lost in the shuffle in between Royal Rumble and WrestleMania on the WWE schedule, it still plays an important role on the road to the year's biggest wrestling event.

This year's show is certainly no different with several marquee matches already on the card. More important than any single result, however, is the building of storylines as business begins to pick up in the coming weeks.

One of the biggest questions surrounds CM Punk and Chris Jericho. Sunday's main event will go a long way in telling us how much confidence Vince McMahon and Co. have in Punk as the face of the company after an extended title reign to test the waters.

Ratings have fluctuated, so it's been tough to get a good read on how well Punk is doing to attract the casual viewer. He got a monster push because the die-hard fans had been clamoring for it, but that doesn't always translate throughout the WWE Universe.

Jericho, on the other hand, has a large fan base built up from his many different endeavors and attracts fans who might have tuned out in recent years, which might actually make him a safer choice to lead the RAW brand for the next six weeks.

If Punk comes out on the short end, it will speak volumes. There's no reason he should drop the belt at a second-tier PPV.

Another angle to watch features John Cena and Kane. The pair have been embroiled in a long feud with Kane hoping to get Cena to embrace the hate, which would be the closest thing to a heel turn “Super Cena” would ever get.

Since The Rock is finishing up his movie promotion stops, his return to the WWE is imminent. He's been trading Twitter shots with Cena for the last couple weeks in anticipation of his return in what's sure to be a terrific storyline.

What that means for Cena's Elimination Chamber match is that it's time to start turning him back into an unstoppable force. He needs to start running through opponents with ease like in the past when the fans started to turn against him so his feud with The Rock lives up to the hype.

A couple smaller things to watch are Daniel Bryan's weasel tactics and Beth Phoenix's last title defense before Kharma, who returned at the Royal Rumble, should return.

While the cowardly maneuvers helped Bryan successfully complete a heel turn, he's going to have no escape from the chamber. That means the WWE will either start building him into a legitimate champion or risk killing all his momentum.

As for Phoenix, the only feud which has any hope of making the Divas division relevant is if she battles Kharma. The only way that happens is if she retains on Sunday. If she were to drop the belt, it would signal once and for all that the WWE doesn't care about the Divas.

So, while it might seem like Elimination Chamber is just a speed bump on the road to WrestleMania, it actually holds quite a bit of significance.