WWE Elimination Chamber 2012: Power Ranking Every Chamber Participant

The WWE Elimination Chamber is the last stop on the road to WrestleMania as far as pay-per-views are concerned, and with CM Punk and Daniel Bryan as the WWE and World Champions, respectively, headed in to the pay-per-view, expect that to change when the final chamber has been raised. 

Looking at the rather watered-down field, especially on the SmackDown side, it's safe to assume that only a small fraction of superstars have a legit chance to leave the Elimination Chamber as a new world champion.  The change is more likely to happen on RAW than SmackDown when one looks at the two crops of chamber participants, but stranger things have happened in the WWE strictly for the sake of surprise. 

Ranking each superstar who is to compete inside the chamber will give more insight into who the real threats are to the WWE's two major championships, and who you may see exit Milwaukee, Wisconsin with some new hardware. 

 

12. Santino Marella

While he may be more entertaining than the Great Khali, Santino Marella very well may be the worst entrant in Elimination Chamber history. 

Given the dark, serious, dangerous nature in which the Chamber is promoted, Marella's presence only serves to hurt the otherwise ominous chamber, as WWE's resident comedy act sets to enter the structure likely with a series of gags in tow. 

Santino has no chance to win the Elimination Chamber under any circumstance given his niche as a comedy performer, so it is quite dumbfounding that he will be participating in the match in the first place as Randy Orton's replacement.

11. The Great Khali

The Great Khali will be useless in this Elimination Chamber, but this type of match suits him as his limitations can quite literally be hidden inside the chamber. 

Khali should be the leader in your Elimination Chamber pools as the superstar who will last the least amount of time in the Elimination Chamber. However, his big-man presence is certainly imposing, and the WWE has done a good job keeping him serious leading up to the pay-per-view. 

10. Wade Barrett

The Barrett Barrage has hit a bit of a speed bump lately.  Since his underwhelming performance at the Royal Rumble, Barrett has done little to nothing, and there is no reason to believe he has any chance of threatening Daniel Bryan's World title reign. 

Randy Orton's last-minute removal from the chamber should stand to benefit Barrett, as more emphasis will now be given to the likes of him and Cody Rhodes, but expect Rhodes to get the brunt of that benefit.

9. Kofi Kingston

Kofi Kingston will likely have the best spot in the Elimination Chamber, but expect nothing else.  Kingston's on-camera frustrations with being overlooked should be justified, as there is a good chance he'll be an early out on Sunday. 

Despite his low ranking, I actually expect Kingston to gain at least one pinfall victory inside the Elimination Chamber, possibly against the Miz. 

8. R-Truth

R-Truth is simply a bridesmaid in the Elimination Chamber match and little should be expected from the former United States Champion. 

Truth was fairly entertaining this past week during the RAW Elimination Chamber debates, but entertainment doesn't win championships—or at least his brand of entertainment doesn't. 

7. The Miz

The Miz's rating may be considered inflated given WWE is reportedly selling his stock internally, but given his world championship history, he has to be considered as more of a threat to win the Elimination Chamber than the RAW stars who are ranked below him. 

Miz may fall victim to an early elimination as he has not been booked very well on TV headed into the Elimination Chamber.  It will be interesting to see where he ends up come WrestleMania. 

6. Dolph Ziggler

One month ago, Dolph Ziggler would have been considered a dark horse to win RAW's Elimination Chamber, but after taking an ugly loss to CM Punk at the Royal Rumble and failing to score a pinfall victory since, Ziggler is right back to where he pretty much started in the midcard, if not worse for wear.

Ziggler may be protected to some extent, but for whatever reason the WWE seems to have gone back to the drawing board with their once-hot star.

5. The Big Show

The Big Show has been all over TV lately, but he was surprisingly manhandled this past week on RAW by Randy Orton during their single's match.. 

With Big Show being World Champion Daniel Bryan's chief rival in a weak SmackDown Elimination Chamber field, in addition to being the only babyface to be taken seriously, expect Show to last until the end before losing to Bryan in some cheap fashion. 

4. Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes continues his admirable pace en route to WrestleMania, but he's not done nearly enough in the recent past to suggest that he could unseat Daniel Bryan for the World Championship. 

Much like in the Royal Rumble, expect Rhodes to be booked strongly inside the chamber, possibly racking up multiple victories. 

3. CM Punk

With one major championship pretty much guaranteed to change hands at the Elimination Chamber, and Jericho breathing down CM Punk's neck, expect CM Punk's WWE Championship reign to come to an end this Sunday.

The WWE has every reason to take the title off of CM Punk from a ratings standpoint, as the trend of low ratings for his segments has yet to subside. 

There could be more money in CM Punk chasing Jericho for the WWE title, and if Jericho fails on his second attempt to earn a spot at WrestleMania only to eventually become the No. 1 contender on his third try, both he and that feud would lose some considerable steam heading into WrestleMania. 

2. Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho has had the most momentum of any RAW superstar in the elimination chamber.  He made it to the final two of the Royal Rumble before becoming a victim of internal over-analysis, he won the six-pack match to guarantee that he enters the chamber last and he scored a TV victory over Kofi Kingston this past week on RAW. 

Looking at the way Jericho is being booked, it appears as if WWE is looking to put immense heat on Jericho heading into a projected WrestleMania showdown with CM Punk, which is exactly how it should be. 

1. Daniel Bryan

Looking at the stars he is saddled with now that Orton will be out of the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match with a concussion, it would be considered a considerable upset if anyone other than Daniel Bryan wins the SmackDown Elimination Chamber. 

The Big Show has an outside chance; however, he is expected to face Shaquille O'Neal at WrestleMania, and that match clearly doesn't need a world title at stake. 

The Elimination Chamber is made for a heel like Daniel Bryan, as he will probably score a cheap win by taking advantage of damage that has already been done inside the chamber. 

What $500 promise has Big Nasty made for the Elimination Chamber?  Find out in Big Nasty's latest video, then follow Big Nasty on Twitter @ThisIsNasty.