WWE Elimination Chamber 2012: Looking Forward to It, or Looking Past It?

Just one more to go.

One more pay-per-view, one more event, full of hype, full of storyline possibilities, an entire night geared toward one inevitable destination: WrestleMania 28.

That’s right, we’re talking about WWE’s Elimination Chamber coming up this Sunday, and as we anticipate Vince McMahon’s Super Bowl just on the horizon, we cannot lose sight of what’s right in front of us.  

Let’s face it, the Chamber is a big deal.

Right?

Once again, we are coming up on a big night for WWE, and once again I find myself asking if the company has done enough to actually prepare fans for what will go down on Sunday.

I have to be honest here, at times it seems as though WWE slides from one event to the next, as if on auto pilot, leaving many of us with our hands up like confused students.

“Um, I’m sorry, but, what’s the question again?”

Forgive my bit of apprehension here, it’s not that I am not looking forward to Sunday.  Despite how much I follow the product, and intently focus on it for my writing, I will always be a fan at my core, and I am usually pretty pumped up at the onset of the latest pay per view.

So, while I am admittedly a little leery of the fact that WWE is presenting the prequel to Wrestlemania with only four matches advertised, I will attempt to ignore that little nugget, and just enjoy the event.

After all, this it, remember?  WrestleMania is right around the corner, and the second the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view ends, the countdown to April 1 begins.

How can you not be looking forward to Sunday night?

On one side, you have the Chamber match for the WWE Championship.  The champ, CM Punk, defends against Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho, The Miz, Kofi Kingston, and R-Truth.

Every man, with the exception of possibly Kingston, could potentially win it all, and for me, there is no better drama than a big-time match like the Chamber, in which the belt is anybody’s to win.

So, who ya got for this one?

Common sense says it has to be Punk.  He and Jericho have this heat going, and from the moment it became known that Chris was contemplating a return to WWE, the immediate word was that Punk was the man he would face at WrestleMania.

Of course, the WWE Title does not technically have to be at stake for that WrestleMania match to be important.  After all, it’s Punk, it’s Jericho, isn’t that enough to make fans want to shell out their hard earned cash to DirecTV?

Still.  Have to go with Punk in the Chamber.

On the other side of the top-tier championship picture, we have the Chamber match for the World Title.

The man with the big gold belt, Daniel Bryan, faces off against Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, the Big Show, the Great Khali and Santino Marella.

Yes, you read that last name right.  And, no, I’m not messing with you.

I can only say that when I read about this little change to the SmackDown main event, I was more than a little surprised, and I could already begin to hear the whispers coming from some of the fans out there.

WWE is belittling the World Title with this one, right?  Having Santino compete in the Elimination Chamber is making a mockery of not only the match itself, but the very championship that they want all of us to believe is so important to begin with.

Seriously, is there a fan on this planet who believes Santino will walk out with the ten pounds of gold on Sunday?  It’s a joke, right?

Yes, I’m sure all of that is being said, and then some.  Know what I think?  Glad you asked.

I think Bryan is retaining, and will ultimately drop the belt to Sheamus at WrestleMania.  I also think that, much like the Raw main event, it’s not a lock, as either Rhodes, Show or Barrett can emerge victorious.  Khali?  Not so much.

As for Santino?  He’s funny, he’s entertaining, and he likely will do everything he can to make it at least interesting on Sunday.  Besides, we take all of this so seriously as fans, why not have a little fun by watching Santino in the Chamber, and remembering that it’s okay to try the unexpected?

I mean, that’s what I’m going with, anyway.  

Then we come to the love drama to end all love dramas, Kane vs. John Cena.

Wait, no, not a love drama between Cena and Kane.  Well, you know what I mean.

I have to say, when it comes to this one, I’ve got nothing.  After watching Zack Ryder’s would-be girlfriend Eve Torres play suck face with John Cena on this past Monday Night Raw, I am more than a little lost.

Isn’t this the same girl who stuck by Zack’s side the past month, and then blamed Cena for allowing Zack to get demolished by Kane in the first place?  Now, suddenly she has the hots for John, and just wants to “be friends” with Ryder?

That one moment alone caused every man in attendance, and watching at home, to make a statement, followed by a question.

“Well, I’ll be d****d!”

And, “where the h*** are they going with this?”

Yeah, I really have no idea.  I’m at a loss on that one.

Last but not least, we have Beth Phoenix taking on Tamina Snuka.

Instead of shoveling out the same tired old arguments against why this match should not be taking place, how WWE is wasting our time by showcasing a division they have no faith in, and how the Divas are a joke, I will only say this.

These two women work hard in the ring.  They take it seriously.  If the Divas Championship is to be featured in a pay-per-view setting, then I am completely fine with these two ladies getting the nod.

Ignore all the rest of it, people.  When it comes to the Divas, just take it one match at a time, and try to get something out of it.  That’s what I’m going to do.

And, that brings us to the end, a card of only four matches that are supposedly going to whet our appetites for the biggest pay per view of the year.  

So, what do you think?  Is this event going to be enough to make you so impatient for WrestleMania that you mark your calendar and begin the countdown?

“You better believe it!  Bring on the Chamber!”

Awkward silence.

“Right?”