WWE Elimination Chamber 2012 Preview: Who's Hot and Who's Not

WWE Elimination Chamber 2012 is upon us, and Bleacher Report is here with a unique preview of the pay-per-view.  

We've kept our eyes on various WWE Superstars who will be featured on the card and have determined who's hot and who's not going into Sunday night's PPV.

Elimination Chamber is the final PPV before WrestleMania, and expand on, or squash ongoing feuds in order to completely clear the path along the road to WrestleMania.  

Some Superstars rise to the occasion in an attempt to make the most out of their opportunities, others can't seem to catch a break and a few are just victims of poor booking or writing.  

Unexpected names have stepped up to the plate, while others have botched inside the ring as well as on the microphone.  

Browse our list of who's hot and who's not going in to Elimination Chamber and sound off in the comment section with your thoughts. 

Hot: Kofi Kingston

The high-flying Kofi Kingston has seemingly avoided falling to the wayside after his partner Evan Bourne failed two wellness tests, and not only has he not been "depushed", his determination to not be overshadowed by his peers has seen him put on some of his best work in recent memory.  

On the Raw go-home show for Elimination Chamber, the opening segment was a presidential style debate between the Raw Elimination Chamber participants.  Out of all of Kofi's peers, he would likely find himself ranked near last in regards to mic skills, but he would not be overlooked that night.

When it came Kofi's turn to speak, he "maximized his minutes" as Jim Ross implores all young talent to do when looking to gain a foothold in the WWE.  

Kofi's promo was short, sweet and loud.  After being called an "afterthought" by the Miz, Kofi jumped in at the buzzer:

"

Why don't you shut up, okay!  An afterthought?  You're calling me an afterthought?  I'm sure that most of the people in this ring probably agree with you because I've been overlooked for far too long.  You see, that's alright though, because that's the beautiful thing about this Elimination Chamber, is that in just the course of one night, everything can change.  I might walk in there a so called afterthought, but I might just walk out the next WWE champion.

"

Kofi went on to blindside Chris Jericho with the Trouble in Paradise and put on an excellent opening match together.  Many fans are sleeping on Kofi because it's so unlikely that he'll win, but he's very hot going into Elimination Chamber, and with a good showing, he may find himself in position to be a key player in the midcard very soon.  

Not: The Miz

The Miz has been far from awesome the past few weeks.  

He nearly injured R-Truth by failing to catch him outside of the ring, and his mic work has been deteriorating at a rapid pace.

At the Raw go-home show for Elimination Chamber, Miz was put to sleep by WWE Champion CM Punk and could be facing a classic WWE talent burial.  

Regardless of what the future holds for The Miz, he's certainly not hot going into Elimination Chamber.  

Ironically, he may be the afterthought Sunday night, as he suggested the previously mentioned Kofi Kingston would be.  

Warm and Ready to Ignite: CM Punk/Chris Jericho

The two final Raw Elimination Chamber participants in this list are Chris Jericho and WWE Champion CM Punk.  

By all standards, these two fall under "hot," but their brewing feud isn't quite there yet.  The WWE Universe was treated to a preview of some of the action to come on the Raw Elimination Chamber go-home show, when Jericho targeted Punk during the "presidential debate".

After Jericho suggested Punk just give the title to him now, Punk acted as though he didn't hear him, then finally turned to address him as he apologized to the crowd:

"

Oh god, were you talking to me?  I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I wasn't listening to a word you were saying.  I was remembering when you left, and you went and finished seventh on Dancing With the Stars. 

"

The shades of what is yet to come is enough to get the fans salivating, and with Jericho being the last man to enter the Elimination Chamber, the very real possibility of Jericho winning the WWE Championship has everyone guessing.  

Not: Tamina Snuka

The mandatory Divas Championship title defense at Elimination Chamber will be between Beth Phoenix and Tamina Snuka, and no one is thrilled.

Tamina has only recently become a regular in the midcard scene and has failed to inspire the fans.  She's getting a title shot far too early and has somehow leapfrogged Alicia Fox in the nonexistent rankings.  

Kharma or bust!

Hot (Whether You Like It or Not): Santino Marella

Santino Marella is a joke.  He typically grows a unibrow, struts about in a singlet and rocks an air trombone as celebration.  His finishing move is a mandible claw dressed up as a cobra. Quite honestly, he's beyond the point of no return when it comes rebounding from a comedy character. 

All of that said, he's a legit competitor, and his crafty style secured him a victory on the most recent episode of SmackDown.  

With Randy Orton out of the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match, Santino found himself as one of the last men standing in the over the top rope battle royal to determine the replacement.  The crowd got behind Santino and urged him all the way to the finish, as he tossed David Otunga over the top rope and secured his participation in SmackDown's Elimination Chamber. 

His gimmick may be old, and downright silly, but the fans are behind him.  

Santino is getting a rare opportunity to shine in a high-profile match and should capitalize on it as best he can to grab hold of whatever thread of hope he can find of a future in the WWE outside of being a funnyman. 

Not: Kane

You know Kane has reached a dark place when he's injuring Zack Ryder every week and threatening to do something ("something" sounded and looked a whole lot like some form of sexual assault) to Eve Torres.  That, or the writing is just really, really bad.  

When Kane returned with his mask, the WWE Universe expected the big red machine to be in full effect.  Instead, we get horrible promos, a handful of matches and WWE toying with the idea of killing off Zack Ryder.  

For all the hellfire and brimstone that Kane brings along, he's not hot at all right now. Thankfully, John Cena is set to send Kane packing in an ambulance at Elimination Chamber.