This is How WWE's Mystery Box Reveal Ends Up Shattering Expectations

WWE Elimination Chamber this Saturday, the final stop on the Road to WrestleMania 42, will boast a four-match card filled with 'Mania stakes.

• Undisputed WWE Championship No. 1 contender's Elimination Chamber match
• WWE Women's Championship No. 1 contender's Elimination Chamber match
• Becky Lynch vs. AJ Lee for the Women's Intercontinental Championship
• CM Punk vs. Finn Balor for the World Heavyweight Championship

Despite that, the mystery of what's in the crate that recently arrived on Raw is the biggest hook heading into the painfully-predictable premium live event.

It could be a bust, but it could well end up shattering expectations instead. At this point, what does WWE really have to lose?

Fans' Most Popular Picks to Be in the Box

• Chris Jericho
• Danhausen
• Bianca Belair
• Royce Keys
• Promotional campaign

Jericho has a knack for returning to WWE in unique, exciting ways. He's long been rumored to return to WWE and could be back in time for WrestleMania, especially with Chicago also being where he made his memorable debut on Raw in 1999.

In response to speculation that Jericho could be inside the box, Fightful reported that he remains firmly under contract to All Elite Wrestling after his deal was extended due to missing an extensive amount of time in 2025.

Danhausen's contract status with AEW has also been heavily debated as well as whether he could soon be WWE-bound. It's not confirmed if or when he'll officially be gone, but as a goofy gimmick, he'd at least be an entertaining and worthwhile reveal.

Belair would have been the ideal opponent for WWE Women's champion Jade Cargill at WrestleMania had she been cleared to compete by now. She offered an update on her road to recovery just over a week ago and included pictures of the surgery she underwent for her injured finger, but it's possible those pictures are from many months ago and she's actually good to go.

Michael Owens/WWE via Getty Images

As far as new names are concerned, WWE has already called up a bunch of fresh faces from NXT since the start of the year, so it would have to be someone being formally introduced, such as Royce Keys. The former AEW star competed in the men's Royal Rumble a month ago but has barely been featured on WWE TV otherwise.

Fans are quick to assume it will be a new or returning wrestler in the box, but there's a strong chance of it being some sort of promotional campaign, whether it be for a movie or the upcoming release of WWE 2K26.

WWE did something similar to promote Red Notice on Netflix at Survivor Series 2021 and it was a colossal failure. The Gobbledy Gooker hatching from the egg that been heavily hyped in the weeks preceding Survivor Series 1990 comes to mind as well.

Truthfully, it almost doesn't even matter what's in the mysterious crate. WWE TV has been so devoid of any real creativity or excitement for so long now that this angle gives the audience something to look forward to, even if it's ultimately a so-bad-it's-good sort of deal.

The Box Embodies Everything Wrong with Modern-Day WWE—Here's Why It Works

Minimal effort. Stale concepts. Lazy execution.

All three of those things not only describe the box gimmick but also sum up WWE's current creative process in a nutshell.

WWE has paid little attention to the box backstage since it first shown on the Feb. 16 edition of Raw, yet it got more fans buzzing than anything else on the show that night.

It's a such a tired trope but also a winning formula every time.

Higher-ups are aware that fans can't help but be intrigued. Just the idea of someone emerging from a box that's been unopened for almost two weeks is absurd. Only in wrestling would that be the case.

Expectations have to be tempered because of how dull the rest of the product is at the moment, and that's exactly why it could, should and will be a success, regardless of what the payoff is.

It'd be best for it to tie into WrestleMania somehow and not just be something to pop the crowd for one night in Chicago. There should be significant storyline ramifications to whoever or whatever is in the box, if only to get something going for The Show of Show and stir up interest.

WWE TV is by no means terrible at the moment. Rather, it's mostly boring and formulaic, and arguably, that's the worst kind of television for WWE to be producing because there's zero incentive to tune in as WrestleMania rapidly approaches.

Raw and SmackDown have a few solid storylines and the potential is there for more, but the spark is certainly missing. The coveted crate can light that fuse.

Major developments are needed en route to 'Mania to make it feel like the most important stretch of the year. More risks have to be taken because WWE's very basic booking has not been cutting it as of late.

At a time when the company is clearly struggling creatively, now is as good a time as any for WWE to start thinking outside of the box—both figuratively and literally.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.