Best and Worst Booking Decisions of WWE Elimination Chamber 2026 Results
WWE took the crew to Chicago for this year's Elimination Chamber PLE.
With Roman Reigns and Liv Morgan choosing to face CM Punk and Stephanie Vaquer, respectively, at WrestleMania, that leaves Drew McIntyre and Jade Cargill to face the winners of the men's and women's Chamber matches.
In addition to the two bouts inside the massive cage, we also saw Finn Balor challenge Punk for the men's world title and Becky Lynch put the Women's Intercontinental Championship on the line against AJ Lee.
After several weeks of teases, we also found out what was inside the mystery crate we have been seeing on Raw and SmackDown.
Let's take a look at the best and worst booking decisions from Saturday's PLE.
Best: Allowing Someone New to Shine
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The Elimination Chamber is usually a match filled with top stars, but the women's bout this year featured someone who is still looking for her first real taste of main roster success.
Kiana James shocked a lot of fans when she earned a spot in the Chamber, but anyone who has been paying attention to her WWE run since the start in NXT knows she is capable of so much more than she has been allowed to show.
She is not only more powerful than she appears, but also has gymnastic skills that let her pull off high-flying moves when the opportunity arises.
James got a tepid reaction from the Chicago crowd, but given enough time and opportunities to prove herself, she can win over the WWE Universe.
It's always nice to see some fresh faces in the title hunt, and James produced some memorable moments inside the Chamber. Hopefully, her push continues as WrestleMania season rolls on.
Worst: Not Booking Raquel Rodriguez to Win
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The women's Elimination Chamber was a fun match with several standout spots, but the person who had the most impressive showing did not end up winning. Here is a quick rundown of how the eliminations played out:
Rodriguez was a beast in this match. She eliminated James and Asuka at the same time, and she had several moments that showed off how powerful she really is.
Unfortunately, the outcome of this match was pretty predictable. Ripley has been the chosen one in the women's division for quite some time, and rightfully so. She has earned that spot through years of hard work and her immense popularity, but sometimes, WWE needs to shake things up. Ripley will be in a WrestleMania title match for the fifth year in a row next month in Las Vegas.
Having Rodriguez win would have been surprising, but it would have felt like she earned it, too. She has felt like she is on the cusp of becoming a top star for years, but management keeps stopping short.
Ripley is still a good pick to win because she is one of the most popular stars in the company, but on a card that feels almost too predictable, this was WWE's chance to do something shocking.
Worst: Becky Lynch Loses to AJ Lee Again
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AJ Lee held two victories over Lynch heading into this PLE—one in a tag match and one in WarGames—so this was still their first-ever one-on-one showdown.
A good feud is back and forth. Both sides need to have some success before the conclusion. Having one person win every encounter is boring and repetitive, so this was the perfect opportunity to give Lynch a victory in their story.
In the end, Lee secured the win after several close calls to claim her first IC title.
This was a solid match, and a lot of people are going to be happy to see Lee with the belt, but a much more interesting option would have been for Lynch to retain, only for AJ to win at WrestleMania, where the stage and audience will be even bigger.
This felt like a short-term solution rather than a long-term plan, but the fans in Chicago were happy with how it ended, so it wasn't a total loss. A more compelling choice would have been for Lynch to retain to set up a bigger rematch at WrestleMania.
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Best: CM Punk Retains
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Punk and Balor met once again in a match for the men's World Heavyweight Championship on Saturday.
The Second City Savior was in his hometown of Chicago. His wife just won her first title in over 10 years, and he even had a special introduction with the music so many Bulls fans have burned into their memory, so it felt like he had everything going for him.
When Roman Reigns chose which title to challenge for at 'Mania, he chose this one because Punk was the one holding it, and that fact made this feel like the most predictable match of the night.
However, sometimes predictable is the right way to go. WWE has already sold tickets for 'Mania on the premise of Punk vs. Reigns being one of the main events. Pulling the rug out from under fans now wouldn't just be a booking mistake, but it would be bad business.
Balor put up another great fight, but The Straight-Edge Superstar had this won before it even started.
Worst: What's in the Box?
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For the past few weeks, WWE has been featuring a mystery crate on Raw and SmackDown. It had a label stating it wouldn't be opened until Saturday night during the PLE.
Speculation ran wild about who or what was inside the box. Names such as Chris Jericho were being thrown around despite him still being under contract with All Elite Wrestling.
SmackDown GM Nick Aldis and his Raw counterpart, Adam Pearce, opened it to reveal a coffin. When it opened, several women stepped out dressed like Danhausen before he emerged to make his official WWE debut.
His AEW contract recently expired, so many expected him to be the man in the box. Sadly, the Chicago crowd did not seem to care one bit. In fact, some fans booed as soon as his music stopped playing.
It might take some time for the WWE Universe to get to know Danhausen, but this segment landed with a thud. This was one time when a slow debut with some video packages would have been a much better option.
Best: Randy Orton Wins
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The men's Elimination Chamber match closed the show as the main event.
Trick Williams, LA Knight, Logan Paul and Randy Orton started in the pods, which meant Cody Rhodes and Je'Von Evans opened the match.
Here is how the eliminations played out:
WWE employed more masked-man shenanigans, but this time it was Seth Rollins under the disguise. He entered the Chamber and stomped Paul to cause his elimination.
It all came down to longtime friends Orton and Rhodes. McIntyre came in and attacked Rhodes with the WWE title belt. He and Orton dispatched the champion together before The Viper struck and hit the RKO for the win.
The American Nightmare was the favorite to win, so having Orton end up claiming the victory was just surprising enough to keep things interesting.
The Elimination Chamber had some entertaining moments, but it feels like we are going to see a lot of opinions on both sides of the fence about the show as a whole.
What did you think of the Elimination Chamber? Did you like Danhausen's debut? Did the right people win their Chamber matches?
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