WWE Elimination Chamber 2017: Stars Who Will Earn WrestleMania 33 Spotlight
Any pay-per-view event this close to WrestleMania brings with it the opportunity for Superstars to rise to the occasion and deliver performances that earn them the trust of management and, in return, the opportunity to compete at The Showcase of the Immortals.
Sunday night, the SmackDown Live brand will present Elimination Chamber, an event capped off by the namesake gimmick bout for the WWE Championship.
John Cena enters the match with the title around his waist, attempting to successfully retain it. To do so, he will have to overcome five top contenders: AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt, Baron Corbin, Dean Ambrose and The Miz.
Luke Harper will roll into the event for a showdown with Randy Orton. Hopefully, when the smoke and dust have settled, he will have earned recognition as the most talented, underappreciated big man of his generation.
The women's revolution has spawned three matches for Sunday's show. Becky Lynch takes on Mickie James, Alexa Bliss defends the SmackDown Women's Championship again Naomi and Nikki Bella attempts to settle her differences with Natalya.
The card is stacked with opportunity for all involved.
Whether they seize it and look forward to WrestleMania 33 rather than have regrets is the question.
Baron Corbin
1 of 5
Baron Corbin enters Elimination Chamber riding a wave of momentum. A series of matches against the likes of John Cena, Dolph Ziggler and a clean victory over AJ Styles have him firmly entrenched in fans' minds as a dark horse for Sunday's WWE World Championship bout.
While it is highly unlikely The Lone Wolf leaves the show with the top prize in sports entertainment, he has been involved in enough high-profile matches and moments, including the elimination of Braun Strowman in the Royal Rumble match, to rise to the occasion inside Elimination Chamber and ensure himself of a significant spot on the WrestleMania 33 card.
A strong performance that sees him eliminate at least one prominent star, most likely Dean Ambrose, will help Corbin maintain the star aura he has created for himself through his recent string of strong in-ring performances and even stronger booking.
Bray Wyatt
2 of 5
Bray Wyatt will leave Elimination Chamber as the WWE world champion.
Such certainty could be construed as hubris and set one up for disappointment if that were not the case.
With Randy Orton possessing the right to challenge for the top prize in sports entertainment, courtesy of his victory in the Royal Rumble match, and all signs pointing to a Wyatt Family implosion that ends with him facing The Reaper of Souls in main event of WrestleMania, it only makes sense for Wyatt to win the title Sunday night.
For all of the justifiable concerns regarding Wyatt's booking, his WrestleMania resume includes a verbal confrontation with The Rock and matches against Undertaker and John Cena.
That is as significant opposition as one gets in today's WWE and suggests that management, for all of its mistakes in the handling of his character, still sees Wyatt as a premier Superstar in its weekly live-action morality play.
Sunday night, his journey to the top of professional wrestling comes to an end with a championship win and the confirmation of a match against The Viper at WrestleMania.
Naomi
3 of 5
To say Naomi was on the outside looking in at the SmackDown Women's Championship scene earlier this winter would be an understatement of massive proportions. She was nonexistent in the division while she healed from injury, forced to watch from the sidelines as Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss and the returning Mickie James passed her by.
Two straight pinfall wins over Bliss, though, have her in contention for the SmackDown Women's Championship at Elimination Chamber and the opportunity to earn her way into the WrestleMania 33 spotlight.
Long one of the most athletically gifted female performers on the roster, she has lacked opportunity. That is no longer the problem for the former Funkadactyl. Sunday, she will compete with the potential reward of a high-profile WrestleMania 33 match.
Considering the fact she was left off the main show last year, relegated to a multi-woman tag team match that did nothing to enhance her status on television, the idea of a championship bout representing the blue brand is mighty appealing.
She must first, though, prove she can perform in a high-pressure situation.
She will get her chance Sunday in what equates to the most significant match of her career, against an opponent in Bliss who is surging as WrestleMania approaches.
Luke Harper
4 of 5
Luke Harper has been the most intriguing character on SmackDown Live during February.
The loyal Wyatt Family soldier's vendetta against Randy Orton, whom he blames for creating a schism within the once-strong faction, has made for some spectacular television. Most recently, on Tuesday's episode of SmackDown, he finally severed ties with Bray Wyatt, leaving the boss writhing in agony following a Discus Clothesline.
It popped the crowd and gave management the first taste of the performer and story it has at its disposal.
Sunday, Harper will wrestle one of the most important matches of his career when he battles The Viper one-on-one.
In the wake of the bout, likely to be won by Orton, expect Harper to have proved himself to the extent that his position on the WrestleMania card strengthens as a result.
Harper has repeatedly shown he is one of the most talented big men in the sport. Whether discussing his feud with Dolph Ziggler in 2014 or the wars with The Shield, Harper has always impressed. Under the bright lights of the WWE Network and with pressure on him to have a quality match against the 2017 Royal Rumble winner, Harper will earn every ounce of buzz his name generates.
American Alpha
5 of 5
American Alpha may not be embroiled in a storyline reflective of the team's talents, but Sunday night, Jason Jordan and Chad Gable defend the SmackDown Live tag team titles against the weakest roster of tandems WWE has ever produced.
Breezango, The Vaudevillains, The Ascension, The Usos and Rhyno and Heath Slater are all teams that will challenge the titleholders, leaving questions as to whether American Alpha can pick up the win or whether Jordan and Gable come close and lose their titles.
They are superb athletes but have seen television time decrease since winning the tag titles. That changes here, as American Alpha steamrolls the competition and heads into WrestleMania 33 with the gold.
American Alpha has suffered because of the weakness of the division and WWE's mistakes in presenting Jordan and Gable as the respected duo the sport wants to see. That could all change Sunday, prompting a run unrivalred by any other tandem in WWE history.
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