WWE Elimination Chamber 2017: Bold Predictions for PPV Showcase

WWE Elimination Chamber 2017 faces the tough task of following the incomparable Royal Rumble from just two weeks prior as WrestleMania looms.

Sunday's pay-per-view offers a humble card outside of an intriguing Elimination Chamber field that boasts four former or current world champions. A Tag Team Turmoil match with the perfect mix of athleticism, power and talent will be primed to steal the show, and the women's division is quietly becoming a force on SmackDown Live.  

If this under-the-radar pay-per-view overachieves, it will be fitting, as this has been SmackDown's M.O. since July's brand split. 

Luke Harper vs. Randy Orton 

Randy Orton is in one of those weird positions where he essentially has to wait around until WrestleMania. He already knows what he's doing, so it's exhibition matches from here on out unless he gets put in one of those contests in which his No. 1 Contender status is on the line.

With all of SmackDown's main eventers tied up in an Elimination Chamber match, one-half of the WWE Championship match at the promotion's biggest show will find himself trading blows with unheralded (although underrated) role player Luke Harper. 

Harper and Orton have been teasing dissension since the latter joined The Wyatt Family, and both have the ability to get good matches out of anybody. Though this pairing will not excite anybody on paper, these two are sure to at least have a fun bout. 

Bold Prediction: Harper defeats Orton, making his babyface run less awkward.

Apollo Crews and Kalisto vs. Dolph Ziggler 

Straight out of the backward booking department comes a match that sees two ice-cold babyfaces take on a rising heel who draws cheers. The ironic icing on the cake is that the heel will have the deck stacked against him, making him the sympathetic figure.

Fans will waste no time rallying behind Dolph Ziggler, and even in victory, Apollo Crews and Kalisto will seem weaker with every passing second that they aren't able to put Ziggler away. 

Bold Prediction: Kalisto and Crews' victory is drowned out by chants of "Let's go Ziggler!" 

Becky Lynch vs. Mickie James

Mickie James will work her first WWE pay-per-view in almost seven years against one of the top competitors today, Becky Lynch. These two should be motivated to have the best match on the card, but they may be hindered by the fact that fans don't seem to be taking to James as a heel just yet. 

Furthermore, this will be their first one-on-one encounter, so the chemistry may not be there. None of this mattered when James stepped into the ring with Asuka in NXT and delivered one of the more underappreciated matches of 2016. Expect good things from these two at Elimination Chamber, just not great things...yet. 

Bold Prediction: James defeats Lynch with interference from Alexa Bliss.

Tag Team Turmoil Match for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships (American Alpha vs. Heath Slater and Rhyno vs. Breezango vs. The Usos vs. The Ascension vs. The Vaudevillains)

This should be a good one. Expect a fast-paced match with a lot of twists and turns that will keep the fans engaged. During the previous brand split, the SmackDown Money in the Bank match was always filled with hungry upstarts eager to prove themselves, while the Raw version featured polished veterans whose roster spots were sealed. 

Just about every time, the SmackDown Money in the Bank contest was far superior to its Raw counterpart, which seemed to suffer from complacency. This same dynamic will play out at Elimination Chamber, as the Tag Team Turmoil bout will be superior to the WWE Championship main event. 

Bold Prediction: American Alpha retains. The Tag Team Turmoil match receives two "This is awesome!" chants, as opposed to zero such chants during the main event. 

Nikki Bella vs. Natalya 

This feud is like the last remnants of the Divas division, as it is focused on how attractive Nikki Bella will be to John Cena 10 years from now. Natalya's taunts have been petty and superficial, which is a departure from the more competition-driven feuds that have defined the women's revolution. 

That said, there is a place in WWE for this brand of Total Divas-type banter. This feud feels different from anything else on the card, and while it has been built around bickering, both women are talented in-ring performers who will capitalize on the dramatic back-and-forth with a solid match. 

Bold Prediction: Bella vs. Natalya is the best women's match at Elimination Chamber.

Alexa Bliss vs. Naomi 

When was the last time there were three women's matches on the main show of a pay-per-view? A quiet subplot of Elimination Chamber is the exposure of women's wrestling. The fact that not much has been made about the abundance of women's matches on this card is a good thing, as it shows that it's no longer a big deal for women to be this prominent on a big show.

Raw did everything it could to celebrate the historic aspect of an otherwise disappointing Hell in a Cell event that saw Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks become the first women to headline a WWE pay-per-view. Meanwhile, SmackDown Live is out here booking women's matches like it's no big deal because, to the brand, women's wrestling isn't notable—it's a pastime. 

Bold Prediction: Bliss defeats Naomi in a clunky match.

Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE Championship (John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt vs. AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz vs. Baron Corbin) 

As of right now, the WrestleMania main event will pit John Cena against Randy Orton. There is no way that is happening. Those two have feuded far too many times for anybody to be interested in a WrestleMania matchup.

Cena is almost a lock to drop the WWE Championship before WrestleMania, but there's still plenty of time before that event. Cena's 16th championship reign isn't going to last just two weeks. And with rumors running wild about the WrestleMania card, WWE may not be able to resist taking a detour.

Bold Prediction: Cena retains the WWE Championship as WWE gets fed up with fans who feel like they know how WrestleMania is going to play out.

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.