WWE Elimination Chamber 2017: Final Preview and Picks for Entire Match Card
The last SmackDown Live-exclusive pay-per-view before WrestleMania will emanate from Phoenix Sunday night and feature three championship matches. John Cena will defend the WWE Championship against five of the brand's elite competitors in the event's signature Elimination Chamber.
Baron Corbin, The Miz, intercontinental champion Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt and former WWE champion AJ Styles will compete to dethrone Cena and cash a ticket to the main event of WrestleMania 33.
Cena's title is not the only one up for grabs.
Alexa Bliss will face her most "athletically gifted" opponent to date when she battles Naomi. Can Little Miss Bliss successfully retain the title she won from Becky Lynch, or will the dynamic challenger unseat her and roll into WrestleMania with gold around her waist?
American Alpha has dominated tag team competition since being called up to the SmackDown roster. Sunday night, Jason Jordan and Chad Gable will have to overcome the challenge of the five teams they have beaten individually in a rare Tag Team Turmoil match.
With a stacked card that features two other women's matches, not to mention a grudge match featuring the winner of the 2017 Royal Rumble match, Elimination Chamber promises to be integral to setting up the biggest show of the year.
Get ready for Sunday's spectacular with these final picks and predictions for the blockbuster WWE Network presentation.
Kickoff Show Match: Mojo Rawley vs. Curt Hawkins
1 of 8
Curt Hawkins said something mean to Mojo Rawley backstage, and abracadabra, we have this lovely pre-show match to look forward.
Or something like that.
Neither Rawley nor Hawkins has been relevant in the last month, but with so much talent used up elsewhere on the show, the brand had no other choice but to come up with something for them to do at the last minute so that it could promote a match for the pre-show festivities.
Hawkins has been a non-factor since his return to WWE, and Rawley is lost without Zack Ryder by his side.
One is still in better shape to win this match than the other, though.
Prediction
Mojo Rawley
Tag Team Turmoil for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships
2 of 8
The complete and utter domination of the tag team division by American Alpha has created a scenario in which none of the competition is credible enough to dethrone it in individual tag matches. As a result, a Tag Team Turmoil match has been booked to try to manufacture drama.
Even a rare victory for The Ascension this past Tuesday night did nothing to elevate it in the eyes of the fans, nor has it created any question as to which team will leave the PPV with the tag titles.
Jason Jordan and Chad Gable are the epitome of what tag team wrestling in 2017 should be, and there is nothing The Usos, Heath Slater and Rhyno, The Vaudevillains, Breezango or The Ascension can do Sunday night to be taken seriously as threats to their continued success.
A new team—like one the duo may have combated during its time in NXT—feels like the best option to help rebuild the only struggling division on SmackDown.
Prediction
American Alpha
Nikki Bella vs. Natalya
3 of 8
Survivor Series 2016 got off to a bumpy start for the women of SmackDown Live, as Nikki Bella was attacked backstage and rendered unable to compete. Her assailant was unknown until Carmella later revealed it was Natalya who perpetrated the attack.
In the months since the revelation, the two women have constantly been at each other's throats, brawling with each other in the ring, at merchandise stands and during Talking Smack.
Natalya has regularly brought up her rival's relationship with John Cena, going as far as to claim he is the reason for Bella's success. She will find out, one way or the other, if that is the case come Sunday night.
Prediction
Nikki Bella
2-on-1 Handicap Match: Apollo Crews and Kalisto vs. Dolph Ziggler
4 of 8
Months of frustration, born of losing high-profile championship matches, led to a Dolph Ziggler heel turn that should have reinvigorated his character.
Instead, he has come across as a spoiled brat—a temperamental bad guy who throws a tantrum whenever he loses a match. No matter how many times he swings a steel chair, he is not dangerous, and a two-minute loss to Apollo Crews on the most recent episode of SmackDown Live proved as much.
Crews and Kalisto have most frequently felt the wrath of Ziggler, but they will now have the numbers advantage Sunday when they battle him in a 2-on-1 Handicap match.
The heel run for Ziggler has been an immense disappointment, as The Showoff has been left to wallow in midcard mediocrity. That does not figure to change at Elimination Chamber because even SmackDown's writing staff is unwilling to book Crews and Kalisto, babyfaces, so poorly as to have them lose a two-on-one encounter to a heel not named Braun Strowman.
Prediction
Apollo Crews and Kalisto
Becky Lynch vs. Mickie James
5 of 8
Mickie James returned to WWE during Becky Lynch's rivalry with Alexa Bliss over the SmackDown Women's Championship, revealing herself to be the mysterious masked La Luchadora.
Since then, she has become a nightmare for Lynch—a vengeful woman seeking acclaim for her role in reinvigorating women's wrestling in North America. Dismayed that she is given no credit while Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Bayley and Sasha Banks are recognized as the leaders of the Women's Revolution, she has vowed that her redemption will come on Sunday with the destruction of Lynch.
The Lass Kicker has plenty to prove on her own.
A win over James will put her back in contention for a shot at either Bliss or Naomi coming out of Elimination Chamber. With a loss, she will have to claw her way back to the top of the division.
The Irish-born performer has been one of the best, most understated and enjoyable performers in the women's division since her time in NXT. If James can bring the type of performance she did to her match against Asuka at TakeOver: Toronto this past November, the women could deliver a match that ranks among the best of the entire show.
James needs the win to re-establish herself as a threat to the rest of the female competitors, and Lynch will still be treated like the lead babyface in the division. She will recover just fine.
Prediction
Mickie James
Luke Harper vs. Randy Orton
6 of 8
Randy Orton won the 2017 Royal Rumble match, but before that, he caused a schism within The Wyatt Family by attracting the attention and affection of Bray Wyatt at the expense of Luke Harper. Feeling as though his spot as Wyatt's most loyal follower was in jeopardy, Harper began allowing his emotions to get the best of him.
The result?
Excommunication from the family.
Even after enduring Sister Abigail, he hesitated to strike Wyatt but did not afford the same decency to Orton, who he gleefully pummeled when the time came.
That is, until the Feb. 7 episode of SmackDown, when Harper blasted his longtime associate with a brutal discus clothesline. From there, he shoved Orton into John Cena, who planted him with an Attitude Adjustment. He cost The Viper a huge victory, and on Sunday, he has the opportunity to further derail Orton's momentum again via an enormous upset win.
Unfortunately, that will not happen.
Prediction
Randy Orton
SmackDown Women's Championship Match: Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss
7 of 8
Alexa Bliss stunned the wrestling world by rising rapidly up the SmackDown Live ranks and defeating Becky Lynch to capture the women's title at December's TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view.
Since then, she has successfully retained her title in subsequent rematches with a little help from the returning Mickie James. Naomi's re-emergence over the last month, though, presents her with an "athletically gifted" challenger who could dethrone her come Sunday night.
Naomi has already beaten Bliss twice, pinning her under non-title circumstances.
With the world watching and the title up for grabs, can she make it 3-for-3 and relieve Little Miss Bliss of her gold?
If the company wants to legitimize Naomi as the top babyface on SmackDown, it should switch the title. That does not seem like the case, though. Even on Tuesday's show, Lynch reiterated that she is coming for Bliss' title.
If The Lass Kicker will remain the babyface around whom the division is built, expect Bliss to overcome the glow and score the win.
Prediction
Alexa Bliss
Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE Championship
8 of 8
The WWE Championship will be up for grabs Sunday night inside the Elimination Chamber, one of the most violent and unforgiving matches WWE has to offer. John Cena, the reigning champion, will defend against The Miz, Baron Corbin, AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt and intercontinental champion Dean Ambrose.
Ambrose and The Miz have been embroiled in a rivalry for the better part of a month—a feud that saw The Lunatic Fringe defeat The Hollywood A-Lister to become IC champion.
Styles lost the WWE title to Cena at Royal Rumble in a five-star classic and will be seeking to add a second championship reign to his impressive WWE resume.
Corbin has been on a roll of late, sparring with Styles, Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Ambrose and The Miz while firmly establishing himself as a young competitor capable of hanging with the top stars the industry has to offer.
Then there is Wyatt, the dark horse of the match. The leader of The Wyatt Family has been here before, one step away from championship glory. For whatever reason, he can never seem to get over the hump and win the title that would give him the most power in WWE.
Expect that to change on Sunday.
The Wyatt Family's story has taken over SmackDown Live. With Randy Orton slated to challenge for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, the next chapter of the story includes a showdown with the family's leader. To get there, The Reaper of Souls must capture his first singles title in WWE in one of the most anticipated moments of the year so far.
Prediction
Bray Wyatt
.jpg?w=600 "WWE Raw Results & Grades 🔠")
