Women's WWE Elimination Chamber 2018 Match Participants Announced

Raw general manager Kurt Angle announced the five challengers for Alexa Bliss' Raw Women's Championship in the first-ever women's Elimination Chamber match at the pay-per-view of the same name Feb. 25.

Bliss will put the title on the line against Bayley, Mandy Rose, Mickie James, Sonya Deville and Sasha Banks, which WWE shared on Twitter:

Angle also announced Nia Jax will wrestle 2018 Royal Rumble winner Asuka in a singles match at Elimination Chamber. Should Jax win, she'll earn a women's title shot at WrestleMania 34. Asuka is already assured of a WrestleMania championship match by virtue of her Rumble victory.

In what could be an interesting direction for the storyline surrounding the Raw Women's Championship, Bliss criticized Angle for the fact she's defending her belt in the Elimination Chamber, while WWE universal champion Brock Lesnar isn't wrestling again until WrestleMania.

It was a justifiable critique, which created a rare situation where a heel was 100 percent in the right.

That then raises the question as to whether WWE has a larger plan for Bliss in mind.

The company may be positioning the champion for a face turn. As effective as Bliss is as a heel, her height (5'1") should make her a natural as a fan favorite underdog.

This could also be an opportunity for WWE's current storylines to meld together with the Mixed Match Challenge, which largely operates outside whatever is happening on Raw and SmackDown Live. Bliss' MMC partner, Braun Strowman, may want to come to her defense and be the man to beat Lesnar for the universal title.

The fact it will feature the first-ever women's event was enough to get fans excited about the Elimination Chamber PPV. The bigger implications with regard to the women's division add even more intrigue.