This Sunday night, it's the return of the Elimination Chamber event on the WWE Network live from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, TX.
5 Best Elimination Chamber Matches Ever
Six matches are set for the card this Sunday night, which is headlined by two Chamber Matches that will see six men compete for the vacant Intercontinental Championship and six teams collide for the Tag Team Championships.Seth Rollins will also put the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Dean Ambrose.
Sunday's event will mark the sixth installment of the Elimination Chamber franchise and is sure to provide some pulse-pounding moments and unforgettable matches.
Ranking The 6 Participants In The Intercontinental Championship Elimination Chamber Match
Here are some predictions for the show in the projected order that the matches will occur:
Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE Tag Team Championships: The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Big E) w/ Xavier Woods vs. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd vs. The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto & Sin Cara) vs. The Prime Time Players (Titus O'Neal & Darren Young) vs. The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor) vs. Los Matadores (Diego & Fernando)
For the very first time, the WWE Tag Team Championships will hang in the balance inside the Chamber and it's nice to see the WWE continuing to focus on the tag team division. I believe the best way to construct this card would be to bookend the two Chamber matches and have the Rollins-Ambrose bout in the middle of the lineup.
I went into detail earlier this month when I ranked each team's chances of winning the titles, and a few weeks of reflection hasn't changed too much.
The Ascension hasn't been much of a threat since their main roster call-up while the Prime Time Players and Los Matadores also don't seem as though they're gonna walk out of Texas with the gold. The WWE broke up the PTP and realized it was a dumb idea before throwing them back together, so they don't have much going for them heading into the bout.
The Lucha Dragons are an interesting wild-card as they could be a sleeper team to win it after their successful run with the NXT Tag Team Championships.
The odds are that either Tyson Kidd & Cesaro or The New Day -- the two main teams feuding heading into this -- will walk out with the titles. Since Kidd and Cesaro recently dropped the belts and The New Day has a good thing going with the three members cheating to win, it seems the trio will overcome the odds.
The Pick: The New Day.
The New Age Outlaws defeated The Usos to win the tag gold at Elimination Chamber 2014:
Singles Match: Neville vs. Bo Dallas
It's a bit disappointing that The Man That Gravity Forgot isn't involved in the I.C. Title Chamber Match, but he at least found a place on this card in this slapped-together bout with Dallas.
Dallas hasn't done much since joining the main roster while Neville is a rising star who is only a couple of weeks removed from being a finalist in the King of the Ring tournament. Neville is one of the most exciting Superstars in the company and he'll build momentum with a win here.
The Pick: Neville
Champion vs. Champion: NXT Champion Kevin Owens vs. United States Champion John Cena
Cena's run with the United States Championship has led to some great things with his weekly open challenges, but perhaps none have been better than the addition of a feud with Owens.
Owens has been a force to be reckoned with since joining NXT and now he'll compete in his first main roster match against the Cenation leader after interrupting him two weeks ago and getting the better of him over the past couple of weeks.
Owens will look strong in this bout, but it's hard to bet against a Cena win. A victory for Owens would put him on the map and it's possible he could win due to neither title being on the line, but it's likely that Cena overcomes the odds, especially after being taken out by Owens the last couple of weeks via savage attacks.
The Pick: John Cena
The Shield defeated Cena, Ryback and Sheamus at Elimination Chamber 2013 in a six-man tag match:
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Dean Ambrose
This will be a very fun match to watch and will take away a bit of the disappointment of their feud following Rollins' heel turn last year, which was quickly side-stepped for a program between The Lunatic Fringe and Bray Wyatt.
There is plenty of history between these two former Shield stablemates and it's good to see the future of the WWE on display with these two going head-to-head over the richest prize in the game.
I'm usually one for the WWE Championship going on last no matter what (except for at the Royal Rumble), but with this being Elimination Chamber, the IC match has reason enough to go on last.
As for a winner, the WWE has booked Ambrose the weakest since the split of The Shield as evidenced by Roman Reigns main eventing WrestleMania and Rollins being the first of the trio to win the biggest title in the promotion, so it's doubtful The Lunatic Fringe will escape the American Bank Center with the hardware.
Still, there has been a nice change of pace with the company toward Ambrose lately as he's begun to gain steam and it's nice to see him as No. 1 contender.
Rollins is likely due for a title run up until at least SummerSlam, so all signs point to The Architect leaving Elimination Chamber with the belt intact.
Hopefully these two get enough time to themselves to tell a good story and put on a great match, but this is the type of contest that could be riddled with interference.
With Reigns and Orton not on the card, it's foreseeable that they get involved while The Authority (J&J Security, Triple H and Kane) could also make its presence felt.
Hopefully any outside stuff won't take away too much from the actual match, but with the Chamber Matches also highlighting the show, the WWE does have a cushion to pull off a DQ or countout finish as well, which can't be ruled out.
In the end, it's likely Rollins will stand tall unless he's disqualified or counted out.
The Pick: Seth Rollins
The Shield fell to The Wyatt Family in a six-man tag team match at Elimination Chamber 2014:
WWE Divas Championship Triple Threat Match: Nikki Bella (c) w/ Brie Bella vs. Paige vs. Naomi w/ Tamina
The WWE has made the Divas situation into a nice little triangle, but the random babyface turn of The Bella Twins is still a bit annoying considering they never officially turned and the WWE didn't have the foresight to explain why it even happened.
Naomi's heel turn was ill-timed as it happened right when Paige was taking time off to film a movie and AJ Lee retired, leading to the WWE having to turn the Bella Twins back to de facto faces without any explanation.
Storyline nonsense aside, the WWE has made it a mission to make the Divas division feel important and the organization will likely give these ladies a good amount of time here.
Paige, a two-time Divas Champion, could walk out as champion now that she's returned and the WWE has her painted as the lone wolf as she's the only Diva without any backup entering the contest.
Naomi could also conceivably leave the arena as champion for the very first time to cement her new heel turn, but her and Tamina need some time to mesh before she represents the division shortly after a villainous turn.
It would appear the WWE wants to give Nikki a lengthy run atop the division -- likely to shatter the departed Lee's record for longest reign as Divas Champion -- so there may be some more time with the Bellas atop the division.
The Pick: Nikki Bella
Beth Phoenix defeated Tamina Snuka to retain the Divas Championship at Elimination Chamber 2012:
Elimination Chamber Match for the vacant WWE Intercontinental Championship: Sheamus vs. Ryback vs. King Barrett vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev (or Bray Wyatt) vs. R-Truth
I ranked the chances of each guy leaving the Chamber with the Intercontinental Championship earlier this month, and like the Tag Title match, not much has changed.
R-Truth stands as the least likely man to walk out with the gold while Rusev's injury on SmackDown leaves him questionable for the bout. If he's replaced by Wyatt, it's doubtful the Eater of Worlds will win the title because he wasn't even slated for the contest to begin with.
As for Rusev, if he can go, he and Ziggler seemingly cancel each other out because they already have a feud over The Ravishing Russian Lana, so they don't need the title to add to that feud.
That leaves King Barrett, Ryback and Sheamus as the likely suspects to win the match.
Barrett already has the King of the Ring to fall back on as a gimmick and was booked terribly as the Intercontinental Champion leading into WrestleMania 31, so he doesn't necessarily need the gold either.
Sheamus appears to be the favorite to win the match as there are rumors he'll walk out with the gold and the WWE is looking to push him big time now that he's a major heel with a new look and new attitude. Having Triple H as a backstage supporter also doesn't hurt The Celtic Warrior.
Ryback is a wild-card and the sleeper pick to win this Chamber Match as well, but all signs point to Sheamus winning it all.
While Daniel Bryan's injury and subsequent forfeit of the title is terribly sad, hopefully he'll be able to return to the ring at some point and it at least led to an entertaining Chamber Match that could possibly close the show.
The Pick: Sheamus
Sheamus lost a Chamber Match that was won by John Cena and also involved CM Punk, John Morrison, Randy Orton and R-Truth at Elimination Chamber 2011:
It's one of the most dangerous matches of the year when the WWE presents Elimination Chamber live this Sunday from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, TX and a new Intercontinental Champion is guaranteed to be crowned.
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