WWE's annual Elimination Chamber pay-per-view is on Sunday, which means it's time to start speculating about who will leave the event with a check in the win column. WWE.com has seven matches confirmed for Sunday's SmackDown Live-branded PPV, including the main event inside the titular Elimination Chamber for the WWE Championship.
John Cena will defend against AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose, The Miz, Bray Wyatt and Baron Corbin, and whoever leaves the cage with the belt will go on to face Randy Orton at WrestleMania 33.
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Alexa Bliss will defend the women's title against Naomi, Natalya will face Nikki Bella in a grudge match and Becky Lynch will battle Mickie James in his first PPV bout since returning to the company. Having three women's contests on one card shows just how far the division has come over the past two years.
American Alpha will put their Tag Team Championships on the line against five other teams in a Tag Team Turmoil match. Heath Slater and Rhyno, The Ascension, The Vaudevillains, Breezango and The Usos will all be vying for the titles held by Chad Gable and Jason Jordan.
Orton will face Luke Harper to see which Wyatt Family member is the best, and Dolph Ziggler will take on Apollo Crews and Kalisto in a handicap match. Let's go through each bout and see who is the most likely to be victorious on Sunday night.
#1 Randy Orton vs. Luke Harper
Harper has finally branched out from Wyatt, but he is still involved with The Wyatt Family thanks to his feud with Orton. As the former protege and the newest addition to the group respectively, Orton and Harper have an easy feud to write.
Orton won the Rumble and will go on to face whoever leaves Elimination Chamber with the title on Sunday, so he doesn't need this win. Harper is the one who is trying to take his own path and therefore needs the victory more.
WWE rarely goes the logical direction of a storyline these days. While Harper deserves and needs this more, Orton is going to walk away with his hand raised.
Prediction: Orton wins.
#2 Nikki Bella vs. Natalya
Bella and Natalya's feud has gotten more personal with each passing week. Natalya keeps bringing Cena's name up when telling Bella she is going to end up alone.
As two of the longest standing veterans on the roster, Natalya and Bella have a reputation to uphold. They are just one of three women's matches on the card, so they need to make sure their encounter stands out.
While it would be nice to see Natalya finally get the push she deserves, Bella is one of the faces of the division. WWE has invested heavily in the Bella brand with a YouTube channel and two reality shows, so she is the safer bet on Sunday.
Prediction: Nikki Bella wins.
#3 Mickie James vs. Becky Lynch
James has been breath of fresh air in the women's division, which is odd considering that she is the one with the most experience on the Raw or SmackDown rosters.
Her desire to remind everybody of her past accomplishments makes sense with how WWE has been portraying the division as being better than ever, and Lynch is the perfect opponent for her to unleash her aggression.
James will likely spend more time putting over young talents during her WWE run, but she needs to get off to a good start so everyone sees she is still capable of hanging with today's generation of young talents. James needs to leave Elimination Chamber as the victory to accomplish this.
Prediction: Mickie James wins.
#4 Alexa Bliss vs. Naomi for the Women's Championship
Naomi should have had a reign with the title by now, but she has never been in the right position to capitalise on her momentum. She finally has her shot at Bliss’ Women's Championship, but this doesn't feel like the right time to put the belt on her.
She was thrown into the hunt for the belt out of nowhere. She needs a little more time to get the crowd on her side before she has that career-making moment of winning the title. Bliss is just moving past her feud with Lynch, and she needs a big win over someone else to look like a believable champion.
Naomi will give her a good fight, but it's still Bliss’ time to shine.
Prediction: Bliss retains.
#5 Tag Team Turmoil match for the Championships
SmackDown's tag team division has some great talent, but it has been pushed to the wayside in recent months because of bigger storylines taking centre stage. American Alpha is an exciting duo who deserve the push they have been getting. Having them walk out of a six-team contest would solidify them as SmackDown's best partnership.
It would be nice to see The Ascension of The Vaudevillains get a run with the belts, but Jason Jordan and Chad Gable will end up walking out with their title reign intact.
#6 Dolph Ziggler vs. Kalisto and Apollo Crews
Dolph Ziggler's heel turn has gotten off to a slow start, but it feels like WWE is building toward something big. He has lost a few matches, but he always ends up as the last man standing.
Kalisto and Apollo Crews have been the target of his frustration in recent weeks, and they made it clear they aren't going to put up with his bullying anymore. Ziggler claimed he could beat both of them if he wanted to, so Daniel Bryan made him face both men in a handicap match.
Ziggler is going to end up winning simply because the situation doesn't make sense. A heel isn't supposed to be the underdog, and that's why this is the perfect opportunity to put Ziggler over as a dangerous competitor.
Prediction: Dolph Ziggler wins.
#7 WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match
Whenever WWE bases an event around a specific stipulation, there are usually at least two of those matches on the card. With Elimination Chamber, management is putting all its eggs in one basket.
Cena will face Wyatt, The Miz, Corbin, Styles and Ambrose. Whoever leaves will headline WrestleMania 33 against Orton, so the winner will get more than the usual Championship boost.
While it would be great to see The Miz get the WWE title back, the only possible winners in this bout seem to be Cena or Wyatt. If Cena wins, he will face his greatest rival on the grandest stage of them all.
If Wyatt wins, the leader will face the follower for the biggest prize in wrestling. Either outcome would lead to a great WrestleMania match, but with this being Cena's historic 16th reign with the belt, he seems like the safer bet.
Prediction: John Cena wins.
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