WWE Elimination Chamber 2017: Matches & Predictions

Wow, that was quick!

WWE wasted no time in setting up the card for SD Live’s Elimination Chamber 2017. What sets it apart from last year’s event is that the Blue Brand is taking it over as an exclusive PPV. The main attraction of the show is of course the very same title you see before you. The Elimination Chamber will feature a who’s who of SD Live’s top-tier Superstars – the WWE Champion John Cena, the former champ AJ Styles, the IC Champion Dean Ambrose, Baron Corbin, The Miz and Bray Wyatt. Along with that key main event, a host of other big grudge bouts are planned for the Feb. 12 special event.

Let’s check in on Elimination Chamber 2017’s complete offering of matches and offer our predictions for each one.

Mojo Rawley vs. Curt Hawkins

Predictions & Winner: So some random backstage altercation led to this? Yeah, actually. Hawkins interrupted Mojo’s phone convo (which we’re pretty sure was important!) and pissed him off to the point where he started intimidating him. So here we are with this Kickoff Show matchup. To be quite honest with you all, we’re not really expecting some type of amazing barn burner of a match here. Mojo will cut through Zach Ryder’s former “Major Brother” running buddy like a hot knife through butter. No surprise here, folks.

Becky Lynch vs. Mickie James

Predictions & Winner: Since Miss James got unmasked as Bliss’ 2nd-in-command, she’s stuck by her side and made Lynch’s life a living hell. Lynch, Naomi and Nikki Bella pulled out a pretty satisfying win against those two women and Natalya during the Royal Rumble. That was cool and all for the babyfaces to eke out a win, but there’s one thing we know about wrestling that still rings true to this day – the babyface may win, but eventually the heel will get that win back in due time. So we’re expecting Lynch and James to knock the holy hell out of each other for a good while until James pulls away with the sneaky, dirty win. This Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss and Mickie James beef will continue, though.

American Alpha (Chad Gable and Jason Jordan) (c) vs. The Usos (Jimmy and Jey Uso) vs. The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) vs. The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch) vs. Breezango (Fandango and Tyler Breeze) vs. Heath Slater and Rhyno (Tag Team Turmoil Match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship)

Predictions & Winners: Jason Jordan and Chad Gable made an open invitation to any team on the SD Live roster who wants a shot at their tag team titles. Who answered the call? Well, the rest of the SD Live tag team division! So now American Alpha and their heated rivals will have to vie for the titles in a gauntlet Tag Team Turmoil Match. So we’re envisioning Heath Slater and Rhyno starting off and facing off with Breezango first. Slater and Rhyno will take the win and then go on to face The Ascension. Slater and Rhyno will brave the odds of that tough team and eliminate them from the whole equation.

Then out comes American Alpha, who’ll finally get rid of Slater and Rhyno. We’re guessing some sort of mishap between Slater and his “Man-Beast” buddy will cost them the win, which will lead even further into their eventual breakup. AA will then go head to head The Vaudevillians and easily defeat them. The final gauntlet pairing will then be AA vs. The Usos. AA will soundly defeat them and successfully retain their WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship.

Nikki Bella vs. Natalya

Predictions & Winner: Nikki and Natalya’s war of words (which Natalya’s been dominating, we might add) has been churning since Survivor Series 2016. Natalya was revealed as the woman behind the mysterious Nikki Bella beatdown that occurred on that very same show. And that’s all because a super salty Carmella didn’t take too kindly to losing to Nikki. She ratted on Natalya and this is how we’ve arrived at this grudge match. So here’s the thing – the babyface ladies of SD Live pulled off a big win on the heel trio during the pre-show of the Royal Rumble. We reckon it’s time for the ladies who took an L in that match to get their win back in their respective matches. We’re calling for a Natalya win here, which is something that’s rarely seen on WWE PPV’s. But we have good faith in this prediction, so we’re sticking to it.

Apollo Crews and Kalisto vs. Dolph Ziggler (2-on-1 Handicap Match)

Predictions & Winner: So now Ziggler’s back on his usual bad guy comeback trail. He’s performed some dastardly deeds thus far, such as Superkicking Jerry “The King” Lawler and engaging in a heated beef with two young upstarts. Those youth filled Superstars are Apollo Crews and Kalisto. In a move that we never thought we’d see, two good guys are teaming up for a Handicap match against the bad dude who you’d think would be on the other side of this pairing. Ziggler doesn’t really care for anyone else these days, so it makes sense for him to go it alone. Crews and Kalisto will do everything needed to teach Ziggler a much-needed lesson in humility, but it will be all for naught. Ziggler will pull off the upset win by getting rid of Crews somehow and rolling up Kalisto for the 1-2-3.

Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Naomi (WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship)

Predictions & Winner: Naomi’s returned from her debilitating injury and she’s already put herself near the top of the SD Live’s Women’s Division. So far, she’s picked up two non-title wins over Alexa Bliss and gotten herself an official title match. Alexa Bliss slipped up during those two bouts, but we see a change of pace for this rematch. While Naomi will look impressive as always and look to be in control for most of it, Bliss will pull away with her title intact. How, you ask? With her newfound buddy in tow, Bliss will cheat her way to victory thanks to some sort of outside interference from Mickie James. This chain of events won’t be enough to get rid of Naomi, though. She’ll hop all over both women at the end of the match and make it clear that she’s looking for a rematch in the future.

Randy Orton vs. Luke Harper

Predictions & Winner: Harper’s rolling solo now. Which comes as a shock since he’s been in the clutches of The Wyatt Family since his callup to the main roster. Ever since Orton aligned himself with Bray, there’s been a distinct divide between Harper and those former affiliates. Harper’s grown quite tired of Bray and Orton’s seemingly tighter partnership, which has caused him to go off the deep (deeper?) end and sever his ties with them. Orton and Harper are going to settle their differences during a big grudge match. Here’s the thing – while we’d love to see Harper get one of the biggest wins of his career here, we know that’s not in the books. Orton is the 2017 Royal Rumble winner and he’s going to have to stay in a top position on the Road to WrestleMania 33. So the simple answer for the winner here is Orton. Who’s he gonna face at ‘Mania 33 for the WWE Championship? Just keep reading, folks…

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

Predictions & Winner: Cena and Styles put in a ton of work at the 2017 Royal Rumble. Once the final bell rang, Cena claimed his 16th World Championship and tied himself up with Ric Flair’s impressive record. Now that all the celebrating is done, it’s time to get serious. Cena’s heading into the Elimination Chamber for one of his toughest title defenses to date. And it’s only the 1st one! Cena’s going to have to defend his newly won championship against AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt, Baron Corbin, The Miz and Dean Ambrose. We get the feeling that Dean Ambrose and The Miz will start things off. Next up will be Baron Corbin, who’ll tap into his rage and take out his frustrations on both men. The next entrant will then be John Cena, who’ll engage in a brief alliance with Dean and beat down The Miz and Corbin. During this exchange, Corbin will find himself eliminated. He won’t take too kindly to this result, which will cause him to grow even angrier and land an End of Days on Dean. This will lead to Dean’s exit from the match (Baron vs. Dean for the IC Championship will follow up as feud because of this).

Bray Wyatt will then make his play for the championship as he becomes the next man to enter the match. As all this Elimination Chamber chaos unfolds, AJ Styles will finally exit his capsule and enter the match. This is when the action will pick up since AJ will take advantage of the Chamber and incorporate it into his wild high-flying offense. The Miz will get eliminated soon after, then AJ will slip up and find himself ousted from the match. It will then come down to the match’s last two men, Cena and Bray. This might come as a surprise to you all, but it really shouldn’t considering the rumors surrounding WrestleMania 33’s WWE Championship match. Bray will upset Cena and leave the Elimination Chamber as the new WWE Champion. This in turn will set up the expected Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt feud ending title match at ‘Mania 33.

Check out any and all WWE related action figures, books, DVDs, Blu-Rays and other types of merchandise right here.