The Road to WrestleMania tends to have a few bumps in the road.
The one event that provides those proverbial bumps is undoubtably the dreaded Elimination Chamber. Before the Show of Shows, it’s always tradition to see one or two of WWE’s major titles defended within the massive structure.
On the Road to WrestleMania 35, the two titles that will be the focus of the Elimination Chamber are the WWE Championship and the newly introduced Women’s Tag Team Championship. This year’s Elimination Chamber event will throw in a ton of bodies into the specialty match – who’ll be the one male Superstar and lady duo that’ll escape with the title they fought so hard for?
Before we arrive at the 2019 Elimination Chamber PPV, let’s delve into each and every matchup for the big show.
Buddy Murphy (c) vs Akira Tozawa (WWE Cruiserweight Championship)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: Buddy Murphy is practically unstoppable at this point. His ownership of the Cruiserweight Championship has been tested time and time again, but he’s overcome every challenge presented to him. His next PPV opponent is Akira Tozawa, a former Cruiserweight Champion and one of the more spry members of the 205 Live roster. Murphy has already ran through Cedric Alexander (TWICE!), Mustafa Ali, and Hideo Itami in the midst of a Fatal 4-Way Match. Tozawa happened to be one of the competitors who was present during that bout, so I’m pretty sure he’s prepared for his one-on-one meeting with Murphy.
But let’s keep it a buck here, folks. Tozawa is essentially the next “challenger of the month” for Murphy. This match is mainly a chance for the champ to add another notch to his win column. I appreciate Tozawa, but he’s not hot enough in the eyes of the fans to get a second title run. I think Murphy may end up dropping the strap to someone entirely new within the Cruiserweight Division. And I feel like that major title loss will take place at WrestleMania 35. Until then, Murphy’s Road to ‘Mania 35 will see him hold onto the Cruiserweight Championship all the way up until the big show.
Nia Jax and Tamina vs. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville vs. The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan) vs. The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce) vs. Bayley and Sasha Banks vs. Naomi and Carmella (Tag Team Elimination Chamber Match for the Inaugural WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship)
WWE
Predictions & Winners: The Elimination Chamber has had a long list of singles titles contested within it. And back in 2015, WWE’s main tag team championship was finally defended within the massive structure. 2019 marks the year where another historic moment will take place within the Elimination Chamber – the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship’s first ever winners will be crowned.
What makes this new title so intriguing is the fact that the team who holds onto it will have to defend it across the Raw and SmackDown Live! brands Two of the toughest Samoan ladies on Raw are a part the match’s proceedings. Plus there’s the presence of the two leftover members of Paige’s Absolution stable. The rest of the field includes two members of The Riott Squad, The IIconics, Bayley & Banks, and the unexpected pairing of Naomi & Carmella.
I think I have an idea of how this match and its eliminations will go down. So we already know that the two teams that’ll kick things off are Bayley & Sasha Banks and Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville. They’ll battle it out for a bit, then Naomi & Carmella will hop out of their pods to continue the match. Afterwards, Jax & Tamina will come in like the bulldozers they are and get rid of Mandy & Deville and Naomi & Carmella at some point. Afterwards, The Riott Squad will head out next and do their best to take down the much larger opposition.
While those three teams battle it out, The IIconics will escape their pods and do their best to further damage Jax & Tamina. They’ll end up doing a decent amount of damage on them, but they’ll eventually welcome the wrath of Bayley and Banks. Bayley and Banks will soon get rid of the SD Live duo, find a way to rid the match of The Riott Squad, and then end up in a heated finale against their Raw counterparts. After a crowd-pleasing battle, the babyface duo of Bayley and Banks will make history as the first ever WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions!
The Miz and Shane McMahon (c) vs. The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) (WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship)
WWE
Predictions & Winners: I for one am shocked. I truly didn’t envision a scenario where The Miz and Shane McMahon’s recent camaraderie would lead them to the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. It looked as if they’d be the type of duo that would mostly be played up for laughs instead of serious contenders for the titles.
Here I was thinking that The Bar would easily dispose of them and go on to the next batch of challengers. Oh boy, was I wrong…so very, very wrong. The Miz and Shane O’Mac are now holding onto the titles as a favorable combination that the fans have shockingly taken to. Now they’re set to lock horns with a very formidable team in the form of The Usos.
My wrestling storyline instincts are telling me that this current love fest between The Miz and Shane is leading towards something big at ‘Mania 35. This theory might sound a bit wild, but here me out – at the moment, The Miz and Shane are going to be fighting champions that work perfectly in sync.
From their victory at the Royal Rumble all the way up until March’s Fastlane, they’ll go strong until they drop the titles. I can see them getting the victory over The Usos here, then dropping the titles to whomever they face at Fastlane. This major loss will push The Miz back to the dark side and cause him to turn on his former bestie. All of this should blossom into a Miz vs. Shane match at ‘Mania 35, of course. I say all that to say this – I think The Usos are merely being used as plot devices for a future Miz vs. Shane feud.
Bobby Lashley (c) and Lio Rush vs. Finn Bálor (Handicap Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: Well this is an interesting setup for a title match! Bobby Lashley managed to get the biggest pop of his second WWE run (since his re-debut, of course) by capturing the IC Championship. His heel run has been slightly more interesting than his dry babyface run due to his in-ring dominance and partnership with Lio Rush.
Finn Bálor has been experiencing a career resurgence of his own, too. Since the year has begun, he’s gotten some major wins here and there. Plus he looked great (even in defeat) against Brock Lesnar during their Universal Championship match at the Royal Rumble. I think Finn’s continued road to being built into a better Superstar than his 2018 self will continue here. Finn will capture the IC Championship, but it won’t come due to him pinning the champ. Lio Rush will eat the pin, which will award Finn the title and give Bobby a sensible reason to request a rematch in the future. Fastlane, maybe?
Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin (No Disqualification Match)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: Oh how the mighty have fallen. Just last year, Braun Strowman was the hottest thing going. But repeated losses to Brock Lesnar and the type of booking that hurts rather than helps a talent has cooled off Strowman’s fire. Baron Corbin is no longer the General Manager of Raw and now he’s just…there. This whole match feels like an afterthought, which is why I truly don’t care about who wins or loses here. Let’s give it to Braun just for the hell of it. Cool? Cool.
Ronda Rousey (c) vs Ruby Riott (WWE Raw Women’s Championship)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: Ronda Rousey’s Raw Women’s Championship run hasn’t really been put in much jeopardy thus far. While Sasha Banks did everything she could to relinquish Ronda of her most prized possession, she failed in her bid to do so. Come WrestleMania 35, Ronda will meet her biggest challenge yet in the form of “The Man” Becky Lynch. In the meantime however, Ronda’s going to continue be a fighting champion and defend her title in the months leading up to the big show. Her next title defense will take place against the leader of Raw’s most dominant women’s stable, The Riott Squad.
I’m of the opinion that Ruby Riott’s one of the more underrated members of the current WWE main roster. She’s never been involved in a particularly subpar or bad match, plus she’s a part of one of the more interesting stables in all of WWE. When it comes to PPV moments, I was shocked by how much I enjoyed her title match against Charlotte at Fastlane 2018. So it’s clear to me that Ruby can perform at a respectable level when the big lights are on during a Sunday super show. Ronda’s always in a great position to put on a great match during a PPV, which is something I know is possible against someone as talented as Ruby. This match will be much better than you expect, folks. There’s no way Ronda’s losing here, but at least the match itself will be worth a watch.
“The New” Daniel Bryan (c) vs. AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton vs. Samoa Joe (Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE Championship)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: The eco-friendly, vegan WWE Champion is the hottest thing going on SmackDown. His fiery promos, newly gained ally in the form of Erick Rowan, hemp-based championship, and successful title defenses have made him more relevant than ever before.
He took down AJ Styles in three major matches these past few months, which is a major accomplishment. Since Seth Rollins has chosen to use his Royal Rumble win to challenge Brock Lesnar at ‘Mania 35, Daniel has been thrown into an interesting situation. His WWE Championship is now up for grabs within the Elimination Chamber against five other major foes – former title holder AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Kofi Kingston, Randy Orton, and Samoa Joe.
There’s a few intense feuds at play here – Daniel vs. AJ, Hardy vs. Orton, and Orton vs. Joe. The wild card put in place here is Kofi, who’s coming in as a last-minute replacement for the injured Mustafa Ali. Each of the aforementioned beefs will play out wonderfully (in a violent sense, of course) within the Elimination Chamber. As far as eliminations go, I can see Hardy taking the very first pinfall after taking some sort of major dive that crashes and burns. Next up for elimination will probably be Joe, who’ll get put out of the match by Kofi of all people.
Soon after, I can totally envision a pissed off Joe choking out Kofi and leaving him for dead, which will cause someone to get the following pinfall on his prone body. Kofi will meet his end soon after at the hands of AJ. Afterwards, AJ and Daniel will turn their focus towards each other until Orton enters the match as the final entrant. Orton’s sneaky shenanigans will eventually backfire and lead to AJ eliminating him soon after. This moment will enrage Orton, who’ll then proceed to RKO AJ out of pure frustration. Afterwards, Daniel will take advantage of this moment by calling on Rowan to aid him as he finally gets rid of his most heated foe. DB’S REMAINING CHAMPION, FOLKS!
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WWE Elimination Chamber 2019: Matches & Predictions