Update: check out our review for WWE Elimination Chamber 2020 right here.
For the past several years, one of the most dangerous stops on the Road to WrestleMania has been the Elimination Chamber.
This specialty match has grown in infamy and earned its spot as one of WWE’s annual PPV’s during the early months of the wrestling calendar. For the 2020 edition of the show, WWE has chosen to push it forward by a month. This means it’s now set to take place just one month before WrestleMania 36, which puts the Elimination Chamber PPV in even more of a prime position. As expected, two Elimination Chamber matches will take place and determine two definite outcomes – who’ll be champion heading into the “Show of Shows” and who’ll leave as the #1 contender for a particular championship.
As the final stop on the Road to WrestleMania 36, the 2020 Elimination Chamber event’s outcomes will play a huge part in determining who’ll be wrestling in the Raymond James Stadium. Now’s the perfect time to take a look at the card for the 2020 Elimination Chamber event and pick the most sensible winners.
Daniel Bryan vs Drew Gulak
Predictions & Winner: Now this matchup truly excites me! This is the type of dream match that would have taken the main event spot on a mid to late 2000s ROH, PWG or CZW card. Both men are technical wrestling masterminds who have a counter for everything and submission to slap onto every limb of the body. Both of these excellent in-ring technicians are going to put on a wrestling clinic that’s really meant to put a bigger spotlight on the severely underutilized Drew Gulak.
It’s clear that Daniel Bryan is going out of his way to do a solid for Drew and put him on his level. Daniel’s clearly going over here, but Drew’s stock will rise because he’ll deliver an incredible performance before his defeat. Their storyline will carry on from here as Daniel will go on to take Drew under his wing as his new tag team partner. I could see them challenging for SmackDown’s tag team titles at WrestleMania 36 and claiming them in front of a hot, appreciative crowd. The ascension of Drew begins here.
Andrade (c) vs. Humberto Carillo (WWE United States Championship)
Predictions & Winner: Now. Is. The. TIME! For months now, Humberto Carillo has been shafted during his repeated attempts at capturing the United States Championship. It seemed like every time he was due for a title win, his legs were cut out from under him. Now while I love Andrade and everything he’s done thus far, it’s time for him to drop the belt to the man who’s deserved it most. This match will finally mark the championship ascension of Humberto and get him on the WrestleMania 36 card for a major Lucha Libre dream match – a Fatal Four Way for his newly won prize against Andrade, Angel Garza, and Rey Mysterio. This Elimination Chamber matchup will be the catalyst for that amazing scenario coming true on April 5.
Aleister Black vs. AJ Styles (No Disqualification Match)
Predictions & Winner: So here’s another matchup that will definitely lead to a major ‘Mania 36 matchup being put into motion. So AJ Styles and his O.C. crewmates have made Aleister Black’s life pretty miserable lately. Since Aleister was forced to contend with all three men on a recent edition of Raw and get assaulted in the process, he’s chosen to challenge AJ once again in a match where the rules don’t really matter. That prospect excites me greatly since the potential for a great match taking place between these two men is extremely high. If these men are given 15+ minutes to work, I’m expecting magic to unfold here.
Now here’s the thing – Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson are guaranteed to interfere here, especially since this is a No DQ match. And due to their match meddling, AJ will find a way to prevail over his latest foe. After the match, The O.C. will link up like the jerks they are and beat the breaks off of Aleister once the bell rings. And then…the lights will go dark, that familiar gong will go off, and the lights will come back on to reveal The Undertaker’s shocking presence in the ring. The “Deadman” will proceed to destroy The O.C. and pull Aleister back up to his feet. Both men will acknowledge each other and make their intentions clear – they’ll be ready to team up in order to finally take down The O.C. in a Handicap Match at WrestleMania 36.
The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) (c) vs. Seth Rollins and Murphy (WWE Raw Tag Team Championship)
Predictions & Winners: THEY DID IT! THEY ACTUALLY DID IT! Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford captured their first main roster tag team titles by taking down the “Monday Night Messiah” and one of his most loyal followers. Thanks to Kevin Owens, The Street Profits overcame Seth Rollins and Murphy and become titleholders in the process. To no one’s surprise, Seth Rollins and Murphy have made it clear that they’re ready for an immediate rematch at this show. It’s awesome to see the best feud on Raw get a major placing on this event’s card. Both teams have had good matches against each other thus far, so I expect this one to be just as spirited and entertaining as those.
Due to all the personalities involved in this matchup, I think there’s going to be a lot of madness unfolding here. At some point, both teams’ allies will rush out and aid them with plenty of interference behind the ref’s back. I think there will come a point where Seth’s backup in the form of The Authors of Pain will get cut off by The Viking Raiders. Then Kevin Owens will pop up to take aim at Seth and take him down once again. This will lead to a repeat of the same way The Street Profits won the titles in the first place and result in them retaining. Due to his outcome, I think we’ll get a multi-man war between both of these opposing sides at ‘Mania 36.
Natalya vs. Liv Morgan vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Asuka vs. Ruby Riott vs. Sarah Logan (Elimination Chamber Match to Determine the #1 Contender for the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 36)
Predictions & Winner: Question – why are we even having this match in the first place? Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler at ‘Mania 36 for the Raw Women’s Championship should have already been set in stone. The storyline reasoning for it has already been established – after winning the triple threat main event at last year’s Survivor Series, Shayna ended up on the receiving end of an assault from Becky.
In a fit of rage, Shayna made her main roster debut on Raw and made the Raw Women’s Champion bleed for her past transgressions. So with all that being said, it makes all the sense in the world for Shayna and Becky to head into Tampa, Florida for their expected showdown. But for some reason, WWE felt the need to add an unnecessary step to the crowning of Shayna as the new #1 contender for Becky’s title. At least it gets a lot of Raw’s women a PPV payday all at once in a marquee matchup.
Based on everything I’ve just said, you probably know who I’m picking as the winner here. It’s clear as day that Shayna’s winning this match and going on to end her beef with Becky on the biggest stage of them all. No disrespect to the other women competing in this match, but they just don’t have enough name value attached to them at the moment in order to get fans interested in a match with Becky. Asuka vs. Becky has happened numerous times already, plus the other match participants haven’t been built up enough to get such a marquee match at WrestleMania. Shayna is the most logical pick here for many reasons – she’s a fresh opponent for Becky and an infinitely more intriguing choice to compete at ‘Mania 36. So yeah…Shayna’s the easy pick here.
Braun Strowman (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro, and Sami Zayn (3-on-1 Handicap Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship)
Predictions & Winner: While Braun Strowman is no longer a viable option as Universal Champion, he’s fit in quite nicely as the Intercontinental Champion. While that title isn’t as relevant as it once was, it’s still nice to see Strowman smash fools with a championship belt in his grasp. WWE’s trio of international heels has taken it upon themselves to target Strowman and his prize by teaming up for a Handicap Match. And to raise the stakes, the Intercontinental Championship is on the line. Strowman is actually being thrown into a challenging situation for once, eh?
Even though it looks like Strowman’s chances for success are far too low, I still think he’s going to find a way to prevail. His overwhelming power and unrelenting offense will destroy Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro and Sami Zayn’s tight bond. As a matter of fact, one of those men will cause dissension within the team due to their selfish desires to capture the title for themselves. This moment will make it easier to Strowman to wipe out all three men and leave with his title intact. Once this match comes to a close, I think we’re going to get a tease of Strowman’s ‘Mania 36 plans – Sheamus will hit the ring and make it clear that he’s up next to clash with SmackDown’s other resident destroyer.
The Miz and John Morrison (c) vs. The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) vs. The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) vs. Heavy Machinery (Otis and Tucker) vs. Lucha House Party (Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik) vs. Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode (Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship)
Predictions & Winners: Fresh off the heels of their title victory at Super ShowDown, The Miz and John Morrison are being thrown into the biggest match of their tag team career. Not only do they have to defend their titles against the team they captured them from, but they also have to contend with four other duos. And to top it all off, this tag team title match will take place within the Elimination Chamber. With so many Superstars involved in this specialty matchup, I can easily see this one being the better of the two Elimination Chamber matches being booked for this show.
So I get the feeling that The Miz and Morrison won’t be dropping the titles here. They just got their hands on them, plus I think they have another big challenge ahead of them at ‘Mania 36. Three of the other teams within this match (The New Day, The Usos and Heavy Machinery) will be the ones who’ll put up a good fight and look strong in defeat. The beef brewing between Otis and Dolph Ziggler will probably play out during this matchup and eventually lead to them settling their issues on the ‘Mania 36 card. As for the Lucha House Party, they’re pretty much a non-factor – expect them to do something crazy off the top of the cage and nothing else worth noting. Once the dust clears though, The Miz and Morrison will be the ones leaving with the Smackdown Tag Team Championship still around their waists.
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