Wrestle Review: Eliminating the Chamber? Submitted by Andy Sullivan on 03/08/2020 at 03:42 PM
Before I get into any Elimination Chamber stuff, I'd like to point something out. Was it cool seeing Jake "The Snake" make a surprise appearance on AEW Dynamite this past week? Of course. Especially for a fan like me who grew up watching Jake in the ring. Thing is, though, the same people that laud AEW for bringing in the legends like Jake and DDP are the same who crap on WWE for bringing Goldberg back. "But those idiots made Goldberg their champion", they'll say. Well, Reigns is winning the title at WrestleMania and those same people will turn their venom towards Reigns. Basically, WWE can do something one Monday that fans hate. AEW does that exact same thing a few days or a week later and fans roar with approval. It's hilarious and stupid at the same time.
I send my well wishes to Big Poppa Pump Scott Steiner after his recent collapse backstage at an Impact taping. Get well soon, Scott!
Elimination Chamber is tonight and, much like Super Showdown, I'm apoplectic about it. Gulak v Bryan and Black v Styles are pretty much the only matches that have any sizzle for me. Black v Styles should be a springboard to a WrestleMania tag match if they are insistent on Undertaker vs Styles. How about a six-man: The Club vs Taker, Black and a mystery opponent? Won't happen, though. We'll have Undertaker making his presence felt somehow tonight or tomorrow night.
Drew Gulak and Daniel Bryan could be a hidden gem. I expect a Bryan victory though it would be nice for them to actually build someone up(have Gulak win). They won't.
Andrade will successfully defend the U.S. title against Humberto Carillo. Seth Rollins and Murphy will attempt to regain the Raw tag championships when they challenge the Street Profits. The Profits- who have won the EVOLVE, NXT and Raw tag titles-the only team to do so. I expect Kevin Owens to run interference here, causing Rollins and Murphy to lose. This will set up what we've all suspected was coming since last month-a WrestleMania match with Owens and Rollins. I can only hope major stakes will be on the line. Title shot for the winner, perhaps?
The Smackdown tag team championships will be on the line in one of the Chamber main events. In the chamber challenging Miz and Morrison will be New Day, Uso's, Lucha House Party, Heavy Machinery and Dolph and Bobby. I expect Miz and Morrison to retain somehow. This will probably mean Miz and Morrison will be on the WrestleMania kickoff show because you know how Vince feels about tag team wrestling. And they'll face Jimmy and Jey probably because they're pretty much the kickoff kings.
Shin, Cesaro and (gasp) Zayn will challenge Braun Stroman in a 3 on 1 handicap match for the I-C title. It's as if Vince was back on tv in the corporation days. Remember how he loved making handicap matches? I'm surprised they didn't implement a pay-per-view simply called WWE: Handicap. That probably would've screamed lawsuit. I'd like for Braun to defend the strap at Mania. That's one of the reasons this match frustrates me. He's probably losing the title. I wouldn't be surprised if the three all pinned Brain, the title was held up and there was a triple threat for the title, with Braun inexplicably left out.
What better way to celebrate International Women's Day than to have six women beat the snot out of each other in a steel chamber? Has there ever been a more obvious winner to a chamber match than Shayna Baszler? At least that's what I thought. Then I heard the rumor that Vince wasn't high on Shayna. Personally I think they're just trying anything to get people to watch. Fans know it's Shayna vs Lynch at Mania so this one, brutal as it will be, is a foregone conclusion in my eyes, As a friend told me just now, though, it's still less degrading than having them in a bra and panties match. That I won't dispute. I'll end this segment with a nod to Paul Heyman: Shayna winning the chamber(and the title at Mania) isn't a prediction. It's a spoiler!
