Back in 2014, the Elimination Chamber was the final ‘traditional’ pay-per-view from WWE. The very next day, the WWE Network was launched and WrestleMania XXX was the big event presented. From that point forward, pay-per-view events have been on the WWE Network. Now with Fastlane next month premiering on the Peacock Network for WWE, a new era is set to begin…again. That means once again Elimination Chamber makes history. It did in 2014 and will again here. This is the end of the WWE Network Era as we know it. The Peacock Era starts up next month. Weird, huh?

Anyways, here is the card along with some of my predictions…

WWE Womens Tag Team Titles: Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler vs. Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks – Quick recap for those that care: Nia Jax is worried about her hole. Shayna is still wondering what happened to her persona since leaving NXT, and Bianca is set to challenge Sasha Banks for the Smackdown Womens Title at WrestleMania. That is the assumption at least. Bianca won the Royal Rumble, and she has been spending time on television with Banks. Seems to be the direction, which is the RIGHT call for the record. In the meantime, we have the usual opponents teaming up and all that junk leading up to the eventual matchup. What is confusing here is Naomi and Lana are due a title match, which was never officially announced for a specific date. Then you have Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez that are also due a title match, which has been set for the March 3rd edition of WWE NXT. You getting all this? Yeah, a mess to sort out. Thus, I don’t have a clue. I kinda want Banks/Belair to win and then return to their NXT roots for a big time showdown with Kai and Raquel. However, that leaves out Naomi and Lana…yet we already saw Shayna and Nia tease the NXT match last week. I have no clue. Flip a coin.

Asuka vs. Lacey Evans for the Raw Womens Title is still on WWE.com as I type this. Obviously, this can’t happen in its current format. Lacey is pregnant. Asuka does need to start defending her championship more, so perhaps we get a mystery opponent? Still rumors of a Melina or Eva Marie return. Asuka retains no matter what happens here.

Bobby Lashley defends the United States Title against Keith Lee and Matt Riddle in a triple threat match. I think Lashley just goes by “Lashley” now, and Matt Riddle is just “Riddle.” I lose track of all these little changes sometimes. In any event, the real question is what the heck happened to Keith Lee? He’s in, he’s out, he’s uncertain. Nobody appears to know his status. I think a lot of fans are hoping Lashley loses the belt here and heads towards a bigger and better spot for WM. I don’t know if that is true or not, but it would explain the triple threat route. It allows a new champion to be crowned without Lashley technically taking the pinfall/submission loss. In that case, do you go with Riddle who seems to lose all the time or Lee who is currently out of action? Good luck solving that riddle.

WWE Championship Match inside the Elimination Chamber: Drew McIntyre defends against Randy Orton, AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Sheamus, and Kofi Kingston. The Miz took himself out of the match, as he is biding his time with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Kofi earned his way into the match to replace him. My guess on that is Ali takes out Kofi during the match, getting revenge for Kofi replacing him back in 2019 and then riding that wave to KofiMania. It writes itself. As for the winner here, Drew has to retain. No real other options. He is probably set for a singles match with Sheamus at Fastlane next month, if not all the way to WrestleMania 37. Drew deserves a moment in front of the fans; he really does. No use taking the top title off him now so close to Mania.

#1 contenders Elimination Chamber match – winner faces Universal Champion Roman Reigns on the spot! The bout consists of Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Sami Zayn, Daniel Bryan, King Corbin, and Jey Uso. Lots of interesting matchups there. Real quick for those not paying attention – Reigns is basically running the show with Paul Heyman. He has been for months; that is why he gets an ‘easy’ match at Elimination Chamber. They tried the same at the Royal Rumble with Adam Pearce. It didn’t quite work out, but the idea was the same. Somebody will win the Chamber…and then get destroyed by Reigns easily. Who gets that spot? The favorites right now are Owens and Cesaro. Cesaro has been on a roll and is perfect for this little spot to be in. Owens has had enough matches against Reigns, so what is one more? I know the others would be cool to see also…but not to just be beaten by Roman. Fastlane is a month away, so time will tell. My prediction is Reigns retains here and then we get Edge and Christian vs. Roman Reigns and Jey Uso at Fastlane to build towards the inevitable Reigns/Edge Universal Championship match at WrestleMania 37.

Not a lot of matches for tonight’s show but will definitely be newsworthy…

By Justin Watry (TWITTER: @JustinWatry)

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