Saturday’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view may not have been unpredictable, but it did deliver some great action and set up several potential WrestleMania matches in the process.
Following the event, the four top men’s and women’s champions have their challengers set in stone. Here is the lineup for ‘Mania as it currently stands:
- Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes
- Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre
- Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch
- Iyo Sky vs. Bayley
The rest of the card for both nights of WrestleMania is wide open, but there are a handful of matches that are almost guaranteed to take place based on booking, and a few more that are likely.
Let’s take a look at what WWE is likely to add to this year’s WrestleMania PPV.
We’ll just get the obvious one out of the way. Unless something changes, we will likely get another Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal this year.
Whether it happens on the SmackDown before the PPV, one of the pre-shows, or during the main card, this match has become a tradition.
The winner doesn’t earn a world title shot like they would by winning the Royal Rumble, but they do get their name etched on a giant trophy and get to tout the win at Mania forever.
Just about anyone recognizable who does not have their own storyline will be lumped into this bout, so names ranging from young stars like the Creed Brothers to former singles champions like Jinder Mahal will be involved.
The match was introduced at WrestleMania 30, so WWE may even do something special to celebrate the decade-old tradition.
R-Truth has injected fresh energy into the Judgment Day storyline with his comedic antics and has been getting more love from the crowd than ever, but the endgame for this story is pretty clear.
Finn Balor and Damian Priest successfully defended the tag titles at Elimination Chamber against New Catch Republic, so they are going to need new challengers for ‘Mania.
Nobody fits the bill better right now than R-Truth and The Miz. Giving Truth that big WrestleMania moment and a title win at the age of 52 would be a great way for WWE to reward him for his years of consistently great work.
Priest needs to free himself up to get his sights set on cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase again, so losing the tag titles at ‘Mania gives him a couple of months to make his move before the expiration date on the contract hits.
Let’s just hope Truth made it back safely after his “accidental” detour in Austria. And no, we do not mean Australia.
During Saturday’s Elimination Chamber event, AJ Styles showed up in the middle of the men’s Chamber match and unleashed a series of brutal chair shots on LA Knight that led to him being eliminated.
This is not going to just be a random attack. This is clearly putting Knight and Styles on a collision course that will lead to a match at WrestleMania.
Styles has been doing a good job as a heel in recent months but hasn’t had a ton of direction. This gives him a clear story and rival for at least the next several weeks.
Knight has continued to get loud pops and maintains a high level of popularity, so ensuring he is on the card for the PPV should be a priority for management.
These two will have a fun match that could go either way, so it may end up being one of the more unpredictable outcomes on the show.
During the entire leadup to the Chamber PPV, Owens and Paul were keeping their feud alive, but they did not get a chance to put a definitive ending on their story during the match.
Paul and Owens fought each other plenty, but neither man eliminated the other, so it feels as if they still have one more chapter to tell.
Not only would it be incredibly satisfying to see Owens get a win over Paul after he was caught using brass knuckles and disqualified in their previous singles match, but it will be even more satisfying to see him take the United States Championship.
It has been far too long since Owens was a titleholder in WWE. It’s time management gave him a good run with a title to help re-establish him as a force to be reckoned with in the company.
The big new wrinkle here is Randy Orton. Paul knocked him out with brass knuckles in the Chamber, so The Viper making this a triple threat is quite possible.
When Andrade returned to WWE during the men’s Royal Rumble, the first person to look happy to see him was Santos Escobar.
Once the leader of Legado Del Fantasma realized Andrade was not interested in an alliance, he attacked him. Ever since then, these two have been set up for a showdown.
Whether we get it in the form of a singles match or some kind of tag bout is unclear since the rest of LWF and the LWO are involved, so we may even see as many as six competitors in this bout.
With Zelina Vega having a previous connection to Andrade, she could be the catalyst for him working with the LWO.
This will be a luchador highlight reel and could potentially steal the show on any night.
The feud between Jimmy and Jey Uso was put on the back burner when Jey was drafted to Raw, but recent events like their Royal Rumble standoff make it look like WWE plans to get this storyline going again.
The twin brothers’ story is well-known at this point, so we don’t need to get into the whole history of The Bloodline. If you watch WWE even casually, you know what has been going on with the Usos.
Putting these two into the ring for a singles match is definitely a moment worthy of being saved for WrestleMania, so it’s not surprising WWE tried to figure out how to keep them apart for the past several months.
Jimmy and Jey need to put this story to bed, much like how Rhodes needs to finish his story. The Bloodline story is almost as much about The Usos as it is Reigns, so this match needs to happen.
Gunther is well past beating Honky Tonk Man’s record for the longest reign as intercontinental champion and continued to dominate the competition, but everyone’s time in the sun runs out eventually.
Having him drop the belt at ‘Mania would be a massive moment for whoever beats him. Chad Gable is a popular choice to be the one to dethrone him, but if he is ready by WrestleMania, it should be Sheamus.
The Celtic Warrior has held the WWE, U.S. and tag titles, so finally winning the Intercontinental Championship would put him in the elite class of Grand Slam champions.
It would be one of the hardest-hitting matches on the card and easily one of the most entertaining. This is a no-brainer booking decision if Sheamus is ready by ‘Mania.
These matches are all very real possibilities to be added to the card, but there are two whole nights to fill. What else do you think we might see this year on the Grandest Stage of Them All?
