wrestling / Columns

411’s PPV Roundtable Preview – WWE Elimination Chamber 2014 (Part 2)

February 22, 2014 | Posted by Sean Garmer

411 continues with its roundtable preview of the Elimination Chamber! Check out Part One here first.

(Champions) New Age Outlaws vs. The Usos
WWE Tag Team Championship Match

Justin Watry: Really, the entire tag team title scene has gone the way I expected since the middle of 2013. The Shield had their big run. Once Cody Rhodes and Goldust became a team, they had to get a little title reign in there. Once the beginning of the year kicked off, it was time for a heel pair to get the straps. While I did not think that would be The New Age Outlaws, it works. Then in one full transition, the straps go to a different face team around Mania. Easy to follow, huh? Now that begs the question. Do the Usos win here or in some other big gimmick match at WMXXX? Toss up here. Let me go with the Usos but only by disqualification. Save the title change for Mania.

Winner: Usos

Dino Zucconi: Maaaan, this feels like such a junktease. The Usos, since WWE got “interested again” in tag wrestling a couple years ago, have watched as every other superteam or power squad that appears wins the belts in front of them. Always the bridesmaids, this seems like the perfect opportunity to take the belts off the Outlaws, and give the Usos quite the name victory in becoming the champions. I don’t think this match will be so horrible, either! I’m going fanboy on this, because I have a sneaking suspicion the Outlaws keep it here, but screw it.

Winners: And NEW WWE Tag Team Champions… the Usos!

Michael Weyer: It was a fun nostalgia ride but if WWE is serious about making the tag ranks mean something again, we need champs who weren’t over 15 years ago. It should be a fair match and the Outlaws will want to make a mark in their last ride in the spotlight but I’ll say the Usos manage to get the belts here in an upset to set up a multi-team battle at Mania. At least we hear that fun Outlaw intro one more time before they finally cede the belts over.

Winners and NEW WWE Tag Team Champions: The Usos

James Wright: I am really hoping for an Uso win here since they are getting better and better as a team and get a decent face reaction, plus they are one of the few credible, actual teams, in the division at the moment. The idea of a multi-team tag match at Mania still appeals to me, but a title change here doesn’t have to change that, in fact it might help with it. So here’s to the Usos taking it home at the Elimination Chamber.

Winner: The Usos (New Champions)

Mike Chin: While I can see the logic in The New Age Outlaws, the greater household name, carrying the tag titles into Wrestlemania, WWE seems justifiably high on the The Usos and I think this will be their moment to shine.

Winner: Usos

Mike Hammerlock: I like the Usos, a lot. They scratch my tag team itch. If they win this match and the belts, it will be very cool. Yet it probably makes sense for the Outlaws to do something dastardly to get a cheap win (perhaps with some assistance from the Authority) or get themselves disqualified. It would allow them to give the Usos a yellow brick road to Wrestlemania and a highly persona rematch against the Outlaws. Tease it out a bit. Plus, I worry they’ll do one of those terrible, slapped-together four team matches at Wrestlemania if the Usos win here.

Winner: The Old Age Outlaws (don’t know that they’ll win, but they’ll leave with the belts)

Allenby O’Brien: I’m actually down with the NAO getting a little nostalgia run with the belts. Their role is to be the chickenshit veteran heels who cheat their way into WrestleMania before getting soundly beaten by a hot, up-and-coming tag team. A “passing of the torch” eef-you-weel. With that said The Usos are probably winning here…BUT by DQ or Count Out to keep them strong and further the feud: make it clear that they had the Outlaws beat and they’re So Close Now to winning the titles.

Can I just take a moment to remark on how great The Usos have been over the past 8 months? Plucked from undercard irrelevance, they’re now [deservingly] the top babyface tag team. They grabbed an opportunity and made MORE than the most of it. Do this more often, WWE.

Winner: The Usos

Nick Sellers: And so it’s come to pass as I’ve predicted: The Outlaws are transitioning the belts onto the Usos. It was a question of when, not if, and that question still remains; will the Usos win at this PPV or will they hold it ff until Wrestlemania? I’d suggest the latter to let the heels keep this one-last-run going just a little longer and to give the former a cool Wrestlemania moment.

Winner: The New Age Outlaws

Daniel Anderson: Other than an initial nostalgia pop (and I am being generous here) the New Age Outlaws have not excited people like the Rhodes Brothers did. I honestly think they expected people to be behind the Outlaws a lot more than they are. It also seems like it is time for the Usos to get the title. I think WWE ideally wanted to wait until Wrestlemania, but I see them pulling the trigger here instead.

Winner: Usos

Jack Bramma: I think the NAO are transition champs, but not to the Usos. I just can’t see them taking the straps from DX yet.

Winners: NAO

Sean Garmer: I’ve enjoyed getting my nostalgia bubble popped with the Outlaws as Tag Champs. However, I think anyone has to know they are transition champs and no team in WWE is more deserving than The Usos. Ever since WWE sent them back down to NXT for a while and they had a feud with The Ascension you could see they just wanted to be a great team and were destined to get even better if given the chance. The Usos have taken every opportunity to improve and became one of the great teams WWE has. This is why I’d like to see The Outlaws keep the belts here, you build this feud properly and lead it into a stipulation match at WM 30 and let The Usos have their big Wrestlemania moment.

Winners AND STILL WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: New Age Outlaws

The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family
Six Man Tag Team Match

Justin Watry: Probably the best feud going today in all of wrestling. It is a shame this could not happen at WrestleMania. On the bright side, WWE seems to have even BIGGER plans for them, so it may end up being a good thing in the long run. For now, I hope this turns into a No DQ slugfest. The Shield can always deliver in six person tag matches, as can The Wyatts. However, you have to let these guys brawl. The feud calls for it. I am talking all over the arena, weapons, etc. Since this is all about predictions, I will go with straight to the finish. Wyatts win after a miscue from The Shield members. Bray Wyatt is rumored to be entering a high profile feud come Mania, and a triple threat with The Shield seems logical. Win-win situation for everyone.

Winner: The Wyatt Family

Dino Zucconi: Ah, this should be fun. I’m a bit bummed that they didn’t just throw them in the Chamber and let total carnage take over, but a nice, old fashioned trios match never hurt nobody. Under normal circumstances, I’d have a hard time coming to a decision on who picks up the duke. However, there’s cracks in the Shield, while the Wyatt Family still seems to be on their rise to power. This may not be a great night for Ambrose, Reigns, and Rollins. However, the Shield may steal a win here- I’ve heard Seth is quite the gaffler. Don’t see it happening, though.

Winners: The Wyatt Family

Michael Weyer: The build has been good and the idea of the two sides clashing is getting some excitement that the show can use. It’s hard to pick a winner, both sides equally over and it should add to a terrific battle that’ll go from hard fighting to pure brawl. I see the Wyatts getting the win to put them over and maybe push the Shield break-up with Reigns’ eventual singles turn. Either way, a great battle to fire things up.

Winners: The Wyatt Family

James Wright: The WWE have done a pretty good job of making this match feel like a big deal, although perhaps it would have been bigger at Wrestlemania itself. It makes sense here to give the Wyatts the win as they seem like the unit with more shelf-life going forward and it would be an easy way to push the dissension in the Shield to near-breaking point before Wrestlemania. I still wouldn’t have minded seeing this bout in an Elimination Chamber, or at least be an elimination style match-up, but whatever the case it still should be a great outing for both teams. I suppose this way we can get the inevitable where Reigns ends up cleaning house and setting up for the win before Ambrose’s ego causes him to tag in to steal the victory, only to get beat and cost his team the victory, it might be obvious, but at least it is believable, I just hope the contest in general lives up to the hype, although considering the teams involved it probably will.

Winner: The Wyatt Family

Mike Chin: If this is anything short of a MOTYC it will be a real disappointment. The Shield is great in the ring, The Wyatts have done great character work, and it’s sort of a shame this showdown wasn’t saved for Wrestlemania. In any event, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose seem ready to split from one another, while Bray Wyatt looks poised to reach the peak of his career to date, headed for a Wrestlemania collision with John Cena. Buckle in for a heck of ride on the last stop before these team’s respective Wrestlemania destinies.

Winner: The Wyatt Family

Mike Hammerlock: Now we’re talking. If they gave this match an hour, no one would complain. Even if the rest of this pay-per-view goes directly into the toilet, and it might, Shield vs. Wyatts has the makings of a classic. I’d say the expectations are almost impossibly high for this match, but these two factions pretty much always deliver. Hopefully they give us something so great it makes whatever predictable plans the WWE has for Wrestlemania completely obsolete.

Winner: The Wyatt Family

Allenby O’Brien: Finally, something to get excited about! Since their in-ring debut at TLC ‘12 it’s been The Shield’s yard. They’ve consistently had the best matches on the show and have been a fixture in the uppercard for almost 15 months now, getting clean wins against virtually every main eventer in the company. Meanwhile, the Wyatts got called up to the main roster far earlier than anybody could’ve expected and-after a rough start-have very quickly become a true force: to the point of Bray getting a near-clean PPV victory over Bryan last month.

The Shield has had dissention in its ranks for months now: Reigns is increasingly looking like a breakout star. Ambrose is starting to realise that he just might not be the top dog in The Hounds of Justice and developing an insecurity complex about that. Rollins is doing his best to play peacemaker but his efforts to keep them united are looking increasingly futile. And throughout all this The Wyatt Family remains united in the name of cause.

Expect to see The Shield become entirely undone in this match. They’ll start out hot, but eventually tempers will flare & egos will emerge, with classic miscommunication eventually leading to Ambrose abandoning his team. For bonus points have Ambrose intentionally dodge a hot tag ala Strike Force and walk out on Rollins & Reigns, leaving them to get beaten to DEA-

Romeo. India. Papa.

Winner: The Wyatt Family

Nick Sellers: The heel vs heel dynamic is an interesting one and not something they go for very often, though Reigns is essentially the babyface by default in this scenario. I anticipate Ambrose finally snaps and attacks Reigns, either during or after the match, before Roman gets his revenge by spearing the living daylight out of him. Rollins is probably the most interesting member of The Shield right now though, in that it’s not clear if he’ll take sides with either f the other two or just go out on his own. Interesting times for the Shield but I can’t help but feel all three of them will eventually get lost in the shuffle as singles entities, the novelty of which will wear of pretty quickly. As for the Wyatt’s, they’re set for big things going into Wrestlemania if the feud with John Cena is still on the cards, so they need the win here.

Winner: The Wyatt Family

Daniel Anderson: This has the potential to be a much better match than anyone would have thought a few months ago. I have a feeling we are going to see The Shield continue to fracture here leading to either a DQ or the Wyatts winning through some kind of shenanigans (and yes I am listening to Super Troopers as I type this).

Winner: The Wyatt Family

Jack Bramma: Electric encounters all involved have helped carry the show the last few weeks. The Shield have been virtually bulletproof for months, so there’s no surprise there, but The Wyatts are a different story altogether. Bray aside, the Family hasn’t been that dominant the last 6 months. They’ve lost plenty of tag matches to The Usos, The Rhodes, Punk/DB, etc. DB joining didn’t seem to help their batting average any. But because of the strength of their promos and Bray’s solo undefeated strength and the Fed’s commitment to the gimmick, they are still just as over as the day they arrived. They floundered a bit with empty feuds with Kane and Kofi Kingston, but Bray going over DB and then costing Cena shows they are getting the bump up to the big times. The Shield, collectively and individually, will continue to be awesome no matter whether they break up or not. Reigns is destined for greatness if they time it right and continue to give him rocket push the slow burn – the beast SS performance eliminating 4 guys, pinning Punk on RAW, and setting the new RR elimination record are all the perfect steps in the right direction. If this is the end for the Shield and Ambrose and Reigns collide, Reigns could move on to either a triple thread feud with both Ambrose and Rollins over the US title or the rumored long shot of a match with Triple H, if DB is stuck with Kane.

Winners: The Wyatt Family

Sean Garmer: This has been the most well booked thing on this card and WWE has played it great by barely letting the two teams touch each other, while also letting them tell the story through promos and stare downs. The Shield has been cracking for months and The Wyatt Family has shown through wrestling others and through promos that they are a very strong unit. Since fans have been used to two Chamber matches for a long while it would have been nice to see this be inside The Chamber, but I can understand WWE’s point of only having The Chamber for the Title match. This match should be and by all accounts the “show stealer.” I think everyone involved knows people are expecting great things from this match and I bet they will give us a tremendous performance by the time the final bell rings. Wyatt Family should win here to give us the final BIG CRACK in The Shield that will begin the true build to the break up that we will probably see culminate at Wrestlemania 30.

Winners: The Wyatt Family

(Champion) Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Cesaro vs. Sheamus vs. Christian
Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Justin Watry: Process of elimination works best in these kind of situations. No pun intended. Cesaro will not win. Cross him off the list right away. Maybe Swagger can cost him the match or something with Zeb? Christian may not even make it to the ring (watch out for Brock Lesnar!), so he is out. Sheamus is fun to watch in the ring, but he is not winning this match. Those three are not even worth seriously discussing as a potential winner. John Cena is usually a good choice, but as stated last month – if WWE wanted him as champ, it would have happened at TLC. It did not there and has not since. Thus, it is fair to assume WWE never had any plans for him to be in the title picture come Mania. That leaves Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton. My only hesitation over Bryan winning now would be…

…the obvious empty feeling. Come on, Bryan overcomes the odds and get his moment at Elimination Chamber? Only to lost it six weeks later to Batista? Blah. Why even bother then? That would not be worth the pay off. Do not have Bryan win the title unless it is worth while. Trust me folks. You do not want him to win it now just for the sake of him winning it. When he gets his moment (and he will!), build it up HUGE! The Chamber is not the time nor the place. Here is my finish: The match comes down to Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton. Everybody is going wild with the Yes chants and the whole deal. Suddenly, from under the ring, Triple H appears and gives Bryan the Pedigree. Randy Orton wins and faces Batista in the second or third hour of Mania. Remember, nobody ever said that match would CLOSE the show. Just look at past Manias with non-title main events. No more nice corporate HHH. No more Mr. Nice Guy. No more paying to both sides. No more smiling. No! Triple H is OFFICIALLY a heel and costs Bryan the title. The next night on Raw, Bryan cuts a fiery promo and says he has had enough! Come WMXXX, it will be Bryan vs. HHH one on one. No outside interference. No Kane. No Stephanie McMahon. Nobody can get involved. If HHH wins, Bryan will leave WWE forever. If Bryan wins, HHH gives him a clean, fair and square title match at the next pay-per-view. problem solved. Orton and Batista can have a nice 15 minute match in the middle of the Mania card. Undertaker can close Mania or if need be – make Bryan/HHH the final match. Trust me! The smarky Mania crowd would be into every single near fall and be booing Triple H out of the building while cheering everything Bryan does. The show ends with Bryan making HHH tap out, earning a straight up WWE World Title match and 70,000 fans chanting Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!

Winner: Randy Orton

Dino Zucconi: I’m a giant fanboy loser basement dwelling fanboy dork when it comes to Daniel Bryan and Cesaro. I’m extremely tepid on Christian and Sheamus. I appreciate who Orton and Cena are, as far as the company is concerned. So, I’m basically pulling for Bryan or Cesaro, and will be a whining crybaby if they don’t win. Of course Cesaro isn’t winning, and I don’t care. I expect a brutal match here, and maybe Sheamus can rediscover some actual brutality instead of just pounding his chest. I’m wondering if Christian doesn’t get attacked before the match and replaced by someone, because he just screams of being the odd man out in this match. No disrespect, but I don’t see Christian as being at that level anymore. Does Bryan pick up the belt here in his last chance before Mania? Does Sheamus earn a win and give us an EPIC COLLISION with Batista? Do we stick with the paint-by-numbers idea of Orton and Batista? Probably. But again, I’d rather be wrong with my pick.

Winner: And NEW WWE World Heavyweight Champion… Daniel Bryan!

Michael Weyer: Would they do it? That is the major question we face. Would WWE actually, truly, make the smart move and have Bryan go over here as champion to face Batista at Mania? Before, I’d say no chance in hell but now…I don’t know. Even Vince and HHH have to recognize the growing fan backlash against Batista/Orton at Mania, they have to see the chants and such and know they risk the biggest payday of the year with that main event. So I’ll take a risk here. I’ll say that, for the sake of giving us a good Mania buy, Bryan does in fact end up winning to setup a triple-threat with Batista and Orton at Mania, which will up the buyrate for that. It’s smart business move; let’s just hope WWE, for once, manages to recognize that.

Winner and NEW WWE World Champion: Daniel Bryan

James Wright: So many options…well not really, but anything is possible. I could stand to see anyone win the match bar Randy Orton. I remember when a Batista-Orton feud was something I really wanted to see and I was sore when it never properly happened, but that time has passed. The pessimist in me wants to say that the WWE will continue to ignore the fans like they have for the last several months, claiming that people don’t really know what they want, or that Bryan isn’t actually over, only the ‘Yes!’ chant itself, or some other bollocks, but then there is the WWE Network. Just think about the reaction from the fans at last month’s Rumble, and the potential fan reaction on Raw if Bryan gets eliminated by anyone in the match, bar possibly Cesaro. I am not sure that any amount of all-star appearances will help to prevent their ‘coming out party’ for the Network on Raw from getting shat on by angry fans. Plus if we actually do get a triple threat match at Mania with Bryan coming in as the champ, there is nothing to stop Batista from walking away with the gold, so a big win here shouldn’t actually mess up their plans too much. Sure the crowd on the post-Mania Raw will probably be rabid, but by then the Network will have launched and been up and running for a whole month, enough time for the WWE to be less concerned about their product running in front of an abundance of ‘new eyes’ as it might be on the next Raw, as you have to believe that a lot of part time and former fans will want to tune in to weigh up if the current product is worth investing some money in, even if it is at a greatly reduced price.
Maybe I am an optimist after all but I think it makes good business sense to throw the audience a bone here and have Bryan win the title, or we get some kind of massive swerve that nobody sees coming that doesn’t just seem like WWE pissing all over the fans because they think they can, but since I can’t predict what this swerve might actually be, I am going to say Bryan for the win, because it makes gosh darn sense, gosh darn it.

Winner: Daniel Bryan (New Champ)

Mike Chin: Unless CM Punk returns, Brock Lesnar interjects himself, or the WWE decides to dramatically overhaul the ‘Mania main event scene at a level that exceeds even 2009, WWE is left with two fairly logical courses of action. The first, which I was originally inclined to pick, saw Randy Orton retaining en route to the Batista-Orton main event many have been forecasting.

The other scenario–that the more I’ve thought about, the more I feel WWE has to embrace–is that no one wants to cheer Batista, lots of people want to cheer Daniel Bryan, and the company is best served to have Bryan as face champ, and Batista officially turn heel to challenge him. Whether WWE has painted itself into a corner, or subversively manipulated us into this place, The Animal is poised to become the most hated man in WWE by smarks and casual fans alike, and Bryan already stands alongside John Cena as a candidate for most popular. I’m predicting WWE will bite the bullet and roll with it in the Chamber.

Winner: Daniel Bryan

Mike Hammerlock: Lots of ways they can go with this match. My personal take is ABC (anyone but Cena). If they want to stick with Orton being a big game player, fine. I think they botched the chance to make a potential Wrestlemania win over Orton seem like a mammoth achievement, but I can understand wanting his story to progress all the way to the big show in April. If Cesaro busts through the glass ceiling, I’ll do flips. It literally would be the biggest, coolest surprise they could pull on us at this juncture. If Sheamus or Christian pulls the upset, I can get behind that. They’d be part of lining up a multi-man Wrestlemania match for the WWE title, or perhaps they’d be used to hot-shot the belt onto someone else (say, Roman Reigns). Yet if Cena wins, it puts him in the exact Wrestlemania match we don’t want to see. Cena vs. Bray Wyatt would be great. Cena vs. Undertaker would be awesome. Cena vs. some guy or combination of guys he’s already fought? Yawn.

So that’s the field, right? Oh wait, there is that Daniel Bryan guy. Yes, yes, yes, there is. He seems to be popular with a certain segment of WWE fans known as “all WWE fans.” As I noted above, Bryan doesn’t have to win this match – so long as it’s part of a compelling story. Winning isn’t the only way to move him forward. Yet after the Pittsburgh Incident, even Vince McMahon might not dare to set a fire under another PPV audience. Of course, not winning here might set up a bigger Wrestlemania moment. Personally, I’d like to see Bryan win in the Chamber and then have Brock Lesnar rip the Wrestlemania challenger slot out of Batista’s hands. That strikes me as the optimal booking. Yet it doesn’t have to be exactly what I want. Like I said, they’ve got lots of options here,but respect points to WWE Creative if they make Cena and Orton the first two out of the match. That would put everyone in the build and watching at home on the edges of their seats.

Winner: Randy Orton

Allenby O’ Brien: Cena? If WWE wanted the belt on him they would’ve done so already.
Bryan? Already has an “out” with his shoulder injuries and is feuding with Kane. And of course, if WWE were actually going to push him they would’ve done so last month, instead of thinking that being Rocket Raccoon’s sidekick makes you worthy of the Royal Rumble win.
Cesaro? He was a midcard heel with no significant wins in months before he qualified for this match.
Sheamus? Just came back from an injury and fits into the title picture even less than Batista does.
Christian? Every other participant in this match could get injured during it and WWE would still make sure that he doesn’t get the belt.

Which leaves the current Unified WWE Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion of Champions to retain as we begin the death march to the worst WrestleMania main event since…well…since the last time Evolution members faced off in it, to be honest.

Winner: ORTON WINS LOL

Nick Sellers: All six men have points to prove and there’s a good enough mix of talent here for all of them to pull off a cracking match here. For Cesaro it’s another big chance to prove his worth in probably the biggest match of his career to date. For Christian, if he stays in the match, one last big PPV encounter before he starts to wind things down. For Sheamus, a brawler by nature, it’s the perfect environment for him. But those three are never winning here, and it’s all about either Bryan, Orton or Cena. Naturally, everyone will be pulling for Bryan, but Kane is almost certain to accost him in some fashion. Cena looks set to go into a program with Bray Wyatt. That leaves Orton, and Orton/Batista was obviously their original plan and they’ve stuck to it even with all the reactions Bryan’s been getting. I think there’s still a chance of a triple-threat match adding Bryan to that mix, and I’d much rather his inevitable match with Kane was saved as a big Raw match rather than a Wrestlemania encounter. A win for Orton should temporarily restore some aura about him after his recent TV jobbing spree.

Winner: Randy Orton

B>Daniel Anderson: Well let us go through the list of people in the match. Christian and Cesaro have no chance of winning the title (especially Christian because, let’s face it, he is not viewed favorably by many in the WWE). Sheamus just got back from injury, and I have found myself enjoying his time on screen more than I remember before the injury, but I do not think it is time for him to win the title. Cena is always a danger, but I do not see them giving him the title now, when they could have the last few months. I see the Wyatts costing Cena in the match and setting up a match at Wrestlemania again the Family. That leaves Orton and Bryan. I really want to see Bryan win. The problem is, if he does win, he will drop the title to Batista at Wrestlemania and HHH will then bury Bryan in a promo on RAW saying Bryan proved by losing at Wrestlemania that he is not the face of WWE and never will be (damn, the more I type that the more I can see it happening just to give fans the finger for not cheering who they want them to). I do not think that is what the WWE will do though (I hope). I see WWE sticking with Orton vs Batista at Wrestlemania (doing otherwise would mean listening to what the fans want, and the last few months have shown us they hate doing that). Bryan will end up facing Kane or HHH at Wrestlemania, and not get the title until the summer (when Batista leaves to promote Guardian of the Galaxy). That leaves Orton retaining and facing Batista at Wrestlemania (and probably a few PPVs after that).

Winner: Randy Orton

Jack Bramma: Watching old matches to prepare for new matches is always a dangerous proposition. In anticipation for this week’s Elimination Chamber, I went back and watched some old ones. In doing so, you see that Edge was WWE Champ in 2009 but lost clean in the first segment to Jeff Hardy and then later on in the night joined the OTHER EC to become World Heavyweight Champion. They weren’t afraid to “create a star” (at least in their own eyes) with having Bobby Lashley overcome the odds in the ECW chamber in 2006. They allow big time babyface victories with Cena, Undertaker, etc. They allow surprise interference from HBK to cost UT the strap and let a sneaky heel Jericho take it. Something like any of those happening this year – DB winning the belt, Orton being the first eliminated, Batista/Brock/Undertaker/Triple H being involved, Cesaro coming out of nowhere to take the belt, etc. – happening today/this year seems like far off fantasy booking. Therefore, the only logical conclusion is the most boring one which means Orton retains. All things considered, I’d rather DB get his crowning achievement beating Orton for the belt or making Trips tap out at Wrestlemania, instead of here, but there’s no telling that crowning moment will even take place.

Winner: Randy Orton.

Sean Garmer: I’m excited for this match because it is Elimination Chamber and I want to see what Cesaro and Bryan do in the match itself. I’m sure this will be great and there will be spots in it we will be talking about up until RAW starts. I just don’t want to get too hyped for this because I feel like it just makes sense for only two things to happen. Bryan wins and it sets up the obvious Triple Threat match or WWE has other plans for Bryan, I’m still not ruling out that we will get a Wrestlemania X situation, and Randy Orton retains to face Batista at WM 30. I think the latter will happen because WWE has seemed intent on building up stuff between Orton and Batista leading up to this PPV.

Winner AND STILL WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: Randy Orton

Overall Thoughts

Justin Watry: YOU DECIDE! The under card is nothing to get excited for. I can not imagine Batista vs. Alberto Del Rio getting too many extra buys based on the build up. This comes down to two things. First, was the excellent hype behind The Wyatts/Shield worth $50 to casual fans? We already know the IWC is not going to spend a dime. This comes down to the your average fan watching at home thinking about watching two great stables clash. Secondly, has WWE done enough to convince the 4-5 million people who watch Raw every week that Randy Orton is on the brink of losing his title? If either of these is a true selling point, it could be a moderate success. Since this is really the last ‘real’ pay-per-view event and all the buzz behind the WWE Network launching the next day, this show kind of got lost in the shuffle. Even with the two intriguing main events. As usual, I will let all of YOU decide. Should I finally finish my Big Brother audition tape? Or should I tune in to Elimination Chamber? Whoever has the best argument in the comment section will get their wish. Oh, and no illegal streaming. Sorry, criminal acts are not my thing.

Dino Zucconi: Buy I usually enjoy Elimination Chamber. It’s got brutal matches, and there’s the chaos of this being the final big show before Mania. What big matches will be set up on Sunday night? Will any surprise outcomes occur? Do we play it safe all night long? Will the fans become an enjoyable factor? Who knows. I think this could be a pretty fun night, though. I’m still debating on actually getting it or not, but I’d tell anyone who was on the fence to get it. The main event should be great, the six man tag match should be brutal, and the IC title match may be a surprisingly fun outing. There are definitely some dogs on this card, but I’d imagine they’re kept short so we can get to the bigger matches.

Michael Weyer: Buy. It’ll be a big deal to see the fan reaction to this, particularly Batista/Del Rio and the Chamber itself. If they totally shit on Batista as we think, it’ll be a preview of Mania and the idea WWE might actually do the smart thing and make Bryan the champ is compelling enough to tune in. The rest of the show doesn’t look bad either, especially the six-man bout. So I’ll say go ahead and buy it as this is a key to how Mania looks and thus how WWE shapes up for the year.

James Wright: Buy This isn’t exactly the most inspirational card I have seen on a WWE PPV, still though at least most of the matches actually have a storyline behind them and something at stake. I’m not sure if I can recommend buying the PPV, either way it is a gamble since you will either get shafted by the end of the PPV, like we often have been this year, or you will miss Daniel Bryan’s big win. Personally I want to see it just to know what the frick WWE are thinking at this point leading into Wrestlemania, of course you could wait a day and just watch Raw, but who wants to wait a day?

Mike Chin: No Buy Against the odds, WWE has quietly compiled one of its most compelling PPV cards in recent memory. Part of what’s interesting is that a relatively high percentage of the matches have predictable outcomes, and yet I’d still consider paying to see them. That’s the sign of above average storytelling and talented workers getting a chance to shine. This is a tough call because, all things being equal, I could justifying paying to see this card. That said, knowing that from now on every PPV will be included in my WWE Network subscription, I have a really hard time shelling out fifty bucks for this show.

Mike Hammerlock: Stream I’d like to be more optimistic about this card. I love what we’re seeing on Smackdown and Raw, in that order, of late. Really, for the past year-plus the weekly television product has been running ahead of the pay-per-views in terms of quality. The talent in the WWE is outrageous and when you let it shine in the ring, it pushes the sometimes painfully predictable storylines to the background. Unfortunately at the pay-per-views the storylines take over, along with ham-handed booking. As you can see, I suspect the Elimination Chamber is going to deliver a lot of foregone conclusions. I’m hoping the WWE Network, a newfound sense of daring and the ability of the guys in the ring makes this a standout card, but I’m fearing the worst. It really all depends on how you’re going to watch Wrestlemania, because if you’ve read this far down this article then you’re getting a WWE Network subscription. You figured how to find things on the Internet a long time ago. So that’s not tricky. WWE Network pricing has established that Elimination Chamber is ridiculously overpriced. Literally the next day you will be able to buy the thing that will cut the price of an event like the Elimination Chamber to 22% of what they’re charging on Sunday. Save your money and get the WWE at the sale price. Plus, stream it for nostalgia’s sake. This may be the last time you watch a WWE PPV on a pirate feed. Closing down the pop up ads, trying to avoid the highly offensive comment scroll, scrambling when your feed goes down – good times. And if you stream it, you won’t have to complain “I paid $45 for THAT?!”

Allenby O’ Brien: No Buy For a long time now, the February PPV has felt like an enforced pit-stop on the Road to WrestleMania rather than somewhere you actually want to go. You know? It’s some low-rent diner/station just off the highway that you want absolutely no part of, however it’s the only place where you’ll get to buy supplies & take a dump for a very long time…but I digress from my deteriorating metaphor. The point is, this just feels like a hump that WWE needs to quickly move past so that they can start building WrestleMania 30 proper.

This is a 1-match show and said match is NOT the titular one. The Wyatts and the individual members of The Shield should be huge factors in both the immediate & long-term future of the company, which means the fallout of that match is going to be the most important part of the show. And of course, odds are it’s going to be Match of the Night as well.

I’ll give WWE credit where it’s due: for the most part, all of the matches on the PPV card has had an adequate enough build on TV, so that everything feels like it has a reason for happening.

However, the Elimination Chamber match has the stench of the worst kind of inevitability all over it and while I’d like to be pleasantly surprised with a title change…it’s not something that I see happening. Oh, and Batista is here too. Yay?
Unless you’re a die-hard fan of the Elimination Chamber gimmick, The Wyatt Family or The Shield, even Big Dave…you should probably save your cash. Really, the only thing on this card that’s looking like it will matter in the long-run is what happens to The Shield. Unless a kind of miracle happens and Bryan actually wins (with a rewarding follow-up) I don’t see how you could be satisfied with this purchase. Especially with The WWE Network looming, meaning that in a month you can watch it as many times as you want for $10. So…pass on paying for this one, unless you have enough people over to make it REALLY cheap individually.

Nick Sellers: No Buy The last pre-WWE network PPV. Significant? Possibly, but the card itself just lacks a bit of spark for me. One good thing it has going for it is that a number of matches are difficult to predict. The Chamber main event should deliver, and The Shield/Wyatt’s confrontation will be interesting. But we all know that Raw the next night is the show to tune in to, and not this PPV. Raw the next night will kick off the real road to Wrestlemania with some old faces popping up and more headlines created. For that and a lack of overall spark, no buy.

Daniel Anderson: Buy I think this has the potential to be a decent PPV. I have always thought that the Elimination Chamber should not be the PPV before Wrestlemania, just because it is a fun match and, in my opinion, capable in becoming a big event PPV. As long as fans do not go in expecting to see Bryan win the title, I think people will be happy with the PPV. This is a tough decision for me. The last few PPV’s I have purchased, I have felt underwhelmed at the end of them. Luckily, I am going to a friend’s house to watch this so I will not be paying full price for the PPV. This will also be the last PPV I am paying for due to the Network launching on Monday.

Jack Bramma: Buy This is one of the most stacked cards in months and could be the best PPV since Summerslam. The Elimination Chamber gimmick match almost always delivers and the Wyatts/Shield if given 20 minutes could steal the show. Easy buy.

Sean Garmer: No Buy I think the card itself with the Chamber match, Wyatts vs. Shield, and the possibilities of the undercard surprising us with a few out of nowhere title changes is actually worth buying. However, this question asks me specifically if I am going to buy this PPV. Ultimately, I can’t because I’m about to spend $40 or so dollars on the network the next day. $10 for myself and I’m splitting the cost of another WWE Network subscription with my podcast co-host for our Wrestling 2 the MAX podcast contest winner. I’m just guessing because in order to gift Netflix and Hulu subscriptions you have to pay out the money up front. This PPV will eventually be on The Network through on-demand as well. So, I’ll eventually get to see it and unless Bryan wins, the bigger event will still be RAW the next night because of the whole host old acts that could show up to promote The Network. If I had disposable money or had a friend’s house to go to I’d order this, but spending 100 dollars potentially on WWE stuff in two days is too much for me.

Well, that’s all the time we have today. Let us know what you thought of our predictions in the comment section and don’t forget to share your picks for the PPV as well. See you all again in February.

Remember to join 411 for our LIVE PPV coverage, starting at 7:30pm Sunday night, and 411 Instant Access immediately following the PPV!

article topics

Sean Garmer

Comments are closed.