Greg Wyshynski
Multiple Authors
As a service to followers who’ve a normal curiosity in WWE however may not have watched a match in months, we’re completely satisfied to offer this FAQ as a information to WWE Elimination Chamber from the United Center in Chicago on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN Unlimited.
How do the Elimination Chamber matches work once more?
The ring is surrounded by an enormous metal construction, masking it from the ground as much as a metallic roof. One may name it a “cell” the place “hell” may happen, however here is what separates Elimination Chamber from that different match: There is a glass sales space stationed in every nook of the ring that may comprise 4 eventual members. Like on the Netflix courting present “Love Is Blind,” the glass containers are known as “pods.” Unlike on “Love Is Blind,” nobody is anticipating to satisfy their soulmate outdoors of the pods — solely heartbreak.
There are six members every within the males’s and girls’s matches. Two wrestlers start within the ring and 4 contained in the pods. At intervals predetermined earlier than the match, the pods open one after the other to introduce a brand new opponent into the fray. Combatants are eradicated by pinfall or submission. There are not any disqualifications within the Elimination Chamber, as CM Punk discovered when an “eliminated” Seth Rollins stomped his head to arrange John Cena’s win at last year’s Chamber.
(Yes, it has been a yr since John Cena’s stunning heel flip at Elimination Chamber. Where have you ever gone, Travis Scott?)
The winner of the Elimination Chamber will get a championship match at WrestleMania 42. After Roman Reigns received the Royal Rumble in January, he chosen world heavyweight champion Punk as his Mania opponent. On Monday’s episode of “Raw,” fellow Royal Rumble winner Liv Morgan chosen WWE girls’s world champion Stephanie Vaquer. And by “selected,” we imply sucker-punched in the face with the mic in her hand. Which all the time sounds nice, acoustically.
That means the winner of the lads’s Elimination Chamber match will wrestle for the Undisputed WWE Championship, at present held by Drew McIntyre, and the winner of the ladies’s Elimination Chamber match will earn a shot on the WWE Women’s Championship, at present held by Jade Cargill.
Who’s participating within the girls’s Elimination Chamber match?
For each matches, WWE held triple-threat qualification matches on “Raw” and “SmackDown” to find out the members within the Elimination Chamber. The six girls vying for a title shot are:
• Tiffany Stratton, who defeated Chelsea Green and Lash Legend on the Feb. 6 episode of “SmackDown.” Please recall that Cargill ended Stratton’s title reign of over 300 days with a win on “Saturday Night’s Main Event” in November 2025.
• Rhea Ripley, who defeated Ivy Nile and Lyra Valkyria on “Raw” Feb. 9. Ripley hasn’t held the WWE Women’s Championship since 2021, although her one and solely reign did final 379 days.
• Alexa Bliss defeated girls’s United States Champion Giulia and Zelina on the Feb. 13 “SmackDown” to safe a spot within the match, pinning Zelina after a Sister Abigail in the course of the ring. Bliss is a three-time Women’s Championship holder.
• Asuka defeated Bayley and Nattie on “Raw” three days later to earn her place within the Chamber. Did Asuka has by no means received a match at WrestleMania? Just throwing that on the market.
• Kiana James was a shock entrant after pulling the upset on each Charlotte Flair and Nia Jax on the most recent episode of “SmackDown.” James slid beneath whereas Flair was doing her bridge determine 4 factor and pinned Flair’s shoulders for the win, which was fairly ingenious.
• Raquel Rodriguez overcame Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane on Monday’s “Raw” for the ultimate spot. She’s in search of her first WWE singles title. Rodriguez has been getting a push these days, and an influence vs. energy match in opposition to Cargill could be intriguing. But by no means underestimate when it could possibly be “Tiffy Time” once more.
Who’s participating within the males’s Elimination Chamber match?
• Jey Uso defeated El Grande Americano — the unique model, not the brand new El Grande Americano (that is a special man) — and Bronson Reed on Monday’s “Raw,” however Reed needed to depart the match early after tearing his biceps. Would Reed have received this match and earned an Elimination Chamber spot? The undeniable fact that they did not have a graphic prepared for Uso’s victory may have been a inform.
• Randy Orton received a tricky Feb. 6 “SmackDown” match in opposition to Aleister Black and Solo Sikoa with an RKO “outta nowhere” on Sikoa as he had the Samoan Spike loaded. Please be aware that Orton misplaced a match in opposition to Black on a later “SmackDown” after McIntyre hit him within the head together with his belt. That introduced out Cody Rhodes to push back the champ. Speaking of which …
• Cody Rhodes defeated Jacob Fatu and Sami Zayn on the Feb. 13 “SmackDown,” in a match the place McIntyre interfered and tried to maintain Rhodes out of the Elimination Chamber match by handing Zayn the win. Alas, Rhodes recovered and pinned Sami as a substitute.
• Je’Von Evans defeated Gunther by pinning Intercontinental champ Dominik Mysterio on the Feb. 16 “Raw,” which might be the least painful approach to defeat Gunther. Expect many cage-related excessive spots from Evans on Saturday, one of many WWE’s greatest aerial performers.
• Trick Williams defeated Damian Priest and Carmelo Hayes final Friday on “SmackDown,” as he seeks his first WWE singles title after years of NXT dominance.
• LA Knight received a match in opposition to Penta (scary man in luchador masks) and Austin Theory (barely much less scary man in black hoodie, now one of many solely wholesome members of The Vision) on “Raw” on Feb. 9.
We’re going to have Jey Uso’s “Yeet,” Trick Williams’s “Whoop That Trick” and LA Knight’s “Yeah!” Is the Elimination Chamber structurally sound sufficient to resist such a trio of iconic chants?
Being that this match is for a WrestleMania primary occasion and Rhodes is within the match, the expectation is that he’ll earn the title shot. But do not underestimate Orton, who has beef with McIntyre. He’s the nostalgia play — Orton hasn’t held a world singles championship since 2020.
If you suppose that drought is one thing, think about that Finn Bálor hasn’t received a world title because the WWE Universal Championship in 2016. That might change at Elimination Chamber in opposition to CM Punk.
Why is Punk defending the world title in opposition to Bálor?
1:24
Previewing CM Punk vs. Finn Balor at Elimination Chamber
Arda Ocal previews an enormous match for the world heavyweight title between CM Punk and Finn Balor at Elimination Chamber in Chicago.
It’s an Elimination Chamber in Chicago. It’s unlawful to not have “Second City Saint” CM Punk on the cardboard.
But severely, Bálor earned this rematch in opposition to Punk after almost defeating “the fighting champion” at “Raw” in Belfast, Ireland, in January. Punk raised Bálor’s hand after the match in acknowledgement of the hassle.
Things turned nasty after Bálor was “snubbed” from the 30-man Royal Rumble area, resulting in him attacking Punk throughout a match with AJ Styles on “Raw.” Challenges had been made. Bálor proclaimed that after Punk made him lose in his residence nation of Ireland, he would make Punk lose on his “home turf.” And a world championship match was made for Elimination Chamber.
Two issues to bear in mind right here. First, Punk has his WrestleMania match set in opposition to Roman Reigns. Second, one by no means is aware of when Bálor’s extremely flamable steady, The Judgment Day, might lastly explode.
Punk is not the one one in his household with a championship match at Elimination Chamber. His spouse, AJ Lee, goes for Intercontinental gold, too.
The long-awaited AJ Lee vs. Becky Lynch match has arrived
1:15
Arda Öcal previews WWE Women’s IC title match
Arda Öcal seems forward to the WWE Women’s Intercontinental championship match betweek Becky Lynch and AJ Lee at Elimination Chamber.
That it has. This feud started final September when Lee returned to the WWE for the primary time in additional than a decade to assist her man in his battle in opposition to WWE energy couple Seth Rollins and Lynch. In a blended tag workforce match at WWE Wrestlepalooza final September, Lee pressured Lynch to submit with the Black Widow.
Later, Lee distracted Lynch in a title match in opposition to Maxxine Dupri on “Raw” at Madison Square Garden, costing Lynch the Intercontinental title and a report 163-day reign. Lynch fell right into a full spiral that noticed her, amongst different issues, counsel the “crooked” WWE referees had been out to get her. Lynch and Lee subsequent met at Survivor Series: WarGames in late November, when Lee once more made Becky faucet with the Black Widow.
At this level, an exasperated Lynch was determined for a approach to lastly be rid of Lee. Earlier this month, she challenged Lee to a match at Elimination Chamber. When Lee stated she would solely settle for the match if Lynch put up the IC title, Lynch stated “No,” which is an effective way to get a WWE crowd to chant, “Yes, yes, yes!” Lynch lastly relented and put the strap on the road to get her fingers on her tormentor.
Out of all of the potential motion on this card, the title match between an enraged Lynch and a trolling Lee could possibly be the one with essentially the most vitriolic satisfaction — particularly if Lee and Punk win title matches on the cardboard.
Did we point out this occasion is being held in Chicago? Just checking.
