I’m in a little bit of unchartered territory here, as I’ve only seen bits and pieces of the last two Raw’s, but luckily for me the WWE loves to run the same feuds and storylines for six months straight, so I still have a good grasp on what’s going on. Also, this is the second pay per event in the last two weeks, so most of the matches from Payback are staying the same or adding a few participants. WWE Elimination Chamber is live from Corpus Christi, TX this Sunday ONLY on the WWE Network, so if you haven’t signed up for it yet, what exactly are you waiting for? Let’s get to the preview and predictions.

WWE Divas Championship Match – Nikki Bella (C) vs. Paige vs. Naomi

Nikki Bella has more or less dominated the Diva’s division since winning the title at Survivor Series (over 6 months!).  She is who the WWE wants to be the face of their Diva’s division and Total Divas, so I can’t see her losing Sunday. There have been reports that HHH/Steph want to change the way Diva’s are portrayed on television, but Vince McMahon is still in charge, and at 70 years old, I doubt he’s going to change the way he feels about how Diva’s fit into his company now. Paige is better than both Naomi and Nikki on the microphone and in the ring, but she doesn’t look like a supermodel, so until the status quo changes, the title won’t change hands. Paige has always been a fan favorite, and I like Naomi’s semi heel turn, but the Diva’s just don’t get enough time in the ring or a chance to build their characters to make anybody interested in this match.

Winner: Nikki Bella. And the Bella Twin split lives to see another day.

Neville vs. Bo Dallas

I think this should have been Neville’s first feud on the main roster, as he and Bo Dallas have history from NXT and work wonderfully together. The ‘inspirational’ Bo Dallas is one of the best characters WWE has. I can’t remember a time he came out to cut a promo or wrestle a match and I wasn’t entertained. He’s so insincere, and so self loathing, and matching him up with a guy who is clearly more confident and physically superior makes him so much better. You can see the insecurities seeping out of Bo Dallas when he works with Neville, and it’s great. As much as I’d love to see a red arrow, Neville is working with a bum leg, and Bo Dallas could use a big pay per view win, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins here. I expect this feud to continue over the summer, and I hope it exists in it’s own little bubble where the story gets to progress instead of stay stagnant like most other WWE stories. If WWE is serious about Dallas, then he’ll win here and keep fighting Neville. If they’re not, then Neville will hit the red arrow and Bo will head back to obscurity.

Winner: Bo-Lieve!

Champion vs. Champion Match: John Cena (US Champion) vs. Kevin Owens (NXT Champion)

This one is a tougher pick than it should be. Kevin Owens is the best thing going in the WWE right now. He’s the first reigning NXT champion they’ve featured on WWE TV, and not only is he on WWE TV, he’s getting promo time with Superman. He’s out talked and power bombed Cena two weeks in a row, which is John Cena lingo for ‘I’m beating you at the pay per view’, but I still have some reservations. I’m going to pick Cena to win, but I’m not 100% confident about it. NXT is a real thing now. It’s not developmental. It’s not some show on the WWE Network. It’s an organization that attracts everyone from Rhyno to Tommy Dreamer to Samoa Joe because people want to be apart of it. It’s special, and Kevin Owens is it’s crown jewel at the moment. During this US Championship open tournament Cena’s got going on, he’s given guys like Sami Zayn and Neville showcase matches on Raw, and everyone has said that even in defeat, those guys looked better. The difference here is those guys were baby faces. Cena could beat them and raise their hand and have the crowd cheer for them. I don’t think that’s the case here. Losing does not fit Kevin Owens character, and if he loses clean to Cena here then what happens next? He just goes back to NXT like nothing ever happened? Kevin Owens needs this win. It fits his character to have a showcase win against JOHN CENA. He can brag about it in promo’s until the end of time and it will make him even more insufferable/wonderful. It doesn’t hurt Cena either (because nothing does) and Cena keeps the US title because it’s a non title match. I just convinced myself to pick a guy who’s never fought a pay per view match for the WWE to beat John Cena at a pay per view.

Winner: Kevin Owens.

Tag Team Title Elimination Chamber Match: New Day (C) vs. Every Tag Team

You can eliminate (get it) the Prime Time Players, Ascension, Lucha Dragons & Los Matadores from this match, so it comes down to ‘will the New Day retain’ or ‘will Tyson Kidd & Cesaro win’. Both teams are great, but Cesaro is my guy, so I’m rooting for the Swinging Cats. I’ll be happy if either team wins, and I only have one request: give Cesaro enough time in the Chamber. He has the deepest bag of tricks on the WWE roster, and with the possibility of 10 other guys in the ring, I know he’ll put out some incredible moves. If Cesaro looks like a king and the Swinging Cats lose, I’m ok with that, because New Day is finally finding their footing and should remain a thing forever. If Los Matadores wins, I’ll probably set myself on fire.

Winner: heart > head: Cesaro & Kidd.

IC Title Elimination Chamber Match: King Barrett vs. Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. R-Truth vs. Rusev* vs. Ryback

I personally think this is the easiest match on the card to predict. You can automatically eliminate Barrett, Ziggler, Ryback and R-Truth from winning. Ryback and Truth are irrelevant, and Barrett and Ziggler lose. That’s their thing. I saw it coming down to Rusev and Sheamus, but now with Rusev possibly out, it could come down Sheamus and Wyatt. Either way, Sheamus has to win here. He debuted with a new look and an awesome entrance song and was finally a bad guy again, yet nothing has happened since he returned. He forced a guy to kiss his ass, then got forced to kiss that guy’s ass. That’s about it. If Daniel Bryan needs a new neck or head or whatever, and John Cena is going to hold the US title until the end of time, put the belt on a tough looking guy and have him matter. As great as most of the matches on this card will be, they’ll only be great because the individuals are so talented. If WWE actually let characters develop and had interesting mini feuds in these matches, they’d be amazing. The only semblance of a mini feud was Ziggler/Rusev, but now that’s not even a thing because my poor Russian hero is hurt. Sheamus wins, and the only other outcome I’ll accept is Wyatt murdering everyone one by one and burning the IC title in the middle of the ring.

Winner: Shay-moose.

WWE Championship Match: Seth Rollins (C) vs. Dean Ambrose

I’m so mad I didn’t think of this, but I hope it happens. If The Shield isn’t going to fully unite, other than that awesome triple bomb moment at Payback, then what’s the next best thing? Reuniting two of them. Ambrose is a lone wolf and honestly has too much personality to be part of a trio. He was great in the Shield, but he thrives on his own, and it actually works. Roman Reigns, on the other hand, was made to be apart of a group. He’s like an Arn Anderson if Arn Anderson never used a microphone before. I don’t think he should be the guy, but being the guy’s best friend and enforcer? That fits him perfectly. My friend predicted a Reigns heel turn, joining Rollins and the Authority and being their new enforcer figure. It makes sense on a couple levels. Reigns and Ambrose are buddies, but ever since Mania, Ambrose has gotten the opportunities while Reigns has played second fiddle. Reigns still hasn’t gotten his one on one match with Rollins but Ambrose has one? That wouldn’t sit well with me. The Authority needs a new ‘Kane’ because this version of Kane sucks and he should not be the focus of anything, especially not the main event. How long are you going to tease tension with Rollins and Kane before there’s a payoff? Wouldn’t the best possible payoff be Rollins reuniting with his SWAT team brother and Kane literally burning in hell? Ambrose and Reigns have been very buddy buddy lately, and Reigns even bailed him out of jail Monday night. It all makes too much sense and it might not happen, but I hope it does. As far as the match, these guys are great in the ring together, and while Ambrose’s character has been headed to wacky land again, there’s no doubt they’ll have a great match in the main event.

Winner: and still WWE Champion, Seth Rollins.

– Ryan