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There’s plenty for WWE fans to look forward to at Sunday’s Raw-exclusive Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
For the first time in WWE history, there will be a seven-man Chamber match, with Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns, The Miz, Elias, John Cena, Finn Balor and Seth Rollins battling it out to determine a #1 contender for the Universal title.
In the women’s division, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Sonya Deville, Mandy Rose and Mickie James will attempt to win the Raw Women’s title from Alexa Bliss in the first female Chamber match, while undefeated women’s Royal Rumble winner Asuka will face her toughest test yet when she takes on Nia Jax.
Elsewhere on the card, Matt Hardy vs. Bray Wyatt has been confirmed, Titus Worldwide vs. Cesaro & Sheamus is expected to happen, and MMA megastar Ronda Rousey will officially sign her WWE contract.
In this article, we take a look at 10 last-minute predictions for the show.
#10 Matt Hardy finally defeats (and deletes) Bray Wyatt
Ever since Matt Hardy became “Woken” in November 2017, he has been on a mission to “delete” Bray Wyatt. So far, however, he has failed, and Matt ended up on the losing side when the two men met at Raw 25.
They meet on pay-per-view for the first time on Sunday at Elimination Chamber, where we think “The Woken One” will finally bring an end to the three-month rivalry by picking up a 1-2-3 against “The Eater of Worlds”.
#9 Asuka vs. Nia Jax is women’s Match of the Year
As great as WWE’s Women’s Evolution has been, we haven’t seen anywhere near as many show-stealing women’s matches on the main roster as we probably should have over the last couple of years.
Asuka and Nia Jax are two of the best in-ring performers in the women’s division right now and, judging by the short match card for this Sunday (albeit two of the matches will last 30+ minutes), it looks like they’ll get plenty of time to put on a classic match at Elimination Chamber.
#8 Asuka wins and calls out Charlotte Flair
As for the winner of the Asuka vs. Nia Jax match, we’d be foolish to bet against “The Empress of Tomorrow”. She is undefeated ever since debuting in NXT in October 2015 and she has already earned herself a title match at WrestleMania 34.
The Royal Rumble winner still hasn’t officially declared whether she’ll challenge for the Raw or SmackDown Women’s title at ‘Mania, with WWE continuing to simply state that she’ll receive a “championship opportunity”, so we think she could still call out SmackDown Women’s champion Charlotte Flair.
#7 Titus Worldwide win the Raw Tag Titles
Titus O’Neil and Apollo, with Dana Brooke by their side, have been on a roll since the turn of the year, defeating Raw Tag Team champions Sheamus and Cesaro three times on Raw in the last six weeks.
Barring interference from other teams in Raw’s tag division (The Revival or The Club), we think Titus Worldwide has every chance of finally defeating The Bar with the Raw Tag Team titles on the line at Elimination Chamber.
#6 Sasha Banks eliminates Bayley
Let’s face it, Sasha Banks is a much better heel than she is a face and her “Legit Boss” character was a lot more interesting when she was the biggest heel in NXT as opposed to another female babyface on the main roster.
She has shown a more aggressive side to her persona of late, hinting at a heel turn, and we think there’s every chance she could sneak attack best friend Bayley to eliminate her from the first-ever women’s Elimination Chamber match.
#5 Alexa Bliss retains her Raw Women’s title
If Asuka swaps the red brand for the blue brand to challenge Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s title at WrestleMania 34, as has been rumoured and as we’ve predicted, then the Raw Women’s title picture looks more uncertain than ever heading into Elimination Chamber.
There has been talk that Sasha Banks could win, setting up a match with Bayley, but we think it’s more likely that Alexa Bliss retains inside the Chamber to set up a long-awaited title match against best friend Nia Jax.
#4 The Miz gets eliminated first
John Cena defeated long-term rival The Miz on an episode of Raw in early February, meaning the Intercontinental champion will be the first man to start inside the Elimination Chamber match.
With three men starting the match for the first time this Sunday, the stipulation isn’t as much of a disadvantage as it would have been in previous years, but we still think “The A-lister” is the heavy favourite to be eliminated first.
#3 Seth Rollins lasts the distance
Seth Rollins is one of the biggest WWE names whose direction for WrestleMania 34 seems unclear, with rumoured opponents Dean Ambrose and Jason Jordan both suffering long-term injuries over the last few months.
His performance in the gauntlet match this past week on Raw will live long in the memory, and we think he’ll go the distance again on Sunday and last until the final two in the Elimination Chamber match.
#2 Roman Reigns wins the Elimination Chamber
Nothing if not predictable, we think Roman Reigns will win the seven-man Elimination Chamber match and go on to face Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania for the Universal Championship.
The WrestleMania 31 main event between the two men never got a definitive finish, with Seth Rollins cashing in his Money In The Bank contract to make it a Triple Threat, and it’s been clear for the last year that WWE is building towards another one-on-one match between "The Beast" and "The Big Dog" in New Orleans.
#1 Ronda Rousey makes Stephanie McMahon submit
Ronda Rousey needs to make a big impression at Elimination Chamber to get fans on her side, especially if she’s going to team with a babyface male Superstar to take on two of the biggest heels in WWE – Triple H and Stephanie McMahon – at WrestleMania 34.
She will officially sign her Raw contract at Elimination Chamber, with Stephanie (Raw Commissioner) almost certain to be in attendance alongside Kurt Angle (Raw GM), and we think there’s every chance that Rousey locks in an armbar on Steph to set up their high-profile match at the Show of Shows.
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