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Elimination Chamber is a week and change away, with part of the card filled. WWE has booked two of the titular matches including the second-ever Chamber match to feature either women or tag teams, which will crown the first WWE Women's Tag Team Champions.
Aside from this historic bout, Daniel Bryan will defend his WWE Championship against five other Smackdown superstars in a match that really should end in only one way. Aside from that, a couple of other matches have been booked.
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Smackdown Tag Team Champions Shane McMahon and The Miz will defend their new titles against The Usos in what could be an extremely interesting dynamic, as we inch towards WrestleMania. Also, Buddy Murphy will defend his Cruiserweight Championship against Akira Tozawa. It will be a fun match, but likely one that will be bumped to the dreaded Kickoff Show. There are still many other matches in development, with a lot of seeds being planted on this week's Raw and Smackdown.
With a week to go, here are five matches expected to make the Elimination Chamber card.
#5. R-Truth vs Shinsuke Nakamura vs Rusev (US Championship)
Smackdown, in general, has been an excellent and compelling show. However, there is one situation that is on the contrary. The United States title scene has been kind of a mess lately. Shinsuke Nakamura regained the belt from Rusev on the Royal Rumble kickoff show, before dropping it to R-Truth just two days later. Immediately upon beating Nakamura, Truth would successfully defend the title against Rusev, prompting the Bulgarian to turn heel. It was a bizarre couple of segments.
Now, it seems like the two former rivals are now a team. They tagged together to beat Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson on Smackdown. This union could possibly spark some tag team success in the future, unless one or both of them end up leaving WWE especially after Rusev's revealing interview with Lilian Garcia. But before that, they still have the United States title and R-Truth to focus on, which was the primary reason for their unholy alliance. Expect Truth to come away with the surprise victory, before another possible post-match beatdown.
#4. Bobby Lashley vs Finn Balor (Intercontinental Championship)
Finn Balor has been in an endless loop of midcard matches on Raw, facing the likes of Jinder Mahal, Baron Corbin and Bobby Lashley on a weekly basis. That all changed when he took on Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. Despite coming up short in that match, Balor is still being viewed as an upper tier performer. And that is showing in his latest feud. It may be a similar scenario against a previous foe, but there is a new take now. The Intercontinental Championship.
The title has made Lashley much more interesting and has certainly made this feud actually worthwhile. The Irishman was scheduled to challenge for the Intercontinental belt on Raw, but instead faced Lashley's manager, Lio Rush.
After a fun little match, the next step is for the pair to face off with the gold on the line. Elimination Chamber is the place to do it, with further scope for the story to continue as we head towards the Showcase of the Immortals. It would be viewed as a stepping stone towards Balor's eventual victory, in what would be a moment that is too sweet.
#3. Ronda Rousey vs Ruby Riott (Raw Women's Championship)
Another happening on Raw was Ronda Rousey and her intention to rip apart the entire Riott Squad. She faced Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan in back-to-back matches, crushing them both. Ruby Riott was next in line but that confrontation would have to wait.
A logical conclusion to this mini storyline would be at the pay-per-view, with Rousey coming away with a decisive victory in a competitive match over a very game Ruby Riott. It's not like she has anything better to do anyway.
Rousey will still face Becky Lynch, and possibly Charlotte Flair, at WrestleMania but with Becky having her own story with management going on, the Raw Women's champ needs something to do.
Riott was the placeholder challenger for Charlotte on Smackdown heading into last year's 'Mania and here she is again, possibly the champion's final defence before the big dance in New York
#2. Kurt Angle and Braun Strowman vs Drew McIntyre and Baron Corbin (Tornado Tag Match)
These four men, along with the likes of the Shield and Dolph Ziggler, have been the most prominent presences on Monday Night Raw in the past eight months. The match on Raw was nothing new, aside from that bizarre rule change in tag team matches. In fact, the match felt like something from the Raws in November and December, before WWE promised change. Baron Corbin continues to get a starring role on Raw, while not yet receiving his much-awaited comeuppance at the hands of Braun Strowman.
Kurt Angle also has a bone to pick with Corbin, as he does with Drew McIntyre, who embarrassed him on Raw around three months ago. Elimination Chamber will see a repeat for all four of these guys, with a No Disqualification stipulation in play. Because frankly, bells and whistles might be the only chance for this story and match to be interesting. It has just been so tiring to see the same loop for the likes of Strowman and McIntyre.
#1. Andrade vs Rey Mysterio
Last month, Rey Mysterio and Andrade had a couple of excellent matches on Smackdown. After 20 minutes of exhilarating action, the evil former NXT champion picked up a monumental victory over the legendary luchador. thanks to a minor assist from Zelina Vega.
This has completely revitalised Andrade and has turned him into a real player on the Blue brand. Following that barn-burner, the pair shared another classic, this time it being a 2-out-of-3 falls match. However, we did not get a definite winner due to interference from Samoa Joe in the build-up to the Royal Rumble.
Now that the Rumble is over, the two Mexicans can work their magic again. They have a feud going now, with Andrade attacking Mysterio a week ago on Smackdown. This, and the fact that none of them is in the WWE Championship match is surely building to another possible show-stealer for Andrade and Mysterio.
We could watch these two wrestle each other every week, they are that good together. It seems to be building towards a Rey Mysterio victory, but it is fine. The feud will go on. Mask vs Hair at WrestleMania, anyone?
