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And yet another pay-per-view is upon us! It seems like Royal Rumble was just yesterday, and yet Elimination Chamber has sneaked up from behind and delivered an RKO to us all. The card is a weird one, with no Universal Championship, SmackDown Women's Championship or US title match, surprisingly. But WWE generally gets their pay-per-views right, when they try.
One of the key ingredients to any pay-per-view is the element of surprise. This is because WWE is a soap opera and the key is to make the WWE Universe tune in for the fallout episode too. WWE would be wise to book a few surprises at the pay-per-view.
When you have a surprising twist or turn take place, the ratings shoot up and a lot more eyes generally are glued to the product. Let me suggest a few surprises that could potentially take place during the course of the show.
Let me know your thoughts and views about the same in the comments.
#5 Lashley turns on Lio Rush after Balor pins him to become Intercontinental Champion
WWE obviously wants Bobby Lashley to look strong and bulletproof because he's a human brick wall, to put it quite bluntly. And therefore, they've inserted Lio Rush into the mix in a handicap match to probably have him take the fall when Finn Balor becomes the Intercontinental Champion.
One has to assume that Bobby Lashley will not take the idea of losing to Balor well. Especially if Balor pins Lio Rush to do it. And therefore, Rush may have to face the fury of Lashley in the coming weeks.
Rush could potentially turn babyface and feud with Lashley. It would be a big step up for him and could be a filler feud until Lashley moves on to someone else.
#4 Sasha Banks and Bayley implode, Nia Jax and Tamina become Tag Team Champions
WWE loves to keep the big babyface moments for WrestleMania, don't they? While we could always see Sasha Banks and Bayley pick up a win at the Elimination Chamber, WWE may decide to prolong the inevitable. And they may decide to have Nia Jax and Tamina win the title at Elimination Chamber.
There's an old saying in professional wrestling that 'the money is in the chase'. I suppose that if Sasha Banks and Bayley have a misunderstanding during the match, they may chase the titles all the way to WrestleMania. And then, they could win the belts on the 'Grandest Stage Of Them All'.
I don't think that any of the other teams in the match are ready to hold the gold yet. Maybe they will be in time, but not now.
#3 Big E replaces Kofi Kingston inside the Elimination Chamber
I was frankly surprised when Kofi Kingston decided to enter the Gauntlet match on this week's episode of SmackDown Live. I had assumed that if anyone from The New Day had to be a breakout singles performer, it would be Big E, not him.
Of course, Kofi Kingston delivered and then some on this week's episode. But what if the plan is for WWE to push Big E on the big stage instead?
I know that a lot of people will not be happy because of all the hype surrounding Kofi Kingston's career-defining performance in the Gauntlet Match. But Big E is certainly no pushover and I would, realistically, think that he has a bigger chance of becoming the WWE Champion than Kofi Kingston does.
I doubt they'll have Xavier Woods in the match, however.
#2 Randy Orton becomes WWE Champion
WWE often goes back to the well when in peril, time and again. We all know that the Becky Lynch storyline right now is a reboot of the whole Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon storyline from the Attitude Era. It's just that they know that a few proven commodities work better than others.
SmackDown Live has been scoring very poorly in terms of television viewership despite the fact that Daniel Bryan is doing a great job as a heel. The need of the hour may be to have another proven commodity hold the WWE Championship again. And this man may be WWE veteran- Randy Orton.
If Orton were to become WWE Champion, then an Orton vs. Styles storyline for WrestleMania is a much bigger deal than Bryan against anyone else I can think of. Except this man...
#1 Bray Wyatt appears inside the Elimination Chamber, costs Daniel Bryan the title
It is almost impossible to get inside the Elimination Chamber. Unless you are Bray Wyatt that is, and you have the power of teleportation. The lights could go out and Wyatt could appear directly before Daniel Bryan. Wyatt could be the man who costs Bryan his title.
And the reason for this could be very simple. Daniel Bryan has stolen his minion Erick Rowan and has turned him into his own henchman/sidekick on SmackDown Live. Bray Wyatt probably feels offended as a result and wants to get Rowan back in his fold again.
This is a storyline that could potentially continue all the way to WrestleMania 35 and beyond. And it would make a great talking point for the next episode of SmackDown Live.
What do you think?
