6 Predictions for Elimination Chamber 2018

RAW's final stop on the road to WrestleMania is in the form of the Elimination Chamber. We'll be witness to the first-ever Women's Elimination Chamber match. Although only four matches have been announced, a teased bout is Titus Worldwide vs The Bar.

The special attraction of the show is former UFC Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey signing her Monday Night RAW contract. While the direction of a few matches is fairly cleary, there's a lot of uncertainty with respect to plans for The Grandest Stage Of Them All.

Hopefully, it isn't as predictable as many hope for it to be, and WWE delivers a solid PPV. Last year, Elimination Chamber was a SmackDown Live PPV, where Bray Wyatt won the WWE Championship for the first time. The only two participants from last year who are present this year are John Cena and The Miz.

Here's what we think will go down on RAW's final stop on the road to WrestleMania.

#6 Asuka vs Nia Jax

The two unstoppable forces will clash for the third time

This match has an interesting stipulation. If Nia Jax defeats Asuka, not only does she end her prestigious 250+ win streak, but she will be added to the championship match at WrestleMania that Asuka is guaranteed to be involved in.

As we know, Asuka is the winner of the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble match. Whether she chooses the RAW Women's Championship or SmackDown Women's Championship at WrestleMania is yet to be decided.

WWE has built Nia Jax as the single biggest threat to Asuka, although she's faced her on two occasions in NXT, both bouts being for the NXT Women's Championship. Asuka was successful on both occasions. With WWE giving Asuka a major push, less than a month off her historic Royal Rumble win, it's unlikely that her streak has come to a scratching halt on a B-PPV.(Though the same thing was said about Charlotte's PPV streak, which ended at Fastlane 2017).

Prediction: Asuka defeats Nia Jax

#5 "Woken" Matt Hardy vs Bray Wyatt

Enter capti — Will Matt Hardy finally have a successful outing against The Eater Of Worlds?

This match is definitely going to get featured time given the lack of matches on the PPV. However, it'll definitely be used as a filler match. It's possible it'll be used to cool the crowd down between the two Chamber matches.

Expect a very low crowd volume, and rightfully so. At this point, there's complete lack of interest in the feud and it's sad to see how far Bray has fallen in the span of the year. Bray Wyatt won their last bout on RAW 25, so expect "Woken" Matt Hardy to get the win back.

Prediction: "Woken" Matt Hardy defeats Bray Wyatt

#4 The Bar(c) vs Titus Worldwide - RAW Tag Team Championship(match not confirmed)

Although this match isn't confirmed, Titus Worldwide challenged The Bar after RAW for a tag team title match at Elimination Chamber. This would be their second crack at the titles against the current champions.

On the go-home episode of RAW this past week, Titus Worldwide defeated The Bar in a non-title match, giving them a valid claim to challenge the 4-time champions for another shot at the titles

It would be a fresh change if Titus Worldwide were to win the titles. While The Bar is a great team, they've been tag champions for a good part of last year, and a change would be great. That being said, Titus Worldwide just looks to be a filler feud until WrestleMania for The Bar.

Prediction: The Bar defeats Titus Worldwide to retain the RAW Tag Team Championship

#3 Women's Elimination Chamber - RAW Women's Championship

Enter captio — Which woman will survive the first-ever Women's Elimination Chamber match?

The participants of the Women's Elimination Chamber match are Alexa Bliss(c), Sasha Banks, Bayley, Mickie James, Sonya DeVille & Mandy Rose.

Paige would definitely have been a part of the match, but she's unfortunately, going to be missing it due to her rumoured career-ending injury at a live event. Her appearance will be limited to leading Absolution to the ring.

The dynamic of the match is undoubtedly going to be an interesting one. Sasha Banks and Bayley are expected to be the two best performers of the match, but Mickie James' veteran experience adds a new flavour to this first-ever match as well. Sonya DeVille and Mandy Rose are the two newcomers, so they'll definitely be under pressure to up their game for this bout.

A surprising exclusion is Dana Brooke. Kurt Angle justified Nia Jax's absence due to her match against Asuke, but Dana Brooke would likely have been a better choice for the match than Mandy Rose.

Expect this match to go on for about an hour or so, with either Sasha or Bayley being the iron woman of the match. Alexa Bliss will likely retain the championship once again here, possibly setting up a match at WrestleMania against Nia Jax, assuming Asuka challenges Charlotte Flair after Fastlane.

Prediction: Alexa Bliss wins to retain the RAW Women's Championship

#2 Ronda Rousey's contract signing

It's well-known by now that Ronda Rousey's appearance at Elimination Chamber is to sell more tickets for their show in Las Vegas. Whether it's helped or not is yet to be known. However, what will likely be known is her direction for WrestleMania.

When Ronda Rousey made her appearance after the main event at Royal Rumble, all she did was point to the WrestleMania sign, try shaking Asuka's hand, had a tense interaction with Stephanie, pointed at the sign once again, and left. Since then, not much has been heard of other than the fact that she's signed full-time with WWE.

That itself was a tricky way to put it, because she's expected to work a Brock Lesnar type of schedule, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

The rumoured direction is for her to be involved in a mixed tag team match against Stephanie McMahon and Triple H. Her tag team partner? The two heavily rumoured names as of now are Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins. However, rumours have come out of late suggesting that the direction for Strowman is an Intercontinental title match against The Miz, while Seth Rollins is now rumoured to be taking on Kurt Angle.

Both competitors make sense for the spot. While Rollins does have history with Triple H, their chapter was seemingly closed at WrestleMania 33, Braun Strowman has a more fresh rivalry with The Game. Triple H and Strowman were the two survivors of the Survivor Series 2017 RAW vs SmackDown Live men's match, and the babyface Strowman attacked Triple H, also scaring him off a night later on RAW.

Unfortunately, nothing has come to fruition with that feud, and it's unlikely WWE will do anything about it either. That does leave a big question mark as to who could team with Rousey.

Prediction: Ronda Rousey gets into an altercation with Stephanie McMahon

#1 - Men's Elimination Chamber match - Universal Championship #1 contenders match

Easily the most anticipated match of the night, the star-studded structure will be filled with seven superstars for the first time ever. The match participants are Roman Reigns, John Cena, Elias, Braun Strowman, The Miz, Seth Rollins & Finn Balor.

The match will be started off with three participants: The Miz, Seth Rollins & Finn Balor. The Miz lost a match against John Cena on RAW to become the first person to enter the Chamber match. Seth Rollins & Finn Balor were confirmed to also start the match, as per Kurt Angle.

The last entrant will be Elias, who won the right to enter the Chamber last after beating John Cena and Braun Strowman in a triple threat match.

While it's fairly obvious who is going to match, what fans will be tuning in for more will be to see what feuds will be confirmed at WrestleMania. So far, one expected direction is Braun Strowman vs The Miz, while The Undertaker is rumoured to be making an appearance, setting up a match against John Cena.

Finn Balor's direction for WrestleMania is not known at the moment. What is known is the winner of the match, which is beyond question.

Prediction: Roman Reigns wins the Elimination Chamber match to become #1 contender for the Universal Championship

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