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A seven match card is short by the standards of a WWE pay per view. Of course, it has two long Elimination Chamber matches that eat into the time that would likely be given to two or three more standard matches. I suppose that's better than the typical bloated WWE cards where half the matches are filler (well, that's the case this time, too, but seven is far better than ten or more).
As with every major show, the match order matters. The card doesn't look too endearing on paper, but smart ordering of the matches can make up for a lackluster appearance. Which match will main event? Which will be the curtain jerker? Which will be given the dead spot?
This is what tonight's show might look like.
#1 Buddy Murphy vs. Akira Tozawa
As should be expected when it comes to a Cruiserweight title match, we already know that this contest will take place on the pre-show. This honestly looks like it will be one of the better matches on the night, but WWE reportedly has no major plans for 205 Live, and constantly placing its matches in this spot shows it.
With Murphy certain to retain his title, this match is simply there to fill out the minutes and give people time to arrive. There are much worse ways the company can choose to fill out the time.
Murphy and Tozawa will have to get the newly-arrived (and arriving) people fired up for the rest of the night. We should have faith in their ability to do so. Buddy Murphy never disappoints and Akira Tozawa has a lot more in him when he's given chances such as this. This will be a fine way to start the night's festivities.
#2 Women's Elimination Chamber
The major event that's been advertised heading into this pay per view is the awarding of the newly-minted Women's Tag Team Championships. The winners of the first Elimination Chamber match on the night will take home the gold.
While that might ordinarily qualify as the main event on the night, the build to this match simply hasn't felt like a main event in the making. Instead, this will probably be the way WWE decides to open the show. It's a risky proposition, given the competitors in the match, but it makes the most sense, given what we've seen on Raw and SmackDown in the past few weeks.
The match could last for a while and there will certainly be dead spots, but it's better to have the ups and downs of this match early than waiting until later in the pay per view to do it.
#3 The Miz and Shane McMahon vs. The Usos
After the highs and lows of the Elimination Chamber match, the company would probably want a blistering match to really get the crowd into the night's festivities. A tag team title match with The Usos guarantees precisely that.
There are still lingering worries about Jimmy Uso's recent arrest and whether it negatively effects how this match is laid out, but there are reasons to be optimistic that we'll be in store for something good.
We might also begin to see the first hints that not all is as it seems with The Miz and Shane McMahon. While they'll be retaining their titles tonight, their breakup is surely coming, as they're going to have a singles match against each other at WrestleMania. This match will probably get enough time to explore that story, so The Usos will work their magic.
#4 Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush vs. Finn Balor
This match screams that it will be placed smack dab in the middle of the card. It's a midcard match if there ever was one. It should be good enough to keep people interested, but not force them to invest to such an extent that they'll be tired out for the bigger matches to come. It won't be as brisk as what came before or what will come after it, but it will be a serviceable match that will probably advance the story of the popular Finn Balor on his journey to WrestleMania.
It will get some time to advance the shenanigans involving Lio Rush, but not too much to eat into anything else. Look for Balor to come on the losing end here in some kind of dirty way, keeping him pursuing Lashley and his hype man.
#5 Men's Elimination Chamber match
Make no mistake - this match should be the main event, but I just don't think it will be, for reasons I'll get into later. It should easily be the night's best match and is the only real incentive to watch the show live, but the WWE title has never main evented a dual-branded pay per view, no matter how silly the alternative main event was. Backlash and Extreme Rules come to mind.
The six competitors in the men's Chamber will keep the crowd hot through the long time this match takes, but Daniel Bryan will emerge the victor in the end. The bigger question is if this match ultimately makes his eventual WrestleMania opponent clearer. So far, there's no hint who he'll be facing on April 7th. Let's hope that a certain Samoan Submission Machine has a good night tonight.
#6 Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin
After the Elimination Chamber match, the crowd will need to cool off. That's where the dead spot comes. This match is a dead spot match if there ever was one. WWE made a serious mistake when it gave Styles and Bryan one of those dead spots last month, but the Rumble card was stacked. Now there are much easier options in selecting a dead spot match. This is it.
Does anybody really care about this match? I'll leave that to you.
This will probably be a six or seven minute slog, which is just enough time to get everyone ready for the real attraction to come in the aftermath. Let's just hope we don't need to suffer too much in watching this, or that there will be a last minute stipulation added to paper over the weaknesses of the performers going up against each other.
#7 Ronda Rousey vs. Ruby Riott
Yes, this match really looks like it will be tonight's main event. Despite there being essentially no buildup for Riott, this match will main event because of the larger angle involved. When Charlotte Flair revealed she would be sitting at ringside, that all but guaranteed that it would go on last.
The Ronda/Charlotte/Becky angle has been overexposed to death already. I don't expect that to stop here. Unfortunately, we're going to have to go through another two months of this convoluted nonsense.
Becky Lynch might appear tonight, too, which further adds credence to its being the main event on the evening.
Ultimately, Riott is just there to fill space. This is more an angle than a match, an angle in which Ronda Rousey herself already feels like a third wheel in. No matter how much of a disservice it does to everyone involved, this is going to be the main event.
