Didn’t we just have a pay-per-view?
It sure seems like a very fast turnaround between pay-per-views this time around. That being said, SmackDown has done a very nice job of building a solid card for this Sunday’s show. This card is naturally headlined by the Elimination Chamber match itself.
There are a lot of solid storylines going into the show. Will AJ get his revenge? Will The Miz or Corbin establish themselves as the top heels of the blue brand? Will Bray finally get his moment in the sun? Will John Cena be on his way to WrestleMania as champion?
With these questions in mind, I present my list of the top five most likely twists to the 2017 Elimination Chamber Match:
#5 Baron Corbin has a Dean problem
It is quite clear that WWE is very high on Baron Corbin. He won the Andre the Giant Battle Royal in his Main Roster debut, has won most of his pay-per-view matches and has had multiple main events on Smackdown Live!
He has even proven himself to be a quality talker as a very frequent guest on “Talking Smack”.
It seems quite obvious with the thin Smackdown roster that he will be involved in the main event scene very soon. Will that be this Sunday? It would be out of character for the WWE to give him the title in his very first Elimination Chamber, but a strong showing doesn’t seem out of question.
Also read: 5 WWE superstars with the worst Elimination Chamber records
The person that should be involved in his finish is Dean. It would be a simple set-up to a WrestleMania match to have Dean being eliminated by the Lone Wolf but he can then turn around and cost Baron his chance at the title.
I mean Dean is unpredictable, why not cheat? We cannot see a current match for the IC Title, why not set-up this fresh match. Both would have a legit complaint going into WrestleMania, thus setting up their match.
#4 The Miz is about to win but…
Has anyone been a better heel post-brand split than The Miz? He has taken this unique opportunity to not only increase the intensity of his already excellent promo skills but has put on some of the best matches of his career with Dolph Ziggler, for the Intercontinental Title.
While it would have seemed laughable to have him in the WWE title picture just a few months ago, he seems like a more than credible threat now. That being said, I think he will fall just short.
A lot of attention has been going to the other competitors in the Elimination Chamber and The Miz seems like he could be lost in the shuffle. I think he will get really close to winning, as he would make a credible final opponent for one of the faces in the match.
The Miz seems on his way to winning the title when Daniel Bryan arrives to make sure things are remaining fair. We have seen a thing as simple as a Superstar's music playing or even an argument costing a match.
The Miz falling short seems a good way to keep the storyline going. The end result will be fun to see.
#3 AJ Styles falls short and begins his face push
Is there a better wrestler in the WWE then AJ Styles? Has he ever had a bad match in the WWE? We will be hard-pressed to find a better match in the WWE in 2017 than his classic with John Cena at the Royal Rumble 2017. It was another in their series of classic encounters.
That is why I am worried that AJ doesn’t seem to have a better path to the WrestleMania card right now. He would seem to have a legitimate complaint that this match is not a one on one rematch with Cena.
Since the crowd is currently cheering him more and more at each Smackdown, giving him the title at the Chamber could be the jump start of a successful babyface run for the Phenomenal One.
The best way to do a face run for Styles, however, would be to have him fall short. It could be Bray Wyatt using his Family to pull out the cheap win.
This way, AJ would have a fair complaint against Shane McMahon, who, in turn could turn heel on a now-face AJ.
While I am unsure whether all of us need another evil McMahon, nobody can ignore the cheers that Styles has been getting for much longer. This would be a great place to start his face turn.
#2 John Cena retains clean overcoming the odds again
I know it isn’t exactly the most exciting “twist” but it seems likely. John Cena overcoming the talented Smackdown roster and keeping the WWE title. Whatever you think of John Cena, you cannot dispute the high quality of his matches in the last few years.
He has made his matches into must-see affairs that have usually stolen the show at the pay-per-views they’re on. I don’t know if being a 16-time World Champion really is that big a deal really in the grand scheme of things but Cena certainly has proven his worth in the chase for that record.
I give it a really good chance, therefore, that the reign won’t end this week.
There are rumours floating that Cena could lose on Sunday. It still seems a bit strange to me though, the 16-time World Champion losing in just 14 days. That would be playing hot potato with the title in a very rare way.
We could have Cena overcome the odds with interference by the allies of the heels but still find a way to pull it off, thus continuing the reign. It isn’t like it is that big a deal anyway.
We would still have a month and a half to change the title as needed. You could do it later and allow his important reign to continue for a few more weeks.
#1 Bray Wyatt wins the title with help from Randy Orton
This seems to be the obvious and smartest choice. Since we literally just saw Cena versus Orton on Smackdown, why run it again at WrestleMania 33? The Bray Wyatt versus Randy Orton match for the title seems like the perfect route to go. It just doesn’t seem like it will be a clean finish to get there, however.
Bray hasn’t been able to win a major match without help from The Viper, in the past few months.
Bray winning the match seems quite the logical choice but it would help the story a lot if Randy could claim some bragging rights in the encounter. Randy could hold it over Wyatt in the coming months that he helped him win the WWE Championship.
Bray hasn’t exactly been running wild with a lot of big match victories over the years, heck, he lost to the nearly 50-year old Kane on PPV last year. He never has been able to successfully get over that hump.
While this seems the obvious and logical choice, haven’t we seen Bray have the rug pulled out from under him before? I hope on Sunday that this unique character gets his due and brings home the WWE title, even if it requires a little cheating.
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