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The 2021 Elimination Chamber PPV should end a lot of current WWE storylines. Some feuds have run their courses and lasted longer than they should have, while other storylines will continue through the Elimination Chamber PPV.
The Chamber match itself is usually a good occasion to blend several current storylines. Each Elimination Chamber match should be able to accomplish that. On Monday Night RAW, WWE Champion Drew McIntyre has been battling Randy Orton. More recently, he's been dealing with a heel turn from Sheamus. The Miz is also part of the WWE title picture with his status as Mr. Money in the Bank.
In SmackDown's Elimination Chamber contest, Owens will aim to get another Universal Championship shot against Reigns. Jey Uso and King Corbin will also wrestle in the same match to earn a shot at the title. But Reigns is the heel titleholder, so he'll probably be battling a babyface on the same night. That means that either Owens, Daniel Bryan, or Cesaro will win SmackDown's Elimination Chamber match.
Not everything that has been happening on RAW and SmackDown should stop just because the Elimination Chamber PPV is here. Some ongoing angles should continue while others should not. Here are three storylines that should end at the Elimination Chamber PPV and two that should continue through it.
#1 Storyline that should end at Elimination Chamber - Carmella vs. Sasha Banks
When Carmella returned from a long hiatus during 2020, she immediately targeted SmackDown Women's Champion Sasha Banks. Carmella turned heel and tried to win the title from The Boss. However, she was unsuccessful in three attempts. Carmella did pin Banks in a tag team match but failed in each bid to win the title.
The women's roster for the blue brand isn't as deep as on RAW, so that has forced WWE to book Sasha vs. Carmella for a few months. Had things played out differently in the 2020 WWE Draft, then someone like Peyton Royce or Shayna Baszler could have been drafted to Friday Night SmackDown. If that had happened, then Carmella and Sasha's feud wouldn't have lasted so long.
Bianca Belair hasn't yet decided on her WrestleMania challenge, but it's assumed she will face Banks at The Show of Shows. Bianca, Sasha, and Carmella were in the ring together last week, foreshadowing that Carmella wasn't going to stop her pursuit of the SmackDown Women's belt. There isn't enough steam left in Sasha and Carmella's rivalry for it to extend after the Elimination Chamber is over. This is why Carmella's chase of the SmackDown Women's belt should end at the upcoming PPV.
#1 Storyline that should continue after Elimination Chamber - The Sami Zayn Conspiracy
The alleged conspiracy against Sami Zayn in WWE is an entertaining storyline that could go in several directions after the Elimination Chamber PPV is over. Zayn is fantastic on the mic and can turn anything that happens into a reason why WWE management might be holding him back.
Had he and King Corbin not defeated the Mysterios on SmackDown last week, then that would have given him another reason to complain. Since he's in the Elimination Chamber match, something should happen to add to his pre-existing distrust of WWE management.
Perhaps WWE could book Zayn as one of the first two competitors in the Chamber match. It would significantly reduce his chances of winning the multi-man contest. On the other hand, a miscommunication with a referee could take The Great Liberator out of the match.
Zayn is great on the mic and should find another reason to further his conspiracy agenda. That could lead to a feud with anyone from the Mysterios to even Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura.
#2 Storyline that should end at Elimination Chamber - Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens
Kevin Owens will get another opportunity to face Roman Reigns if he can win SmackDown's Elimination Chamber match. While Owens' work on the mic and in matches with Reigns has been top-notch, this feud needs to end.
WWE usually sets the limit of an ongoing feud to three PPV matches. When it extends past that stage, it seems like there aren't any fresh ideas to stem the tide.
The former Universal Champion had a legitimate gripe in the first two matches as Jey Uso played heavily into the finishes of both contests. They had a huge third match at the Royal Rumble where Reigns beat the Prizefighter for the third time in a row.
While a challenger will win SmackDown's Elimination Chamber match to face Reigns at the PPV, Owens has had his shots at the Universal Championship. He's one of the best performers in WWE, but someone else should get the next few shots at the Tribal Chief.
There is also the possibility that Reigns could defend his title several times before WrestleMania. Those potential title shots - and the one at Elimination Chamber - should be saved for someone other than Owens. The Tribal Chief's heel reign as Universal Champion is also probably why WWE needed to change both Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura to babyface characters on SmackDown.
#2 Storyline that should continue after Elimination Chamber - Randy Orton vs. the Fiend
The feud between Randy Orton and The Fiend seems like it will definitely play into Elimination Chamber somehow. Despite burning The Fiend alive at TLC, Orton has had to face the wrath of Alexa Bliss in Bray Wyatt's absence.
It has been established that The Fiend will be coming back at some point and he could be influencing Alexa's actions. It's a good way to keep the storyline going in Wyatt's absence. In the gauntlet match on the most recent episode of RAW, Bliss even cost Orton a chance at entering the Elimination Chamber contest last.
It all seems to be leading to a big match at WrestleMania 37 and presumably a cinematic one. Wyatt and Orton have a lot of history to play off and revisit, so it is reasonable to assume that something will happen at the Elimination Chamber to prolong the feud between Orton and the Fiend.
If the angle was supposed to be over, then Bliss wouldn't be tormenting The Viper week after week.
It's hard to treat either star as the face in the feud, as both sides have done terrible things to the other. But Orton did burn The Fiend alive and has done many more despicable things to WWE stars. For that reason alone, Wyatt's alter-ego needs to return in some form to exact revenge on Orton for all of his transgressions. The Fiend or Alexa Bliss could very well play into Orton's elimination at the Elimination Chamber PPV.
#3 Storyline that should end at Elimination Chamber - Asuka's involvement in Lacey Evans and Charlotte Flair's saga
Asuka, Lacey Evans, and Charlotte Flair have all had a strange path to the Elimination Chamber PPV. Since Charlotte's return to WWE following a brief hiatus, she's been associated with the RAW Women's Champion, Asuka. Charlotte and Asuka became the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions but lost their belts to Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax at Royal Rumble.
Things started to get strange well before the Elimination Chamber event when Evans mainly served as a distraction to Flair. Evans would come out during The Queen's matches. She even caused Asuka and Charlotte to lose their titles back to Nia and Shayna.
The Sassy Southern Belle was expected to face Asuka for the RAW Women's Championship at the Elimination Chamber PPV. On the latest episode of RAW, however, that plan drastically changed. Evans revealed she was pregnant after refusing to take part in a tag team match against The Empress of Tomorrow and The Queen. In the storyline, it's implied that Ric Flair is the father. According to reports, however, Evans is legitimately pregnant. Ric Flair's involvement is all part of kayfabe.
If WWE wants to run a soap-opera type of storyline, that is fine. But Asuka is the RAW Women's Champion, and it doesn't add a lot of legitimacy to her reign. She should be the focus of the women's division and not a secondary player in a feud.
The Flair family drama has engulfed Asuka as a casualty. Asuka's involvement in this storyline needs to end so the focus can be put back on her as the Champion. Her reign may not last for much longer as Flair tried to get a title shot out of her partner before the whole drama with Evans began.
It's not clear if The Sassy Southern Belle will still play a non-wrestling role and appear alongside The Nature Boy on RAW. But if the Flair family drama is going to continue past the Elimination Chamber event, then Asuka needs to be taken out of it right away.
