In the T-Mobile Arena of Paradise, Nevada, the Raw-Brand Sunday night at Elimination Chamber sets the course for WrestleMania.
The focus will be on the two elimination chamber matches between women and men, where the questions of who will be the Raw Women’s Champion and who will be the Raw Women’s Championess respectively. the WWE Championship from Brock Lesnar to New Orleans.
Schlauchy: After the transformation/awakening of Matt, Bray was the perfect first opponent to establish the gimmick. The problem, however, is that the gimmick does not really want to establish itself in the WWE universe. Aggravating is the fact that the feud has been going on for a long time and was watered down completely, but the big PPV fight was missing so far. Bray’s squash win at Raw25 significantly aggravates the irrelevance of the game. The fascination that was supposed to emanate from this feud could never have arisen and Matt will probably never become a singles star despite his new gimmick in the WWE. Jeff is and remains the Hardy star. Nevertheless, I’m betting on a win for Matt Hardy, because everything is already too late for Wyatt anyway and somehow the WWE has to try to save the Woken gimmick. Do you see the subject as dark as I do?
Kneisel: The question is: does WWE want to save the whole thing at all? Or did those responsible just want to show how ridiculous an “Indy”gimmick looks in the big shark tank WWE and milk it for a short time before Matt ends up in the team with Jeff again? It’s all theory, but I wouldn’t rule out anything with Vince. I find the feud absolutely gruesome and Matt, who was so enthusiastic about it at Impact, is just embarrassed and I don’t want to talk about Bray any more, the guy has reached a low point that even Dolph Ziggler was fortunately spared. What’s more, the matches so far have been far from great, the preparations and results didn’t make any sense and I expect nothing here, too. Matt Hardy’s gonna win because Bray’s Bray.
Kneisel: We already had the pairing at NXT and I assume that it will be similar in the Main Roster: Nia will dominate, the fans will/should tremble for Asuka’s winning streak and in the end the Emperess of Tomorrow unleashes a kick-series with which she knocks Jax out. Or alternatively she forces her to tap by guillotine choke, as in the past. already in Nia vs. Bayley happened. Even though Jax has improved noticeably and now pulls out some decent pops, I can only smile at rumours that she will finish Asuka’s winning streak next Sunday. You too?
Schlauchy: The fact that Asuka loses clean would be ruled out, but I can imagine that Jax doesn’t get ripped off and pinned here. With her one has big plans for WrestleMania. Nia is, as you said, improved in the ring, but I don’t see her as a champion. Since she is supposed to play against Bliss at the World Cup, I don’t see any defeat here either and I’m betting on a double countout, even though I’d rather have Asuka’s victory over worlds.
Schlauchy: The right step in the evolution of the women’s division. In contrast to the blue brand, Raw also has a suitable roster in the width to make such a match successful. What has been done to women in recent years is impressive. Sure, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville couldn’t convince me yet and as a participant of the chamber I am not really enthusiastic. In addition to these two, Mickie James’ victory can also be ruled out. Finally, I expect Sasha Banks and Bayley will continue to advance their feud and Sasha will do her final heelturn. As all opponents will automatically disqualify themselves for a win, Alexa Bliss will defend the title after an entertaining match in which Bayley and Sasha will undoubtedly have the highlights.
Kneisel: Perfect analysis, what else should I add? The Raw Women’s Division is really strong and clearly outshines the blue counterpart. Rose and Deville were brought up for the rumble without much thought being given to their future – Paig’s injury made the whole thing even more complicated. I’m assuming the formation of small groups, Alexa&Mickie vs. Sasha&Bayley vs. Sonya&Mandy. After Absolution is gone, Sasha Bayley and Alexa Mickie will go behind the scenes to determine the title. However, I don’t want to rule out the possibility that Ronda Rousey will not only win her contract but also win the first WWE match after she has replaced James. If Ronda is in the match, she wins it too. I hope, however, that they will save their debut for WrestleMania, where they will meet the new Raw Women’s Champion Sasha Banks. Simply because I believe that Banks vs. Rousey will pull significantly better than Bliss vs. Rousey and I don’t see any other alternatives.
Page 1: Hardy vs. Wyatt, Asuka vs. Nia Jax and Women’s Elimination Chamber
Page 2: Men’s Elimination Chamber and Forecast