WWE Elimination Chamber 2017 Preview and Predictions

This is a show.

Giving their thoughts and predictions on what to expect from the PPV are members of the site @JoeyOnEarth, @TimWelcomed and @TomBlargh.

 

Mojo Rawley vs. Curt Hawkins on the kick-off

Joey:

I don’t have to watch the kick-off show. Perfect!

(Can someone alert me if they team together to throw Zack Ryder and his wheelchair off the stage?)

Interest Level: 0/10
Prediction: Mojo does a 90s dance and Curt Hawkins makes weird faces.

Tim:

Well, I don’t know what we did to deserve this but I guess I’ll make it through the punishment. I forget Hawkins is on the roster constantly which is probably for the best. This being on the card at all shows how lackluster the Smackdown roster really is.

Interest Level: 0/10
Prediction: Mojo Rawley wins but we lose.

Tom:

I thought they were a tag team!

Interest Level: 1/10
Prediction: Mojo Rawley wins.

Randy Orton vs. Luke Harper

Joey:

Great addition to the card. Randy Orton is the one of the lamest human beings in wrestling, but he has decent enough matches. Luke Harper is awesome. Given the lack of depth on this card, these two could steal the show.

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: Randy Orton wins.

Tim:

This is far more exciting to me than Orton vs Wyatt. Orton can have good matches when he’s in the ring with the right opponent and it just so happens that Luke Harper is great. I am loving that he’s finally getting a little more focus because he’s the most talented of the whole Wyatt Family and Smackdown’s roster could really use him breaking out. He’s just a roadblock for Orton here but I’m sure he’ll come out of this match looking better than ever.

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: “The Viper” Randy Orton wins.

Tom:

This could be a neat little match – I like Harper a lot though I’m not sure exactly what the future holds for him. I assume he’ll be back to being Bray’s sweaty boyfriend in time for him to feud with Orton, but it will be interesting to see how he’ll do in a fairly high-profile match.

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: Randy Orton wins.

Apollo Crews and Kalisto vs. Dolph Ziggler

Joey:

What a mess. Apollo Crews and Kalisto deserve better. If they throw Dolph Ziggler off the stage, these two could be the next top stars for Smackdown. Hopefully WWE doesn’t blow this opportunity.

Interest Level: 1/10
Prediction: Apollo Crews and Kalisto win.

Tim:

We all know what needs to happen here but I’ll say it anyway. Dolph Ziggler needs to lose a handicapped match to these two great talents. If there’s one person I want to see not overcome the odds it’s Ziggler. I think it is going to happen. If we all believe this will be the outcome we can will it into existence.

Interest Level: 2 (for my boys Kalisto and Apollo Crews)/10
Prediction: Apollo Crews and Kalisto win.

Tom:

What? It’s a handicap match? What is going on in Smackdown? I haven’t really been paying attention lately and this match’s existence makes me think that’s probably for the best. Anyway, not sure why this is happening, seems like a bad idea.

Interest Level: 3/10
Prediction: Dolph Ziggler wins.

 

Becky Lynch vs. Mickie James

Joey:

I’m not a big fan of Mickie James but this could be a fun match. Becky Lynch is still the best all-around performer in the Smackdown women’s division and I really hope she’s back in the title picture come WrestleMania time. I badly want this to be a short-term feud to pass time instead of her long-term plans heading into WM.

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: Becky Lynch wins.

Tim:

I like Mickie James right now. She’s had some rough moments here and there but I think she is fun enough to watch wrestle, plus there are some new match-ups for her like this one. I’m not sure what Smackdown’s plans for the women are at WrestleMania but I would assume it will be Lynch vs Bliss for the title again with Lynch getting it back. I would be fine with James getting a win to build her up a little more but she’s a sidekick to the main story right now so it really doesn’t need to happen. Pretty excited to see how these two work together.

Interest Level: 8/10
Prediction: Becky Lynch wins.

Tom:

Bell bottom trousers and weirdly delivered promos aside, Mickie James has been pretty good in her return so far, though the Smackdown women’s division feels a little messier than it has in previous months. Not that messy is a bad thing, but it would be nice to see things tighten up a little as we approach WrestleMania.

Interest Level: 7/10
Prediction: Becky Lynch wins.

Nikki Bella vs. Natalya

Joey:

They have done a good job creating interest in this feud. I’ve really enjoyed Nikki Bella’s recent run. Natalya’s heel antics are always a funny time. The match should be fine. I’m expecting Natalya to win here. Rumors of Nikki leaving and likely getting a win at WrestleMania would make you assume that she does the job here to help make Nattie credible in the heel role.

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: Natalya wins.

Tim:

This feud has been a very entertaining time! I’m expecting Nikki Bella gets the win here to end this feud and move on to the WrestleMania build. I just hope she beats Natalya with a *whispers* Shaaaaarpshoooooter.

Interest Level: 5/10
Prediction: Nikki Bella wins.

Tom:

Is this the big blow-off match for their sensational feud? Hope so! Also, did you see Nikki’s impression of Nattie? It was alright, though Renee is the highlight.

Interest Level: 4/10
Prediction: Nikki Bella wins.

American Alpha vs. The Usos vs. The Vaudevillains vs. Breezango vs. The Ascension vs. Heath Slater and Rhyno for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship

Joey:

American Alpha and The Usos are the only teams I care for in this match. I’m hopeful they are the final two teams remaining and get the majority of time. My guess is The Revival will debut as a mystery team at the end to steal the win. A team like The Revival will need a huge push to start off things or they will flop right away.

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: The Revival wins.

Tim:

The tag team divisions are still shit. I’m going to say American Alpha willdrop the belts here. The Usos will win them and then we’ll head towards WrestleMania looking at American Alpha challenging The Usos for those beautiful blue belts on the six-hour pre-show. All Smackdown belts should be blue and silver, by the way. Sorry, got sidetracked. Not interested in this too much. Only two teams worth caring about. The Slater and Rhyno thing lasted as long as it needed to but neither character has anywhere else to go now. Everyone else is gimmicked to Goofville and will never get the character development they need to make it work on the main roster. Most of them are too far gone.

Interest Level: 3/10
Prediction: The Usos win.

Tom:

I feel like we’ve seen this match about five times already. Is this just going to be used as evidence that American Alpha don’t have any worthwhile competition on Smackdown so a new team needs to be debuted, or do they literally have no other ideas for the tag division? Any chance to see Breezango on PPV is a welcome treat though.

Interest Level: 6/10
Prediction: American Alpha wins.

Alexa Bliss vs. Naomi for the Smackdown Women’s Championship

Joey:

Naomi has been tremendous lately and I’ve loved the push. At almost any other time, I think she would win the title but I can’t see it happening right now. Alexa Bliss losing the title wouldn’t make sense at the moment. I’m really digging her title reign and think she’s the right person to head into WrestleMania as the champion. However, I wouldn’t be opposed to Naomi winning. She has the momentum.

Interest Level: 8/10
Prediction: Alexa Bliss wins.

Tim:

Alexa Bliss is an incredible talent. She is one of the main reasons to watch Smackdown every week. She has been a great heel champion and it should stay that way. Naomi has been on fire lately and I am so into it. She has that killer entrance to match it as well. I’m excited to watch this one and would love for Naomi to keep the momentum necessary to get back in the title scene later in the year. It’s just not time for Bliss to lose the strap.

Interest Level: 8/10
Prediction: Alexa Bliss wins.

Tom:

I’m into this. It’s been long enough since we last saw Naomi get a shot for a women’s title that I’m interested to see how it goes and Alexa is a fun champion.

Also – we all decided we are eight out of ten excited for this match, how about that.

Interest Level: 8/10
Prediction: Alexa Bliss wins.

John Cena vs. AJ Styles vs. The Miz vs. Baron Corbin vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship

Joey:

I think they picked the right six guys for this match. Elimination Chamber matches are usually hit or miss for me. The talent involved in this one should make it work. John Cena and AJ Styles are by far the best things on Smackdown right now. Baron Corbin and The Miz are great acts on the rise. Dean Ambrose has tuned up his consistency.

Of course this all means Bray Wyatt will be the one to win. I personally think Orton vs. Wyatt is the least interesting realistic Smackdown title match at WrestleMania. The booking around it is even flawed. Wyatt is the younger star in need of a big moment. Why not have him be the one to win the Rumble and get his moment at WM by defeating Orton for the title?

The booking here is such a mess. Cena’s record-breaking title reign will be pointless. Styles’ momentum is going downhill. Wyatt will *likely* have a forgettable title win. Orton and Wyatt will have a tough task at WrestleMania. All that being said, I am looking forward to the work in the match on Sunday. It should at least be a good match even with all the flaws surrounding and coming from it.

Interest Level: 9/10
Prediction: Bray Wyatt wins.

Tim:

The match itself is something that I’m looking forward to but what a mess we have ahead of us. I’m not into the Wyatt/Orton stuff at all. You had AJ Styles as a strong champion for months and have him drop it to Cena which is fine but now we will likely have Cena dropping it to Wyatt so soon. Congrats on the 16th win, I guess. I just wanted to gripe about bullshit for a second, is that okay? This has some great wrestlers in it and could be one of the best chamber matches in history if it’s laid out correctly. Bring it on. I’m in the mood for an Elimination Chamber match.

Interest Level: 10/10
Prediction: Bray Wyatt wins.

Tom:

If Mauro doesn’t reference the “UNFORGIVING, UNBREAKABLE LEXAN GLASS” at least five times during the match then he should absolutely be given his marching orders. The build for this has been surprisingly good for a multi-man mess, especially given they only had a couple of weeks to prep for it. It’s depressing that the result seems like a foregone conclusion, though maybe there’ll be a surprise? Possibly? Yeah, probably not.

Anyway. Keen to seeing what all the Chamber newbies do with the environment, or at least I’m excited for Corbs and AJ doing silly things – I can’t remember if Ambrose or Wyatt have been in Chamber matches before, but I find it’s best not to expect much of anything from those two in the hopes you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Interest Level: 9/10
Prediction: Bray Wyatt wins.