It’s guaranteed to be a special night when Montreal hosts WWE Elimination Chamber on Saturday.
In his hometown, Sami Zayn will wrestle the biggest match of his life as he challenges Roman Reigns for the undisputed WWE universal championship. It’s a match that would have been great no matter where it took place. In Montreal, it has the chance to be perfect.
This is the first time a WWE pay-per-view has been held in Montreal since 2009. When Zayn was wrestling under a mask in Ring of Honor then, it would have been difficult to imagine that he would one day become the hottest act in WWE. The work Zayn has done during his story with The Bloodline has been incredible. Everyone involved has played their part, but Zayn is the key ingredient to making this one of the best stories in WWE history. He’s capable of making the audience feel so many different emotions. You felt bad for him when he was being manipulated by The Bloodline. You felt annoyed with him when he couldn’t see that Kevin Owens was trying to help him. You felt happy for him when he earned Jey Uso’s acceptance. And you felt tremendous joy when Zayn finally came to his senses and attacked Reigns with a steel chair at the Royal Rumble. It’s hard for an underdog like Zayn to look like a credible threat against such a dominant champion. But whether he actually has a chance to win the title, Zayn will have the crowd in Montreal believing that Saturday is his night.
The only real criticism you can have with this story is that WWE may not be going far enough with it. So much time over the last year has been spent on the relationship between Zayn and The Bloodline. After such an anticipated match at Elimination Chamber, will WWE really be able to pivot to Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes and leave Zayn out of the world title plans for WrestleMania 39? Rhodes has proved that fans are invested in his title chase, but WWE should at least be considering all of its options. It’s rare to have something this special in pro wrestling. If Zayn isn’t the person to dethrone Reigns, WWE may regret not giving this story its ideal conclusion.
With Reigns vs. Zayn as the main event, Elimination Chamber feels much more important than your typical final PPV before WrestleMania. The card for Saturday also features two matches that will take place inside the Elimination Chamber. In the women’s match, Asuka, Raquel Rodriguez, Liv Morgan, Nikki Cross, Natalya and Carmella will face off for the chance to challenge Raw women’s champion Bianca Belair at WrestleMania.
The men’s Elimination Chamber match will see Austin Theory defend his United States title against Seth Rollins, Johnny Gargano, Bronson Reed, Montez Ford and Damian Priest.
Elimination Chamber will stream live on Peacock starting at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday. Here’s a full rundown of the lineup, along with predictions for each match.
Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn for the undisputed WWE universal championship
A shocking Zayn title win would make for an amazing moment, but Reigns isn’t losing his title this close to WrestleMania. Reigns has ordered The Usos not to show up in Montreal for Elimination Chamber, which seems like it’s setting up an obvious swerve. Jey Uso—who has been the only person in The Bloodline to stand up for Zayn—will defy that order by appearing during the main event. It will seem like Jey is there to help Zayn, but he’ll ultimately decide to stay loyal to The Bloodline and cost Zayn the match.
With Zayn outnumbered after the match, Kevin Owens will make his return to save Zayn from a Bloodline beatdown. If Zayn isn’t going to become world champion, there’s no better consolation prize than reuniting with Owens in their home country. The reunion will set the stage for Zayn and Owens to challenge The Usos for the WWE tag team titles at WrestleMania.
Prediction: Roman Reigns retains
Elimination Chamber match: Asuka vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Liv Morgan vs. Nikki Cross vs. Natalya vs. Carmella
There’s only one woman in this match who should be challenging Bianca Belair at WrestleMania. Since returning in the Royal Rumble match, Asuka has shown a more aggressive side to her character and has immediately reestablished herself as one of the top stars in the women’s division. Belair vs. Asuka could be one of the best matches to take place at WrestleMania this year.
Prediction: Asuka wins
Elimination Chamber match for the United States title: Austin Theory vs. Seth Rollins vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Bronson Reed vs. Montez Ford vs. Damian Priest
Elimination Chamber matches are almost always good—and the lineup here is especially strong. With so many viable contenders, this is the hardest match to predict on the Elimination Chamber card.
Despite being the biggest star involved, Seth Rollins is probably the only participant you can rule out winning. He’s involved in a WrestleMania feud against Logan Paul and doesn’t need to be in the United States title picture. Montez Ford would be the most exciting winner. He’s overdue for a singles push and has the potential to be a future WWE world champion.
If Austin Theory is going to face John Cena at WrestleMania, the United States title doesn’t necessarily have to be on the line. Still, it would be a mistake to slow Theory’s momentum ahead of such a big match.
Prediction: Austin Theory retains
Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley
It’s surprising that this match isn’t being saved for WrestleMania. Outside of Bobby Lashley, there isn’t an obvious WrestleMania opponent for Brock Lesnar. There could be a non-finish to extend their feud, but that’s the last thing Lesnar and Lashley need right now. Their two previous matches were both marred by bad finishes. The best thing for them would be to have a great all-action match Saturday and then go their separate ways.
Lesnar got the victory in their last meeting, but Lashley eliminated him from the Royal Rumble and laid out Lesnar on Raw this past Monday. Lesnar will probably win at Elimination Chamber, with that hopefully being the catalyst for Lashley to reunite with MVP and reform the Hurt Business.
Prediction: Brock Lesnar wins
Edge and Beth Phoenix vs. Finn Bálor and Rhea Ripley
Edge and Beth Phoenix are out for revenge against the Judgment Day after Rhea Ripley took out Phoenix with a con-chair-to at Extreme Rules. As much sense as it would make for the two babyface legends to win, Ripley shouldn’t be losing before WrestleMania—even if she isn’t involved in the finish. Ripley needs to look as strong as possible ahead of her WrestleMania match against SmackDown women’s champion Charlotte Flair.
The finish here needs to be Ripley pinning Phoenix. Edge can wait until WrestleMania to defeat Bálor and finally end his feud with Judgment Day.
