Elimination Chamber comes to you LIVEEEE tonight from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the last RAW pay-per-view before WrestleMania and by the time the smoke clears, many, if not all, of RAW’s major storylines going into New Orleans will be set in stone. That includes the questions surrounding what Ronda Rousey’s involvement in the big show will be, as she’ll be making her first appearance post-Royal Rumble.

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Preshow 

Match #1: Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson vs Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel (The Miztourage)

Well, this is certainly a throwaway. If the rumors are true and Braun Strowman is indeed working with The Miz at Mania over the IC title, Dallas and Axel will have a huge part in what will really allow that storyline to build for the long stretch. Tonight though, they’re working filler with Gallows and Anderson, who are once again lost in the shuffle because of Finn Balor’s involvement in the main event scene. Those two should score a nice win after a good 7-8 minute match.

Winners: Gallows and Anderson

Main Card 

Match #1: Alexa Bliss vs Bayley vs Sonya Deville vs Mandy Rose vs Mickie James vs Sasha Banks- Elimination Chamber match for the RAW Women’s Championship

Another check on the list of first-time-ever matches for the women. Half of the competitors I would not have picked myself, but what are you gonna do? Sasha Banks and, as weird as it is for me to say, Deville and Rose, will most likely do the most here, given their personalities, while Alexa will try and do anything….hide in a corner, duck and dodge, etc., she can to hold onto her championship.

I think WWE is really relying on Sasha to steal the show. Whatever her story is with Bayley in this match will keep it interesting, but ultimately, I think it will come down to Banks and Bliss. Excessive coronations have become the norm in the women’s division, but I feel like we just might get another one here.

Winner: Sasha Banks

Match #2: “Woken” Matt Hardy vs Bray Wyatt

If WWE really wanted to, they could have held off on these two touching each other for months, leading to an interesting WrestleMania match. Instead, they’ve wrestled each other multiple times before on WWE TV since Matt’s “Woken” gimmick was introduced, making this match sort of obsolete. Bray Wyatt, frustratingly, continues to be one of the most underutilized talents on the roster, and a recurring feud with Matt Hardy, that is going nowhere, is not doing him any favors. I can see Hardy winning tonight, but does it actually mean anything at this point?

Winner: Matt Hardy

Match #3: Cesaro and Sheamus vs Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews- RAW Tag-Team Championship match

It’s nice to see Sheamus and Cesaro facing new challengers, but unlike on Smackdown where creative has ONCE AGAIN stuck The Usos into a feud with New Day, after harping on and on about how their Hell In A Cell match was their last encounter, RAW’s problem is that the remaining teams just aren’t at championship level yet. Apollo Crews is excellent and Titus O’Neil is…..fine, but it still feels like there is a lot of work to be done there. Hoping for a competitive match, but for a solid win for Cesaro and Sheamus

Winners: Sheamus and Cesaro

Match #4: Asuka vs Nia Jax

It is incredibly obvious that WWE forgets its audience remembers things. While Asuka and Nia have had some really great matches in both NXT and on the main roster, Asuka is still undefeated. Therefore she has beaten Nia every single time. So for Nia to get on the mic and say “Asuka can’t beat me” and act like unstoppable force that she should be just makes no sense in that situation.

I think WWE put themselves in a corner with this Asuka thing, because if she chooses to face the RAW champion, all of the viable contenders in the chamber match are all girls she’s already beaten. They seem to be really straying away from the idea of her wrestling Charlotte, which would be the best option, but we’ll see. I’m not saying a fully fleshed out program between Asuka and Sasha Banks wouldn’t be interesting, but we JUST saw the match a few weeks ago. Sasha lost, clean. It’s time to move on.

Nia is very over right now and I think the general consensus is that the fans WANT to see her as champion, but it’s not going to happen right now. Putting her in the title match will just be another tease, and that’s not what we want.

Winner: Asuka

Match #5: John Cena vs Elias vs The Miz vs Seth Rollins vs Finn Balor vs Roman Reigns vs Braun Strowman- Elimination Chamber match

This is really an excellent crop of guys for a match like this. The Gauntlet match on RAW was an excellent way to get eyes back onto Seth Rollins, who for months had been involved in his never-ending feud with Sheamus and Cesaro. Now, even though he’s not a realistic pick by any means, the casual viewer sees him as a threat. Someone like Elias could act as the ironman of the match, making the impact that he just failed of making the Royal Rumble.

The Miz will start off, preferably with Finn Balor and, especially if they’re going to put him over, Roman Reigns. Make him work for the reward. John Cena is an afterthought here….just another name, while the real stars here are Rollins, Balor and Braun Strowman. WWE can very easily go with Reigns vs Lesnar as the Mania main event again, and if we’re being honest, it’s the first time Reigns is really ready for it, or they can go with Strowman, who failed to do much of ANYTHING in his feud with Brock over the summer. A triple threat between Roman, Brock and Strowman could be interesting as well, but this chamber match should allow for one definitive challenger. I’ll go with Roman here, just because, but please WWE….surprise us.

Winner: Roman Reigns