WWE Elimination Chamber 2019 Preview And Predictions

Elimination Chamber 2019 will be in Houston Texas at the Toyota Center tonight. The Elimination Chamber was introduced by Eric Bischoff at Survivor Series 2002. It has had its own exclusive PPV show 8 times.

Advertisement

This year, six WWE titles will be on the line including the brand new WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. The new champions will defend this new title on both RAW & SmackDown since the titles are not brand exclusive. This will be the second tag team Elimination Chamber match ever – the first being a men's tag match at Elimination Chamber 2015. The other Elimination Chamber match on the card is for the WWE Championship. Daniel Bryan is trying to become the first champion to defend and successfully retain their championship twice in Elimination Chamber history.

Here's a full preview of the card and predictions for each match.

WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match
Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Akira Tozawa

Advertisement

Buddy Murphy has been another level since coming to 205 Live. His matches have been fantastic and his character as "the best kept secret" has given him the best run of his career. He won the Cruiserweight Championship in front of his countrymen at Super Showdown in Australia in October and has held it since. In spite of having fantastic matches, Murphy's character is plateauing a bit. He needs someone to push him to show a new side of himself. Akira Tozawa will get that chance at Elimination Chamber. Tozawa, a former Cruiserweight Champion, recently defeated Hideo Itami cleanly in his final match in WWE and had a dominant showing in the Fatal-4-Way match to become #1 contender for the Cruiserweight Title while picking up pins over Humberto Carillo & Cedric Alexander. This matchup feels like more of a beginning than an end. Hopefully these two can carry this feud all the way to WrestleMania.

WINNER: Buddy Murphy via pinfall

Elimination Chamber Match to crown the first-ever Women's Tag Team Champions
Nia Jax & Tamina vs. Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan vs. Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville vs. The IIconics vs. Boss & Hug Connection vs. Carmella & Naomi

For too long the women in WWE have been relegated to multi-wrestler matches with nothing to fight for if they weren't in the Women's Title picture. On the Christmas episode of RAW, Vince McMahon announced the creation of WWE Women's Tag Team Championships. Tag team wrestling is something that isn't emphasized in WWE but it headlines indie shows around the world. Tag team wrestling allows audiences to get to know wrestlers over time as a unit and also as individuals – both have been sorely needed for the women's division in WWE. Through this build we've gotten to know Sarah Logan & Liv Morgan as friends at Sarah's Viking wedding, we learned about Peyton Royce & Billie Kaye knowing each other since high school, we've seen the mind games played by Mandy Rose on Naomi as she attempted to seduce Jimmy Uso, we've seen Nia & Tamina establish themselves as the powerhouse tag team, and we've seen the Boss & Hug Connection develop as a tag team beyond their individual personas. The WWE is building an entire division from the ground up and it's going very well. This match will establish the women's tag division and its hierarchy. Sasha Banks has been the most vocal about wanting the Women's Tag Team Championships and although she & Bayley will start the match, they will make it to the final 2 teams in the Elimination Chamber. Nia Jax's heel heat has cooled recently as she's been moved away from Becky Lynch, but her and Tamina look like the most dominant team in this new division. Sasha and Bayley will overcome the odds and upset Nia & Tamina to become the first-ever WWE Women's Tag Team Champions.

Advertisement

WINNER: Boss and Hug Connection via pinfall

No Disqualification Match
Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin

"The Monster Among Men" has had a rough three months since losing to Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel. Stephanie McMahon promised him a rematch with Lesnar and the opportunity to get his hands on Baron Corbin at TLC if he helped Team RAW win at Survivor Series 2018. Braun followed through on his end but got his hand crushed by Corbin. Strowman was able to exact some revenge on Corbin at TLC, but Corbin continued to taunt and tease Strowman into 2019. Vince McMahon removed Strowman from his title match with Brock Lesnar at Royal Rumble after catching Strowman destroying his limousine in pursuit of Corbin. Corbin has also had a terrible 3 months since Crown Jewel. Corbin was in line to become RAW General Manager going into 2019 but was stripped of all authority and reduced to the role of active roster competitor. Corbin finds himself now at the bottom of the roster, not contending for any titles, with little direction. A recent victory over Kurt Angle gave Corbin some momentum going into Elimination Chamber, but Corbin ended RAW 2 weeks ago chokeslammed by Strowman on steel steps. Corbin's tag team almost picked up a win on the go-home RAW but was foiled by a referee technicality. Corbin has grown to be one of the most hated heels on RAW but is teetering on the line of "go away" heat. Hopefully these two put on a better match than their previous encounters. Remember when Heath Slater was involved in this feud as a referee? Where did he go? Will he return at Elimination Chamber to get revenge on Corbin for firing him as an active wrestler?

Advertisement

WINNER: Braun Strowman via pinfall

Handicap Match for the Intercontinental Championship
Bobby Lashley (c) & Lio Rush vs. Finn Balor

Coming off a fantastic match with Brock Lesnar at Royal Rumble, Finn Balor is one of the most popular heroes in WWE and has proven time and time again that he can deliver a great match on the big stage. Balor has seemingly had Lashley's number since the Rumble but Lashley is the last person Finn lost a singles match to on television. With keeping Drew McIntyre off this show, it seems that WWE has plans for him in the Universal Title picture after WrestleMania, whereas Finn will likely remain in the Intercontinental Title mix at WrestleMania 35. The combination of Lio Rush & Bobby Lashley has been a joy to watch for the past 5 months. There is more to be done with these two and hopefully WWE continues to help them achieve their potential. Aside from losing to Lesnar at the Rumble, it seems like Finn is destined for gold. It just doesn't feel like it will happen at Elimination Chamber.

WINNER: Bobby Lashley & Lio Rush via pinfall

RAW Women's Championship Match
Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Ruby Riott

This match was announced on Twitter on a Friday before the go-home RAW and Ruby Riott was given no time on RAW to promote the match. This match feels like a complete afterthought. Ruby Riott has put on good to great matches with everyone she's gotten the opportunity to work with since arriving in NXT. If this match gets time, Ruby Riott could employ the mind games that worked well for Sasha Banks against Rousey but it's hard to imagine her overcoming Ronda Rousey with so little preparation and build to this match. Ronda Rousey is preparing to main event WrestleMania with at least one of the top female wrestlers in WWE, she will win decisively but hopefully Ruby gets a chance to show what she is capable of on a bigger stage.

Advertisement

WINNER: Ronda Rousey via submission

WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match
The Miz & Shane McMahon (c) vs. The Usos

The Miz & Shane McMahon's friendship has led them to become SmackDown tag team champions. The Usos have been one of the greatest tag teams in wrestling for the past 6 years. The Usos have evolved as characters throughout their time in WWE and continue to put on great matches. The Usos finally got on the main WrestleMania show last year at WrestleMania 34, losing in the tag team triple-threat match. Hopefully this WrestleMania, they'll be back on the main show again in the SmackDown tag title picture. Shane McMahon & The Miz seem destined for a break-up. Both men have each been the most hated man in WWE in the past. Shane has voiced his paranoia that Miz is using him and will betray him. With Fastlane coming in March, it feels like Miz & Shane could stay together and remain successful for one more ppv. A victory over The Usos would be a tremendous achievement for any team. The McMiz Connection will survive this show, but they may not make it after Fastlane.

WINNER: Shane McMahon & The Miz via pinfall

Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE Championship
"The New" Daniel Bryan (c) vs. AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Samoa Joe vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton

Advertisement

Randy Orton won the fantastic gauntlet match last week on SmackDown, earning the final entry position in the Chamber. In spite of this plum entry position, Randy Orton will not win this match. Randy surprising AJ Styles with an RKO almost guarantees that we'll get the dream match of Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles at WrestleMania. The question is: will it be for the WWE Championship? "The New" Daniel Bryan's promos have gone viral and become meme'd through various social media outlets. He's gotten his own customized sustainable hemp, wood, & crystal WWE Championship belt. All of this, plus his continued streak of great matches with everyone he's faced suggests that "The New" Daniel Bryan will likely hold on to his WWE Championship going into WrestleMania but it's unclear who his opponent could be. John Cena has no WrestleMania opponent. Kevin Owens may be healthy enough to compete. Kofi Kingston just went an hour in the gauntlet match, pinning Bryan in the process. Bryan has also been pinned by Mustafa Ali. Andrade has been putting on amazing matches and has great chemistry with Bryan as well. With so many options for great matches, it feels like Daniel Bryan has to walk out of this match as champion. Samoa Joe and Jeff Hardy will have great showings but will likely end up in the US Title picture or the ARMBAR at WrestleMania 35. Any of the men mentioned above would have a great match with Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania. We're witnessing a great run by one of the greatest wrestlers to ever step in the ring.

Advertisement

WINNER: Daniel Bryan via pinfall

Comments

Recommended