WWE Elimination Chamber 2018 is fast approaching. This Sunday, the WWE Universe will be treated to two history-making Elimination Chamber matches. For the first-time ever, there will be an Elimination Chamber match featuring female competitors and a men’s chamber that contains seven wrestlers.
So far, only four matches have been announced for Sunday’s Elimination Chamer pay-per-view. One match involves the undefeated “Empress of Tomorrow” Asuka going one-on-one with the towering Nia Jax. If Jax walks away victorious then she will be added to the WWE Raw Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania 34.
Another match, that has been announced for Sunday’s pay-per-view, involves a showdown between “Woken” Matt Hardy and “The Eater of Worlds” Bray Wyatt. Will Hardy delete the competition? Or will Wyatt once again devour his Hardy prey?
Look below into my WWE crystal ball and you might just find out who wins this Sunday at WWE Elimination Chamber 2018…
WWE Elimination Chamber 2018 Viewing Details
Date: Sunday, February 25, 2018
Time (kick-off show): 7:00 P.M. EST
Time (main show): 8:00 P.M. EST
TV Channel: WWE Network / Pay-Per-View
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada
Nia Jax vs. Asuka – If Jax wins, she’ll be added to the WWE Raw Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania 34
WWE.com
“The Empress of Tomorrow” Asuka will have a hefty mountain to climb this Sunday when she goes toe-to-toe with the imposing Nia Jax.
Nia Jax has been on an absolute tear through the women’s division of Monday Night Raw. Last week, Jax mowed through “The Boss” Sasha Banks and Bayley, laying out both performers after their match, to send a message to “The Empress of Tomorrow.”
But Asuka needs to have momentum on her side as she walks into WrestleMania to fight for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship this coming April. Therefore, any loss to Nia Jax would be harmful and unnecessary. By defeating Jax, Asuka is proving why she is an unstoppable force in wrestling.
Asuka defeat Nia Jax
“Woken” Matt Hardy vs. Bray Wyatt
WWE.com
“Woken” Matt Hardy needs this win. He’s lost to Bray Wyatt every time they’ve faced off in a one-on-one encounter. Without wins, Hardy’s “Woken” persona is appearing as more and more of a cheap knock-off to the “Broken” character he played while employed with Impact Wrestling.
But Bray badly needs to win matches as well. Every time he finds himself in a significant or main event feud, he’s always at the short end of the stick, whether it be against John Cena, Randy Orton, or Roman Reigns. So, would it be smart for WWE to have “The Eater of Worlds” lose again? My answer is yes.
A loss from Hardy won’t make Wyatt look inferior or weak. It’ll only make Hardy appear as a stronger adversary and possibly spark interest back into their lukewarm feud. Wyatt is 2-0 against Hardy, so even if he loses he’ll still be ahead of Hardy according to the win/loss scoreboard.
Hopefully, this feud will spill out into the House of Hardy and onto the Wyatt Family compound.
“Woken” Matt Hardy defeats Bray Wyatt
Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley vs. Mandy Rose vs. Mickie James vs. Sonya Deville
WWE.com
The winner of this historic women’s Elimination Chamber match will defend the WWE Raw Women’s Championship against either Asuka or Nia Jax and Asuka at WrestleMania 34.
Who will win at Elimination Chamber?
It’d truly be a shocker if a member of Absolution walks away with the Raw Women’s strap this Sunday. Both Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville are definitely capable of holding the red brand’s women’s championship sometime down the line, but certainly not in time for WrestleMania season. They aren’t built up properly enough to be considered a real threat to Asuka’s undefeated streak. But besides that, both Rose and Deville don’t deserve the women’s strap at this point in their careers, especially considering one of them would be walking into WrestleMania as champion.
“The Boss” Sasha Banks has certainly built a legacy for herself during her short time with the WWE. She’s already a 4-time WWE Raw Women’s Champion as well as a former NXT Women’s Champion. But to be honest, Banks has become pretty bland as of late with her baby-face, empowered, role model persona. Many who remember her days from NXT long for a bad-ass, take-no-prisoners type of boss. Maybe a loss at Elimination Chamber will bring out her dark side. I predict a feud between her and Bayley going into WrestleMania, with Bayley going over Banks in the Chamber, causing Banks to snap and turn heel.
A win for Mickie James would catapult her back to the top of WWE’s women’s division over night. But I just don’t see that happening at this point in her career…at least not yet.
If Bayley wins the Chamber match then the WWE Universe may be treated to a classic encounter between Asuka and the “Hug-Life” superstar. Bayley and “The Empress of Tomorrow” have tons of history, fighting it out in NXT in now legendary match-ups. It would make perfect sense for these two to fight it out once more under the bright lights of WrestleMania in New Orleans this April.
But Alexa Bliss is the one who truly deserves to win this match. She’s worked hard all year making the Raw women’s division a significant and entertaining division from SmackDown Live to Monday Night Raw.
Alexa Bliss wins the first-ever women’s Elimination Chamber match
Seven-man Elimination Chamber match for a shot at the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 34: John Cena vs. Elias vs. Roman Reigns vs. The Miz vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. Braun Strowman
Wrestle Chatter/YouTube/WWE.com
The winner of the first-ever seven-man Elimination Chamber match will go onto challenge “The Beast Incarnate” Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 34.
Roman Reigns seems to be the most likely/obvious winner of the Chamber. He’s main-evented three straight WrestleManias, so if you keep track of patterns then you’d probably have pegged Reigns for the winner of Sunday’s match. But I’ll go with a more unpredictable route and say that Reigns loses, triggering a heel turn and feud with Shield brethren Seth Rollins. I predict that Rollins will eliminate Reigns, causing dissension within The Shield, leading to another split between “The Hounds of Justice,” but this time it’s Reigns betraying Rollins.
John Cena winning on Sunday might just be a very likely option. Cena vs. Lesnar has never been done at WrestleMania 34, and the hype around Cena’s impending record breaking world title win would be astronomical. If Cena can knock off Lesnar for the Universal Championship then “The Doctor of Thuganomics” will become a 17-time world champion, a feat that has never been accomplished in pro wrestling.
The two most unlikely winners of the Chamber are Braun Strowman and The Miz. Now, these two competitors are light years apart. But both men would look completely out of place facing off against “The Beast Incarnate” at WrestleMania. Strowman has already battled Lesnar enough times in 2017. And The Miz vs. Brock Lesnar just sounds like a squash match waiting to happen.
I predict that Elias will be dominant in the Elimination Chamber and will eliminate one or two of his opponents. However, it is way too soon to pull the trigger on an Elias main event push, especially around WrestleMania season.
WWE needs to invest in their future, i.e. The New Era. Nakamura as the number one contender for the WWE Championship going into WrestleMania might be a sign that this year’s event will be New Era heavy when it comes to main event matches. The Raw brand may follow suit, and put a figure of WWE’s New Era into the Universal Championship match against Lesnar.
Last Monday, Roman Reigns cut a promo, mentioning all the wrestlers in the seven-man Elimination Chamber match. Finn Balor received the most cheers. Plain and simple, the fans want to see Balor vs. The Beast. And I think this Sunday, that match will be made official.
Finn Balor wins the first-ever seven-man Elimination Chamber match. He will go onto face Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 34
Editor’s Note: If my brother, Danny Dunlop (a.k.a. FoulFaceKoala), was still alive. He’d probably choose Finn Balor as the winner of the Elimination Chamber as well. Shortly before Danny died, he picked Balor as the winner of the 2018 Royal Rumble match. That didn’t happen, but I think my brother’s decision to catapult Balor into the main event of WrestleMania will come true this Sunday.