Chicago native CM Punk stars in the opening video for WWE Elimination Chamber 2026.
On Saturday, WWE heads to the United Center in Chicago for one of the last major stops on the road to WrestleMania. Punk has a World Heavyweight Championship defense against Finn Balor at the PLE — and he’ll also be featured at the start of the broadcast in the cold open. WWE uploaded the Chicago-themed video to its social media channels today:
“People ask me, ‘Does pressure bother you?’ Pressure feels like this city I grew up in,” Punk says. “Like the walls that shake when the trains go by, the wind that hits you head on. Growing up here, you learn how to stay calm when it’s loud. To think straight when everything is closing in. That’s why the Chamber never rattled me. Whether it’s one-on-one on the outside or a battle on the inside, when that door slams shut and the world goes quiet, everyone feels that weight. Getting through it isn’t a win, it’s the price for chasing what matters most. So all this pressure? Feels like home.”
If Punk retains against Balor, he’ll head to WrestleMania 42 to defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns.
AJ Lee could add gold to the Punk family at Elimination Chamber, where she’s challenging Becky Lynch for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship. It’s Lee’s first singles match in more than a decade and only the third time she’s wrestled since coming out of retirement in 2025.
The United Center is the home of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls and NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. Elimination Chamber marks the first WWE PLE/PPV to be held at the venue since 1994. Since then, WWE’s major Chicago-area shows have typically been held at Allstate Arena in nearby Rosemont, Illinois.
With a start time of 7 p.m. Eastern, Elimination Chamber will stream live on the ESPN app in the United States and on Netflix internationally. Here is the announced card:
WWE Elimination Chamber 2026 (Saturday, February 28) —
Men’s Elimination Chamber match: Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Trick Williams vs. LA Knight vs. Jey Uso
Women’s Elimination Chamber match: Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Kiana James
World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk defends against Finn Balor
Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch defends against AJ Lee
Jey Uso has shared a message for his doubters just a few days before competing in the men’s Elimination Chamber.
In less than two days on Saturday, February 28, WWE is set to host Elimination Chamber in Chicago, IL, where Uso, against five other men, are scheduled to compete inside the steel chamber for a WrestleMania 42 title shot.
Recently appearing on ESPN First Take, Uso opened up and asked his doubters to “stop hating.” Instead, he offered them come watch one of the shows.
“Man, just keep watching your TV screen. Open your laptop up, put your iPad up, iPhone out. I’ll be on there somewhere, Uce. ESPN, Netflix, this Saturday, it’s Elimination Chamber, man. Pick one, Uce. I’ll be on there Monday, Friday too. Stay blessed, man, stop hating, man. Come to one of these shows, you might change your vibes. You feel me?“
Further in the same interview, Uso opened up and answered if he plans on running back his entrance mid-match.
“If they’re asking for it, I’mma give it to them every single time. That’s why they pay money. Look at them hardworking people out there with their kids, yeet me, man. Why would I not give it to them, sis? Why? I’m gonna run it back every single time. Yes, I will. If I can, I will.”
With less than a week left for WWE Elimination Chamber, AJ Lee has opened up and addressed her upcoming title match.
On February 28, AJ Lee will face Becky Lynch for the women’s Intercontinental title at the PLE. However, before that, Lee and her husband, CM Punk, appeared on ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike, where she opened up and shared her honest thoughts on the match.
Calling Lynch the “best” of her generation, Lee claimed, “I love me some Becky [Lynch], I feel like it is admiration, we’re very, very similar. I know I’m the best of my generation, I know she’s the best of hers, so it’s a morbid fascination of can I beat the best? Can I show that I can still go? So I love her, and I respect her, and I want to beat her pretty little face in.”
However, Punk held a completely different opinion of Lynch and her husband, Seth Rollins. “I definitely hate Becky more than AJ does, and I can do without Seth. Every day I’ve gotta talk about this guy because people ask,” Punk said.
While Lee chases her Intercontinental title, Punk is scheduled to defend his World Heavyweight championship against Finn Balor at Elimination Chamber in his hometown of Chicago.
WWE Elimination Chamber 2026 updated lineup | February 28, 2026
The 2026 Elimination Chamber PLE is scheduled to take place at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on February 28, 2026.
Randy Orton vs. LA Knight vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Trick Williams vs. Jey Uso – Men’s Elimination Chamber
Tiffany Stratton vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Asuka vs. Kiana James vs. Raquel Rodriguez – Women’s Elimination Chamber
CM Punk (c) vs. Finn Balor for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Becky Lynch (c) vs. AJ Lee for the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship
AJ Lee is feeling “a little nervous” ahead of her return to WWE singles competition.
At Elimination Chamber this Saturday, Lee will wrestle her first singles match since 2015. She’s challenging Becky Lynch for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship at the PLE. To promote the event, Lee and her husband CM Punk appeared together on ESPN’s First Take.
“Yeah, in over a decade,” Lee said while discussing her singles return. “A little nervous. I got back in in a tag match with the Best in the World. And I had the best tag team in the world the last one. So, on my own this time.”
Lee came out of retirement in 2025 and has worked a limited schedule so far. She and Punk teamed up for a mixed tag match in her return, then Lee took part in WarGames at Survivor Series. This match against Lynch will be the third of Lee’s comeback run.
“I keep saying, I’m proud to say I’m the best of my generation. [Becky] is the best of her generation,” Lee told First Take. “So if you put the two of us together, nobody else to help us out, what’s going to happen? Who comes out on top? I really think that I’m going to leave the United Center with the Intercontinental Championship.”
Elimination Chamber is taking place in Chicago, where Lee and Punk live. Punk has a World Heavyweight Championship defense against Finn Balor at the PLE. The show streams live on the ESPN app in the United States and Netflix elsewhere starting at 7 p.m. Eastern on Saturday (February 28).
WWE is reportedly restricting Elimination Chamber watch parties in the Chicago area.
According to Fightful Select, several venues in the market have been informed that they cannot host watch parties for the premium live event, which is set for Saturday, February 28 at the United Center.
The news comes after reports earlier this month that WWE was also blocking establishments in Las Vegas from hosting watch parties for WWE WrestleMania 42, even if those establishments were willing to pay a licensing fee.
It is believed that WWE’s blackout policy for these upcoming events is aimed at increasing ticket sales.
According to a report from WrestleTix early Friday morning, 14,895 tickets had been distributed for Elimination Chamber. The get-in price, or cheapest ticket available at the time of the report, was listed at $261.05. The current seating setup for the show is listed at 17,016.
In addition to the men’s and women’s Elimination Chamber matches, both CM Punk and AJ Lee will be in action in Chicago. Punk will defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Finn Balor, while Lee is set to challenge Becky Lynch for the Intercontinental Championship.
WWE Elimination Chamber Sat • Feb 28, 2026 • 5:30 PM United Center, Chicago, IL
Available Tickets: 2,121 Current Setup: 17,016 Tickets Distributed: 14,895
📈 +385 since the last update (7 days ago) 📅 Days until show: 8 📢 CM Punk (c) v. Finn Balor 🔢 Total # of seats on map:… pic.twitter.com/KiDEubFAjq
Two hometown stars are featured on the poster for WWE Elimination Chamber 2026.
Paul “Triple H” Levesque unveiled the poster on social media today, with it showcasing Chicago native CM Punk and his wife AJ Lee. The PLE is taking place at the United Center in Chicago on February 28. Punk and Lee’s plans for the show are already confirmed. Punk has a World Heavyweight Championship defense against Finn Balor, while Lee is challenging Becky Lynch for the Women’s Intercontinental title.
Lynch vs. Lee being announced for Elimination Chamber was a surprise given that it was expected to be part of the WrestleMania 42 card. But a WrestleMania matchup between Lynch and Lee is likely still in the cards. This will just build on their story in advance of WrestleMania.
WWE has already announced Punk vs. Roman Reigns as one of the main events for Mania, so it would be a surprise if he were to lose to Balor in Chicago.
SummerSlam 1994 was the last time WWE held a PLE/PPV at the United Center. The Allstate Arena in nearby Rosemont, Illinois has traditionally been the location for WWE’s major events in the Chicago area.
Elimination Chamber, with a start time of 7 p.m. Eastern, will stream live on the ESPN app in the United States and on Netflix elsewhere.
WWE Elimination Chamber 2026 (Saturday, February 28) —
World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk defends against Finn Balor
Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch defends against AJ Lee
Women’s Elimination Chamber match: Tiffany Stratton vs. Rhea Ripley vs. TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD
Men’s Elimination Chamber match: Randy Orton vs. LA Knight vs. TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD
Two title matches, as well as Elimination Chamber qualifying matches, are set for next week’s SmackDown.
After weeks of back and forth attacks, Jade Cargill will finally defend the WWE Women’s Championship against Jordynne Grace. The two teamed together to defeat Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez on Friday, with Grace scoring the surprise rollup win on Rodriguez. The two continued to argue backstage after the match, setting up next week’s title defense.
The WWE Women’s Tag Team titles will also be on the line. After Ripley & Sky successfully defended the titles against Giulia and Kiana James on Friday, the champions will now defend against Nia Jax & Lash Legend next week after the two teams argued backstage. Trick Williams will also meet Rey Fenix after the two exchanged words over Sami Zayn, who was seen dejected after losing his WWE Championship match at the Royal Rumble.
More Elimination Chamber qualifying matches will also take place. Cody Rhodes and Jacob Fatu will attempt to qualify after both were entered into the match after taking out Drew McIntyre during Friday’s show. They will face Zayn in the men’s qualifier. For the women, Alexa Bliss will face Giulia and Zelina.
Here’s the card for next week’s SmackDown, which will air on SyFy for the next two weeks due to Winter Olympic coverage:
WWE SmackDown (February 13):
WWE Women’s Championship: Jade Cargill defends against Jordynne Grace
WWE Women’s Tag Team titles: IYO SKY & Rhea Ripley defend against Nia Jax & Rhea Ripley
Elimination Chamber qualifier: Alexa Bliss vs. Giulia vs. Zelina
Elimination Chamber qualifier: Cody Rhodes vs. Jacob Fatu vs. Sami Zayn
WWE is officially bringing Elimination Chamber to Chicago in February 2026.
It was announced today that Elimination Chamber 2026 will be held at the United Center on Saturday, February 28. WWE’s Chicago-area events are usually held at the Allstate Arena in nearby Rosemont, but this PLE will be held inside the city itself at the home of the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks.
This is the first WWE PPV/PLE to be held at the United Center since SummerSlam 1994.
“WWE, in partnership with Choose Chicago, the city’s official destination marketing organization, today announced that it will return to the United Center in Chicago, the largest indoor arena in the United States, for Elimination Chamber on Saturday, February 28, 2026,” a press release said.
“This marks the first WWE Premium Live Event to be held at the United Center in more than three decades. In August 1994, SummerSlam made history as the first sports event to open the iconic venue. Elimination Chamber 2026 builds on Chicago’s rich history of hosting WWE events, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, Money In The Bank, Backlash and more.”
Hometown hero CM Punk is featured front and center on WWE’s graphic for the show, with Cody Rhodes, Jade Cargill, Stephanie Vaquer, Rhea Ripley, Becky Lynch, Bron Breakker, Jey Uso, IYO SKY, and Tiffany Stratton also featured.
The United Center was where Punk made his return to pro wrestling in 2021 with AEW. He is now the current World Heavyweight Champion in WWE.
Elimination Chamber is happening on the road to WrestleMania 42, with Las Vegas set to host that two-night event on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19. The Chamber card will likely feature men’s and women’s Elimination Chamber matches with WrestleMania implications.
For the first time since 2021, WWE Elimination Chamber will be returning to the United States and in a new city in 2026.
First reported last Friday in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and confirmed by Wrestlenomics Tuesday, the annual event will head to Chicago on Saturday, February 28. Neither our Dave Meltzer or Wrestlenomics could confirm the venue, but the Allstate Arena has been a constant for past WWE events in the city.
From Meltzer:
“The Rumble date is pretty locked in. It wouldn’t shock me to see the Chamber date changed a week in either direction if they want to compete with AEW.”
The last time Elimination Chamber took place in the U.S. was in February 2021, when it took place at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, during the pandemic. Since then, it headed to Saudi Arabia (2022); Montreal, Canada (2023); and Perth, Australia (2024).
It’s the third official WWE premium live event on tap for 2026.
Current WWE PLE Schedule 2026:
WWE Royal Rumble in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, January 31
WWE Elimination Chamber in Chicago on Saturday, February 28
WWE WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas on Saturday, April 18 & Sunday, April 19
Subscribers can now read this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter with a lead story of, what else, the surprising and shocking heel turn of beloved babyface John Cena.
Dave Meltzer recaps the show-closing angle and all the news coming out of last Saturday’s Elimination Chamber from Toronto including the path to WrestleMania 41.
Dave also looks at the latest TKO investment as they are officially moving into boxing, this Sunday’s AEW Revolution, the happenings in both Japan and Mexico, UFC results, and plenty more.
While the big news coming out of Saturday’s WWE Elimination Chamber was the heel turn of John Cena, there’s another development involving the victim in the chaos: undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes.
On the post-Raw edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said he heard Rhodes was injured, suffering a busted eardrum and a black eye in the attack from Cena, rapper Travis Scott and The Rock.
Bryan Alvarez speculated it was Scott that caused the injury. Clips shared on social media of the beatdown angle show Scott throwing a hard slap to Rhodes’ left ear.
Report: Travis Scott busted Cody Rhodes’ eardrum on this slap & gave him a black eye😳
Rhodes is set to appear on SmackDown this Friday to address the attack, prompted by Rhodes turning down Rock’s offer to be “his champion.” Rhodes will defend his title against Cena at next month’s WrestleMania 41 following Cena’s Elimination Chamber victory that gave him the title shot.
It will be their first singles match since January 2013 and just their fourth overall. Cena will be gunning for his first World title run since 2017 while Rhodes is closing in on his first full year holding the title.
A complete look at WWE & UFC business, the numbers, the trends, prospectus for 2025, why profits were so low, Saudi Arabia, media rights, crazy gates, boxing, , new TV shows and more.
The return to WWE of Dwayne Johnson, why it happened, where it has the most effect, the Rhodes angle and more.
Vince McMahon legal updates, latest arguments in the Grant case, as well as notes from the shareholder lawsuit against WWE and members of the board or letting McMahon back in the company, charges about the investigation and lots of new news regarding the board of directors actions from the day of the first Wall Street Journal article until the McMahon return.
Osamu Nishimura passes away, one of the smoothest wrestlers of modern times
Ryan Nemeth’s lawsuit against AEW, Tony Khan and CM Punk, legitimacy, silliness, claims and more details on those claims
Preview of Elimination Chamber and AEW Revolution, odds, cards and consumer demand
The most detailed look at the ratings for all the major U.S. wrestling shows
What is notable about Torneo Escuelas
Stardom has excellent PPV show
Fantastica Mania notes
Promotion sues a fan
Queen of the Ring notes and history form that period
Death of Portland announcer Don Coss
Lawsuit involving WWE Hall of Fame settled
Woman star has health issue
Major injury updates
WBD business
Lots of new AEW matches
Advance ticket sales for WWE & AEW shows
More on UFC & WWE 2026 business prospects with new deals coming in
Why the TKO stock price dropped greatly
Dark Side of the Cage notes
More on discontent with WWE employees
Goals of the WWE/UFC/PBR weekend in Kansas City
Stephanie McMahon update
This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue
— We have two weekend shows on the site. Garrett Gonzales and I talked about the news of the week and did an interview that is a must for those interested in forgotten wrestling history with Ian Douglass. We talk about his new book on the original Roughhouse Rufus Jones (not the 70s and 80s wrestler but the 30s and 40s wrestler) and Jack Claybourne, the first major black main eventer and first black wrestler to have a lengthy run with a significant title (one year as Hawaiian champion for Al Karasick) and talk history including Rocky Johnson, Bobo Brazil, put into perspective Joe Louis doing pro wrestling and how wrestling was ahead of real sports first and then way behind for decades as well.
— Bryan Alvarez and I talked about Elimination Chamber, Smackdown and Collision on last night’s show.
— The Chamber show in my mind was one of the best WWE PPV shows ever. Three excellent bouts out of four plus the angle where John Cena turned heel with Rock and Travis Scott on Cody Rhodes.
— We didn’t hear much in the way of other great bouts over the weekend other than the Chamber and some of the Friday night Lucha stuff from Tokyo and Mexico City. We’ll talk more about that on tomorrow’s show covering Raw.
— I expect a big number for Raw (which we don’t get until a week from Tuesday). One thing notable is that we will get a Chamber viewership number outside the U.S. from Netflix on Tuesday. The comparison would be 2.1 million views that the Rumble did. Rumble in theory would do more but with Dwayne Johnson a focal point on Chamber, we’ll see how close it comes. Collision, on the other hand, going against Chamber, will undoubtedly be much lower than the last three weeks. The show had good wrestling but was low on marquee type matches.
— We’re looking for your thoughts on Elimination Chamber, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
— The man who is widely considered the greatest freestyle wrestler of all-time, Buvaisar Saitiev, an Olympic gold medalist in 1996, 2004 and 2008, died earlier today at the age of 49. The early reports were that he died of cardiac arrest after suddenly getting sick in front of his home and being rushed to the hospital.
— The Saya Kamitani vs. Tam Nakano loser leaves Stardom match for the World of Stardom title will be airing free on YouTube starting at about 5:45 a.m. Eastern time. The entire show will air on the Stardom streaming service but they are putting up the main event for free. This is a gigantic match. Nakano did an appearance at Aminate in Ikebukuro and Kamitani attacked her yesterday.
— Raw tomorrow in Buffalo, NY has Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky for the women’s title, Lyra Valkyria vs. Ivy Nile for the IC title, War Raiders vs. Creeds for the tag title plus CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Bianca Belair and Gunther doing promos.
— As far as Google trends, from Chamber, John Cena had 200,000 searches, Travis Scott had 20,000, WrestleMania had 20,000, Jade Cargill had 20,000, Randy Orton had 20,000, Elimination Chamber had 200,000 and Trish Stratus had 50,000. Nothing from last night’s UFC hit 20,000. A few of the fights were at 10,000.
— Ric Flair did a post about it being 25 years since he won his 16th world title according to WWE. The real number would be 18 minimum and more than 23 max, depending on a few matches like Victor Jovica, Midnight Rider and Jack Veneno and how you categorize them. Flair said he loved and respected John Cena but he’d fight his way through security and take a day off blood thinners to save Cody Rhodes if he had to. That is not going to happen.
— For AEW on Wednesday there will be a contract signing for Ricochet and Swerve Strickland, Adam Copeland vs. Wheeler Yuta, and Thunder Rosa & Kris Statlander vs. Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford.
— They did an off-TV angle where Gabe Kidd ran down Mark Briscoe, leading to a backstage brawl. So they are building that as a match, but not on the PPV since Briscoe teams with Orange Cassidy & AJ vs. MxM Collection & Johnny TV on the Revolution show.
— On last night’s show, we did get complaints about if you started the show in the middle while it was live that it was difficult for some to scroll back.
— Lance LeVine mentioned to us that the issue with DirecTV and Collision where for weeks it was hit and miss if the DVR would record the show has happened the past few weeks for Impact. He noted that if you have DirecTV you should check for this Thursday.
— On last night’s show I brought up the Toronto crowd booing the U.S. national anthem and how that never happens with real sports. However, that’s not the case. It’s been a major story in the NHL and during the 4 Nations Cup that ever since President Trump talked about annexing Canada and the tariffs, the national anthem has been heavily booed at NHL games throughout Canada. (thanks to many)
— Manami Toyota, the best in-ring woman pro wrestler who ever lived, turns 54 today.
— Dylan Playfiar, a Canadian actor who was a former minor league hockey player, wrestled in a Rumble match for the BOOM promotion in Vancouver, BC, last night. Boom, which has sold out 32 straight shows in a 250-seat building, has booked an 850-seat building for 7/26 at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver. Playfair is best known for playing Reilly in the TV series Lettrekenny from 2016 to 2023 and also played Marty Howe in the 2013 movie “Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe story.”
— Nixon Newell (Tegan Nox) made an unannounced appearance last night at Attack Pro Wrestling in Cardiff, Wales. It is streaming on the Attack Pro YouTube channel. This was to set up a 5/18 match in Penarth, Wales against Dani Luna.
— On Memphis Wrestling, Nic Nemeth was challenged by Aaron Roberts, a huge WWE ID prospect. That match will air on TV in Memphis in two weeks. Brad Baylor & Ricky Smokes beat Cappuccino Jones & Sean Legacy in a battle of WE ID talent who will be on the Evolve TV show.
— Matt Hardy was at the Memphis WrestleCenter to wrestle and do a signing. Last night the Memphis Grizzlies had a wrestling night where Matt Hardy & The Grizz, the mascot for the Grizzlies, beat Aaron Roberts & Sycho Simon at the game. Dave Brown and Dustin Starr did commentary for the live fans. (thanks to Brian Tramel)
— Empire State Wrestling on 3/15 in Niagara Falls, NY at the Frontier Fire Hall.
— Jonathan Gresham will wrestle on the Bloodsport show over WrestleMania week in Las Vegas.
— Moose has been announced for ACW Aftershock on 5/17 at the MJN Center in Poughkeepsie NY.
— 18 episodes of AEW Dynamite were uploaded to MAX this week. They are shows from early 2020.
— Longtime reader Tom Mele noted he’s doing an ISPW Weekly kayfabe show on the ISPW Facebook page. They also have a 3/14 show in Hackettstown, NJ at the High School with appearances by Bret Hart, Vampiro, Tony Atlas and Jimmy Valiant.
— Lucha Va Voom on Thursday night at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles with Misterioso Jr., TJP, Magno, Xtreme Tiger and Mr. Iguana.
After all these years, it seemed like John Cena was never going to have the heel arc that most stars of his caliber have. Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin had their heel runs to varying success but after years of John Cena being a babyface and only months to go before his retirement, it seemed like things would stay that way.
Then Saturday happened.
It seemed likely that Cena was going to win the Elimination Chamber, as it is hard to pass up the idea of him vs. Cody Rhodes while the opportunity is there. And in fact, he did win. But the outright heel turn that took place after the match, with Cena assaulting and bloodying a stunned Rhodes and aligning himself with The Rock, was something very few people expected.
The angle was extremely well done, and when you think about it, everything made sense. The Rock wanted someone to be his ‘champion’ in WWE, and since Rhodes wouldn’t do it, Cena is the next best guy for the role. The guy that always did what the company told him to do going against the one person that told The Rock no. Sounds good to me!
A lot of online folks have compared this as a moment similar to the infamous Bash at the Beach angle that saw Hulk Hogan turn heel and join the nWo, or at WrestleMania X-7 when Steve Austin did his turn. They’re extremely similar in some aspects, but there’s some differences. By 1996, Hogan was completely washed as a babyface and crowds were already starting to turn on him, so being the top heel was a logical choice. On the contrary, In 2001 when Austin did his turn, fans weren’t ready to boo him as he had just returned from neck injury and when WWE doubled down during the Invasion angle, the ratings slid.
In 2025, John Cena isn’t the face of the company or the top merch seller, Cody Rhodes is. so if he needs to the heel to the top star’s face, then it makes all the sense in the world. You also have to admire it, too. It would have been easy for WWE to have Cena spend most of the year riding a wave of nostalgia, and that still may be possible as he can always turn back for his last couple of matches. For now, WWE and Cena have decided to embark on something completely different and out of left field. And I have to give them props on taking WrestleMania up another notch in terms of interest.
Elimination Chamber overall was a pretty good show, even before the show-closing angle. The men’s chamber that headlined was pretty good and picked up in the last few minutes when Seth Rollins, Cena, and CM Punk were in there by themselves (though did you notice those punches between Punk and Cena? I did). Based on the finishes here, it seems likely we’re getting Punk/Rollins (and Reigns?) and Damien Priest/Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania.
The Women’s Chamber match was also very good, actually a bit more better then the men’s match. Lots of big spots (I can still hear Bianca Belair’s hair whip on Liv Morgan, ouch!) and much like the men’s match, some good wrestling towards the end of the match between Belair and Morgan. One of the big stories that played into the match was Jade Cargill making her return, not attacking Liv Morgan but rather Naomi, indicating that perhaps Belair’s tag partner was the one behind the attack that put Cargill out last year. With Belair’s win, that will likely play a part of the build towards WrestleMania as she’ll face either Rhea Ripley or IYO SKY.
The tag team match was pretty simple, and I didn’t see any major problems with it. Stratus looks amazing at this point of her career and can still hang. Stratton got the big win, pinning Nia Jax and putting her on a collision course towards Charlotte Flair, which should be a very interesting WrestleMania match.
And in the unsanctioned match, Kevin Owens got the win over Sami Zayn, defeating him after multiple powerbombs onto the ring apron, which as you know is the hardest part of the ring. This was good, but I also thought if you are going to use blood, this probably would be the match to do it, right? This was unsanctioned, meaning there was lots of weapons including hockey sticks, trash cans, tables, chairs, and even a barbed wire chair, which I don’t think has been seen in WWE for a while. Owens even took a drop toe hold into the barbed chair but yet still didn’t bleed. He must have really tough skin. My guess is since the main event angle required blood, this match couldn’t have it. All of this led to the return of Randy Orton, who went after his former friend Kevin Owens, so that is another likely WrestleMania match.
And that is all for Elimination Chamber! Up next is…WrestleMania. Yep, it’s next month. Nothing but build from here!
After years of being one of WWE’s top babyfaces, John Cena has done the unthinkable: turn heel.
The end of Saturday’s premium live event saw Cody Rhodes come out to congratulate Cena, who had just won the Elimination Chamber, earning the right to face Rhodes at WrestleMania 41. It was then that The Rock, along with rap star Travis Scott, came to the ring. Rock asked Rhodes whether or not hewould give his soul to him. Rhodes responded by saying he wanted it all, but his soul is no longer his because he gave his soul to this ring and these people. He told Rock to “go f*** yourself.”
At first, Cena appeared happy by Rhodes’ declaration and the two hugged. But as Cena hugged Rhodes, Rock gave a throat cut gesture to Cena, who saw the signal and responded by low blowing Rhodes. Cena then took Rhodes’ watch and attacked him in the forehead, then followed that with a microphone shot. Cena then grabbed the WWE title and blasted Rhodes with it not once, but twice, bloodying him in the process.
Cena and Scott then helped hold Rhodes down as Rock grabbed the weightlifting strap with the words ‘Cody Rhodes’ soul’ that he first debuted on Friday’s SmackDown and proceeded to repeatedly strike Rhodes. Cena put his foot on Rhodes’ head and posed with Rock and Scott as the three men headed to the back, ending the show.
Two weeks ago on SmackDown, Rock said he and Rhodes had grown close in the last year following their tag match at WrestleMania 40 and gave him the opportunity to join him by his side, with The Rock declaring that he wanted Rhodes’ soul. Rock appeared on Friday’s SmackDown via video, gifting Rhodes a personalized truck.
