Opinion
Chris Deez’s WWE Elimination Chamber Predictions
It doesn’t feel like more than 5 minutes ago that we sat through one of the greatest weekends in WWE PPV history as we were treated to the incredible NXT TakeOver Philadelphia and the history making Royal Rumble within 24 hours of eachother, yet here we are again with WWE’s next offering Elimination Chamber. With this being the last RAW exclusive PPV before WrestleMania, we should see multiple rivalries and title challenges set in stone. The match card may be small, but there is a lot of potential for this to be a real sleeper hit of a PPV. Lets take a look…
Ronda Rousey Contract Signing
Ronda Rousey joining WWE was one of the worst kept secrets in the companies history, and although I may be on my own here, I applaud WWE for the way they introduced her at the Royal Rumble. The moment was iconic and was a huge talking point but not to the point where it took anything away from Asuka’s historic moment and performance. Nobody looked weak, all 4 women stood tall in the ring and the arrival opened us up to a whole world of theories and possibilities. The announcement that Rousey would be signing her WWE contract in ring on Sunday night makes a huge deal of sense, as this is one of the most barebones match cards I have ever seen for a PPV so close to WrestleMania.
We could see any one of a number of things go down – A stare-down or confrontation between Rousey and another superstar, the introduction of a manager to help cover the cracks in her character (or lack thereof) or the more obvious (and my personal prediction) of a confrontation with Stephanie McMahon. This one makes the most sense as at this current moment in time it seems unlikely that Rousey will be going after one of the belts… these storylines have pretty much written themselves already. Consider this – Steph wants retribution for The Rock and Ronda embarrassing her and HHH at WrestleMania 31… HHH still hasn’t forgotten about Braun Strowman beating him down as the curtains dropped at Survivor Series… how about a good old-fashioned tag match?
Prediction: The contract signing goes south quickly. Stephanie and Ronda end up scrapping to set up their Wrestlemania bout.
Bold Prediction: Rousey hesitates while signing, asks for someone to come and check over the contract… “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN” …
The Bar (c) v Titus Worldwide –RAW Tag Team Championship
If you had told me a year ago that Titus Worldwide would be challenging for the tag titles at a PPV two months before WrestleMania I would’ve spat in your face and called you a scoundrel. How on earth is this match even taking place, and how on earth do WWE expect us to care? Sure, TW have picked up a few unexpected cheap victories recently, but if Titus and Apollo come out of this as the new champs I will eat my own face. As much as I complain that the Raw tag team scene doesn’t have enough diversity and variety, this is surely not the way to go when a team as legitimately badass as The Revival are sitting around doing nothing.
Prediction: The Bar win because Vince McMahon will have truly gone mad if they don’t.
Bold Prediction: WWE realise we don’t want the same match with the same guys every damn week and call up either AOP or SAnitY.
Matt Hardy v Bray Wyatt
Hmm… does anyone even care anymore? The Woken Matt character had so much promise but has very quickly lost all steam. WWE have reduced a gimmick with such potential into ‘the guy who had a funny laugh’ and that’s about is really. The crowds have been less and less behind him with a really noticeable absence of cheers, and any remaining fans are surely only there because of the fond memories from his run with the character in TNA. That was when he was able to run with the character and was allowed to make his own creative choices, but WWE have given us such a watered-down version that it’s hard to really get invested anymore.
I was once the biggest fan of Bray Wyatt, but lacklustre feuds with Seth Rollins and Finn Balor, and the same promo every week have really done him a lot more harm than good. This is a guy who not so long ago was WWE Champion, defending the belt at WrestleMania against the legend Randy Orton… less than a year later he’s dressed up in drag pretending to be his dead sister. I’m praying we get to see Jeff returning as Brother Nero either during or after the match to generate some real interest, and if the rumours circling the internet concerning his return to health are anything to go by… the WWE Universe may become BROKEN very soon.
Prediction: Matt Hardy wins clean in an uninspiring match.
Bold Prediction: Jeff Hardy/Brother Nero returns to help Matt win.
Women’s Elimination Chamber – RAW Women’s Championship
WWE have really delivered on their promise to create history and push the women to the forefront of the company over the past year. So far we have seen the first ever Women’s Money in The Bank, which was unfortunately horribly booked, and more recently the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble match which was surprisingly good even though the women of the past completely outshone the current crop of superstars. Next stop on the Women’s Revolution train is the first ever Women’s Elimination Chamber match. We will see Bayley, Sasha Banks, Sonya Deville, Mandy Rose and Mickie James battle it out in the demonic structure attempting to dethrone the current Raw Women’s Champion and Goddess of WWE, Alexa Bliss.
The timing of this title match is a little strange and makes it far too predictable to most fans as to who will come out victorious. This is exactly why I’m going to buck that trend and go with Bliss dropping the title to Sasha Banks inside the chamber. Why? Because Asuka is going to beat Nia Jax on Sunday which means Nia is out of the title picture altogether. We were teased with cracks forming in the relationship between Bliss and Nia but that storyline just seemed to fade away into nothing, so now would be a great time to revisit the fractured friendship. With the belt on Sasha I can see a rivalry starting between her and Bayley, her long time best friend, with plenty of teases to Bayley turning heel along the way.
Prediction: Sasha Banks wins by pinning Bliss or Bayley.
Bold Prediction: Rousey or Nia somehow enter the match, laying out Banks after she wins and staking their claim for a Mania challenge.
Asuka v Nia Jax
WWE have backed themselves into a corner here. Nia is the only woman on the RAW roster who can offer a legitimate challenge to Asuka, but there is no chance in hell Asuka will be losing this match and having the streak broken. Unless WWE throw a curveball and have Jax win by count-out or DQ, meaning the title match at Mania becomes a triple threat and thus preserves Asuka’s undefeated streak. And before you say ‘but Jax winning means Asuka loses the streak’, you should probably remember that Asuka has lost a battle royal during her time in NXT… to EVA MARIE of all people, yet is still down on paper of undefeated.
The main topic of discussion in the women’s division is still focused on who Asuka will challenge at WrestleMania. I would expect us to find out straight after this match, and I’m expecting Asuka to choose Charlotte on SDLive. If the match on Sunday goes to plan there will be no-one left on RAW for Asuka to face, so switching brands makes the most sense and would give us a fantastic contest between the two most talented females in the company and finally gives Charlotte a legitimate challenger, something sorely lacking on the blue brand.
Prediction: Asuka wins a very poor match and challenges Charlotte.
Bold Prediction: Rousey (are you noticing a theme here?) interferes and takes out Asuka, causing Jax to lose by DQ and setting up a Mania match. At this point I’m pretty sure I have Rousey in about 4 matches so far!
Men’s Elimination Chamber – Winner faces Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania for the Universal Championship
Roman Reigns will win the Elimination Chamber match and you can bet your house on that. No last minute booking shift is going to change that, and it has been set in stone for nearly a year now since Lesnar defeated Goldberg for the championship and Reigns defeated The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33. The simplest and most direct route for Roman to obtain the title opportunity is by winning the chamber match, and requires the least amount of creative booking on WWE’s part.
This match is surely going to be an early contender for match of the year when you consider the calibre of the talent involved. All 7 men would be very legitimate champions, but one of them stands quite literally head and shoulders above the rest. Braun Strowman will undoubtedly be the star of this match and I would expect him to cause some real destruction to carry on his trend of tearing everything apart from recent months.
This match opens up a lot more opportunities than just the UC scene. Depending on who eliminates who, we could very well see the continuation of Elias v John Cena, the start of either Strowman or Finn going after The Miz’s Intercontinental Championship… and we still have Samoa Joe to return into of those scenes. At the end of the day though I’m still expecting Roman Reigns to win this one, we know he will be facing and dethroning Lesnar at Mania regardless. I sort of don’t even mind anymore.. at least Roman would be around full time, it would just be lovely to have a little less predictability all the bloody time. If I’m booking this match, I would reward Rollin’s consistently fantastic performances by having him win the chamber match, pinning Roman to do so, and over the next 2 months it somehow turns into a triple threat match at Mania.
Prediction: Roman Reigns wins because… Roman Reigns.
Bold Prediction: Strowman destroys the Elimination Chamber, all 4 pods, rips apart one of the walls and eats all of the steel.
Third Prediction: Roman… Reigns.
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Opinion
TheChairshot.com PRESENTS: WWE Bash In Berlin Immediate Reactions
Join DJ and Tunney for their immediate reactions to WWE Bash in Berlin. For the latest, greatest and up to datest, ALWAYS #UseYourHead and visit THECHAIRSHOT.COM
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About Chairshot Radio Network
Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY – Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
TUESDAY – Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)
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About Chairshot Radio Network
Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
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Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)
TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends
Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5
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Opinion
AJ’s Top 3 Favorite SummerSlams
AJ is back with his annual opinion article, and this time the SummerSlam buzz got him wondering about his personal Top 3.
It’s been a while since I have done any form of writing and SummerSlam is this Saturday. Of all the SummerSlams I’ve seen over the years; which ones are my favorites? While it’s not a revolutionary idea, I figured everyone loves to debate favorites of well, anything. Don’t worry though because this isn’t just going to be pure recency bias. I’ve watched the majority of them so with the ones I put on the list, it hit me more in some way shape or form whether it was story, a really good match or it just felt like a solid event.
At least this proves WWE is trending in a good direction for me, when it gets the ol’ brain juices flowing just because a show is around the corner!
#3: 2022 (Ol’ Brock Lesnar Has A Farm)
Starting off the show, we get Bianca looking for a rematch against Becky from last years SummerSlam and it was better than the 21 second affair that everyone claims was a squash. This time Bianca holds her own and beats the Man in a fairly decent match, good way to get the event started. Next up is the heat seeking missile, Logan Paul against the former heat seeking missile because, well he wasn’t cut out for it and wasn’t a guy in everyone’s eyes, The Miz. After they had their blow off at Mania with Logan coming out on top which… isn’t awful, I just don’t like Logan Paul because he has that dude bro aura and swagger to make him more hateable than any other person on the card. Which I suppose is his gimmick…so…kudos?
First Championship match is for the US Championship and it’s as expected that in Theory, he should never beat someone to the caliber of Bobby Lashley which is no surprise. Dominik and Rey still back when Dom wanted the good fight against the Judgement Day before joining them later. The former Colts players, which they hammered it dahn in this match up showed that the canal swimming, trash talkin’, podcastin’, current RAW Color Commentatin’ goofball we all love, Pat McAfee came out on top again Bum Ass Corbin.
Usos putting the Street Profits on lockdown in the penitentiary since I believe this was peak Bloodline with the belt collecting and running all of WWE. Liv beat Ronda Rousey which isn’t astonishing but it’s not something people had on their bingo cards for anything with WWE so it was a nice little shock factor. The most memorable part of the night is obviously the Main Event, Lesnar brings the tractor, Roman catching the Microphone and Brock stands on top of the vehicle. Damn good match that showed off what they do in the ring since Roman caught his stride as the main bad guy and Brock… liked people after all of this? That is still a weird statement in my head. Brock being a good guy people person. If Liv wasn’t on bingo cards for wrestling, that is not on bingo cards in any aspect of life really.
That is more of the event that had solid matches and story going for it. No weird double count out, multiple people involved, 5 tag matches on the card. Things made sense and weren’t convoluted, had shocking moments that were great to see like Liv actually getting a title defense and there were the results we all expected at the time like Theory losing in 4 minutes to Bobby Lashley.
#2: 2009 (Are You Ready for The Return?)
This event wasn’t that strong. It was strong with the star power involved in 2009 with guys like Rey Mysterio as Intercontinental Champion, Orton and Cena for the WWE Championship as it was becoming as stale as month old chips and CM Punk was facing Jeff Hardy before he ultimately returned to TNA at the beginning of 2010 after this PPV. For me, it’s not so much of the show itself, it was more of the memories because the Balai as our friends Chris Platt and Rey Cash like to call my brother and I, we were just coming back into wrestling and we were TNA Fans. We didn’t watch WWE that much really, it was just what came on after another channel had old ROH shows before they moved to three hours and swallowed the 8pm Eastern Slot. No, the reason why this has so many memories for me is three main reasons. First, Orton and Cena. They have had their rivalry since the beginning it seems, being each others foils like Hogan and Piper before them and there had to be a stipulation where if Randy was Counted Out or DQ’d, he’d lose the championship regardless. This was prime Viper Randy and the obvious joke we had of Super Cena where he very rarely lost, unless it was SummerSlam surprisingly enough.
Number two reason was CM Punk and Jeff Hardy. Hardys known for the Ladder and TLC matches in the past and this being the penultimate match for this feud and it was a banger of a match. If you didn’t know Punk before, it was a great introduction to his wrestling. I used to like Punk a lot because of this match because he could talk, wrestle… and not insanely personal with things in wrestling. In all seriousness, this was a great match. Ultimate risks, high reward for Punk grabbing the World Heavyweight Championship and he was given his next feud because of the final boss of SmackDown at that time. Thanks, Teddy Long.
The main and final reason though why this match gave me the memories flowing back is more of the fact that one of my closest and longest termed friends of 23 years, also loves wrestling. Back when we were younger, he’d do MoCap videos on YouTube with his figures. We’d have friends come over for parties at his house and we’d do the one thing WWE always told us not to do and that was try it at home. He was always stronger than me, I was always more charismatic. He had the power aspect and did things with brute force, I could talk my way out of trouble with parents if we did something wrong. There was always one thing that our respective mother’s always called us though… it’s on the tip of my tongue… oh right, ‘Degenerates’.
As soon as we were called that, we kind of parodied the DX line. I was limber enough to do the HBK pose and do a Superkick before it became the new DDT and he would just Spinebuster people and knew how to do the water spit. So what do you think was the main reason we even ordered this PPV for his 13th Birthday? I think the two guys we were pretending to be were set to return on a tank and toss out some glow sticks. The return of DX, Shawn Michaels coming back after Mania with Triple H to deal with the Legacy problem was an amazing return for them and made everything so much fun.
So we have the solid card and this one has a personal story… what’s my number one SummerSlam? Is it personal? Well yes but not going into that. Is it a good card? To me, it was a phenomenal card! Is it memorable? Seeing how wrestling fans still mention at least three matches to this day.
#1: 2005 (Octopus in the Washer, Lover’s Quarrel and Where the F%#$ is Vickie?)
Quite possibly some of the best matches I’ve seen and one that was just the most hilarious moments of overselling in wrestling history, I know why I love this SummerSlam but it’s also a really good card at the same time. Redacted beats Orlando Jordan in 25 seconds for the US Title and they made jokes about it like, he can make a coffee faster than he beat Orlando and stuff like that, it’s pretty funny. Angle getting sick of Eugene’s antics for his Gold Medal was also a great bit they had play up, the Year long feud of Randy Orton and Undertaker was still going on where Orton comes out on top this time around to get the win back from Mania, Jericho returning for the match with Cena in a whole promotional thing for each other’s groups, Fozzy for Jericho and the Chain Gang doing Bad, Bad Man for Cena leading up to a match for the WWE Championship. JBL won a 20 man battle royal on SmackDown to win the Championship…… Opportunity to face the newest member of SmackDown, Batista but the three main matches that a lot of people talk about to this day; Edge vs Matt Hardy, Rey vs Eddie for Dominik and Hogan vs HBK in the Main Event.
I have reasons to enjoy the Hardy/Edge match but it looked like a real fight, it really made us believe that Matt Hardy was going to kill Edge because real names were dropped during this tirade from Hardy. It wasn’t Edge and Lita, it was Adam and Amy. Matt was so dead set on beating the hell out of Edge that they made a situation into gold and it was a great moment for this match to happen, I believe it was also an Unsanctioned Match too which added the intensity until matt got concussed and knocked senseless that it looked like he couldn’t fight for anything but the build up was what made it seem like a marque match. It made it feel real, it made it feel awesome and it made it feel personal.
Eddie kept tormenting Rey Mysterio about Dominik not being Rey’s but Eddie’s for the summer. That’s all you heard from Eddie being the weasel he was is hanging out with Dominik, making the world believe it’s his son and what not (Let’s not do a fast forward to today where he has the mullet, mustache and everything like Eddie) but they settle this in a Ladder Match where the top of it is a document for the custody of Dominik and my god, this match is better than it should have been. I expect nothing else from Eddie because the man hated having a bad match, Dom got involved and stopped Eddie, Vickie was late and stopped Eddie. The whole match was good it was just very weird with the premise but was a great match. I wonder if Rey regrets his decision to win the match now…
Octopus in a Washing Machine… those five words have resonated with Shawn Michaels’ performance in this match, forever. It was supposed to be an amazing match up between Hogan and Michaels, Icon vs Icon it said and suddenly Hogan’s back gives out, can’t do a trilogy of matches so we can only do the one and then pull out of everything after. This match was set up to be a classic and instead turned into the most unbelievable sell fest ever. A Hogan big boot caused Shawn to tumble 3 or 4 times, getting crotched on the ropes had HBK bouncing higher than he should have, being tossed out of the ring made it look like Shawn never broke his back in 1998 from how much he flopped and flipped around like crazy. It’s bad… or maybe even good that a lot of current wrestlers watched this match that went, “I can sell like that, I want to be a wrestler” and did. So good or bad, I don’t know but for some reason this PPV has always had a place in my heart for how memorable it was.
Those are my top three SummerSlams so far but who knows, 2024 has potential to maybe bump something or at least get me to consider a shift. Should be fun to see how the show plays out! What are some of your favorite SummerSlams?
About Chairshot Radio Network
Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)
WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)
THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)
FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)
SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast
SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast
CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS
Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)
TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends
Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5
Classic POD is WAR
Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!
Powered by RedCircle
Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!