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I'm thinking the first match on the card will be a big, get you hyped, important kind of match. Probably an Elimination Chamber match, since the WWE loves to have bookend style PPV cards. And since I think the WWE has something big planned for the Smackdown Elimination Chamber match, we're starting the card with the Raw EC match.
Match #1: Sheamus v R-Truth v John Morrison v Randy Orton v CM Punk v John Cena; Elimination Chamber
Predictions: The first two men in the match are John Morrison and Sheamus to play off of their feud. They battle it out and no eliminations occur until the first man comes out, R-Truth, teaming with Morrison to eliminate Sheamus. Morrison then starts beating down R-Truth and eliminates him before CM Punk's chamber is opened. CM Punk comes out and we have a split second face off before Morrison just straight jumps him; he's pissed about the spray in the eyes. Morrison is very aggressive in this match, like he was in the tag match on Raw against Nexus. These two put on what I'd imagine would be a GREAT match until the next man's chamber is opened...Randy Orton. Orton takes no prisoners, but he isn't a big fan of CM Punk due to Punk costing him the title at the Rumble, so he doesn't mind teaming with Morrison to eliminate Punk, which they succeed at. Then Morrison and Orton go at it until Cena's door opens, and he comes out and goes after both of them, going all Super Cena on their asses. It isn't long before Orton gets the upper hand on Cena and does something to put him out of action for a few minutes (maybe a DDT to the outside like what he did to HHH last year, or maybe an RKO on the steel, something like that) so he can eliminate Morrison. Then, John Cena comes in and gets Orton up in a fireman's carry in an attempt at an Attitude Adjustment, but Orton reverses it into an RKO, much like what he did into a table a few months ago, and gets the pin, effectively becoming the #1 contender and guaranteeing himself a WWE Title shot at the Main Event at Wrestlemania.
Winner: Randy Orton
Reasoning: There are two reasons behind me having Orton win this match. First off, because the WWE needs to move on from John Cena as their top babyface, and Randy Orton is very clearly the next guy in line to take that exact role. A huge win for Orton at an event that the WWE loves to use to build top names up will work wonders for him. The second reason is...well, I'll explain it later on, but it is very justified. Another thing that I wanted to get across in this match is John Morrison's aggression; I know the WWE wants to turn him heel and I feel like they've set his path in motion so that he'll be full-on heel by WM, and then he can face Daniel Bryan for the US title in what might be "THAT match" (the match that steals the show) for WM 27.
So then we cut to the back and Alberto Del Rio is in Teddy Long's office. He says he doesn't have any reason to face Kofi Kingston tonight because he already beat him and he isn't worth his time. Just as Teddy is about to say something, Kofi shows up and says something along the lines of "Listen Alberto, I want you one on one tonight. You aren't backing out of this one", to which Alberto basically asks "What's in it for me?" in his awesome Alberto Del Rio way of saying things. Then Kofi says "What's in it for you? How about if I put this on the line (referring to the IC Title), is that enough to get you in the ring"? Alberto agrees and we have an Intercontinental Title Match.
Match #2: Alberto Del Rio v Kofi Kingston (c); Intercontinental Championship on the line
Predictions: In a very good back and forth match, Alberto Del Rio locks in his Arm Breaker and wins the Intercontinental Championship. Nothing too fancy, maybe a Ricardo Rodriguez interference to distract Kofi long enough for Alberto to lock his move in, but Alberto is going to win this match (and the title) because he is, to quote the son in law, just that damn good.
Winner: Alberto Del Rio
Reasoning: Del Rio is a star on the rise. The WWE wants him to be the next big thing, on the same level as Batista was before his retirement in terms of a true heel who doesn't back down from a fight and knows he is better than everybody else. This does two things...first of all, it allows for a Title vs Title match at Wrestlemania, something that happens only once in a blue moon in the WWE. This is how you smash somebody over.
Match #3: Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov (c) v Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater; Tag Titles on the line
Predictions: Simply put, I think Koztino are going to be breaking up in this match. Santino is massively over with the fans and unfortunately The Cobra is probably right up there with the RKO as the most over move in the WWE. Vladimir Kozlov is a natural heel and a big powerhouse of a man. So, either Koztino breaking up will cost them the titles, or Ezekiel Jackson will aid Gabriel and Slater, but either way, I think The Corre(lation) goes over and wins their tag titles back. Slater hits Sweetness followed by a Gabriel 450 and then while Justin is pinning Kozlov, Ezekiel Jackson is holding onto Santino's foot, preventing him from making the save. After the match, Kozlov gets pissed at Santino for not saving him and their titles after the 450. Santino tries to explain but Kozlov can't understand a damn thing he's saying so he just gets angry and headbutts Santino, Zinedine Zidane style.
Winner: The Corre
Reasoning: Two reasons. First of all, Koztino have run their course. They need to break up and feud and what better way to allow for that to happen than the way that I have outlined here? The second reason is that I think this will get a Corre vs. Nexus match to happen with McGillicutty and Otunga challenging for the titles at WM, leaving for Mason Ryan and Ezekiel Jackson to have an Enforcer vs. Enforcer type of match, or meeting up in the MitB match where they won't need to have the workload of the match in order to have a big moment setting them up for future domination.
Match #4: The Miz (c) v Jerry Lawler; WWE Title on the line
Predictions: Jerry Lawler is a master of in-ring storytelling and psychology, and that same department is also Miz's strong suit in terms of in-ring work, so this could actually be a pretty solid match. I predict TONS of shenanigans going on with Alex Riley at ringside, but Lawler just keeps on kicking out. At some point Lawler is going to hit his big fist off the middle rope and Miz will kick out, but then Alex Riley gets up on the apron to distract Lawler while Miz recovers. Then who comes out? John Cena. He comes down and beats the living crap out of Alex Riley and then costs The Miz the WWE Title. That's right, I'm having Jerry "The King" Lawler winning the WWE Title for one night and one night only.
Winner: Jerry Lawler
Reasoning: This is the second reason behind me having Randy Orton win the Raw Elimination Chamber. If Cena would've won, he wouldn't have bothered costing Miz the WWE title because he doesn't want to have to be the guy to beat Jerry Lawler for the WWE Title at Wrestlemania, and he wants Lawler to have the title at least once. Now, let me get one thing clear: The Miz is NOT a Wrestlemania Main Eventer...not this year, at least. He's close. He's damn close. But he's just not ready yet. And the WWE Championship match needs to be a Main Event quality match. So, why Jerry Lawler? Not because I'm planning on having him actually defend the title at WM, but because there needs to be a babyface transitional champion in between The Miz and CM Punk. The following night on Raw, Miz wants his rematch, but Cena beats him down (again continuing Cena's trend of doing heel-ish things to heels and getting pops for it) so he's unable to compete. In his place? CM Punk going one on one with Jerry Lawler. The camera goes backstage to see Nexus hovering over a beaten down John Cena. He won't be interfering in the match. Then the Anonymous Raw GM sets up a "Nexus is banned from ringside" stipulation. Punk wins clean over Lawler, giving Lawler his time to shine and setting up Punk/Orton for the title at WM and allowing for Cena/Miz to be on the upper-midcard, where it belongs, instead of a main event. CM Punk (c) v Randy Orton with the WWE Title on the line seems like a Wrestlemania Main Event, now doesn't it?!
Match #5: Rey Mysterio v Kane v Edge v Wade Barrett v Drew McIntyre v ???; Elimination Chamber
Predictions: The five men come down to the ring with Edge being the fifth, meaning he's one of the two people starting the match. But who's the sixth man? "Just Close Your Eyes" by Story of the Year hits and, if Jim Ross were on commentary, he'd be saying "IT'S CHRISTIAN! IT'S CHRISTIAN! IT'S CHRISTIAN! AFTER NEARLY FIVE MONTHS CHRISTIAN HAS RETURNED!", and it'd be epic, but since Michael Cole will be on commentary I'm sure he'll find a way to make it seem lame. Regardless, yes, Christian has returned from injury and will be going one on one with Edge for at least five minutes until the first door opens. So they have a GREAT match but neither of them goes for any pinfalls. The first cage door opens and it's Barrett. He comes in to break up the love fest and E&C reunite for five minutes to take on "NOT the" leader of the Corre, eliminating him just as the next door opens and Kane comes out to receive a similar treatment. Kane, though, is way more resilient and manages to gain the upper hand for a few seconds, goes for a double chokeslam and then gets kicked in the gut and double suplexed by E&C. Kane is NOT eliminated by the time Drew McIntyre comes out, so they form a temporary alliance to take care of the E&C issue. It's Edge v Kane and McIntyre v Christian until Rey Mysterio's door unlocks and he comes in to help the babyfaces. Drew McIntyre is next to be eliminated which basically seals Kane's fate. Or does it? Hell no it doesn't, because Christian TURNS ON EDGE, hitting a killswitch and going for the pin. At the same time, Mysterio nails a 619 and a west coast pop on the Big Red Monster, causing a double pin seeing both Kane and WHC Edge being eliminated. Mysterio goes on to out-underdog Christian, winning the World Heavyweight championship and heading to Wrestlemania to defend against...that's right...Alberto Del Rio.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Reasoning: Edge's title run has run its course. Barrett is facing Taker at Mania. McIntyre and Kane aren't winning the title for obvious reasons. Christian's return is huge but him v Edge is a feud that doesn't need a title to be involved in order to draw. This leaves Mysterio who already has a history built up with ADR. The entire match works perfectly because it allows for Christian to come back, effectively turn heel on Edge, PIN EDGE (that's an important one), and he still isn't Main Eventing Wrestlemania which we all know will likely NEVER happen. This sets up for Del Rio v Mysterio in a Title v Title match at Wrestlemania with Del Rio going over to become the IC and World Heavyweight Champion. Like I said, fastest rising star in the WWE. This also sets up a huge match between Edge and Christian that will surely continue on way past Wrestlemania seeing as how personal these two can make it if the WWE feels like putting some effort into a title-less feud.
So there you have it. Not necessarily 100% what I THINK is going to happen, but what my ideal 2011 Elimination Chamber PPV would be, and one that isn't necessarily all that far fetched. This puts the WWE in a great position going into Wrestlemania with a bunch of matches already set up for them.
-Edge v Christian
-Alberto Del Rio (IC) v Rey Mysterio (WHC); Title v Title
-Undertaker v Wade Barrett
-Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater (c) v Michael McGillicutty and David Otunga; Tag Titles on the line
-Dolph Ziggler v Kofi Kingston; Winner becomes #1 Contender for Intercontinental Championship
-John Cena v Miz
-Daniel Bryan v John Morrison; US Title on the line
-CM Punk (c) v Randy Orton; WWE Championship on the line
and of course, Jerry Lawler v Michael Cole OR Lawler v Alex Riley w/ Special Guest Referee Michael Cole
And on top of that, they've got a Money in the Bank match to worry about that could involve any combination of the following superstars: R-Truth, Big Show, Kane, Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes, Evan Bourne, Ezekiel Jackson, Mason Ryan, Michael Tarver, Skip Sheffield, Tyler Reks and Drew McIntyre. Plus of course you know they've got to include a Divas match just because they pay them to be there.
