WWE Elimination Chamber: EC Match to determine #1 contender for the WHC

[#hamler]

Shit, such a hard match to predict.

The fan in me wants a Jericho vs. Ziggler match at Wrestlemania. We all know Dolph Ziggler can get shit done in the ring. He needs that true breakout match to be remembered for the rest of his career; and Jericho can give him that match at Wrestlemania. Given that Big Show is incredibly pissed off at Del Rio, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him dominate that match up only to have Dolph cash in on whoever the Champion is at the time. Chris Jericho wins the Elimination Chamber and boom, like magic we have a tremendous match up between two of the best in ring competitors in the WWE today.

While that scenario tickles the shit out of my fancy, and Orton match with Dolph or Del Rio can definitely do some good. Orton’s been in a rut as of late. He hasn’t done anything really significant since losing to Mark Henry for the World Championship in 2011. It’s certainly not out of the question that Orton goes over in this match to force his way back into the World Championship picture come Wrestlemania. With rumors of a heel run for Orton running rapid, Orton vs. Del Rio is definitely something to look forward to.

Mark Henry is another favorite of mine that can very easily win the Elimination Chamber match this Sunday. Henry’s proved over and over again he’s a dominant motherfucker. And given that this match is inside of the Elimination Chamber, Henry fits in here easily. Henry can very well dominate most of the match up and walk into Wrestlemania as number one contender. Question is, with the possible outcomes of his opponent, who will he face? Del Rio is an awful option for such a big event. Even Dolph Ziggler wouldn’t fit here and heaven knows we’ve seen Big Show vs. Mark Henry enough during the 2011 year to want to see it again.

Daniel Bryan is another likely candidate. While a match against Del Rio would definitely get me ready for Wrestlemania season in hope of getting a phenomenal match out of these two, I don’t see it happening. Daniel Bryan and Kane still have unfinished business with one another and I get the feeling we could be heading for a match between the two at Wrestlemania. With Jack Swagger, it’s a different story. He is the last one that needs to be rushed into a main event feud right now. Jack Swagger debuted his new manager Zeb Colter on Raw this past week, so I would much rather see what becomes of that instead of forcing him into the main event of Wrestlemania so quickly.

Through all of my babbling, I’m going with Chris Jericho for the simple fact that I like what could very well be the outcome in a match against Ziggler at Wrestlemania over the gold.

Hamler's Prediction -Chris Jericho will win the Number One Contender Elimination Chamber.

 

[the_mighty_biggs]

Mark Henry is the only one I want to win and should win.

Jericho is a close second but it seems he only comes around for that big wrestlemania pay day these days.

Henry aint the best but he is the best I been a true fan of Mark Henry the person since I seen him recite his poem about Owen Hart at Owen's tribute show he's a good guy and loves this bussiness and does a great job at it he's the only one in this match I want to see at wrestlemania in a title match.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Didn't one of the superstars do a promo the other day, grousing about Mark Henry coming back after such a long time and being thrust over other contenders who've been there all along? That's for storyline purposes, but as far as the Elimination Chamber PPV goes, I wonder if some believe it for real.

Of course, it's true that Mark had an (unexpectedly) great run before he got hurt; a championship run.....and that qualifies him to be in this match and operate at main event level. But it also might be true that Mark's rash of injuries throughout his WWE tenure also makes it wise to get maximum benefit out of him before he breaks down again.

To be fair, his last run was much longer than the ones he enjoyed earlier in his career. Someone (Tony Atlas?) apparently rode herd over him and taught him something about proper nutrition and taking care of his body.....and the results were impressive. Still, he eventually broke down, and when Mark Henry gets injured, he's not out of action for weeks; it's usually closer to a year.

In other words, Mark may win this EC match because the company wants to get all they can out of him before he goes down once again.

Probably a good idea.

 

[JBK2008]

This is the wild card match of the night. I can't wait to see how this will go down. Lets see...

Daniel Bryan- No. Tag Team Champion and dealing with Kane
Kane- No. Tag Team Champion and dealing with Daniel Bryan
Jericho- Maybe, but not really. Part timer to putting over young talent
Orton- Possilby, but a face vs face at Mania isn't appealing
Swagger- Possibly, just came back and decent promos with new manager
Henry- Yes. Big man back for one more run with the Hall of Pain!

I'm going with Mark Henry. The guy's career up until late 11, early 12 was a joke. A bad joke at that and one more run at the top to put Del Rio over would be a great way to send him out and also help Ziggler become WHC. Think about it. Del Rio pulls off a "miracle" at WrestleMania 29 and beats Henry. Henry gets super mad and crushes him after the loss, only for Ziggler to cash in! This happened for Daniel Bryan and I'm sure Henry wouldn't mind doing it one more time. He's a business guy and knows that his role is to put over young guys at the right time. Push him as a monster for the title only to lose and then help Ziggler cash in.

 

[gk11973]

This one is a tough call. Henry would be a great and popular choice. Swagger seems like he is being set up to face Del Rio though, with his new Controversial manager. Orton is always in the mix and could easily win. As for who is not going to win... Jericho is only back for a short stint so there would be no point to him winning. Kane and Daniel Bryan are the tag champs so they will either be defending at Mania or will be feuding with one another. Then of course, its tough to call who will actually be World champ by Mania, ADR, Show or even Ziggler could emerge as the winner. Im kind of thinking ADR retains over show, then Ziggler cashes in. WM: Ziggler vs ADR vs Swagger, Henry or Orton.

 

[BrianBell]

IMHO I think Jericho wins. As I said in the World Title thread, I believe Ziggler wins the World Title Sunday cashing in his MITB briefcase. I also believe Jericho wouldn't have come back unless he got one major victory as a reward for putting over the younger talent the rest of his tenure. The Chamber match would give Jericho his win, and also sets up a World Title match that on paper ought to be a much better match than the likely WWE Title match. Jericho puts over Ziggler legitimizing Ziggler's World Title run.

 

[Dagger Dias]

This is my early pick for the match of the night and it is the one I am looking forward to the most. As I often like to do with these types of matches, let's take a look at each contender:


Randy Orton
I don't really see him winning. He's always a threat given his number of world title reigns but I don't like his odds this time around.

Jack Swagger
His new character could see him getting a Wrestlemania push against Del Rio, but that depends on Del Rio retaining against Big Show and when Ziggler will be cashing his briefcase in. Swagger's got some of the best odds of winning the match in my opinion, the best odds other than possibly Mark Henry.

Chris Jericho
As much as I'd like to see him win, I doubt it will happen. He'll have a couple of cool moments in the match and lose despite being strongly booked.

Mark Henry
I hate to say it, but Henry's got good odds of winning the match. Much like Swagger he could end up getting a Wrestlemania angle for the World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio. Like with Swagger though that depends on who wins the World Heavyweight Championship match and when Ziggler is cashing in. I'd rather see Swagger win than Henry, honestly.

Kane
This wouldn't be the first time Kane is in one of these types of matches to make the others look good and it won't be the last. He won't win but he'll dominate like usual.

Daniel Bryan
He probably won't win. I can see him playing a similar role to Jericho in the match, of having some cool moments in the match but coming up short despite being booked strongly. I don't see him winning, Team Hell No shouldn't split up until after Wrestlemania and if he did win it might result in that split happening sooner rather than later.

In the end it is going to come down to when Ziggler is cashing in and who wins the World Heavyweight Championship match. I've got Alberto defeating Big Show in my prediction for that match, and I did not predict a Dolph cash-in just yet, he might wait until Wrestlemania. As in, after Alberto is too tired to defeat him and has already defeated his opponent at Wrestlemania, the winner of this match, Jack Swagger. I think Swagger will win to move on to face Alberto for the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania. The involvement of Zeb and the new character feuding with Del Rio's face persona would make for one of the more interesting World Heavyweight Championship storylines at Wrestlemania in recent years. That's a similar cash-in scenario to what we are used to, but it gets Dolph his Wrestlemania moment and we have yet to have a Wrestlemania cash-in. I hope it happens and that is my predicted outcome for this match as well as the aftermath of its results.

DAGGER'S PREDICTION
Jack Swagger will win #1 contender status for the World Heavyweight Championship.

 

[El Rev sXe]

Tough choice, a lot depends on who is going to win the match between ADR and Show and if Ziggler is going to cash in his MitB briefcase...

Jack Swagger: personally, I hate this guy and I think he should've been released long time ago...However with his bullshit about immigrants and being a "real american", it kinda make senses for him to star a feud against ADR who has become super latino/mexicano (which is pretty cool actually). However it is too soon for him to enter the WH title picture, I mean he's back for one month after all and ahsn't prove anything to make him worth it!

Kane: he is going to be in the same exact spot in the chamber that he has always been since the first elimination chamber back in '02. Probably a couple of great spots, shows himself as the unstoppable big red machine, have some confrontations with DB, but definitely not going to win the match or being the last man eliminated.

Daniel Bryan: For some weird reason I actually see Daniel Bryan eliminating Kane thus way leading to the imminent implosion of team Hell No. I would really like to see Bryan win the chamber, but I highly doubt it.

Chris Jericho: just like Kane, another veteran on the match whose purpose is to have some great spots and making look really good the other wrestlers (probably and mostly Swagger and Bryan). I would also like to see Jericho win the chamber, go to Mania but not winning the title. Don't get me wrong I would like to see Y2J as champ as much as the next guy, but it isn't his role on the company anymore. At this point, he has the most chance to win the chamber.

Randy Orton: in theory THE star in the match, from a story point of view, is an easy way and great way also for insert once again Orton onto the title picture. It's been a while since Randy had a title match at Mania. I could see it hapenning....but not against ADR. IF, and I mean a big IF, Ziggler cashes in his briefcase and beats ADR to become WHC, I can see at Mania Ziggler vs Orton or even a triple threat, ADR vs Orton vs Ziggler.

Mark Henry: he has come back for roughly a month and unlike Swagger he does have a reason to be immediately inserted to the title picture since he has proven he can be a top draw for SD! ADR vs Mark Henry for the WHC at Wrestlemania? It may not be a great wrestling match, but it kinda looks good on paper.

Conclusion: Jericho and Orton could win this match, but only if Ziggler cashes in his MitB briefcase. If not, the best option is Mark Henry.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

It's brilliantly poised that any of 4 could win, the only 2 out of it really are Team Hell No as it's clear they're gonna fight at Mania.

Swagger is interesting but I can't see them pulling the trigger on a massive push this quick, especially if they are going the "racist" route - Bruno's around remember. I can see him getting the match with ADR at Mania, but not for the belt.

Henry to me is the guy who should be fighting Ryback at Mania so, glad as I am that he is looking good - he isn't the right guy to headline Mania at the moment.

So that leaves the final two - and the reality is that Jericho is the right guy to win it. He is insanely over as a face right now and arguments about part timers aside, he guarantees a WHC match that will steal the show at Mania against Ziggler and he has earned a face run at the title going into a Wrestlemania for his hard work, his schedule at the moment is short-term but it is done to maximize his usefulness and the reactions he is getting means that he will get a massive pop in MSG and his name in that title match will sell PPV's to those who hate Rock and Cena.

Orton should be facing the Shield in some capacity, couldn't Taker manage a tag match?

 

[The Eighties]

Team Hell No will squabble to the point where one pins the other and the one that gets pinned will screw the other, so can write both off as winners.

Swagger's new white supremacist character needs to feud with Rey before he faces Del Rio, so too soon for him to win.

Orton has been floating aimlessly for a while but I don't see him winning here, although if he doesn't I'm not sure what they do with him at Mania.

Henry has been beastly since returning and I'd like to see him win, but I think his recent dominance of Orton will be paid back via and RKO & pin here.

Jericho makes the most sense, especially if Ziggler cashes in and wins the WHC tonight. Sadly even if that happens I don't see Jericho vs Ziggler happening as a one on one at Mania, there is such a traffic jam of guys in that WHC mix that I think it ends up as a multi-man match.