The Road to WrestleMania is filled with daunting stops and detours, but none more destructive than the dreaded Elimination Chamber. This year, six Raw Superstars will dare to enter the unforgiving structure with their sights set on a showdown with Universal Champion Brock Lesnar on Sunday, April 8.
At WWE Elimination Chamber, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Intercontinental Champion The Miz, Elias and a Superstar still to be named will square off in an Elimination Chamber Match to see who will go on to face The Beast at The Showcase of The Immortals.
The infamous construction, with its chain-link walls, glass pods and steel floors, is diabolical to the core, and the rules for the warzone are as twisted as the Chamber itself. Two Superstars will start the bout while the remaining four are enclosed in pods. At specified intervals, a pod will open at random, enabling another Superstar to enter the match. This will continue until all six competitors have been released. A Superstar can be eliminated at any time via pinfall or submission, and the last man standing will be declared the winner.
On the Jan. 29 edition of Raw, General Manager Kurt Angle made the first three qualifying matches:
John Cena moved one step closer to a possible 17th World Championship in a hard-fought match against
Finn Bálor,
Elias overcame the unpredictable
“Woken” Matt Hardy thanks in part to Bray Wyatt, and
Braun Strowman toppled Kane in a hellacious Last Man Standing Match.
The following week, Roman Reigns qualified by overcoming the ominous Wyatt, and Intercontinental Champion The Miz earned his way into the match by (out-branding?) Titus Worldwide’s Apollo Crews.
Elias then made things even more interesting when he picked up a huge Triple Threat Match victory over Cena and Strowman to ensure that he would be the last competitor released into the deadly bout.
Next week, four of the Superstars who were defeated in qualifying matches --
Bálor, Hardy, Goldust and Wyatt -- will battle in a Second Chance Fatal 4-Way Match for the final spot in the Chamber.
Of the Superstars who have already qualified, only Cena and Miz have experience competing in the harrowing structure, as The Leader of the Cenation has battled in six Chamber Matches, and The A-Lister has participated twice. Considering the unpredictable nature of the contest and unbelievable carnage that the Chamber is always guaranteed to produce, however, experience may not mean a whole lot in a match that’s nearly impossible to prepare for.
Who will survive and square off against The Beast Incarnate for the red brand’s top prize at WrestleMania 34? Find out when WWE Elimination Chamber streams live on WWE Network on Sunday, Feb. 25, at 8 ET/5 PT!
