![]() WWE Elimination Chamber 2012 The following predictions are made by avid wrestling fan and analyst JR. Follow him on Twitter at @StarNinja99. With only four matches currently on the card, I'd expect to see some un-advertised matches show up. Out of these, while I wouldn't be surprised if you were to see a match for the Tag Team titles, you'll probably be looking at a Sheamus match. They'll want his presence to be felt at Elimination Camber to keep up his momentum going into Wrestelmania 28. If there is a tag team match, I'd expect it to be The Usos challenging, but I find this doubtful from their loss Friday Night on Smackdown. Additionally, while I personally don't find it likely, keep an eye out for another Undertaker promo. While I think they'd leave such a thing for the following night on Raw, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Undertaker use the Elimination Chamber as a stage for a promo.
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![]() Decent tag team match with Big Show and Great Khali defeating Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett. Of course, anything containing Khali will be extremely limited, but it was fine for what it was. I hate the fact that neither Barrett nor Rhodes have gotten any momentum going into Sunday, which will hinder their chances of winning the Elimination Chamber. Big Show going crazy was interesting since we don't usually see this from his character. I wouldn't necessarily call this a heel turn, but it's what's expected going into the Chamber. However, I do have a feeling a heel turn is imminent to set up a WrestleMania match with Shaq. Good match from Ted DiBiase and Hunico, but it just felt like much of the same from last week. I'm glad they're involved in a program together, but they haven't done the best job promoting it or properly building it. Both Superstars need wins, and I'd rather see them move on in separate directions. Fun tag team match with WWE Tag Team Champions Primo and Epico defeating the Usos in a very high-paced bout. The ending moments were incredibly suspenseful and almost had me thinking the Usos might just pick up the victory. These two teams work really well together, so I hope this isn't the last time we see them collide. Excellent match between World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan and Sheamus. Originally, I wasn't happy we were seeing this on SmackDown when it can instead be saved for WrestleMania, but the ending gave Bryan a victory while also protecting Sheamus. This could have been a possible preview of what's to come between the two, so I'm excited we'll be seeing more from them in the near future. ![]() Kofi Kingston endures the painful Walls of Jericho. Surprisingly good segment with the Elimination Chamber to kick off the show. Kofi Kingston delivered the best mic work in a long time, Chris Jericho got his point across, The Miz showed great intensity, R-Truth and Dolph Ziggler entertained, and CM Punk was awesome as usual. It provided great hype for the title match on Sunday while giving everyone their respective time to shine. Entertaining match between Chris Jericho and Kofi Kingston despite it being a bit short. These two never fail to provide a great match, and Kingston looked like a threat for the first time in a good while. Smart move in progressing Jericho's momentum going into the Elimination Chamber. Passable match between Randy Orton and Big that was quickly ruined by the botched RKO spot towards the end. Additionally, a match between the two biggest stars on Friday nights should have been advertised more in order to make it feel meaningful. Daniel Bryan's interference was logical, and is now serving as the reason behind Randy Orton's recent injury. Solid segment featuring Triple H and Shawn Michaels regarding the Undertaker and WrestleMania 28. Both legends showed great intensity and got me even more excited for the very possible Taker-HHH match at Mania. Much like last week, Undertaker's video package was extremely well done and mysterious in the sense that it keeps viewers intrigued about Taker cutting his hair. From what it looks like, I hope to see Michaels back on Raw on the road to WrestleMania in order to settle this unfinished business. Decent match between Dolph Ziggler and R-Truth while it lasted. It's unfortunate to see someone who headlined Royal Rumble last month now losing in less than two minutes. Truth didn't need the victory following his recent wins since returning, while Ziggler needs to be elevated once again in order to be taken seriously in the ring. ![]() Big Show, Cody Rhodes, Wade Barrett, and Sheamus. Similar to last week, the opening segment on this edition of SmackDown felt jam-packed and overbooked. Sure, it provided nice hype for the Elimination Chamber match as well as WrestleMania, but none of the four Superstars involved had any real significant mic time since it felt rushed. Regardless, I did get a kick out of Cody Rhodes's jabs toward the Big Show. Throwaway match with The Great Khali dominating Jinder Mahal. I would have liked to see more from these two due to their history, but Khali is just way too limited in the ring. Although I'm not sure if it was piped in or not, his reaction from the crowd is at least getting better. I'm not looking forward to him in the Elimination Chamber match by any means. Typical Divas match that wasn't at all terrible, but its two-minute length made it feel meaningless. Divas Champion Beth Phoenix continues to establish herself as a dominant title-holder, which will do wonders when she eventually feuds with the returning Kharma. In the meantime, her rivalry with Tamina over the strap should be a nice place-holder. Great tag team match that saw Sheamus and Big Show defeat the team of Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett. Everyone was able to get their respective time to shine, with an entertaining final moments of the bout. I've grown accustomed to Sheamus being booked as a monster face recently especially since he'll be headlining WrestleMania, but that doesn't take away from the fact that this marks the third loss for both Rhodes and Barrett in the last week. ![]() CM Punk takes out both Dolph Ziggler and The Miz. Solid segment to kick off the show featuring WWE COO Triple H address the cliffhanger from last week regarding John Laurinaitis as well as the return of the Undertaker. Originally, I was completely against the idea of another WrestleMania match between the two, but this promo certainly changed my mind to an extent. The Undertaker's video package was very well done and unique, making his vendetta against HHH something much different than anything we've seen before. I hope they keep this rivalry as exciting for the next two months going into Mania. Good match between World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan and Big Show while it lasted. The two tell a nice story in the ring, and the count-out finish is a smart move in preserving the feud and continuing the story with AJ. Everyone was great here, giving the SmackDown title picture some nice exposure. Quick squash match with Sheamus and David Otunga that didn't seem to serve much purpose. Since Sheamus is the 2012 Royal Rumble winner, I'd much rather see face more credible Superstars if he plans on headlining WrestleMania. Nonetheless, this bout was harmless and also established Otunga as somewhat of a mini-threat with the minimal offense he received on the Celtic Warrior. Excellent promo from Chris Jericho that finally explained his motive for coming back to the WWE, while also targeting WWE Champion CM Punk as his poser. Obviously, I've been waiting for Jericho to address this for a long time now (dating back to last summer), so I personally got great enjoyment out of his usual awesome mic work here. I'm glad Punk didn't even speak a word realizing that it's a major segment that can be saved for a later date down the line, so that was a nice foreshadowing of what's to come. Meaningless tag team match with Randy Orton and The Great Khali defeating Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett. Although I do realize that it was done in order to hype the SmackDown Elimination Chamber, no one really got anything out of this whatsoever. Firstly, Khali should be by no means in the ring, much less dominating future World Champions. Secondly, the tension between Khali and Orton was the only positive aspect to the bout, with the Viper delivering and RKO to the Punjabi Playboy soon after. |
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