WWE Elimination Chamber 2012 Preview and Predictions (by JR)

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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Divas Champion Beth Phoenix vs. Tamina

Beth Phoenix vs. Tamina for the Divas Championship
With the current state of the Diva's division, its gecoming hard to comprehend which direction they will go.  However, with this match on the card, I'd make a venture into guessing we'll get a strong win from Beth Phoenix.  Tamina's push feels like a quick fad that Vince is so fond of.  As thwey all do, you can surely expect this to pass.  Also, with the possibility of Kharma coming back in the near future, after her dominating presence at the Royal Rumble, I think they'll be keeping the title on Beth Phoenix for their immenent fued.

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John Cena vs. Kane

John Cena vs. Kane in an Ambulance Match
Before I get into this one, let me just say that I personally am not a fan of this rather gimmicky match. On that note, I'll be expected a strong fight from Kane, but, ultimatley, a win for John Cena.  It's common sense to think Cena needs to come off this feud hot, with The Rock waiting in the wings to take him on at the Grandest Stage of Them All. While Cena will win, I'll be expecting Kane to come out of this with at least some of the momentum he's built up since his return, so as to keep him relavant on the rest of the road to WrestleMania.  

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SmackDown Elimination Chamber

SmackDown Elimination Chamber
After seeing the Great Khali replace Mark Henry, and Santino replace Randy Orton, I'm baffled at the lack of star power in this match. Still, since seeing Sheamus win the Royal Rumble, I've gotten to thinking.  I really don't think Daniel Bryan will be carrying the belt into WrestleMania.  It just doesn't seem to be in the cards.  They dropped a rematch at WrestleMania 27 from the card last year between the two, so why would they do it now?

Upon looking at the original line up for the Chamber match, I had a sinking feeling I knew who was going to win.  As for big stars, both Big Show and Randy Orton seemed unlikely to me.  With Big Show gearing up for the rumored match with Shaq at WrestleMania, and Randy and Sheamus already having had a slew of matches against each other back in 2010, I realized neither of them would win.  With Randy now out of the match, it's obvious Santino won't walk out, even to the most casual fan.  Khali would never regain the belt, at least not this close to the biggest show in the business, and I find it highly unlikely Cody Rhodes could pull an Ultimate Warrior and become both the new World Heavyweight Champion and the Intercontinental Champion at the same time.

Even though I'm not a huge fan of his ring ability, my gut tells me that Wade Barrett is going to walk out of the Elimination Chamber as the first English-born World Champion.  As the first Irish born WWE Champion, this would lead to an easy feud between Sheamus and Barrett for the title at WrestleMania, leaving Sheumus the winner, if only to keep the statistics for Royal Rumble Winners up. On a side note, keep an eye out for Santino.  If he's in a pod, I don't find it outside the realm of possibility for him to be the last one out of the pod.  That would surely cause a big pop with the Wisconsin crowd.

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Raw Elimination Chamber

Raw Elimination Chamber
I see only to outcomes to this match. While CM Punk retaining his title is highly likely, I'm leaning towards Chris Jericho at this point.  This would leave Punk where he is best at, an angry man on a tear for what should rightfully be his, and lead to a great match between the two at the Grandest stage of them all. If you can remember, last year's Elimination Chamber match hosted CM Punk's nefarious treatment of Randy Orton by coaxing him, when the pod door had broken in mid swing.  I would not be surprised to see this again, if only to have Jericho mock him. 

In either case, something has to happen in this match to give Punk more of a reason to want to bring down Jericho, and I'm sure we all know what can be done inside that nefarious structure.As for the rest of the match, expect this to be what steals the show.  R-Truth will probably put on a great run in the match, considering the roll he's been on character wise since his return from suspension. On top of that, word is Triple H has really gotten behind him backstage, helping him with his character.  I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Truth being on of the last three in the match.  

I'd say the same For Ziggler, with the bright future he's paving himself. The Miz is almost an afterthought, as is Kofi Kingston.  While I respect the participants in this match, this is being boiled down to Punk and Jericho, as far as the fans are concerned. Still, expect some of these supposed "afterthoughts" help put the best match on the card.

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