Our 3 Cents - Elimination Chamber 2023
Welcome to Our 3 Cents! This is the last stop for Raw and Smackdown on the Road to WrestleMania. We have a pretty good looking card. Without further to do......
John: 65-20 (76%)
Lonnie: 62-23 (73%)
Jesse: 51-34 (60%)
Let's take a look at the card:
Mixed Tag Team Match
Edge & Beth Phoenix vs. Finn Balor & Rhea Ripley
Jesse: I don’t see how they can have the women’s rumble winner lose in a match just a few weeks later. Rhea pins Beth to make her look strong for her title match.
W: Finn Balor & Rhea Ripley
Lonnie: I feel like multiple things need to happen in this match. They can’t let Edge totally get his revenge here and they need to keep Finn and Rhea strong for WrestleMania. The best way to do that is going to have Rhea beat Beth. They will work to further Finn/Edge here while making Rhea look great.
W: Finn Balor & Rhea Ripley
John: This feud has been off and on forever. I can see on one hand where Edge and Beth want their revenge. On the flip side, Rhea needs to be strong heading into her Mania match with Charlotte. I think the latter is more important as we head into Mania. For that reason, I think Rhea gets the win by pinning Beth. Edge will face Finn at Mania to end the feud.
W: Finn Balor & Rhea Ripley
Bobby Lashley vs. Brock Lesnar
Jesse: This one is kind of hard to pick. I can see this storyline continuing until mania, but I can’t see Lashley outright beating Lesnar. There will probably be some fluke of an ending where Lashley is about to put Lesnar to sleep and Lesnar gets himself DQ’ed. That’s why I’m picking Lashley.
W: Bobby Lashley
Lonnie: This is a tough one as it could finish with either guy winning or a no contest. I feel they are ultimately setting up a rematch for Mania. The best way to do that in my opinion is a Lesnar victory to make it 1-1 after Lashley won at the Rumble 2022. Since that Rumble win was cheap, I would love a surprise roll up victory or something similar here. That would give the built in reason to want a definitive finish at Mania.
W: Brock Lesnar
John: What's Big E say about big meaty men slapping meat?! Anyways, I've enjoyed this feud but must admit I feel it needs to be done. I'm over it now. I was glad to see Bray Wyatt on Smackdown challenging the winner of this to a match at Mania. That should mean this feud ends here. It's hard for me to see Brock working with Bray but that's my personal preference. I'm interested in how that story would work. Let's see it.
W: Brock Lesnar
Women's #1 Contenders Elimination Chamber Match
Winner faces Bianca Belair at WrestleMania for the WWE Raw Women's Championship
Carmella vs. Nikki Cross vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Asuka vs. Liv Morgan vs. Natalya
Jesse: This would have been interesting if Bayley and Becky were in it, but that bubble got burst. This will come down to Asuka or Raquel winning and I have a feeling they want Bianca to have a match of strength at Mania.
W: Raquel Rodriguez
Lonnie: At the Royal Rumble I though the winner would be Rhea, Asuka, or Raquel as they are the ones I think could be in championship matches. Rhea has her title match, so I believe Asuka or Raquel will win here. In the end, I think the repackage Asuka will get the nod as I think WWE trusts her more on a stage like WrestleMania.
W: Asuka
John: Unlike the men's chamber match, I don't love this field. I have no faith in Nikki or Natalya. Then very little faith in Carmella to win this. I like the idea of Raquel against Belair but that may be too big of a spot at Mania for Raquel at this point in her career. Nothing against Liv but I like Asuka to get the win here. Since her return at the Rumble, she's been refreshing with the new spin on her character. I'd like to see her go full heel and take the title from Belair.
W: Asuka
Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE United States Championship
Montez Ford vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Bronson Reed vs. Austin Theory (champ) vs. Seth Rollins vs. Damian Priest
Jesse: This one is kind of tough. I don’t think Priest is gonna win, and it’s too early for Ford to be winning singles matches just yet. I’m sure the banana man is gonna interfere and help eliminate Seth and I’m a little worried about Reed, but I don’t think they will pull the trigger with him just yet. Which leaves the 2 former family members, Theory and Gargano. I think Theory has a date with Cena at mania, do they need the US Title for that? No they don’t, lets give Gargano a title and see what he can do with it.
W: Johnny Gargano
Lonnie: I really like that they made the chamber match for the US championship. It continues to build the title up as being more meaningful. This match is loaded with tons of talent and I think it will be the match of the night. I would love to see a Gargano or Priest victory but it’s just not going to happen. Obviously Seth always has a chance to win, but based on the fact he will face Paul at WrestleMania he won’t win. Based on all that, I feel Theory will pull out a lucky victory here.
W: Austin Theory
John: I love the lineup for this match and all these guys should be able to go and do amazing stuff inside the chamber. I can't see Ford winning while he's still paired up with Dawkins. Too soon for Reed in my opinion. Rollins seems penciled in to face Logan Paul at Mania. That leaves me Priest, Gargano, and Theory. A win for Priest would be a nice boost for the Judgment Day but I don't necessarily think they need that now. Gargano feels like he's been start/stop since coming to the main roster partly due to injuries. That leaves Theory. I think a win here for Theory helps cement this run as it would be a big win over some top talent. Theory wins here and goes to Mania to face a certain doctor!
W: Austin Theory
WWE Undisputed Universal Championship Match
Roman Reigns (champ) vs. Sami Zayn
Jesse: As much as I want it to happen, it ain’t gonna happen. Roman is gonna destroy Sami and be lucky to get out of the building alive.
W: Roman Reigns
Lonnie: And your winner.......Sami Zayn!!!.......by DQ. This match is so fascinating. I believe Roman is walking out as champion. However, I feel that Sami will get another match at Mania. Therefore, to set up a rematch I see this match have a “Montreal finish” involving the Bloodline, Owens, and maybe Cody. It would be safe to pick Reigns, but I feel Sami will technically win the match.
W: Sami Zayn
John: This match should be amazing and the crowd is going to be molten hot for Sami! Unfortunately, I don't believe for a second that Sami has any chance of leaving Montreal with the gold. Reigns hasn't held the championship for 900 days to lose it a B-level pay-per-view. Reigns should for sure win and I expect some interference from the Bloodline and Kevin Owens. I just hope we don't get a Montreal Screwjob.
W: Roman Reigns
That does it for this edition of Our 3 Cents!! Check back for a full review of the event to see how we did!
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