The final stop on the Road to Wrestlemania takes us to Toronto, Canada for the Elimination Chamber PLE. Four matches total for this event have been announced: 2 chamber matches, an unsanctioned match, and a tag match that only means something because Toronto native, Trish Stratus is in it. Let’s take a look at the year’s Elimination Chamber PLE!
POPCORN! GET YOUR POPCORN HERE! Nia Jax/Candace LaRae vs. Trish Stratus/Tiffany Stratton
I want to be excited for this match. I really do. But it’s so hard to be excited about it, with there literally being no point at all for this match other than Trish Stratus being from Toronto. Let me break this down for you the way I see it. Candace LaRae for starters, deserves SO much more than being a lackey to Nia Jax. She’s the WWE Speed Champion, the wife of Johnny Gargano, and she’s got tons of experience in the ring. She was amazing in NXT, but has floundered on the main roster. She had a decent thing going with Indi Hartwell before she was eventually released by the company at the start of the year. I for one, have been a fan of hers for a while and think WWE needs to do more with her than just this dumb angle she’s in now.
Tiffany Stratton is the WWE Women’s Champion. Charlotte Flair, the 2025 Women’s Royal Rumble winner, has already declared she’s challenging Tiffy at Wrestlemania. If Tiffany has been having issues with Nia since cashing in Money in the Bank on her, and Charlotte wants to have the potential dream match with Tiffany at Wrestlemania, why didn’t she step up and help Tiffany when she was getting jumped a few weeks back? Look, I get it, from a business standpoint, having the Toronto native hop in and lend her support may seem like it makes sense, but the nostalgic draw just isn’t there for me with this match. If Charlotte doesn’t get involved in some way, shape or form, then this match will just be a popcorn match, meaning this will be when you can leave to get something to eat or drink and you won’t miss a thing. My prediction: Trish Stratus and Tiffany Stratton pull out the victory
Unsanctioned: Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens
Hogan versus Andre. Bret versus Shawn. Austin versus Rock. Cena versus Orton. Do you see where I’m going with this? Every generation provides us with a feud that completely captivates us from start to finish every time the competitors lock up. I remember growing up watching The Rock and Stone Cold grow as characters and like two magnets, continue to be drawn back to each other over the years. Stone Cold was 2-1 versus The Rock at Wrestlemania. Their feud gave us the GREATEST promo package of all time, when Limp Bizkit’s My Way played through the promo video hyping up their match for Wrestlemania 17. This feud between Sami and Kevin has already shaped itself as THE feud of this generation.
I didn’t have much knowledge of Kevin Owens or Sami Zayn before they arrived in NXT. But like any dedicated wrestling fan, I did my research and quickly discovered that these two men have been battling it out tooth and nail since they broke into the business back in Montreal. Many believe that Kevin’s biggest rival, El Generico, was actually Sami Zayn under a mask. But Sami has since denied those claims, stating that Generico is still working at an orphanage in Mexico. Nevertheless, the rabbit hole of videos you can get sucked into watching highlights of Steen/Generico or Owens/Zayn is astounding. They battled in Ring of Honor, Chikara, NXT, the main roster, and many other places. But this unsanctioned match Saturday night, could quite possibly be something for the history books. That is, until they run it back again one last time at Wrestlemania. I fully believe that this match could be match of the night, especially with a home crowd of sorts in Toronto. My prediction: Owens wins the match, but just barely as these two men are gonna beat each other within an inch of their lives.
The Elimination Chamber: Ladies First, Then The Fellas
So, if you read my Royal Rumble article, I claimed to have a knack for calling certain situations in these PLEs. Coincidentally, I was COMPLETELY off about the Royal Rumble, but hey, it happens. I’m gonna take another crack at it with this PLE and show you, the reader, why I believe certain folks in these two chamber matches will win over the other competitors, and why it makes the most sense. Starting with the ladies, Alexa Bliss is the ONLY clear cut choice to win this match and move on to face either Rhea Ripley or Iyo Sky after their Women’s World Championship match next week on Raw. Alexa made her long-awaited return at this year’s Royal Rumble and while she had a good showing, came up a bit short. But Elimination Chamber has been a good PLE for her, she’s even claimed that she LOVES the hellacious structure. The other competitors in the match, well, they’re all intertwined in their own storylines, that they’ll most likely cost each other their chance to win this match. Belair and Naomi have it out for Morgan, as they continue to try and convince us that Liv and Raquel were behind the attack on Jade Cargill some months ago. After Liv and Raquel defeated Bianca and Naomi this past Monday night on Raw for the Women’s Tag Team Championships, these three women will make life difficult for each other throughout the match, and quite possibly, a returning Jade Cargill will help us finally figure out who attacked her.
As for Roxanne Perez and Bayley, these two have crossed paths a few times over the past few months. Roxanne entered this year’s Royal Rumble at number 2 and set the record for longest time in the match. Her and Bayley were a part of a Fatal Four Way match for the NXT Women’s Championship with Cora Jade and Giulia a few weeks ago. I believe that Roxanne and Bayley will further instigate their animosity towards each other and continue building towards a match at Wrestlemania. Therefore, my prediction: Alexa Bliss will win the match and secure a championship match at Wrestlemania.
We now get to discuss the men’s chamber match. The winner gets to face The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes on the grandest stage of them all. But first, The Final Boss has thrown a crimp into EVERYONE’S thoughts about this match. The Rock showed up on Smackdown this past Friday night to speak with the WWE Champion and informed him that he wants Cody to be HIS champion. Essentially, Cody would be the Corporate Champion and bend a knee to the Final Boss, while getting everything he could ever dream of. Sounds too good to be true, right? I mean, could the Final Boss really convince the true blue WWE Champion to turn into Homelander Cody and give us the monster heel run we all desperately yearn for? I highly doubt it, but let me break this whole scenario down for you the way I see it.
For the Cena fans hoping that the 16-time World Champion will follow through with his claim of winning this match to headline his final Wrestlemania and win his record-breaking 17th World Championship, hate to burst your bubble, but there’s no chance he wins this match. If you’re one to believe rumors at all, the one rumor I keep coming across is Logan Paul challenging John Cena to a match at Wrestlemania. If this is truly the case, neither man will win the chamber. And let’s face it, not a soul on this planet believes Logan stands a chance at winning. This may be his second chamber match, and he had a great showing last year, but we’re not ready for a Logan Paul main event at Wrestlemania, and frankly, we don’t need it or want it.
Moving on, the final four men all make a strong case for winning this match. Drew wants to recapture the WWE Championship after last year’s debacle at Wrestlemania where he defeated Seth Rollins, then lost to Damian Priest in a successful cash in attempt after CM Punk attacked him. Funny, the last four men in the chamber were all part of Drew’s WORST Wrestlemania moment. Unfortunately for Drew, I don’t see him returning to the main event just yet, and probably due to Priest eliminating him just to rub some more salt on the wound. As for Priest, as much momentum as he’s carrying, and as much as I would love to see him win this, there’s just no story there. Ever since Priest jumped to the blue brand, he’s been twisted up with The New Bloodline and mainly Jacob Fatu. I personally would love to see Priest take on Fatu at Wrestlemania. So that leaves us with C.M. Punk and Seth “Freakin” Rollins. My initial pick is that Punk will win this match and challenge Cody and could ultimately push Cody into that Homelander heel character we’re all itching for. But if Cody happens to ACCEPT The Rock’s offer before this match happens, nobody would be more pissed off at Cody Rhodes then the man who helped him finish the story at last year’s Wrestlemania. Rollins would be livid with Rhodes and would stop at nothing to get his hands on him for making everything he did and went through last year mean absolutely nothing now. But at the same time, that fueled hatred Seth would carry into the match, could cost him as well. So my prediction: C.M. Punk will win the Men’s Elimination Chamber match and headline Wrestlemania XLI against The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes for the WWE Undisputed Championship. And as for the offer from The Final Boss, if Rhodes doesn’t accept it, Punk just might.
Don’t forget to tune into Peacock tonight to catch all the action LIVE from Toronto, Canada. Next stop, Las Vegas, Nevada for Wrestlemania XLI!
What match are you looking forward to in tonight’s PLE? Who do you think will win the Elimination Chamber matches? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, BlueSky, or TikTok. Email us at [email protected] and we’ll share the story on the show. Join our Discord for further discussion with the GENY community!