by Daniel Johnson, Kyle Childers and Bad Booking
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Brodus Clay and Tensai (with Cameron and Naomi) vs. Team Rhodes Scholars
Daniel Johnson: Team Rhodes Scholars should get the win here after Tensai does something to goof up. It is a shame that Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow are stuck in this bout. Both should be in the main event scene within a year, but if they start getting booked regularly on the pre-show then their potentially may be wasted for a long time to come.
Kyle Childers: Pass.
Bad Booking: Despite the goofy lingerie and hip hop, the newly-formed tag team of monsters could very well be a threat. As much as I’m rooting for Rhodes and Sandow, I would love to see what WWE has in store for two giant monsters who are easily convincing crushing machines. I say Brodus/Tensai for the win just because of WWE’s tendency to push monsters.
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The Miz vs. Antonio Cesaro (c) for the WWE United States Heavyweight Championship
Daniel Johnson: Antonio Cesaro should retain in what will be a pointless rematch. Hopefully, from here Cesaro will feud with more worthwhile opponents. Since he has moved down the card anyway and Team Hell No can’t last forever I would love Daniel Bryan to feud with the Swiss technician.
Kyle Childers: Cesaro’s been on a major roll since winning the United States title in 2012 beating such big name contenders as, um, R-Truth, Tyson Kidd and the Funkasaurus but this is his first chance to shine on pay-per-view against a former WWE champion and lucky for Antonio, his opponent is The Miz. Don’t get me wrong, that’s not a knock on The Miz by any means, unlike most other writers in this field I think he’s a solid, entertaining worker but now isn’t his time. Cesaro keeps his momentum going with a win over the Cleveland Screamer.
Bad Booking: Waste of time, as both men can easily be put into bigger and better things. I’ll take Cesaro for the win.
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Tamina Snuka vs. Kaitlyn (c) for the WWE Divas Championship
Daniel Johnson: Here is bathroom break number one. Still, at least Kaitlyn is an improvement over the previous face of the women’s division, Kelly Kelly. I find it hard to believe that WWE would do anything to slow down Kaitlyn’s momentum since they seem so high on her. Tamina should go down unless she is given a brief run with the title and loses it back to Kaitlyn.
Kyle Childers: Finally the Diva’s title is getting a little bit of television time and some real angles to work with, if they’re committed to the idea of rebuilding the diva division then the smart idea would be to keep the title on Kaitlyn.
Bad Booking: The yo-yo push of Tamina part 624. She is pushed strong for three weeks, then the momentum is halted suddenly. Kaitlyn will win, and Snuka won’t have the chance to squash her adversary from the top of a Chamber pod.
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The Shield vs. John Cena, Ryback and Sheamus
Daniel Johnson: I can’t see this match topping the one that The Shield had in December. I’d love to be proven wrong though. Just like The Shied proved me wrong by so far not becoming a more serious version of The Spirit Squad. With that said I think The Shield will score a massive upset.
Kyle Childers: The chances of the Shield winning this match are lower than the tops of Hornswoggle’s socks but that’s okay. With Cena likely facing The Rock at Wrestlemania, the Ryback win streak continuing and Sheamus being Irish John Cena it makes perfect sense for the odds to overcome the Shield especially with the booking possibility of rehabbing their loss at Wrestlemania. The only real prediction to make here is how foolish the Three CenAmigos make Heyman’s hitmen look in the process.
Bad Booking: It is 100 percent imperative that The Shield wins. Three promising up and comers need the rub and subsequent push more than the three guys whose solid foundation can afford a loss or two. I can see The Shield continuing their thing with Ryback all the way to Wrestlemania in an even more epic tag match. However, it needs to be said: This son of a bitch needs the Chamber, WARGAMES STYLE! It would put over The Shield as a bad-ass team who can make a super-strong babyface say I quit.
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Jack Swagger vs. Chris Jericho vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane vs. Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton in an Elimination Chamber match
Daniel Johnson: This is perhaps the toughest match on the card to predict. I would love Daniel Bryan to win, but I just don’t see that happening. Since Alberto Del Rio will most likely beat The Big Show a heel needs to win. I’ll pick Mark Henry. Unless Jericho wins and Dolph Ziggler cashes in on Del Rio. Yeah, on second though that makes way more sense than a Henry win.
Kyle Childers: With so many possible victors it’s hard to pick just one…okay maybe not, I don’t think many would argue in favor of Team Hell No in this one and his recent time in the midcard makes it a smart bet that Randy Orton won’t be going to Wrestlemania for a title shot but with the Hall of Pain open for business again, the seemingly obvious potential match-up of Swagger vs. Del Rio, or even the incredible outlier of Ziggler winning the title and continuing the 2012 mini-feud he had with Jericho on the grandest stage of them all. If Del Rio retains then Jack Swagger will win, if my bold prediction of Ziggler as champion comes true then Y2J will be victorious.
Bad Booking: It depends where it falls on the card. Although I think the dissension between Kane and Daniel Bryan will continue.
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The Big Show vs. Alberto Del Rio (c) (with Ricardo Rodriguez) for the World Heavyweight Championship
Daniel Johnson: Alberto Del Rio cannot lose this one. However, The Big Show won’t be the only one disappointed. This was by far the least interesting match at last month’s pay-per-view and it will drag down the card yet again. Let’s just hope Del Rio/Show ends here and doesn’t drag on like Del Rio/Sheamus from last year.
Kyle Childers: This is a match that I’m way more excited about than I feel I have any right to be. So far, Berto and the Big Show have had great chemistry in their matches with Del Rio playing a more engaging face than he ever even approached as a heel. The obvious pick is Alberto Del Rio but maybe not for obvious reasons; one direction we could see from here has plucky babyface Del Rio against survivalist Swagger (comes with beard and kung-fu ankle lock. Zeb Colter sold separately), but with the looming possibility of Dolph Ziggler cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase and this being the last big event before Wrestlemania, it’s entirely possible that Dolph Ziggler will leave New Orleans with the title.
Bad Booking: I’m not telling who is going to win as much as that where this match is placed will be 100 percent crucial for the rest of the card. If this is placed early, that means Ziggler is cashing in and Jericho wins the Elimination Chamber. If it is placed later in the card, then expect ADR to win and have a heel like Mark Henry win the Chamber.
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CM Punk (with Paul Heyman) vs. The Rock (c) for the WWE Championship
Daniel Johnson: The stipulation that if The Rock gets disqualified or counted out he loses the title makes things a bit interesting. I can’t see The Rock losing going into Wrestlemania. I think that The Rock will win after doing something that he should have been disqualified for. This will make room for Cena/Rock II to be turned into a three way with Punk.
Kyle Childers: I almost don’t want to write about this match but journalistic integrity prevents me from abstaining. Last month, I went out on a limb and picked CM Punk to retain over The Rock and technically, I was right but to be entirely honest, I wish I had been wrong. It’s hard to question that, even with the extra stipulations added, this is just WWE’s way of making The Rock look even stronger than a milk ad before the twice in a lifetime rematch with Cena in New York. Even with Punk’s historic title reign, the business potential of a second Cena/Rock showdown is too alluring to stray away from so, unfortunately, I expect the Rock to leave Elimination Chamber still the WWE champion.
Bad Booking: The Rock will retain the championship. No way he is heading into Wrestlemania without the belt, plus the publicity he could give the title would be huge as many movies are opening up soon. Did I mention the pay-per-view is sponsored by the new GI Joe movie that got pushed back from prime-time summertime so Rock can benefit from the PR? Anyhow, I think a swerve could happen in something NO ONE could expect: Brock Lesnar screws CM Punk, and establishes Paul Heyman as a guy whose primary mission is to only serve himself. Wise words from Hall of Famer (cheap pop) MICK FOLEY! Brock/Punk would be a great curve ball to Wrestlemania. Let HHH and Undertaker sit on the sidelines, because they have bigger things to accomplish.
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Photo Credits:
Photos 1-7: en.wikipedia.org
Categories: Wrestling Clips
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