What we learned from WWE’s Elimination Chamber
1. Bray Wyatt gets his singles title
As mentioned last week here at For The Win, Bray Wyatt was long overdue for the first singles championship of his WWE career. It finally happened inside the Elimination Chamber.
That Wyatt beat the last two champions – John Cena and A.J. Styles – only adds to the strength of his victory after Wyatt was on the wrong end of a number of big matches during his career.
Wyatt now heads to WrestleMania as WWE champion with a bout against Royal Rumble winner and Wyatt Family member Randy Orton, who made a brief appearance on the ramp after Wyatt’s victory. With seven weeks to go, though, the path to WrestleMania could have many twists and turns.
When six of the top performers are in one match, the match has to deliver and the Elimination Chamber exceeded expectations. The 20th Chamber bout was among the better ones. The newly redesigned structure also made for some more unique moves with the larger pods and new beams for climbing.
2. No. 16, briefly
John Cena’s 16th reign as world champion lasted 14 days after he won the title at Royal Rumble.
If Cena wasn’t going to head to WrestleMania as the champion, why take the belt off A.J. Styles and not just have Styles lose the belt inside the Chamber?
Here’s one theory: WWE’s big events are about memorable moments and Cena tying Ric Flair’s record provided that moment at the Rumble. While Cena insists he is not retiring, he continues to spread his time among ventures outside WWE. There might not be too many more opportunities to put the belt on him. And this sets the stage for the inevitable No. 17.
Before the criticism is too heavy, history shows that three of Flair’s 16 recognized title runs lasted less than a month with one lasting about a week.
While purist wrestling fans have criticized the reported plan, Cena and girlfriend Nikki Bella are expected to team to face The Miz and his wife Maryse at WrestleMania in a made-for-Total Divas match. One of the key storylines on this season of Total Divas on E! was Brie Bella’s retirement match at WrestleMania last year. Figure the same type of treatment in the new season around Cena and Nikki. There is already wild – and unsubstantiated – speculation that Cena will propose in the ring after the match.
The seeds for that match were planted when a…
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