The road to WrestleMania XL will take a detour Down Under for its final premium live event before the grand spectacle with Elimination Chamber: Perth, live from Western Australia.
The event will be bookended by two Elimination Chamber matches, where new competitors enter the match after five-minute intervals, fight within a ring surrounded by steel and have to eliminate each other until there is one last wrestler standing.
The prize? A chance to etch themselves in history with a championship opportunity at “The Grandest Stage of Them All.”
On Saturday, a total of 12 wrestlers will step foot into the chamber for the two matches, so let’s look at each competitor’s chances of walking out of the cage and into WrestleMania with a guaranteed title match.
Women’s Elimination Chamber Match: Bianca Belair vs. Naomi vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Liv Morgan vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Becky Lynch (winner receives a title shot for the Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania XL)
For this contest, it’s safe to assume that WWE Women’s World Champion, and Australia’s own, Rhea Ripley will successfully defend her belt against Nia Jax in her home country. Retaining her title will officially stamp her ticket to WrestleMania, which would bring her title reign to over 365 days.
In a match that features half the field stepping into Elimination Chamber for the first time, there’s a multitude of outcomes WWE could choose to roll with. Three women, however, will be unlikely to survive the rest, those being Tiffany Stratton, Raquel Rodriguez and Naomi.
Stratton debuted on the main roster this month after being called up from NXT, and she’ll undoubtedly have a strong showing, but it’s unlikely to be in victory. Rodriguez has history with Ripley, but already challenged for the title three times in 2023, so a fourth chapter seems out of the question. Naomi’s re-introduction to the WWE Universe is just beginning after she returned to the company at the Royal Rumble, which makes her a long shot to punch her ticket for a championship match at WrestleMania.
Which leaves just three women as the most likely to stand across the ring from “Mami” come WrestleMania time.
Becky Lynch: The obvious choice here also seems to be the direction WWE is heading, as it planted the seeds of a potential match after Lynch interrupted Ripley twice this year, most recently at the WrestleMania XL Kickoff panel back on Feb. 8. “Big Time Becks” has done virtually everything there is to do in WWE, and it feels like she’s been completing side quests as of late rather than main event feuds.
The Elimination Chamber could be used to give Lynch another big win to add to her Hall of Fame career, and another chance at main eventing WrestleMania in a potential show-stealer.
Although Lynch was one of three women to be included in a main event at a WrestleMania for the first time back in 2019, she was arguably robbed of her chance to do so in a singles contest. There’s no denying the name value that Ripley vs. Lynch brings to WrestleMania, as both are considered at the top of their division in terms of in-ring talent.
Not only does this give Lynch another chance to rectify what should have happened five years ago, but it rewards Ripley for her incredible work over the past year, and gives fans a match they’ve been dying to see for a while now on the biggest stage possible.
Bianca Belair: The “EST of WWE” is the only woman in this match to have won the Elimination Chamber, and has vowed to walk right back into WrestleMania for a fourth-straight year in a championship bout, and keep her undefeated streak at the show intact.
And let’s face it: Belair is one of the biggest names in the women’s division. The fans love her, she hardly loses any matches and she has a stacked resume filled with championships to back it up. Because of this, a marquee match against Ripley seems inevitable at some point.
But it may not be at this year’s WrestleMania.
The bigger money may lie in a potential match against Jade Cargill, who fans can’t stop clamouring about after her electric in-ring debut at the Royal Rumble. Cargill vs. Belair has been considered a dream match to many since the former AEW star signed with WWE last year, and it’s one that is hard to see not happening this year, given the hype around the young stars.
Liv Morgan: There are a lot of people who might scoff at the idea of Morgan actually winning the chamber match. So why is she here? It has to do with a story that’s literally been written out for her, and has been for years now; we just haven’t seen it.
Morgan and Ripley have been linked for nearly two years. Let’s rewind a bit: who was the person Ripley turned on to begin her run with the Judgment Day? Who entered the 2023 Royal Rumble at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions, lasting over an hour and were the final two remaining in the match? Do you see a pattern here?
Here’s another one, just to hammer it home — Morgan returned from a six-month injury hiatus as the No. 30 position of the Rumble this year. When was the last time fans saw Morgan on-screen before this? On July 17, being viciously attacked with a steel chair by Ripley after the champion cost her the WWE Tag Team Championships. You can see where this is going.
The perennial fan favourite doesn’t seem like a strong enough name to be in Philadelphia. But given that she’s embraced the roll of an underdog for much of her career, everything is set up for her to continue that arc on Saturday. It just remains to be seen if WWE actually chooses to pull the trigger on that feud, but logistically, Morgan vs. Ripley makes the most sense.
It’s also worth noting that Ripley has been pinned only once in two years. And the woman to do that …
Men’s Elimination Chamber Match: Randy Orton vs. LA Knight vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Kevin Owens vs. Logan Paul vs. Bobby Lashley (winner receives a title shot for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XL)
We now turn to the men’s Elimination Chamber, a match outcome that was seemingly guaranteed to be given to CM Punk. However, an untimely injury to the Chicago native now sees Seth “Freakin” Rollins without an opponent at “The Showcase of the Immortals.”
Although Rollins has been busy inserting himself in the ongoing issues with The Bloodline and Cody Rhodes, he still will have to defend his title in Philadelphia. WWE will have to do a lot of work to continue to make the World Heavyweight Championship anything but a secondary title, and that comes with the right match at WrestleMania.
Much like the women’s match, three stars are sure to get their shoulders pinned in Perth: Bobby Lashley, Logan Paul and Kevin Owens.
Lashley has been deadlocked in a feud with Karrion Kross and the Authors of Pain since he and The Street Profits formed The Pride, meaning the two-time WWE Champion is here to fill space. Owens and Paul are in the middle of a rivalry for the United States Championship, and Elimination Chamber will write another chapter in their story that will probably get its rightful conclusion at WrestleMania, just not for the World Heavyweight Championship.
That leaves us with three stars who have a legit case to be facing “The Visionary.”
LA Knight: It’s been an interesting couple of months for “The Megastar.” He’s been one of the biggest stars over the past year due to his undeniable connection with the fans, and was rewarded with chances to end the historic title run of Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel and Royal Rumble.
He ultimately fell short, but had impressive outings in defeat. And if he fails again at Elimination Chamber, it may begin to feel like if not now, then when?
Knight is certainly due a big WrestleMania match, as he wasn’t even on last year’s card. He is also overdue for a championship run, given his stellar promo work, but it’s hard to see that path with Rollins opposite him. The leader of the “Yeah!” movement has been dead-set on winning a title in WWE, and Australia is yet another chance to do right on that wish.
Randy Orton: Similarly to Knight, Orton’s path to WrestleMania isn’t seemingly close to being set in stone. After his unforgettable (and jacked) return at Survivor Series: WarGames last year, it feels like “The Viper” has struggled to find a story on the blue brand.
A win here could easily rectify that, and set up a rematch between Rollins and Orton — a match that had arguably one of the greatest finishes ever nearly a decade ago at WrestleMania 31. With both men at vastly different points of their career, and both being good guys, their potential fight could fill the much-needed star power this championship match deserves.
Orton is still a 14-time world champion, and needs two more reigns to catch John Cena and Ric Flair at 16 championships, the most in WWE history. WWE can easily build on this story if it wants the 43-year-old veteran to inch his way closer to the record.
Drew McIntyre: In the words of a wise man: “I prayed for this and it happened.”
McIntyre has been on fire since the turn of the calendar year, fully embracing his cocky side, and his momentum has undoubtably earned himself another shot at dethroning Rollins once and for all.
Despite reports that the Scottish star has yet to re-sign with the company (his contract is set to expire at some point in 2024), McIntyre is still the logical winner and WWE is still positioning him as though he’ll be here for the long run. If he is to win at Elimination Chamber, the former two-time WWE Champion will finally get his chance to win a world title in front of a sold-out crowd, something that was taken from him during the pandemic.
And don’t be surprised if Sami Zayn sneaks his way into that match to continue McIntyre’s descent into madness.
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