WWE Elimination Chamber 2017: Matches, Rumors, and More

While WWE Royal Rumble is over with, the Road to WrestleManiacontinues with WWE Elimination Chamber. Introduced at Survivor Series 2002, the Elimination Chamber match has been a regular fixture in WWE, especially as a B-side to the Royal Rumble. Starting in 2010, it garnered its own February PPV and continued as an annual tradition. Then in 2015, it was moved to May and was little more than a forgettable C-list show.

After almost two years, Elimination Chamberis back, thanks in part to the Brand Extension. Then again, there’s a bit of a surprise to this year’s show. The idea that SmackDownwould have this PPV made it seem like a given that a Rawwrestler would win the Royal Rumble and the Chamber match would figure out the #1 contender for the WWE Championship. Instead, Randy Orton won and the Chamber match will be used to figure out who he’ll be facing.

WHEN IS WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER 2017?

The show will take place on Sunday February 12, 2017 at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.

WWE ELIMINATION 2017 CHAMBER MATCHES

BARON CORBIN VS. DEAN AMBROSE VS. JOHN CENA (C) VS. AJ STYLES VS. BRAY WYATT VS. THE MIZ

Elimination Chamber match for the WWE World Championship

Six men will enter a domed cage surrounding the ring. As two start it out against each other, the other four will enter pods, where one will open every five minutes. The last man standing by the end is the champion.

John Cena is the champ going into this after defeating AJ Styles at Royal Rumble. Similarly, Ambrose and Miz have been feuding with each other over the Intercontinental Championship. Bray Wyatt and Baron Corbin don’t have much going on in terms of the story outside of Wyatt’s partner Orton being the Rumble winner. Therefore, Wyatt is essentially fighting for a chance to take on his own teammate.

On SmackDown, Styles and Ambrose had a match that featured commentary, and then interference, from Miz and Corbin. After the dust settled, Corbin had crushed all the competition and stood tall. A week later, the four of them had a Fatal 4-Way bout with Corbin pinning AJ Styles.

THE ASCENSION VS. BEAUTY AND THE MAN-BEAST VS. THE USOS VS. AMERICAN ALPHA (c) VS. BREEZANGO VS. THE VAUDEVILLAINS

Tag Team Turmoil for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship

Despite being the tag champs, American Alpha sadly had no role at Royal Rumble. They weren’t in the 30-man match, nor were they on the undercard. Not even the pre-show! Annoyed, Jordan and Gable went to the ring to do an open challenge. Five different tag teams came out at once and instead of a match, there was a big brawl.

Later on Talking Smack, Daniel Bryan made it official that there would be a gauntlet match at Elimination Chamber.

A week later, the two teams made for a 12-man tag match and shockingly, the Ascension got the win, looking strong for the first time in years.

ALEXA BLISS (C) VS. NAOMI

SmackDown Women’s Championship

Just prior to Royal Rumble, Naomi called out Alexa Bliss for a title shot, but Alexa refused. Both were involved in a six-woman tag at Royal Rumble, where Naomi pinned the champ. On the following SmackDown, there was another tag match and once again, Naomi won via pinning Alexa. Daniel Bryan decided that was reason enough for a title shot at Elimination Chamber.

A double contract signing was held for this match and Becky Lynch vs. Mickie James. Alexa spent most of her time backing up Mickie's words and then laughed about how she forgot to even acknowledge Naomi.

LUKE HARPER VS. RANDY ORTON

Well, Randy Orton needs something to do before WrestleMania.

When Orton joined the Wyatt Family, Harper always glared at him, never truly trusting him. This friction led to some losses over time and when push came to shove, Bray Wyatt chose Orton. Feeling betrayed, Harper has become obsessed with destroying Orton while gradually working up the inner-strength to strike against his longtime mentor.

NIKKI BELLA VS. NATALYA

At Survivor Series, Nikki Bella was attacked backstage and was deemed too injured to compete. Natalya took her place in the five-on-five elimination tag match. Wouldn’t you know it, Natalya was behind the attack all along. For months, the two have attacked each other regularly outside the ring based on Natalya’s jealousy of Nikki and insistence that she’s only where she is because she’s John Cena’s girlfriend.

BECKY LYNCH VS. MICKIE JAMES

Becky Lynch created a masked alter-ego named La Luchadora in order to defeat Alexa Bliss in a non-title match. When she got a rematch with the belt on the line, Alexa had help from another woman dressed in La Luchadora's attire. Eventually, she was unmasked to reveal none other than Mickie James.

Mickie feels that the whole Diva's/Women's Revolution concept spits in the face of all she's done for the business and since Becky is one of the Mount Rushmore faces of that movement, she's a prime target. Even though Becky does indeed respect her, she still intends to get her revenge.

APOLLO CREWS AND KALISTO VS. DOLPH ZIGGLER

Handicap Match

After being a big loser for so long, Dolph Ziggler's finally snapped and became a big loser jerk. He's mostly focused on both beating and beating up Kalisto while Kalisto's good friend Apollo Crews gets annoyed at this. Even though Crews vs. Ziggler makes the most sense, Ziggler's big mouth has gotten him into a handicap match against both.

Considering the odds are against the heel, expect some kind of surprise alliance. Hey, Jack Swagger's not doing anything these days, right?

LIKELY AND UNCONFIRMED MATCHES

Um...hm.

You know, they've filled this up nicely enough for a two week build. Practically everyone has something to do and it's easily enough to fill three hours plus pre-show. I don't even know what to speculate on.

Maybe Curt Hawkins will have a match ag-- haha, sorry, I couldn't type that with a straight face.

Check back for more on WWE Elimination Chamber 2017!

Gavin Jasper doesn’t get why we didn’t just get another tag team Chamber match. Follow him on Twitter!