WWE’s plan for Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 39 will finally come into focus at Elimination Chamber.
The former member of The Bloodline will face the Tribal Chief Roman Reigns for the WWE Undisputed Universal championship in Montreal at the Elimination Chamber on Saturday (8 p.m., Peacock).
It’s just one of a number of matches that will make the WrestleMania card clearer. The winner of the women’s Elimination Chamber will face Raw women’s champion Bianca Belair in Hollywood and the men’s chamber victor will likely be going as United States champion.
There is a chance for an unannounced match involving Becky Lynch, Lita and hometown hero Trish Stratus against Bayley, Io Sky and Dakota Kai if the latter is cleared to go after being injured at the Royal Rumble.
With a lot at stake at the Bell Centre, The Post’s Joseph Staszewski does his best to predict how it will all go down at Elimination Chamber.
Bobby Lashley over Brock Lesnar
A win for either one of these guys will immediately vault them into No. 1 contender status on Raw should Roman Reigns fall at WrestleMania. While Lesnar is a much sexier opponent, especially for a Cody Rhodes, he is a part-timer. He is more likely to be called in for major shows unless WWE has a trip to Saudi Arabia coming up we don’t know about yet. Lashley can provide someone at the top of the card on a weekly basis and really needs this win over Lensar to stay there. Maybe, he uses a reunited Hurt Business to do so or he has to sulk back to MVP if he somehow can’t get the job done.
Asuka over, Raquel Rodriguez, Natalya, Nikki Cross, Carmella and Liv Morgan to win the women’s Elimination Chamber
What’s a bigger threat to Bianca Belair’s long reign as Raw women’s champion than a twisted Empress of Tomorrow? You don’t bring Asuka back this way not to push her to the moon. Her and Belair’s last televised singles match was nearly a year ago – a May 29 win by the EST on “Monday Night Raw.” Morgan and Rodriguez certainly don’t seem out of the question, but they are not the clear choice. Asuka is 0-3 at WrestleMania and this feels like the way to start going about ending that.
Finn Balor and Rhea Ripley over Edge and Beth Phoenix (Mixed tag match)
I really could see this going the other way, but Ripley is the reason The Judgement Day will leave Montreal victorious. WWE will want to keep Mami looking as strong as possible heading into her clash with Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown women’s championship at WrestleMania. What better way to do that than to pin a Hall of Famer such as Beth Phoenix? Edge and Balor will likely be heading for a WrestleMania match anyway, so that is where The Rated-R Superstar can finally put a bow on this story against the faction he founded.
Austin Theory over Seth Rollins, Johnny Gargano, Bronson Reed, Damian Priest and Montez Ford to retain the United States championship in the Elimination Chamber
Montez Ford would be a great surprise winner and adding the U.S. title to Seth Rollins’ match with Logan Paul at WrestleMania would further raise its profile. But WWE has gone this far with Austin Theory, they might as well go all the way — especially with him likely getting a program with idol John Cena at WrestleMania.
If you’ve noticed, Theory has been using Cena’s “The champ is here!” catchphrase. He can’t do that without being the United States champion and it is the linking thread WWE can use to kick off their story. Rollins versus Paul is so much of a grudge match now that it doesn’t need a championship and not having it will only add to The Visionary’s anger. This could also be match where Reed steals the show because of his athleticism.
Roman Reigns (c.) over Sami Zayn to retain the WWE Undisputed Universal championship
WWE has done a masterful job getting Zayn and The Bloodline story to this point in his hometown of Montreal – heck, he even has Rumble winner Cody Rhodes rooting for him. But this portion of the tale ends here, likely at the hands of Jey Uso because The Bloodline and the Island of Relevancy holding on to the world titles is more important than any friendship he had started with Zayn. Yes, Reigns told his cousins to stay home, but that was because Jimmy Uso – because of his previous DUI arrest – wasn’t given clearance to cross the boarder and it will make Jey defying his cousin a little more of a surprise. Think about the heat that would rain down on Jey in Canada, and the pop when Kevin Owens comes to help to set up an undisputed tag team title match at WrestleMania 39. Maybe a DQ finish can get Zayn into a triple-threat match in Los Angeles. But keeping him out will be the hard choice and right choice in what should be another Emmy-worth moment.