We’re less than two months away from WrestleMania 42, and it’s a big yikes right now. I’m not normally one of those social media trolls crying about the state of WWE during every rope break, but even I’m ready to admit we need to listen to the referee’s count. There’s a serious lack of hot characters and compelling storylines.
Ordinarily, Elimination Chamber is WWE’s last big chance to inject some momentum, but it’s hard to even see how they do that this year. There’s no John Cena heel turn coming. Jade Cargill is not returning to attack Naomi. We’re almost certainly not going to get a big, splashy moment, but with fourteen or fifteen matches to book in the next six weeks, I’m hopeful we can at least make some meaningful forward progress in smaller ways.
Let’s use CM Punk and Finn Bálor as an example. We all know Punk is going to win. WWE is already advertising his match with Roman Reigns at ‘Mania, but I suspect Triple H and company will use the match to give Bálor a new path, possibly in opposition to Dominik Mysterio. I think we’ll see something similar inside the Elimination Chamber with Alexa Bliss. I don’t think she’s going to win the match, but I do think we’ll get a key plot point in her story with Charlotte Flair.
I expect a lot of little things like that. I also think there’s a chance we could see WWE pull an all-time surprise with LA Knight (YEAH!).
Before I get to that though, here’s a quick look back at my predictions record. I’ve been doing these for every WWE PLE since WrestleMania 38. I’m not exactly a prime Hulk Hogan (that doesn’t work for me, brother), but I’ve been right a lot more than I’ve been wrong. You can check out some of the bigger recent events, plus my overall record...
Event |
Wins |
Losses |
WrestleMania 41 |
9 |
3 |
'25 SummerSlam |
7 |
5 |
'25 Survivor Series |
2 |
2 |
'26 Royal Rumble |
2 |
2 |
Overall Record |
209 |
82 |
Becky Lynch (Champion) vs AJ Lee For The Women’s Intercontinental Championship
Why is this not happening at WrestleMania? I get AJ Lee lives in Chicago. It makes sense to feature her on the card, but there’s no way WWE decided to use her here and not WrestleMania, right? I have to imagine she’s going to work both dates, and since Becky Lynch would still be the person she would probably work with at ‘Mania, I have to imagine AJ is going to win here, right?
My guess is AJ Lee wins this match, maybe by some kind of flukey means, and that sets up a WrestleMania rematch with a bigger stipulation. Maybe it’s Hell in a Cell. Maybe it’s a street fight. I’m not really sure of the specifics, but AJ Lee would have to walk in as champion or why else would she get another title shot barely a month after losing her match?
Besides, this is AJ Lee’s first singles match since returning to WWE. If they’re planning on keeping her character at a high level, she probably shouldn’t be losing her first match back in the fold.
Predicted Winner: AJ Lee
CM Punk (Champion) vs Finn Bálor For The World Heavyweight Championship
This might be the easiest match I have ever predicted in the history of doing these predictions. Right now, the biggest selling point for WrestleMania is CM Punk and Roman Reigns squaring off for The World Heavyweight Championship. They’ve already made the marketing materials. I love the chaos of an unexpected swerve, but a shock upset would make no sense here. Finn Bálor is going to lose.
That being said, I’m very hopeful he is going to lose in a way that will lead to him having something compelling to do at WrestleMania. The most likely scenario is Dominik Mysterio trying to help him and accidentally costing him the match, but it also might be as simple as he loses, gets roasted by Judgment Day and that causes him to quit the group. Maybe that leads to an IC Title match at ‘Mania or maybe that leads to a new storyline for him and JD McDonagh. Either way, instead of rooting for a straight up win, Bálor fans need to be rooting for something interesting for him to do.
Predicted Winner: CM Punk
Tiffany Stratton vs Rhea Ripley vs Kiana James vs Asuka vs Alexa Bliss vs Raquel Rodriguez In The Women’s Elimination Chamber For A Championship Match At WrestleMania
Now that the final Elimination Chamber qualifier is over, I'm jumping back in here to rewrite my paragraph. Raquel Rodriguez officially booked her ticket to Chicago, which was a bit of a question mark since Iyo Sky was also in the match. Her presence opens up some interesting possibilities I want to go over.
First, there's a chance Raquel could straight up win here. Liv Morgan seemed to pick Stephanie Vaquer as her WrestleMania opponent, but did she really? She just attacked her and walked out of the ring. What if Raquel wins here and says she also wants to face Raquel? That would create a really compelling triple threat storyline at a time where WWE really needs some of these stories to start popping off.
It's also quite interesting that Iyo Sky is not in the Elimination Chamber. I thought we might get some kind of crazy moment between her and BFF Rhea Ripley that could lead to a WrestleMania match between the two of them. The fact that she's not here probably means WWE doesn't want to see them cross each other and create conflict.
So, does that make Rhea a possible winner? Rhea Ripley is a possible winner every time she walks into the ring. She's one of the biggest stars in the company. None of the creative we've gotten for the last year has pointed to her facing Jade Cargill at 'Mania. Her entire storyline has revolved around Iyo Sky. It would be bizarre for the two of them not to interact, but since Bianca seems to be injured and was likely the OG Jade plan, it's possible the writers could decide to change course and just have Rhea win.
I also think there's a small possibility we could see Alexa Bliss win. We need some forward progress in her storyline with Charlotte Flair. The Queen has pretended to be happy for her tag team partner and BFF since she secured her spot in the Chamber, but would she continue to be happy if she got a title shot at 'Mania while Charlotte was left out in the cold? That could be a compelling storyline.
I'd personally prefer the Raquel angle, but I'm going to go with Tiffany Stratton. Jade injured her and took the title to end her run as champion, and the easiest pivot away from Bianca without creating a domino effect that messes up other storylines would be to have Tiffany Stratton win. I'm not sure fans would be overly excited for that match, but they're both main eventers with a ready made backstory that need something to do at 'Mania.
Predicted Winner: Tiffany Stratton
Randy Orton vs LA Knight vs Cody Rhodes vs Je’Von Evans vs Trick Williams vs Jey Uso In The Men’s Elimination Chamber For A Championship Match At WrestleMania
Who knows what’s going on with The WWE Championship? The current holder is Drew McIntyre, and he’s been calling Rhodes and Jacob Fatu both out in promos for weeks. He also attacked Randy Orton during the last episode of SmackDown. Many fans think WWE is trying to set up some kind of triple threat or fatal four way at WrestleMania. Maybe.
I think there are three possibilities here, one of which I want more than the others. The first is that the simplest solution is the one we’re going to get. Cody Rhodes has been the face of WWE for awhile, and it would be weird not to put him in a championship match at ‘Mania. He’s had an ongoing feud with Drew, and there’s a strong chance he’s just going to win and we’ll get the rematch we’ve all expected since Drew won the title.
The second possibility is that this multi-man match happens. Most likely, Cody still wins the Elimination Chamber, but thanks to some shenanigans, we end up with at least Jacob Fatu and maybe also Randy Orton all working together. That kind of sounds like a mess to me, but since WWE knows fans are down on Drew vs Cody, this may be the simplest pivot that allows Cody to still fight for a championship.
To me, the best answer is to go with someone random and unexpected, and while I love Trick Williams and see a ton of potential in Je'Von Evans, the answer is LA Knight. Fans have been dying to see him get his moment for three years now. He just keeps hanging around the main event scene, and despite losing every single big match, he’s remained incredibly over with the crowd. If WWE would give him some real momentum, fans would get behind him in a really big way.
I get Drew McIntyre and LA Knight isn’t a match for casuals who rarely watch the product, but right now, WWE needs storylines actual hardcore fans are invested in. They need to get anything hot, and we would all be hot for LA Knight finally getting his moment. This is the best way to inject some surprise and unexpected excitement into Mania season. Triple H and company can figure out something else to do with Cody Rhodes.
Is my preferred option actually going to happen? Probably not. I should pick Cody, but I feel so strongly that LA Knight is the right answer here that I'm picking LA Knight. YEAH!
Predicted Winner: LA Knight
