Welcome to the second edition of Thunder’s Take in 2012! The Road to WrestleMania is moving at a fast pace and this year’s Elimination Chamber has a card full of talent that looks like it should deliver us a solid show! Let’s get to the matches.
Tamina Snuka vs Beth Phoenix for the Divas Championship: If Tamina does not win the title in this match, it will be because of outside interference. Tamina’s big push since coming on WWE tv leads me to believe that she has a strong future in the Divas division. Beth has hardly wrestled since her “black eye” incident from Alicia Fox and is quickly losing relevance. Don’t you get tired of watching the same glamslam victory in every match that she has? I expect these two to work a decent match and I hope they’re given at least 6-9 minutes worth of ring time to showcase what they can do together. It might be premature, but I’m predicting the winner and new Divas Champion to be Tamina Snuka.
Ambulance Match: Kane Vs John Cena: Will John Cena fully embrace the hate by the end of this match? Will Kane be Cena’s towel boy at WrestleMania if he does? Calling for the “un-Cena like” attack on Kane at the Royal Rumble was a bit premature. I should have known WWE would drag this rivalry out for Cena through February. Why should we have known this? Possibly because Dwayne “I’m never going away”-The Rock Johnson is nowhere to be seen on WWE tv. Great rivalry. Great way to build towards the “biggest match in WWE history.” In case you’re missing it, I’m not impressed with the lack of The Rock as we move down the road to WrestleMania. It’s senseless and disrespectful to the fans. Outside of that, I have to give props to Kane for running with his demonic gimmick and making his promo character creepier than ever. I’m genuinely interested when I listen to this guy talk is his slow and evil tone. He makes you listen and think, which is obviously something a good heel is supposed to do. For this match, I was wrong when I picked Cena to win at the Rumble. Cena won’t lose this time around. I expect something exaggerated and ridiculous to happen to Kane, courtesy of one John Cena. Cena will have embraced the hate without realizing it, but will have it pointed out to him. Cena wins this one is barbaric fashion.
^Side Note: Zack Ryder could get involved and help Cena win this match. It’s also possible that he could show up and turn on Cena. Either way, I expect Cena and Ryder to have a major rivalry before the year is over, and not just based on the stolen girlfriend(Eve) storyline.
Smackdown Elimination Chamber for the World Heavyweight Championship: Daniel Bryan(Champion) vs Wade Barrett vs Santino Marella vs The Great Khali vs The Big Show vs IC Champion Cody Rhodes: For this match, I’d like to take a look at each of the competitors.
Santino: The ultimate underdog! I could see someone attacking Santino and stealing his spot in the chamber before the match even starts. How sad is that? I love Santino and could not be happier that this guy is getting a shot at the World Title. Nobody has more tenure and had work put in over the last few years that gets a pop as loud as Santino and not received a major title shot. No, it’s probably not going to result in him winning the World Title on Sunday, but maybe it could lead to a feud for the Intercontinental Title with Cody Rhodes, or perhaps it could possibly lead to Santino challenging more than once for the World Title. No matter what happens, I’m thrilled for Santino and excited to see his performance in the World Championship match this Sunday!
Wade Barrett: The Barrett Barrage has been steady but somehow ineffective. Could I see Wade Barrett winning the Elimination Chamber and defending his World Title against Sheamus for the Smackdown main event of WrestleMania 28? Easily. It has the potential to be a fantastic match. That’s just one idea. A multiple man main event for WrestleMania could also be possible when it comes to the World Heavyweight Title. No matter what happens, you can expect Barrett to have a good showing in this match as the Barrett Barrage rolls towards WrestleMania.
The Great Khali: Give me a break. Hasn’t it been proven that you can only do just so much with an immobile big guy before he is virtually useless? I understand being a filler piece for this match, but what about Christian? You know Khali will just go back to obscure filler level on Smackdown once this event is over. Giving him a focused rivalry for a match at WrestleMania 28 would be a crime. Get rid of this guy already! If anybody actually wants to see Khali defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Sheamus at WrestleMania, I would love to hear their arguments as to why. Overshadowing all of the talent on Smackdown with this giant is a freakin joke. Jinder Mahal or Ted Dibiase were better choices for this match.
The Big Show: At least this big guy is mobile. Show has proven me wrong when it comes to the fact that I said he wouldn’t stay relevant. His character has not bored me as badly as I thought it would. He has worked his ass off in every match with Daniel Bryan to make their encounters interesting. I keep hearing this rumor about Big Show vs Shaq at WrestleMania. I hope it isn’t true. The spot on the card should be reserved for actual talent that can give us a good show. Unfortunately, Vince loves his celebrities and the match will probably happen. Despite working good tag matches as of late and a good match with Randy Orton on Raw, this leads me to believe that the Big Show has less than a zero percent chance of winning the Chamber Match or being the World Champion anytime soon.
Cody Rhodes: First of all, I originally despised Cody Rhodes. I thought Ted Dibiase was far more talented and that Rhodes had zero personality. I just wanted him off tv and thought he was getting the huge push because of his last name. Well, I’ve been proven wrong. Cody Rhodes is by far one of the best rising stars in WWE. From his match with Rey Mysterio at WM 27 through the year 2011, Rhodes has grown so much, both in character and in ring skill. His showing at the Royal Rumble was also impressive, not to mention the great matches he put on with Booker T in December. It’s been talked about that Rhodes wants to be both a World Champion and the Intercontinental Champion. I’d love to see it happen. A match with Sheamus for the World Title at WrestleMania would be fantastic. Unfortunately, I don’t see it making all that much sense for a heel to take the title off another heel. I expect Rhodes to make an impact in the Chamber, regardless of whether or not he wins the gold.
Daniel Bryan: Bryan has been a great heel champion. Everyone said he was amazing in Ring Of Honor as a heel(haven’t seen any footage), and I’m thinking they were probably right. No matter who he is put in the ring with, Bryan is consistently working the best matches on whatever show he is on. Since becoming champion, he’s worked a few different matches but his main opponent has been the Big Show. Let’s be honest here; it takes some creativity for a little guy like Bryan to have a good match with the Big Show. Yet Bryan somehow has managed to have several good matches with him. This to me is a strong testament to the talent that Bryan has brought with him from years on the Indy scene. It’s impressive as hell. I fully expect Daniel Bryan to be defending the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of WrestleMania, which means I expect Bryan to weasel his way into a victory in this match.
Predicted winner of the Smackdown Elimination Chamber match and STILL World Heavyweight Champion: Daniel Bryan
Raw Elimination Chamber for the WWE Championship: CM Punk(champion) vs Kofi Kingston vs Dolph Ziggler vs The Miz vs R-Truth vs Chris Jericho: Raw appears to have more versatile talent in their Chamber as they lack any form a giant. For that reason and others, I expect the Raw Chamber match to be much more interesting than Smackdown’s. Smackdown’s Chamber just seems somewhat predictable as to what is going to happen. With Raw, there a couple different scenarios that could happen and I’m honestly not set on my pick with who wins this match. Let’s roll through the competitors.
Kofi Kingston: With the suspension of Evan Bourne, Kofi is back in the big time scene. Good for him. The guy is great for stunts and works some entertaining matches. He won’t win here. Money In The Bank was brought back to WrestleMania for this guy and that’s where he will highlight the show. He’s an innovator more than a technical wrestler and WWE knows how to treat him like one.
R-Truth: All it takes is a microphone. There is some major untapped potential for just how big a face Truth can be(and I mean bigger than Cena, possibly like as big as Rock or Austin and I’m NOT exaggerating this point). WWE needs to give this guy the green light and push him hard. Unfortunately, his skin color has held him back and will probably continue to do so. Thanks a lot Vince.
The Miz: Here’s a guy that worked his ass off to be a top heel and has now been rendered as a scapegoat for low ppv buyrates. Are you kidding me? Miz is a great heel, and is a good wrestler. Why can’t WWE use him for something worthwhile? The last time I begged for something like this, Sheamus won the Royal Rumble. Maybe Miz will be the dark horse that comes out of the Chamber as WWE Champion. I’m doubting this will actually happen, of course, but it’s nice to dream! I’m hoping the Miz has something more relevant than a spot in MITB at WM, but that’s probably exactly where he will end up(a match with Jericho down the road would also be something worth seeing).
Dolph Ziggler: This match is a long time coming for this male cheerleader. I like the idea of Ziggler being WWE Champion. Dolph has risen above all others and become the top heel in WWE. Unfortunately for Dolph, Chris Jericho just came back and stole his spot. Ziggler and Punk could’ve worked an amazing WM main event. I don’t want to take away from Punk/Jericho as the WWE Title match at Mania, but a triple threat with Ziggler involved has the potential to make that match an even higher caliber. It doesn’t seem fair that Chris Jericho walks back onto television and steals Ziggler’s spot. I was watching the Bash from 2009 earlier this afternoon, and Ziggler defeated the Great Khali with help from Kane in a match that lasted less than five minutes. Give me a break. This guy has overcome and made the most of every stupid rivalry he has been booked into. It’s his time to shine and I’m thoroughly disappointed that his spot has been stolen by someone who has been gone for some time.
Chris Jericho: It’s great to see Y2J back in the WWE, despite him overshadowing some of the younger talent. The guy has earned the right to come and go with the accomplishments on his resume. I honestly wish it didn’t take away from the career elevation of Dolph Ziggler, but I believe Ziggler will see his time in the sun before the year is over. Right now it’s time for Y2J to steal the show from Rock and John Cena at WM28 in their WWE Championship match. I could see Jericho winning this match and defending the title against Punk, but I’m not fully convinced that this is how it’s going to play out. Y2J will enter the chamber last and have the biggest advantage in this match, which means creative could book the finish and give him the WWE Title. Why do I think this won’t happen? Well, it’s Chris Jericho. The guy has accomplished more than enough to cement his name as one of the greatest of all time. He doesn’t need to win the WWE Title for his rivalry with Punk to have heat. The rivalry isn’t really about the title. It’s about the “wannabe” that Punk supposedly is with the best in the world slogan.
CM Punk: Who’s had a bigger year than CM Punk? Granted, Alberto Del Rio did win two WWE Championships, same as Punk(thank you WWE for realizing what a mistake this actually was). Punk is the face of the company. Cena might be the WWE Machine, but Punk is the top guy in my opinion. His match with Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 28 promises to be the show stealer. I almost wonder if creative will tell Punk and Jericho NOT to give their best possible showing with the Rock/Cena being so heavily hyped. That might sound crazy, but you never know exactly how Vince McMahon thinks and plans things(look at the three minute eight man tag team match at last year’s show). Punk captured the title at the Survivor Series and it would make very little sense for him to lose the title just to get it back a month later. I’m expecting Punk to work a great match and most likely hold onto his title.
Despite what I just said, I don’t believe creative will book the match this way. I’m expecting Punk to get screwed somehow and for Jericho to pick up the win. Predicted winner of the Raw Elimination Chamber and NEW WWE Champion: Chris Jericho
Do I expect anyone to interfere in the chamber matches and cost anyone else a victory? No, but it’s possible. Christian and Alberto Del Rio are both expected to return to WWE at some point. I’m expecting Christian to feud with Sheamus since Sheamus is technically the one who put him on the shelf. Maybe Christian will get himself involved in the World Title match at Mania. Who knows? The Elimination Chamber seems like a fairly predictable card in terms of booking, but you can never really be certain with WWE(hence the slogan). That’s all for this edition of Thunder’s Take! Feel free to leave your thoughts and predictions below, and remember, next up is WrestleMania!
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