WWE rolls into Chicago for the final PLE on the Road to WrestleMania. Elimination Chamber 2026.
On the exterior, this year’s Elimination Chamber event is filled with meaning an importance. Championships are on the line, title shots are up for grabs, and spots at WrestleMania hang in the balance. If you open the hood on the event and really take a look at what’s going on, that meaning slowly becomes cloudy.
It starts with the Elimination Chamber matches. WWE has positioned this event and those matches as near equals to the Royal Rumble at this point. Just like the Rumble, winners of the Elimination Chamber get a world title shot at WrestleMania. The only difference is that those winners don’t get to pick their opponent, they get the Royal Rumble leftovers. Still, a damn good prize.
When looking at both matches this year, it’s conceivable that neither one will end up exclusively determining what WrestleMania looks like. As we know now, the men’s Royal Rumble winner — Roman Reigns — will challenge for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. On the women’s side, Liv Morgan decided on Monday night that she would challenge Stephanie Vaquer for the WWE Women’s World Championship.
Will the Chamber Matches matter?
So, both SmackDown world titles are left for the Elimination Chamber winners and those title pictures are murky. Muddy. Tough to wade through.
For the men, Drew McIntyre is the champion and has been feuding with Cody Rhodes for the better part of the last six months. An ideal match for WrestleMania, aside from the fact that we’ve seen this match on multiple occasions throughout those six months. It’s a match that makes sense, but it’s not a sexy option. Plus, there are top stars from SmackDown that not only are hovering around the world title, but that certainly will be on the WrestleMania card in some capacity.
Jacob Fatu? Sami Zayn? Both guys aren’t in the Chamber, but do have a storyline that concerns the world championship. Randy Orton? He’s in the match, but has narrative ties to that championship. Same thing with LA Knight.
Get to the point, Zack.
Fine. With so many contenders on the table for the championship at WrestleMania and the Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre match not a great choice, the only other option is some kind of multi-person match at the show of shows. Rhodes could win the Chamber, but ultimately that win will end up only partly consequential because others like Fatu or Zayn will have to get into the match a different way.
From The Takedown on SI
Same thing with the women’s division. The only real WrestleMania caliber singles match that could come out of that is Rhea Ripley vs. Jade Cargill. Again, hell yeah. That works, except for the fact that Ripley has been in a tag team with Iyo Sky all year long. The women’s tag division looks primed for a big spotlight at WrestleMania because of all the attention it’s gotten in the last 12 months. The spotlight won’t be bright without Ripley and Sky, so that match needs them in it as a team.
What’s left? Well, that’s the question. Tiffany Stratton? Alexa Bliss? Raquel Rodriguez? Fun choices, but they don’t scream “WrestleMania marquee” at this point, so we’re back at multi-person match scenarios.
Cargill against a Tiffany Stratton as a Chamber winner, but also a Charlotte Flair or Alexa Bliss is potentially compelling too? WWE has told the story of Bliss and Flair becoming friends and being opponents at WrestleMania would enhance that. Plus, if the plan is to break them up, a conflict that begins at WrestleMania may be needed.
The bottom line is, both Chamber matches may end up only kind of mattering in the big scheme of things concerning the WrestleMania card. If it’s possible for stars to get WrestleMania title matches outside of the bounds of the Chamber and Rumble, both of those WWE staples lose importance, as do the shows themselves.
Chicago Made
As for the rest of the card? It’s designed to send Chicago out into the cold happy. CM Punk vs. Finn Balor will be a good match, but WWE is already on the path to doing Punk vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. Balor isn’t going to mess those plans up, so it’s going to be hard for the match to pull at emotional heartstrings outside of the hometown Punk factor.
Becky Lynch vs. AJ Lee is more up for grabs, but given this is likely the first of at least two matches between both women, it makes sense for Lee to take the women’s championship in her city. Punk and Lee stand tall at the end of the night.
It all writes itself to well and that’s a blessing and a curse. It’ll be a fun watch, but there’s a good chance the stories at the beginning of the night will look the same at the end.
WWE Elimination Chamber 2026 airs live on ESPN and Netflix, internationally, on Saturday night. The full card and full prediction show from The Takedown on SI is below.
WWE Elimination Chamber 2026 Full Match Card
Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton vs. Jey Uso vs. LA Knight vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Trick Williams - Men’s Elimination Chamber Match
Rhea Ripley vs. Kiana James vs. Asuka vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Alexa Bliss - Women’s Elimination Chamber Match
CM Punk vs. Finn Balor - WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Becky Lynch vs. AJ Lee - WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship
WWE Elimination Chamber 2026 Preview
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