We're mere days away from WWE Elimination Chamber 2026, where one man and one woman will book themselves tickets to their respective world championship masses at WrestleMania! To do so, however, they will have to survive the eponymous Chamber, a monstrosity of metal and plexiglass that's been terrorizing WWE for nearly a quarter of a century. Additionally, Chicago's favorite son,CM Punk, will have the opportunity to retain the World Heavyweight Championship in front of his hometown fans, while his wife AJ Lee attempts to capture the women's Intercontinental Championship in her first singles match since returning to the company.That's a lot of potential hooks for a four-match show and we didn't even mention the mysterious crate that's been floating around "Raw" and "SmackDown" for the last couple weeks. But which of these contests has the WINC staff officially hyped up, and which seems like it could disappoint? Here's our biggest draw and our biggest dud for WWE EliminationChamber 2026!
While the men's Elimination Chamber match, featuring Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, Je'Von Evans, Trick Williams, LA Knight, and Jey Uso, may have a seemingly predictable winner, with reports that WrestleMania plans are unfinished, at best, and up in the air due to poor ticket sales, at worst, this match could end up being an exciting one. There is no doubt there's a ton of great talent in the match, which is what makes it a draw, but only one man can emerge victorious to challenge Drew McIntyre for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 42.The predictable winner of this match is "The American Nightmare" due to his ongoing feud with McIntyre. If things end up exactly the way fans think, at least we'll likely also see Jacob Fatu involved somehow in the Chamber. Getting the "Samoan Werewolf" involved, despite him not being in the match, officially, is an exciting prospect. The Chamber would be a great place for him to beat down Rhodes or wreck havoc in some other way, leading to the triple threat match for the Undisputed WWE Championship that seems likely to happen in Las Vegas.But, what if the end result isn't as predictable as we may think? That thought alone makes this match much more exciting, which is much-needed on a very predictable card overall. Perhaps, Triple H will come to his senses and realize that finally putting Knight over here to get him in the ring with McIntyre, someone who he's had issues with before, would be an excellent idea to maybe help sell some more 'Mania tickets. Rumors abound that McIntyre's match will be anything but a singles bout, so heck, maybe throw Knight into the mix back over on "SmackDown" with a win to make this all even more messy.No matter what happens, this match is going to be a good time. Despite what many fans think about former World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso, he's over with crowds all over the world, so that will at least add some extra excitement, even though his spot was meant for the now-injured Bronson Reed.Perhaps more obvious than a Rhodes victory is an epic high-spot or three by Evans, possibly a big OG Cutter off the top of the pod. Williams is also exciting addition to the match, as he's been extremely over with fans, and is already well on his way to becoming a mega star on the main roster. With the solid bases of Orton and Rhodes, and even Knight, for Evans and Williams, there's no doubt that whatever the outcome, the men's Elimination Chamber match will be one of the most exciting on the card.Written byDaisyRuth
World title opportunities don't seem to come very often for Finn Balor, but when they do, he's often positioned as a challenger in a filler storyline to elevate the champion, which is the exact situation for his World Heavyweight Championship match with CM Punk this weekend.Although it may seem like WWE has attempted to push Balor by giving him a world title shot in his home country of Ireland and teasing a future babyface turn, he's consistently booked to lose his most important matches and always reverts back to teasing a Judgment Day split. Unfortunately, his match on Saturday will be no different, as he'll suffer a loss in Punk's hometown of Chicago before the "Best In The World" defends the title at WrestleMania against 2026 Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns.Additionally, WWE didn't even try to convince the audience that Balor has a chance at winning the title, having given him a brief video package and booking Punk to cut a generic promo in the ring on the go-home episode of "WWE Raw," with both stars not even coming face-to-face. Despite reports about WWE considering the option of having Balor win at the Elimination Chamber only to drop the title to Punk shortly afterwards, the company will likely not risk the champ losing in front of his fans in Chicago. Along with WWE already touting Punk versus Reigns as "One of the greatest main events in WrestleMania history," the "Prince's" upcoming match and overall push feels uninspired, disappointing and predictable.Written by Julien D'Alessandro
