The Road to Elimination Chamber

Huh. It seems like WWE is actually going to let The Miz take the WWE Championship all the way to WrestleMania. Not that it's really undeserved as The Miz has paid his dues and is a very entertaining heel on the mic. But something about The Miz + WrestleMania main event isn't clicking for me yet. Oh well. With The Miz all set to take on his number one contender, Jerry "The King" Lawler(?!), at Elimination Chamber, The Miz will be punching his ticket to WrestleMania as champion. Also, since they're making a big deal out of this, we'll probably also see The King compete in his first WM match. Maybe against Michael Cole or Alex Riley?

The Elimination Chamber matches have been set up thusly:

World Heavyweight Championship Elimination Chamber - Edge(c) vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Kane vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Wade Barrett vs. Dolph Ziggler

With Alberto del Rio waiting in the wings to challege at WM, the only viable options to win this match are Edge and Mysterio. My guess is Edge keeps the title and continues to bore us all the way to April. I'm digging del Rio now though. He's got the cocky jackassness that all good heels have (i.e., The Rock, DX version of HBK, Chris Jericho).

WWE Championship Number One Contender Elimination Chamber - John Cena vs. CM Punk vs. Randy Orton vs. R-Truth vs. John Morrison vs. King Sheamus

If The Miz is going to WM as champ, you can count on John Cena winning the Elimination Chamber. Punk and Orton are already mixed up in a feud of their own. Sheamus may get blindsided by a returning Triple H to set up a WM feud. And Truth and Morrison won't get the duke. Maybe if all hell breaks loose, Punk somehow ends up as WWE Champion at Elimination Chamber and Orton challenges him at WM.

Either way, WM feuds seem to be shaping up as:

The Miz vs. John Cena
CM Punk vs. Randy Orton
Edge vs. Alberto del Rio
Wade Barrett vs. The Big Show

Funny how last year, I assumed that the future of WWE would be the likes of Sheamus, DiBiase, Rhodes, and Jack Swagger, but these guys are not currently making any significant movement towards a meaningful WrestleMania match.

Oh yeah, who is going to fight the Undertaker? Right now, the best bet is Sheamus or Barrett. Maybe a returning Chris Jericho? Stay tuned.