From PROWRESTLING.NET

Barnett's WWE Elimination Chamber 2013 Preview and Predictions: Can I improve my accuracy this time? History says no

Posted in: Barnett Editorials
By
Feb 17, 2013 - 03:10 PM

By Jake Barnett

Join Jason Powell and Chris Shore for live coverage of WWE Elimination Chamber tonight. Dot Net Members will have access to an exclusive audio review after the show. Take advantage of Prowrestling.net's 5th Birthday Membership Sale pricing before it expires tomorrow. To access the coupon codes for our cheapest Dot Net Membership rates ever, visit the Dot Net Birthday Sale Page.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2013 Preview and Predictions: Can I improve my accuracy this time? History says no.

Preview Show - Brodus Clay and Tensai vs. Team Rhodes Scholars: Well, this should be a fun opener. Team Rhodes Scholars has shown they are a very solid in the ring and Brodus and Tensai have been getting big reactions for their upbeat comedy music act. This seems like a throwaway match to get the New Orleans crowd jazzed up (I know, bad pun, save your hate mail), so I’m going to predict a short affair with Brodus and Tensai dancing their way to a victory.

Prediction: Brodus Clay and Tensai defeat Team Rhodes Scholars.

Kaitlyn vs. Tamina for the WWE Divas Championship: After Tamina and Layla’s abysmal performance on Friday’s Smackdown, this one has me a little concerned. Kaitlyn seems to be genuinely building up some steam and getting better reactions as Divas Champion, but she can’t afford a clumsy performance with Tamina here. I hope Friday was just a bad night, and this will deliver some solid action. I can’t see WWE moving the Divas title so quickly when Kaitlyn seems to be building some momentum with their female audience, so I’m going to predict a win for her tonight.

Prediction: Kaitlyn defeats Tamina and retains her Divas Championship.

Antonio Cesaro vs. The Miz for the US Title: This one seems pretty easy to pick. The Miz has been in a rut lately and his character change has yet to capture fan interest, based on the tame reactions he seems to be getting for both Miz TV and his television matches. Cesaro is really coming into his own in his role as US Champion, and his persona is getting strong reactions. His characters relative strength at this moment compared to the Miz’s struggles to regain relevance make it difficult to forsee a title change here.

Prediction: Antonio Cesaro defeats The Miz to retain his U.S. Championship.

Alberto Del Rio vs. The Big Show for the World Heavyweight Championship: I can see this going two ways. My first inclination is that Del Rio retains here, because I do think he’s succeeding as a babyface, and then he goes on to face the winner of the Chamber. My second thought is that Del Rio retains in a fluke, and Big Show KO’s him so Ziggler can cash in his briefcase in order to headline WrestleMania. I think they are both compelling enough stories, but my gut says we are getting my first option.

Alberto Del Rio defeats Big Show to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.

John Cena, Ryback and Sheamus vs. The Shield: It’s interesting to me that this match didn’t make it into the Chamber structure. It seems tailor made for the “pack of dogs” mentality that The Shield has made use of, and you’d think good drama could be built up with the odd man rushes that could trade off throughout the match. We’ll see if this gets announced as a last minute stipulation. I can’t imagine that this is where The Shield takes their first loss. It’s not that I think they couldn’t rebound from it, it’s that it seems that would be more impactful at WrestleMania or beyond. There has been too much effort put into making The Shield feel special for it all to be torn down with them getting fed to JC and his Sunshine Gang.

The Shield defeat John Cena, Ryback and Sheamus.

The Elimination Chamber Match to determine the No. 1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship: Well, there are a lot of wild cards here. WWE seems to be making great efforts to boost the credibility of Mark Henry and Jack Swagger heading into this match. Both men have been excellent at re-establishing themselves, Swagger especially in the last week with Zeb Colter debuting at his side. Chris Jericho also has a feud going with Dolph Ziggler, and if they make the choice to have him cash in his briefcase, it would be logical to see Jericho pull out a win here to take him on at WrestleMania. I’m going to have to flip a coin on this one, as all the options could produce excellent outcomes.

Mark Henry is the last man standing and the No. 1 Contender.

The Rock vs. CM Punk for the WWE Championship: I imagine we’re going to get a Cena vs. Rock rematch at WrestleMania 29, and that to me appeared to be the plan all along, so this outcome doesn’t seem much in question. I’ve really enjoyed CM Punk over the last year, and his feud with The Rock is no exception, but I think WWE is going to move him away from the title picture for the time being at least. I’ll make a guesswork prediction that CM Punk turns on Paul Heyman after the match after he realizes what Heyman’s tactics have gotten him, and we get a new feud and a new direction for him heading into WrestleMania.

The Rock defeats CM Punk to retain the WWE Championship.

Questions, comments or concerns? E-mail me at barnett.jake@gmail.com or find me on Twitter @barnettjake.

© Copyright 2013 by PROWRESTLING.NET