Although WWE Elimination Chamber 2026 was a newsworthy show, many found the show to be average when all was said and done.
Marking a return to the US with its Premium Live Events, Elimination Chamber took over Chicago to present the final PLE before WrestleMania 42 in April. With title matches, Mania challengers and a mystery box all advertised ahead of time, fans in attendance and watching around the world were hoping for something big when the show concluded. However, much like the live fans, this show was not the home run many had hoped for.
Following a great opening video where CM Punk spoke about what Chicago and the Elimination Chamber mean to him, the show officially kicked off with the Women’s Chamber match. With 6 entrances to get through before the match could officially begin, the opening of the show felt very drawn out, as it was 20 minutes before the wrestling began. Tiffany Stratton and Kaina James started things off, followed by Asuka, Alexa Bliss, Rhea Ripley and finally Raquel Rodriguez. James put in a good showing during her short stint in the match and pinned Alexa Bliss after she was misted by Asuka, with Rodriguez taking out James and Asuka shortly afterwards. The end of the match came down to Ripley and Stratton, with Ripley picking up the win.
Although there was nothing wrong with the match, there were very few highlights from the 24-minute encounter. Additionally, the match highlighted 2 main issues. The first was that with most of the women invovled in the tag etam division prior to Chamber, few acted like they were desperate to win this and challenge for the top title. Instead, the main focus has been their respective partnerships and what the future holds for each team. Secondly, the winner of the match will go on to fight Jade Cargill for the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania. While Cargill vs. Ripley will be a first time ever match, it feels as if the direction was rushed as WWE found out that their original plan, a returning Bianca Belair, would not be possible, so had to scramble for a plan B.
Next was the only title change of the night as AJ Lee bested Becky Lynch to win the Women’s Intercontinental Championship, her first title in over a decade. Even though Lee now lives in Chicago, the fans didn’t exactly give her a thunderous ovation as she made her entrance. That being said, Lynch and Lee had a fun match that saw Lynch try to use shortcuts to pick up the win, but was stopped by Lee. Lee also got a visual tapout while referee Jessika Carr was down, keeping Lynch in the match. In the end, an exposed turnbuckle was Lynch’s downfall as she went into the corner and was then locked in the Black Widow, securing the win for Lee. A Mania rematch feels inevitable, and both women are leaving something in reserve for next month.
The crowd finally woke up when CM Punk made his entrance. Receiving a hero’s welcome, the World Champion put his title on the line against Finn Balor, who vowed to spoil the Second City Saint’s big night. A good back-and-forth match, unsurprisingly delivered given that both Punk and Balor are established veterans and skilled in the ring. With no interference and no underhanded tactics, Balor once again found himself on the losing end of the contest, clearing the way for Punk vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. While the Balor face turn looks to be inevitable and the match was the best of the night from an in-ring standpoint, no one expected Balor to pick up the win here, making fans not as invested in the action.
Before the main event, there was the reveal of the mystery box, which did not get the reaction WWE would have expected. After the box opened to reveal a coffin, dancers in Danhausen facepaint emerged before the man himself officially arrived in WWE. Performing a quick dance routine and posing in the ring, Danhausen vanished shortly afterwards, leading to some in the arena booing at the reveal.
Let it be said that Danhausen is an entertaining wrestler and has made a name for himself in the wrestling world thanks to his signature look and antics. That being said, the former AEW star is still a niche act and has been away from TV for over a year. This is not a name that casual WWE fans would know, and the company shouldn’t have expected a large reaction when he debuted. If fans are angry that it isn’t Chris Jericho, that’s on them as there was never any indication that the reveal would be the former WWE Champion. Danhausen in WWE is intriguing if nothing else, and the man behind the character has worked hard for years to get where he is. This is one where fans need more time to see how effective he can be in the world’s largest pro wrestling promotion.
All the interference spots were saved for the main event, as Randy Orton stood tall over Cody Rhodes, Logan Paul, LA Knight, Trick Williams and Je’Von Evans to earn his match against WWE Champion at WrestleMania 42. Logan Paul picked up the early eliminations, but was later attacked by the masked man, who was revealed to be Seth Rollins. Knight had another unfortunate error that went viral on social media, which he struggled to recover from until he was taken out of the match.
In the end it came down to Orton and Rhodes, which led to McIntyre interfering and striking Rhodes with the title. Both Rhodes and Orton went after McIntyre, with Orton hitting one more RKO to pin Rhodes and pick up the win. With Orton’s Mania plans being brought to an abrupt end the previous year, and with it being unknown how many Manias Orton has left, adding him to the World Title match was not the worst call by creative, as The Viper wouldn’t really have a direction for another match. Rhodes will somehow make it into the WWE Title match, as will Jacob Fatu, which could be a great match but also feels like a break glass in case of emergency scenario. In regard to the Rollins return, it appears that a Rollins vs. Paul rematch could be set up, which truthfully is more due to unfortunate circumstances as both Bron Breaker and Bronson Reed suffered injuries in Rollins’ absence. It’s not the best scenario for Rollins at Mania, but WWE are short on logical options.
WWE Elimination Chamber 2026: Final Thoughts
Ashow that very much felt victim to filler, just 4 matches taking place on a 3-hour card left those watching live with a lot of time on their hands. Additionally, given the implications for the Chamber matches, the Chicago crowd did not feel that enthusiastic for what took place.
WWE is reportedly concerned at the low ticket sales for WrestleMania, but the high ticket prices and the return to Las Vegas are also factors on top of the lack of killer storylines going into the event. The company is looking to load up the starpower to try and get fans to part with their money, but this wasn’t the show that will see a surge in tickets sold. Elimination Chamber is one to check out for the matches only, but won’t be seen as a show of the year when 2026 is over.
Here’s hoping Mania can knock it out of the park.
Featured image: WWE
