WWE Elimination Chamber 2019 - WWE Championship, Elimination Chamber Match

[FunKay]

It's Daniel Bryan defending against AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Randy Orton, Mustafa Ali and Samoa Joe. This past week on SmackDown Live, as Bryan unveiled his eco-friendly, alternative WWE Championship, he was subject to interruption by all five of these eventual challengers as well as Triple H who subsequently declared them as the participants of a WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match! Lovely.

First things first, this should be the main event given that the WWE Championship hasn't closed out a show in... about a year. It's about time for that to change, especially with the Chamber being play and the Universal title away until Mania essentially. Aside from that, this should be fun. SmackDown has a cracking roster filled with talent, as evidenced by the exclusion of guys such as Rey Mysterio, Andrade, Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura. Without question, this should produce a terrific contest, even if the winner seems somewhat obvious: Daniel Bryan is the hottest heel act in the whole company, to take the title from him would be barmy at this stage.

One would hope this opens the SmackDown side of the WrestleMania card up a little as we're still none-the-wiser as to the title's direction heading into the show, nor where a lot of these extremely high caliber name are headed going into the biggest show of the year. Oh, and keep your eyes peeled for further additions to Bryan's entourage as Luke Harper edges closer to being cleared and Bray Wyatt chomps at the bit to return to WWE TV.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

Only about two weeks early, no?

[Y 2 Jake]

Interesting that this is for the title rather than being for an opportunity to fight for the title. It's almost like they have a challenger already in place. My pick being Undertaker but Cena is an option and HBK at a stretch.

[Jack-Hammer]

The problem with having this match to determine who'd face Bryan at WrestleMania rather than a title match is that those who're competing don't really seem like they're marquee matches for the title. We've seen Bryan vs. Styles several times in recent months, so doing it again for the biggest show of the year makes the match come off as more of an afterthought than anything else. Mustafa Ali would be an interesting choice but I just don't see them going the Jinder Mahal route and giving this kid a title run out of nowhere; granted, he's getting a good reaction from fans and is already more over than Jinder has ever thought about being, but it just seems much too soon. Jeff Hardy is mostly a nostalgia act at this point and matches against Orton or Joe leave fans without any clear choice of who to cheer for given their heel status.

My guess is they'll bring in John Cena for the match with the notion of Cena winning meaning that he'll break Flair's official record of 16 World Championship wins. Whether he actually will win or not is anybody's guess considering that Cena is like Taker in that he's more of a special attraction now rather than even a part timer. As for Taker, various reports suggest that Taker won't have a match at WrestleMania this year, but take it for what it's worth.

At any rate, Bryan retains here probably due to outside interference from Rowan, and possibly Harper if he's medically cleared.

[smarkmouth]

Mustafa Ali is likely to be removed from the match due to an eye injury suffered this past Tuesday against Randy Orton, which was exacerbated this weekend during the house show. This is a shame. In no way was Mustafa Ali going over, but it sucks to see that he won't have a chance to showcase his talents in a high profile match as soon as we'd like.

The easy route is replacing him with Andrade or Rey (or possibly both. Wouldn't be the first 7-man EC), but I REALLY hope they don't phone it in. This PPV is already selling as much as it's going to unless Cena's free to take up a pod. I'd love for Mustafa to be afforded the opportunity to choose his replacement on Smackdown, only for him to say that he'll make his decision on 205 Live, replacing himself with a fellow Cruiserweight. It would be a great way to continue showcasing 205 Live, and fits Mustafa's character quite well.

... I just want Brian Kendrick in the Chamber.

[Jack-Hammer]

Mustafa Ali is likely to be removed from the match due to an eye injury suffered this past Tuesday against Randy Orton, which was exacerbated this weekend during the house show. This is a shame. In no way was Mustafa Ali going over, but it sucks to see that he won't have a chance to showcase his talents in a high profile match as soon as we'd like.

The easy route is replacing him with Andrade or Rey (or possibly both. Wouldn't be the first 7-man EC), but I REALLY hope they don't phone it in. This PPV is already selling as much as it's going to unless Cena's free to take up a pod. I'd love for Mustafa to be afforded the opportunity to choose his replacement on Smackdown, only for him to say that he'll make his decision on 205 Live, replacing himself with a fellow Cruiserweight. It would be a great way to continue showcasing 205 Live, and fits Mustafa's character quite well.

... I just want Brian Kendrick in the Chamber.

As of right now, the latest is that Ali suffered a concussion. The latest reports state that Ali says he's feeling fine and is ready to work, which has him in Vince's good graces, but he'll be evaluated sometime during the day today before SmackDown goes on the air and that a replacement will be named, if necessary. Reportedly, the story will be that Ali's injuries will be as a result of his match with Orton last week, possibly setting up some sort of long term feud between them.

If true and even if WWE suspects Ali might have a concussion, then he's already pretty much out of the match. Can't blame WWE for being very cautious about any and all things concussion related, though it'll be a shame if Ali is out of the match. Still, in the long run, a feud with Orton will probably be good for him, provided they just don't have him jobbing out to Orton the entire time.

[Y 2 Jake]

I'd like to see Ali in the match but at the same time I've never been a fan of guys getting world title shots and then not even making the main Mania card a few weeks later.

[FunKay]

As I'm sure you've all seen at this point, Kofi Kingston has replaced Mustafa Ali in the match and gave an utterly stellar performance in the gauntlet match to determine the final entrant into the match. Kofi is a credible stopgap challenger always thanks to his mid card and tag team success over the years, but arguably his performance last night elevated him to a new level. Time will tell if it's going to translate into something longer for him (and the rest of the New Day by proxy), but here's hoping,

Randy Orton ultimately won the gauntlet with a trademark RKO out of nowhere to enter last and gain the tactical advantage heading into the match. This likely woman have much bearing on the conclusion of the match, but it could help signal where Orton is headed as we ramp up the WrestleMania booking.

[FunKay]

As I'm sure you've all seen at this point, Kofi Kingston has replaced Mustafa Ali in the match and gave an utterly stellar performance in the gauntlet match to determine the final entrant into the match. Kofi is a credible stopgap challenger always thanks to his mid card and tag team success over the years, but arguably his performance last night elevated him to a new level. Time will tell if it's going to translate into something longer for him (and the rest of the New Day by proxy), but here's hoping,

Randy Orton ultimately won the gauntlet with a trademark RKO out of nowhere to enter last and gain the tactical advantage heading into the match. This likely woman have much bearing on the conclusion of the match, but it could help signal where Orton is headed as we ramp up the WrestleMania booking.

[Y 2 Jake]

I'm very comfortable with Bryan vs. Kofi at WrestleMania.

Underwhelming for some, I'm sure. But if you're a WWE fan you should be used to it by now.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

I definitely want to see Kofi win this. I don't care if he holds the championship for 1 day or 10000 days.

[BestSportsEntertainer]

I definitely want to see Kofi win this. I don't care if he holds the championship for 1 day or 10000 days.

I'm not even a big Kofi fan, but I'd love to see him win the title. He's earned it.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

I'm not even a big Kofi fan, but I'd love to see him win the title. He's earned it.

Good man.

[Yaz]

If Kofi wins I will post a video of myself crying tears of joy.

[FunKay]

The more I think about it, the more I want to see Kofi come up juuuuuuust short in this match. Bryan is more than likely walking into Mania with the title regardless of the result here, and while it would be cool for Kofi to win the title in black history month yadda-yadda, he wouldn't have it any longer than Fastlane probably. There's a long term story here if they play their cards right, of Kofi chasing the golden goose that has evaded him for over a decade all over the year (ala Jeff Hardy 2008) before ultimately capturing the title towards the latter stages of the year, just when his chances look bleakest. I'd love to see that.

[Yaz]

The more I think about it, the more I want to see Kofi come up juuuuuuust short in this match. Bryan is more than likely walking into Mania with the title regardless of the result here, and while it would be cool for Kofi to win the title in black history month yadda-yadda, he wouldn't have it any longer than Fastlane probably. There's a long term story here if they play their cards right, of Kofi chasing the golden goose that has evaded him for over a decade all over the year (ala Jeff Hardy 2008) before ultimately capturing the title towards the latter stages of the year, just when his chances look bleakest. I'd love to see that.

Funk, I hate you for making so much sense. I have really allowed myself to believe Kofi's time is soon and I will 100% be bummed when he doesn't walk out Sunday with the belt, but this scenario does make sense.

[FunKay]

Perfect. The ending to this match was perfect. They made Kofi look like a star on the level of Bryan and made him overcome so much only to ultimately be outdone by his own desperation. We all rant and rave and give into hyperbole far too much, but this was a masterclass between two veterans and it made us all hunger for more. That's exceptional work. This is WWE's match of the year so far, and if they keep it rolling, Kofi Quest 2019 could be the story of the year too.