WWE Clarify Elimination Chamber 2021's Universal Title Situation On SmackDown
Roman Reigns WILL defend the Universal Title at Elimination Chamber, but...
Roman Reigns will defend the Universal Title at Elimination Chamber on 21 February, but not inside the titular cage.
The 'Tribal Chief' thrashed out some new terms for the pay-per-view during an in-ring segment with designated authority figure Adam Pearce on Friday's episode of SmackDown. Now, the blue brand's Chamber bout will be a number one contender's battle instead.
The winner of Kevin Owens vs. Jey Uso vs. 'King' Corbin vs. Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro vs. Daniel Bryan will then go on to wrestle Reigns one-on-one for the belt on the same night. In fact, the heels made sure it'd be "immediate" on last night's show.
This is all part of the branching narrative that 'true leader' Roman will happily take the path of least resistance whenever it's open to him (then brag about how he's the only one who can lead WWE). It's a good story, and it makes sense that Reigns would seek to avoid working the Chamber as much as possible.
SmackDown closed with Owens smashing through the competition and emerging as the clear favourite for next week's title tilt. It'd be a surprise if he won though - WWE will probably feed someone new to Reigns on the pay-per-view.