WWE Elimination Chamber 2017 - 6 Positives And 4 Negatives
Who's been impressing ahead of Elimination Chamber, and who's been letting the side down?
It’s less than two weeks since the 2017 Royal Rumble, but with WrestleMania season well underway, the pay-per-views are coming around thick and fast.
This Sunday sees the Elimination Chamber show return to the company calendar after it was dropped from the schedule in 2016, and despite not having much time to work with, the company has done a decent job of putting together a fairly comprehensive card.
The SmackDown-exclusive event will see John Cena defend his WWE title inside the Chamber against AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose, the Miz, Bray Wyatt and Baron Corbin, while there are three meaningful women’s feuds already announced including Mickie James' first main roster singles match in almost seven years. Add in the long-awaited showdown between former Wyatt Family buddies Luke Harper and Randy Orton and we've got ourselves a pretty star-studded event on the cards.
Naturally that gives us plenty to look forward to, though it hasn’t been plain sailing all the way.
Let’s take a look at some of these positives and negatives regarding Elimination Chamber 2017 as we head into this weekend’s show...
10. Negative: Handling Of The Tag Teams
Starting with the negatives, one aspect of the build that’s left something to be desired has been the handling of the tag team division.
With current champions American Alpha in desperate need of some challengers, rather than looking to assemble a meaningful feud, it seems like the writers just hit the panic button and threw anyone and everyone into the mix.
Last week, American Alpha’s open challenge was answered by the Usos. And the Ascension. And the Vaudevillains. And Breezango. And finally, Heath Slater and Rhyno. In other words: the entire SmackDown tag team division. This prompted a multi-man brawl that we could all see coming a mile-off before the obligatory 12-man tag match on the following week’s show.
It may have been effective in giving us a teaser for this tag team turmoil match that’s now scheduled for Elimination Chamber, but it all felt overly predictable. Plus, if American Alpha manage to retain on Sunday evening, they’ll have overcome the entire division in one fell swoop. Where are they supposed to go from here?
Hopefully this 12-man free-for-all is just a way of setting up something more compelling for WrestleMania 33.