Randy Orton secured a WrestleMania title opportunity after a chaotic Men’s Elimination Chamber match at the WWE Elimination Chamber event in Chicago, Illinois, on Sunday. The event, held at the United Center before a crowd of 19,346, featured two Elimination Chamber matches and two championship changes.
The night began with the Women’s Elimination Chamber match, where Rhea Ripley emerged victorious over Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Kiana James, Raquel Rodriguez, and Tiffany Stratton. The match lasted 23 minutes and 45 seconds, with Ripley ultimately pinning Stratton after a Riptide. Bliss was the first eliminated, falling victim to a roll-up from James after Asuka momentarily blinded her with a spray of blue mist. Rodriguez then eliminated both James and Asuka with a Tejana Bomb, before Stratton pinned Rodriguez with a moonsault. Ripley’s win secures her a championship match at WrestleMania.
Later in the evening, AJ Lee captured the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship, defeating Becky Lynch via submission with the Black Widow. The match, lasting 15 minutes and 30 seconds, was marked by Lynch’s repeated disputes with the referee, Jessica Carr. This marks a title change for the championship.
In a World Heavyweight Championship match, CM Punk successfully defended his title against Finn Bálor, defeating him with the Go To Sleep after a 20-minute and 21-second contest. Following the match, Punk and Bálor shared a moment of respect, and were joined by Lee to celebrate both championship victories.
The main event saw Randy Orton win the Men’s Elimination Chamber match, overcoming Je’Von Evans, LA Knight, Trick Williams, Logan Paul, and Cody Rhodes. The match was significantly impacted by the interference of a masked wrestler who aided Rhodes, ultimately costing Paul two eliminations before revealing himself to be Seth Rollins. Rollins delivered a stomp to Paul, allowing Rhodes to secure a pinfall. The chaos continued as Drew McIntyre unexpectedly entered the ring during the final stages, attacking Rhodes. Orton intervened, delivering an RKO to McIntyre and then capitalizing on the distraction to pin Rhodes and win the match.
Prior to the main event, Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce opened a large crate presented by R-Truth, expecting an important item. Instead, they found a pizza, much to their confusion. The crate was then revealed to contain a coffin, from which Danhausen emerged, accompanied by dancers, before the lights went out and the segment abruptly ended, drawing a negative reaction from the crowd.
