The title matchups for WrestleMania 42 are nearly set following WWE Elimination Chamber, but there is only one pairing that we didn't see coming.
Andreas Hale is a combat sports reporter at ESPN. Andreas covers MMA, boxing and pro wrestling. In Andreas' free time, he plays video games, obsesses over music and is a White Sox and 49ers fan. He is also a host for Sirius XM's Fight Nation.
Before joining ESPN, Andreas was a senior writer at DAZN and Sporting News. He started his career as a music journalist for outlets including HipHopDX, The Grammys and Jay-Z's Life+Times. He is also an NAACP Image Award-nominated filmmaker as a producer for the animated short film"Bridges" in 2024. Randy Orton and Rhea Ripley were the last ones standing in the men's and women's Elimination Chamber matches Saturday night, and they earned the right to challenge for WWE titles at WrestleMania 42 in April. Orton beat Cody Rhodes, Logan Paul, Trick Williams, Je'Von Evans and LA Knight, with some helpful interferences by WWE Undisputed champion Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins, who returned from injury. In the women's Elimination Chamber match, Ripley was victorious over Tiffany Stratton, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Raquel Rodriguez and Kiana James. Ripley will compete in her seventh consecutive WrestleMania. With the win, Orton will challenge the winner of Friday's title match between McIntyre and Rhodes on"SmackDown," while Ripley will go toe-to-toe with WWE women's champion Jade Cargill. Also on the card, CM Punk beat Finn Bálor -- again -- to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. And Punk's wife, AJ Lee, will also leave Chicago's United Center with a title in hand after submitting Becky Lynch in a match for the Women's Intercontinental Championship.Rhea Ripley books her ticket to WrestleMania by winning chamber match Rhea Ripley wins the 2026 women's Elimination Chamber match to earn a title match against Jade Cargill at WrestleMania.To the surprise of no one, Ripley won the women's Elimination Chamber. Was there any other choice? The outcome was made even more obvious when Ripley dropped the women's tag titles on"SmackDown" the night before. Though predictable, this was the only way to go for Ripley. She's arguably the biggest star on the roster, and not having her challenge for a world title at WrestleMania wouldn't feel right. Still, it would have been nice if the WWE cast doubt on the outcome by building one of the other women as a viable option to win. The end justified the means. Hopefully, WWE will make the outcome less obvious at next year's Elimination Chamber. Chamber matches should provide an element of drama for fans rather than clearing a hurdle to the obvious.AJ Lee forces Becky Lynch to tap out to the"Black Widow" to win the Women's Intercontinental Championship.Lee won her first singles match since ending her decade-long retirement last year. Though it has been great to see Lee back in a WWE ring, taking part in a women's division she helped push to new heights, she is now tasked with carrying a title that was held by Lynch, an incredible in-ring performer. The novelty of Lee's return from retirement is officially gone, and she'll be judged by her work moving forward. Lee's match with Lynch was solid, but it was clear that she was knocking off some rust throughout the bout. For her part, Lynch has been great in putting Lee over, and her ring generalship has been exceptional. But Lee will now be without Lynch heading into WrestleMania season. It will be interesting to see how WWE handles her next feud. She's now 3-0 against Lynch in a mixed tag match, Survivor Series: WarGames and now singles competition. We'll see who Lee faces in her first title defense and if she works with some of the younger talent on the roster.CM Punk defeats Finn Balor to retain the World Heavyweight Championship, cementing his matchup against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. The Punk vs. Bálor match served two purposes. The obvious one was to get Punk a homecoming match in Chicago before he defends his championship against Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 42. Punk winning wasn't a surprise, but it was great to see his nod to the Michael Jordan era Chicago Bulls starting lineup ceremony, complete with The Alan Parsons Project's"Sirius" and announcer Ray Clay. The match was a solid affair as Punk and Bálor battled to a stalemate until Punk hit his second GTS of the night to get the win and celebrated in the ring with his wife, AJ Lee. The second purpose might have been to turn Bálor into a babyface and pull him out of Judgment Day. Bálor has been teasing a split from the group over the past few weeks and demanded that he win or lose his match with Punk on his own, without help from Dominik Mysterio or JD McDonagh. Bálor lost on his own, and in a move unfitting of a heel, he shook Punk's hand afterward. This will almost certainly set up his split from the group, and we could be heading to a new era of Finn Bálor in WWE.Randy Orton wins the Elimination Chamber match to seal a match against Drew McIntyre for the WWE championship at WrestleMania.Rhodes felt like an absolute shoo-in to win the men's Elimination Chamber match and head back to the main event of WrestleMania against his rival Drew McIntyre. Instead, McIntyre inserted himself into the match, attacking Rhodes when it was down to Rhodes and Randy Orton as the last two competitors. Appearing to assist Rhodes, Orton hit McIntyre with an RKO. But just when Rhodes thought the coast was clear, following a successful Cross Rhodes on McIntryre, he ate an RKO from Orton. Three seconds later, and Orton is heading to WrestleMania in pursuit of his 15th world championship. Whom he'll face is still up in the air because"SmackDown" general manager Nick Aldis, who is fed up with McIntyre's constant interference in matches, announced that McIntyre will defend his Undisputed Championship on Friday against Rhodes. Rhodes vs. Orton would be a fresh matchup for WrestleMania. It could get really interesting, given their history dating to their time in the Legacy stable over a decade ago, when Orton served as Rhodes' mentor. It's the right move if they have Rhodes beat McIntyre for the Undisputed Championship on Friday. But where would that leave McIntyre for WrestleMania?Seth Rollins is revealed as the masked man after he helps to eliminate Logan Paul in the Elimination Chamber.The former leader of The Vision got his revenge when he curb-stomped Logan Paul, after a little bait and switch with another masked man. Rollins' interference seemingly cost Paul a win in the Elimination Chamber match. Rollins pulled off the mask to reveal himself, and now we have to figure out where this is going. Unfortunately, Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed have been sidelined because of injuries, which disrupted the original plan. Rollins and Paul faced off at WrestleMania 39, which Rollins won. A retread of that match three years later doesn't seem like the way to go, but WWE doesn't have many options for Rollins at this point.The mystery crate is revealed to be the debut of Danhausen at Elimination Chamber. Danhausen was revealed to be in the box that has been part of"Raw" and"SmackDown" storylines in recent weeks. The reveal of the eccentric goth character was met with confusion from fans. On the surface, he doesn't look very special with his small frame and unusual face paint. But you have to see Danhausen's antics to comprehend why he became a fan favorite on the independent wrestling scene. His theatrical sense of humor is an acquired taste, and WWE will be tasked with connecting him with their fans. Nothing about Danhausen is straightforward, andis tongue-in-cheek. He has called himself"Conan O'Brien possessed by a demon" in interviews, and that is a pretty accurate description of the wrestler who is known to break out the Pee-wee Herman dance in the middle of a match. You might not understand him now, but Danhausen is in the perfect place to accentuate his character. Give it time.
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