Wwe Elimination Chamber: Ripley, Orton earn title shots at WrestleMania
The wwe Elimination Chamber at the United Center in Chicago on February 28 produced clear WrestleMania 42 implications: Rhea Ripley won the women's Chamber to advance, AJ Lee defeated Becky Lynch to claim the Women's Intercontinental Championship, and CM Punk survived a stiff challenge from Finn Bálor. The show reopened the venue's premium live-event calendar and reshaped several title-picture forecasts.
United Center return, card and stakes for WrestleMania 42
The event marked the promotion's return to the United Center and was the first premium live event held at the venue since SummerSlam 1994. The card featured both the men's and women's Elimination Chamber matches and two high-stakes title bouts, a show described as brimming with WrestleMania 42 implications. The action on February 28 set multiple paths toward the year's biggest show.
Ripley wins the women's Elimination Chamber and books a WrestleMania trip
Rhea Ripley, billed in coverage as "The Eradicator, " outlasted Tiffany Stratton, Raquel Rodriguez, Asuka, Kiana James and Alexa Bliss to win the women's Elimination Chamber and secure a spot at WrestleMania 42. Tiffany Stratton and Kiana James started the match; Alexa Bliss supplied a high spot by delivering Twisted Bliss from the top of one of the pods. Bliss's hopes were later undone when The Empress of Tomorrow used the blue mist, allowing James to score the first elimination.
Raquel Rodriguez made a strong impact upon entering, pinning both James and Asuka, and the one-two combination from "Mami" and Stratton helped remove Big Mami Cool from contention. Ripley ultimately sent Stratton face-first into a pod and finished with the Riptide to secure the victory in what coverage called a good match with strong action and a standout performance from the runner-up.
AJ Lee upsets Becky Lynch to become Women's Intercontinental Champion
AJ Lee defeated Becky Lynch to capture the Women's Intercontinental Championship in a contest that included referee bumps, a steel chair and an exposed turnbuckle. Lynch entered the match as the defending champion.
Lee outwrestled Lynch early, but Lynch later regained control and escalated the match's physicality. Lynch removed a turnbuckle pad; referee Jessika Carr then collided with the exposed area. Carr was further taken out after catching a kick from Lynch. The challenger survived the use of a chair and ultimately sent Lynch into the exposed turnbuckle, applied the Black Widow and forced a submission to win the title.
Wwe main event fallout: Punk survives Balor, Roman Reigns set for WrestleMania 42
CM Punk will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 42 after surviving his match with Finn Bálor in Chicago. The Second City Saint withstood a focused, determined challenge from Balor; for much of the match the Irishman outwrestled Punk, dominated stretches of the action and at times looked as if he might disrupt the main-event picture.
Separately, contributor Mark Kaboly previewed the match with the view that Punk could not lose in his hometown of Chicago and predicted Punk would defeat Balor. Kaboly also predicted that Dominik Mysterio — identified in previews as the Intercontinental Champion who has had issues with his Judgment Day brother for some time — would attack Finn Bálor inside the ring after the contest, and that scenario was put forward as part of potential WrestleMania buildup.
Men's Elimination Chamber participants and the WrestleMania picture
The men's Elimination Chamber was built around six participants: Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Je'Von Evans, Trick Williams, Logan Paul and LA Knight. Predictions ahead of the match highlighted Je'Von Evans as a standout who would "wow" the crowd and suggested Randy Orton would connect with a spectacular RKO on Evans at some point.
Previews framed the match as a three-man race among Orton, Cody Rhodes and LA Knight, with LA Knight described as having a real chance. The card's path to WrestleMania 42 was discussed in terms of Cody Rhodes being difficult to picture out of a main-event title match. Coverage noted that Jey Uso being taken out by a mystery man on SmackDown opened the door for Vision member Logan Paul to take the sixth and final Chamber spot over Jacob Fatu, and that if Fatu had entered the match the landscape might have changed. Those predictions also left open the possibility of a future Cody Rhodes versus Drew McIntyre title match at WrestleMania.
Last appearances and recent momentum for key competitors
Coverage recapped recent activity for several competitors: Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky had lost to Nia Jax and Lash Legend on SmackDown on February 27; Kiana James defeated Nia Jax and Charlotte Flair on SmackDown on February 20; Tiffany Stratton defeated Kairi Sane on SmackDown on February 27; Alexa Bliss defeated Giulia and Zelina on SmackDown on February 13; Raquel Rodriguez defeated Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane on Raw on February 23; and Asuka defeated Bayley and Nattie on Raw on February 16. Those appearances framed the entrants' trajectories heading into the Elimination Chamber card and the WrestleMania run-ins that followed.
