Wwe Elimination Chamber: Rhea Ripley Wins Chamber; AJ Lee Captures Women’s Intercontinental Title, Punk Survives Balor

wwe’s Elimination Chamber in Chicago produced multiple match-deciding moments with immediate WrestleMania implications: Rhea Ripley won the women’s Elimination Chamber to earn a spot at WrestleMania 42, AJ Lee defeated Becky Lynch to become the new women’s Intercontinental champion, and CM Punk survived Finn Bálor in a World Heavyweight Title defense.

Rhea Ripley secures WrestleMania 42 spot

WWE returned to the United Center in Chicago for Elimination Chamber, the first premium live event at that venue since SummerSlam 1994. The show featured both men’s and women’s Elimination Chamber matches and two high-stakes title bouts, and the February 28 card opened with a six-woman Chamber that ended with Rhea Ripley emerging as the winner.

Ripley outlasted Tiffany Stratton, Raquel Rodriguez, Asuka, Kiana James and Alexa Bliss. Stratton and James started the match; Bliss then delivered a Twisted Bliss from the top of a pod. Asuka, called The Empress of Tomorrow in the match narrative, blinded Bliss with blue mist, which allowed Kiana James to score the bout’s first elimination. When Ripley and Rodriguez entered, Rodriguez pinned both James and Asuka to eliminate them. The one-two punch of “Mami and Tiffy” enabled the babyfaces to eliminate Big Mami Cool. Ripley later sent Stratton face-first into a pod and finished with the Riptide to secure the victory and a ticket to WrestleMania 42.

AJ Lee wins Women’s Intercontinental Championship from Becky Lynch

AJ Lee became the new women’s Intercontinental champion after a match with multiple referee bumps, a steel chair and an exposed turnbuckle. Lee outwrestled Becky Lynch early, forcing Lynch to remove a turnbuckle pad; referee Jessika Carr collided with the exposed hardware, and later was taken further out of position when she was caught by a kick from Lynch. Lynch used a chair but could not keep Lee down. Lee then drove Lynch into the exposed turnbuckle, applied the Black Widow and forced a submission to win the title.

Lee’s most recent ring work before this match included teaming with Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair, Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky to defeat Becky Lynch, Lash Legend, Nia Jax, Asuka and Kairi Sane at Survivor Series: WarGames on November 28. Lynch had earlier lost in the women’s Royal Rumble on January 31.

CM Punk survives Finn Bálor; WrestleMania slot with Roman Reigns set

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 overcame a focused, determined challenger who was described as being the better man for much of the match; the narrative of the bout noted that the Irishman outwrestled Punk and dominated stretches and appeared capable of disrupting the WrestleMania main event plans.

CM Punk’s recent in-ring chronology also included a Raw win over AJ Styles double disqualification on January 26, and Finn Bálor’s record referenced a loss to Punk on Raw on January 19.

Men’s Elimination Chamber field and previewed outcomes

The men’s Elimination Chamber lineup named for the event included Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Je’Von Evans, Trick Williams, Logan Paul and LA Knight. A preview noted that Je’Von Evans was expected to stand out and that Randy Orton was likely to hit a spectacular RKO on Evans at some point. The preview framed the match as a three-man race among Orton, Cody Rhodes and LA Knight, while also saying LA Knight had a real chance.

The preview referenced a SmackDown angle in which Jey Uso was taken out by a mystery man, opening the door for Vision member Logan Paul to take the sixth and final Chamber spot over Jacob Fatu. The same analysis argued that Cody Rhodes is positioned to appear in a main-event title match at WrestleMania—projecting a Cody Rhodes vs Drew McIntyre title match—while noting that if Jacob Fatu had entered the Chamber, the result might have been different. The preview concluded by forecasting a straightforward, workmanlike performance by Rhodes that would send him onward, but the written thought cuts off and the intended destination is unclear in the provided context.

Wwe predictions and broadcast details from Mark Kaboly

WWE. com and Pat McAfee Show contributor Mark Kaboly provided a set of predictions ahead of the event and framed several narrative beats to watch: he expected CM Punk to retain clean in his hometown of Chicago, predicted Dominik Mysterio—the Intercontinental Champion and referenced as “Dirty Dom”—would attack Finn Bálor inside the ring after the World Heavyweight Title match, and forecasted an AJ Lee upset over Becky Lynch. Kaboly also highlighted the potential for a Cody Rhodes main-event picture and named Orton, Rhodes and LA Knight as the key contenders in the men’s Chamber.

The event was presented live from the United Center in Chicago on Saturday at 7 p. m. ET / 4 p. m. PT on in the United States and on Netflix in other territories. Promotional access notes around the Elimination Chamber emphasized that every Premium Live Event and a wide range of WWE premium content are available across platforms: Netflix carries Premium Live Events, Sony LIV is offered for sign-in, Flow streams WrestleMania and other Premium Live Events, and WWE. com provides guidance on accessing live Raw and historical content.

What makes this notable is how several storyline threads converged in Chicago—a title retention, a new champion, and a Chamber winner—each producing direct match consequences that reshape the road to WrestleMania 42.