Show
At WWE Elimination Chamber, "The New" Daniel Bryan will defend the WWE Championship against AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy and The New Day’s Kofi Kingston inside the dreaded Elimination Chamber.
The initial announcement came on the heels of the chaotic Royal Rumble pay-per-view, where Bryan survived Styles’ challenge thanks to the surprise arrival of Rowan. When the referee was inadvertently knocked down by an errant kick from AJ, Rowan rushed into the ring to smash Styles to bits with a menacing chokeslam, allowing Bryan to pin his opponent as the referee recovered for the three-count.
Two days later on SmackDown LIVE, The Phenomenal One emerged to take issue with Bryan’s tactics, only to be interrupted by a slew of the blue brand’s elite Superstars looking to stake their claim for an opportunity to challenge The Beard. Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy, Samoa Joe and Mustafa Ali soon joined the fray, and a snide comment from The Samoan Submission Machine to The Phenomenal One ignited an out-of-control melee between all five Superstars.
Bryan refused to face any of the competitors on the ground that they were all “fickle,” but WWE COO Triple H soon joined the party and informed the outspoken titleholder that he would face all of them inside the career-altering combat zone!
However, after Rowan sent Ali crashing through the announce table during a wild altercation on the blue brand, the up-and-coming Superstar was no longer medically cleared to compete inside the Chamber. As a result, The New Day were granted the right to decide which member would take his place, and the “positive” reinforcement turned out to be none other than the high-flying Kingston.
In the Elimination Chamber, two competitors will start the bout while the remaining four Superstars remain enclosed in pods. At specified intervals, a pod will open at random, enabling a Superstar to enter the match. This will continue until all six of the combatants have joined the bout.
After emerging victorious in a Gauntlet Match between the Elimination Chamber combatants on SmackDown LIVE, Randy Orton earned the right to be the last Superstar to enter the career-altering contest.
Any Superstar can be eliminated at any time via pinfall or submission and must leave the chamber. The last Superstar standing will be the WWE Champion.
Don’t miss WWE Elimination Chamber, Sunday, Feb. 17, streaming live at 7 ET/4 PT on WWE Network.