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Two Championship Matches Announced For Elimination Chamber
In just over two weeks, WWE will hold the Elimination Chamber 2022 pay-per-view at the Jeddah Super Dome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
WWE performs two pay-per-views a year in Saudi Arabia as part of their deal, though they were limited to one event in both 2020 and 2021 because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The most recent WWE show in Saudi Arabia was Crown Jewel 2021 on Oct. 21 in Riyadh.
On the post-Royal Rumble edition of Monday Night Raw, two marquee matches were announced for the Elimination Chamber.
Hall of Famer Lita will challenge Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship, and WWE Champion Bobby Lashley will defend his title inside the chamber against Brock Lesnar, Austin Theory, AJ Styles, Seth Rollins and Riddle.
The betting odds for the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view matches will be released closer to the event date. WWE fans should know that you can place your bets on Fanduel in NY, even if the PPV is in Arabia.
Lashley defeated Lesnar and became the new WWE Champion at Saturday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view in St. Louis, Missouri, thanks to some assistance from Roman Reigns.
Lesnar went on to win the men’s Royal Rumble match to close out the show. On Raw, Lesnar announced that he’ll challenge Reigns for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 38.
It’s almost certain that Reigns will defend his Universal title against somebody other than Lesnar at Elimination Chamber.
Women’s Royal Rumble winner Ronda Rousey told Lynch on Raw that she’ll make her WrestleMania decision during this week’s episode of SmackDown. Charlotte Flair is currently the SmackDown Women’s Championship holder.
Shane McMahon Will Reportedly Compete At Elimination Chamber
The former SmackDown commissioner returned to WWE programming during the men’s Royal Rumble match, and it appears as though he’ll compete at the Elimination Chamber as well.
Dave Meltzer reported that Shane O’Mac has been “booked for both the Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania shows.” The 52-year-old McMahon wrestles on a part-time basis, often appearing at WrestleMania and the pay-per-views in Saudi Arabia. He returned last year for a WrestleMania 37 program with Braun Strowman, losing to The Monster Among Men in a Steel Cage match at “The Show of Shows.”
For what it’s worth, Meltzer also confirmed previous reports that many in WWE were angry at McMahon for largely booking the 30-man Royal Rumble match around himself.
Apparently, WWE chairman Vince McMahon largely put his son in charge of booking the match. McMahon was the No. 28 entry, and he made it to the final three before getting eliminated by Lesnar.
McMahon is often brought in for ork short-term programs with other strong mid-card performers, including Strowman, AJ Styles and Kevin Owens. Needless to say, it’ll be interesting to see how WWE uses Shane O’Mac for the Elimination Chamber and Royal Rumble.
WWE Reportedly Changed Plans For WWE Championship Match
On Wrestling Observer Radio (via WrestlingNews.co), Meltzer reported that Shane was initially scheduled to compete in the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship.
Of course, WWE could always run an angle where Shane comes in and takes one of the Elimination Chamber spots away from one of the other five competitors.
But as it stands, Lashley will be forced to defend the title against a trio of former World Champions in Styles, Lesnar and Rollins along with Theory and Riddle.
There were two Elimination Chamber matches at last year’s pay-per-view. Daniel Bryan won a No. 1 contender’s match against Cesaro, King Corbin, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Jey Uso to earn a title opportunity against Reigns that evening.
However, The Tribal Chief soundly defeated Bryan to retain his championship. Fast forward 11 months later, and Reigns has still yet to be dethroned as the title holder.
In the planned main event, Drew McIntyre outlasted Kofi Kingston, Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy, Styles and Sheamus to retain his WWE Championship. However, Lashley came out and attacked McIntyre after the match.
The Miz capitalized on the opportunity and cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to become the new WWE Champion. His reign would only last eight days, as The Miz would drop it to Lashley on the Mar. 1 edition of Raw in a Lumberjack match.