Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room; The winner of the Elimination Chamber chamber was leaked online on February 28th. To clear the air immediately, I don’t know who it is, and I’m not going to take the time to figure it out.
WWE has spent the early part of 2025 dishing out doses of fake information to undermine the validity of wrestling news outlets. They’ve all but admitted it as every fake story reported gets a victory lap at a media scrum and subliminal strays flying on weekly TV. All of this is a way of saying that, while I’ll ultimately be speculating about the Elimination Chamber match, I’m only using what’s presented on TV and scheduling conflicts as my means of drawing conclusions. Now that we’re past that, though, goddamn is this chamber an interesting one.
The men’s match is bursting at the seams with starpower backed with a hostility that makes every interaction intriguing at the very least. Most of the participants have some degree of history to play with when the chamber lowers and the pods begin to open. But with that history comes the seeds sowed into the soil of the match that helps build as case as to who should be the one that survives the buzzsaw of steel.
6) Logan Paul:
Logan Paul is the one person that I am confident isn’t going to win the Chamber match, punching his ticket to a WrestleMania Main Event.
Firstly, much of his shine has worn off as the novelty of social media personality turned competent in-ring talent doesn’t carry the weight it used to. Paul has been in the WWE for three years now, and the initial novelty factor of his early performances has faded.
Yes he’s held gold in the company and contributed to some viral moments, but that well has ultimately run dry. His in-ring ability has stagnated as his athleticism alone can’t carry him to a truly compelling match because he’s an actor/athlete first and wrestler second.
Look no further than Paul and Punk’s recent verbal barbs on the February 24th RAW. During the exchange, Paul babbled out some well-worn material about Punks’ age, temperament, and his proclivity for injuries. What’s worse is he went second in the exchange, giving him ample opportunity to respond to Punk’s specific talking points. He simply doesn’t have the skills to perform like a top talent because he doesn’t have the experience or knowledge to do so.
Plus, now more than ever, Paul is a gimmick you roll out as a means for the WWE to seep through to the mainstream thanks to Paul’s visibility and clout as a media personality…which is why he’s probably facing Cena.
This gives Paul another notch in his belt of braggadocio as he will be a part of the Cena retirement tour while also being a marquee matchup for both non/lapsed wrestling fans and people who are enticed by morbid curiosity. It’s the mainstream choice that uses the starpower of both athletes (we can’t forget John Cena is a bonafide movie star now) to make waves in the larger news cycle.
5/4) Damian Priest & Drew McIntyre:
Is it unfair to group these two together after how valuable they proved themselves to WWE in the last two years? I don’t know. Ask WWE who’s been hinting at a program between these two as they left the Royal Rumble with bad blood.
I feel rude saying that, but come on. If their roles in the Rumble were an island, then these two would be deserted together with no signs of life for 100 miles. Not to mention that, if this was a feud that wouldn’t result in a Mania match between these two, then they’d be settling it in a singles match at the Chamber and not a multi-man match that presents ample opportunity to further their hatred for one another.
While Drew spent 2024 in a critically acclaimed feud with CM Punk, it’s hard to deny that Punk wasn’t the one with the rocket on his back coming out the other end of their trilogy, as whilst Drew won the first match, he proceeded to lose the next two.
Damien Priest spent the early parts of 2024 helping elevate The Judgment Day, which was rewarded with a lengthy title reign through the middle of the year (as well as tag gold with Finn Balor to start the year). He would lose the title to GUNTHER in August and then would spend the rest of the year playing sidekick to Rhea Rhiply in her feud with Dominic Mysterio and Liv Morgan.
While both of these men had an impressive 2024 that showed why they’re great talent to have on-hand, its hard to deny the fact that they haven’t been built with the same gravitas as they were at their creative peaks of the same year. The time and effort hasn’t been invested into either man to convince me that they’re on the same level as the last three performers on this list.
It’s unfortunate, but it’s hard not to feel like the WrestlMania plans/payday these two were promised has turned into a consolation match against each other.
3) Seth Rollins:
I mean he’s gotta be fighting Roman in some capacity, right? Regardless of if it’s a singles match or a tag match featuring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, he stomped the Tribal Chief’s teeth into dust, and the image turned into a meme. Roman can’t just sit there and take that.
Seth started 2024 as World Heavyweight Champion, but he dropped the title to Drew in April. The remainder of his programs throughout the year revolved around personal issues (most of which had Roman Reigns as the focal point to some degree) instead of being a hunt for the title.
When you look at Seth’s potential feuds heading into WrestleMania, he doesn’t really fit into the title picture…yet. Firstly, he was the guy who first feuded with Cody when he left AEW and returned to WWE. Cody’s first 4 Premium Live Event matches were against Seth, so it’s safe to say that feud is still played out even if it was nearly three years ago.
While Seth has his sights set on Roman, it also has to be acknowledged that Punk is still on the outskirts of the Seth feud as well, setting Seth up as a potential challenger should Punk go on to take the title off Cody at Mania.
Seth is presented as a main event player who has the ability to pop in and out of the title picture without having his credibility decimated. Because of his current lack of motivation or presence in the larger title picture going into Elimination Chamber, it’s got to be a safe bet that it won’t be his night.
2) John Cena:
Cena is currently a superstar at the front end of his retirement tour with absolutely no concrete direction. That’s not entirely fair, he’s done great character work that set the stage for his character’s emotional state for his final run, but he doesn’t really have an opponent waiting in the wings.
Also, to be fair, the name across the ring from Cena doesn’t really matter as his presence on any given card in 2025 will entice eyes to the product. He’s cemented himself and his legacy, so this last run is a generational talent riding off into the sunset. With that being said, legacy is why I can’t see him winning the Chamber.
Firstly, his current character struggle is that he doesn’t believe he can hang with this new generation of talent. He is a forlorn man weighed down by the baggage of self-doubt. That alone can justify the loss as it’s another piece of a winding road towards Cena’s record-breaking 17th World Title win.
That aforementioned World Title win is also why I have a hard time believing Cena will leave the Chamber victorious. He is currently tied up in Budapest shooting a movie, which hasn’t afforded him any TV time for the Chamber build. To make matters worse, there isn’t a set timeline on when he can be expected back as a weekly performer.
Realistically, he could begin to appear on TV more following a Chamber win, but the gravity of his 17th World Title for both him as a performer and WWE as a company caries too much weight to approach lightly. Cena would need a clear schedule and full commitment leading up to WrestleMania (and afterwards should he win the title) to allow the program to gain the momentum it needs to match the occasion.
That’s why the current direction appears to be Paul vs. Cena, as it wouldn’t require the time or nuance needed on the story front. With The Rock looming large over the company, threatening to settle his score with Cody and his crybabies, it’s hard to deny that there aren’t more fleshed out options available.
With Paul and Cena also not being on TV every week, the novelty of the matchup can carry the build and make it PLE worthy. Unfortunately, at this moment, it’s hard to believe Cena is in the proper position to fully realize this legacy defining moment.
1) CM Punk:
Punk is also in an odd spot as he finds himself the target of countless strays sent his way from the rest of the roster (and we’ll get back to that for the record). His Rumble elimination saw him get tossed over the top rope by Logan Paul before being intertwined in the longstanding feud between Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns a few minutes later.
The Paul elimination would seem like a one-off, but the February 21st SmackDown saw Punk and Paul trade barbs in a promo segment that ended with Paul slapping Punk and running away. This feud already sits atop the baggage between Punk and Seth Rollins who still have creative juices left in the tank (not to mention Punk’s long history with Cena and the callout on social media as well as the one-off match between Punk and Sami Zayn).
It seems as if all of these spinning plates are being presented as feuds for Punk should he dethrone Cody at Mania. That’s not to say it’s a guarantee, but Punk has one foot in the door on all his feuds so it’d make sense that he wants some sort of history to play off of for any ensuing title programs.
Add that to the fact that Punk’s interactions with the current Undisputed WWE Champion have been the most compelling out of the options on the table here, along with the mouthwatering prospect of the so-called ‘Voice of the Voiceless’ abandoning the WWE Universe to become The Rock’s corporate champion, and it’s clear to see why Punk stands head and shoulders above his competition here when it comes to picking out a winner.
