This Sunday will be a historic evening for WWE. Not only will the first women’s elimination chamber match take place, but the men’s match will feature seven, not six, competitors for the first time ever.
That’s right. For the first time in the 16-year history of the elimination chamber match, we will have seven men competing in the match. Seth Rollins, John Cena, The Miz, Braun Strowman, Elias, Finn Balor and Roman Reigns will all make history when they enter the chamber Sunday night in Las Vegas.
On one hand, it’ll be cool to see how they handle the seven-man format. Will three guys start the match? Will they put two guys together in one pod? While the latter sounds like the more entertaining option, the smart bet is that the match will start with three competitors in the ring.
With all the attention being shown to the “historic-ness” of the men’s match, though, I feel like it takes away from the history they’re creating with the first-ever women’s chamber match. It’s felt like an afterthought after the initial announcement of the match the night after the Royal Rumble.
Just look at how the two matches have been built. On the men’s side, they’ve had qualifying matches to get into the chamber match. Most of the in-ring action on Raw the past three weeks has been qualifying matches for the chamber match. Superstars are earning their way into the match, and it’s made fans excited to see who will become the number one contender on Sunday.
The same amount of attention the men’s chamber match has been given hasn’t been used for the women’s chamber match. Instead of having qualifying matches, Kurt Angle announced the participants in a segment on Raw. More attention has been paid to the Nia Jax vs. Asuka feud than the chamber match itself. While I’m not going to be mad for Raw investing in multiple women’s storylines, it feels like the chamber match is playing second fiddle to Jax/Asuka.
I understand there are fewer women on the roster than men, so having qualifying matches would be tricky. Injuries to Paige and Alicia Fox also don’t help. But there could’ve been a better way to get to the six women in the chamber. Maybe have each of them come out and declare their entrance into the match, a la the royal rumble. It could’ve been spread out amongst multiple segments and weeks, keeping the buildup to the match fresh.
It feels odd to have a “historic” men’s match given the recent emphasis WWE has put on the women’s evolution. And with the way these two matches have been built, the men’s match feels way more important than the women’s match. Which is crazy because the women’s match is for the title, as opposed to the men’s match being a number one contender match.
I have high hopes for both matches Sunday. I just wish I cared more about the first-ever women’s elimination chamber match than the first ever seven-man chamber match. I don’t think WWE has done a good job at making me feel that.