WWE takeaways: Only one surprising outcome at Elimination Chamber

Randy Orton and Rhea Ripley were the last ones standing in the men’s and women’s Elimination Chamber matches to earn the right to challenge for WWE titles at WrestleMania 42 in April.

Orton beat Cody Rhodes, Logan Paul, Trick Williams, Je’Von Evans and LA Knight, with some helpful interferences by WWE Undisputed champion Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins, who returned from injury. In the women’s Elimination Chamber match, Ripley was victorious over Tiffany Stratton, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Raquel Rodriguez and Kiana James. Ripley will now compete in her seventh consecutive WrestleMania. With the win, Orton will challenge the winner of Friday’s title match between McIntyre and Rhodes on “SmackDown,” while Ripley will go toe-to-toe with WWE women’s champion Jade Cargill.

Also on the card, CM Punk beat Finn Bálor — again — to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. And Punk’s wife, AJ Lee, will also leave Chicago’s United Center with a title in hand after submitting Becky Lynch in a match for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship.

Here are the biggest takeaways from WWE Elimination Chamber in Chicago.

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Ripley’s win was deserving, but not surprising

A predictable Rhea Ripley win isn’t the worst outcome, but it didn’t help the match.

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Ripley won the women’s Elimination Chamber. Seriously, was there any other choice? The outcome was made even more obvious when Ripley dropped the women’s tag titles on “SmackDown” the night before.

While predictable, this was the only way to go for Ripley. She’s arguably the biggest star on the entire roster, and not having her challenge for a world title at WrestleMania wouldn’t feel right. Still, it would have been nice if the WWE found a way to cast doubt on the outcome by building one of the other women as a viable option to win.

The end justified the means. Hopefully, WWE will make the outcome less obvious at next year’s Elimination Chamber. Chamber matches should provide an element of drama for fans rather than clearing a hurdle to the obvious.

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Welcome back to the top of the hill, AJ Lee

Lee is now a champion, but can she help carry the women’s division?

Lee won her first singles match since ending her decade-long retirement last year. While it has been great to see Lee back in a WWE ring, taking part in a women’s division she helped push to new heights, she is now tasked with carrying a title that was held by an incredible in-ring performer in Lynch. The new car scent of Lee’s return from retirement is officially gone, and she’ll be judged by her work moving forward.

Lee’s match with Lynch was solid, but it was clear that she was knocking off some rust throughout the match. For her part, Lynch has been great in putting Lee over, and her ring generalship has been exceptional. But Lee will now be without Lynch heading into WrestleMania season. It will be interesting to see how WWE handles her next feud. She’s now 3-0 against Lynch in a mixed tag match, Survivor Series: WarGames and now singles competition. We’ll see who Lee faces in her first title defense and if she works with some of the younger talent on the roster.

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Is Finn Bálor’s villain run coming to an end?

The Punk vs. Bálor match served two purposes. The obvious one was to get Punk a homecoming match in Chicago before he defends his championship against Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 42. Punk winning wasn’t a surprise, but it was great to see his nod to the Michael Jordan era Chicago Bulls starting lineup ceremony, complete with The Alan Parsons Project’s “Sirius” and announcer Ray Clay.

The match itself was a solid affair as Punk and Bálor battled to a stalemate until Punk hit his second GTS of the night to get the win and celebrate in the ring with his wife, AJ Lee, afterward.

The second purpose may have been to turn Bálor into a babyface and pull him out of Judgment Day. Bálor has been teasing a split from the group over the past few weeks and demanded that he win or lose his match with Punk completely on his own, without help from Dominik Mysterio or JD McDonagh. Bálor lost on his own, and in a move unfitting of a heel, he shook Punk’s hand afterward. This will almost certainly set up his split from the group and we could be heading to a new era of Finn Bálor in WWE.

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The Randy Orton-Cody Rhodes saga may not be over

Orton is heading back to WrestleMania in a stunner.

Rhodes felt like an absolute shoo-in to win the men’s Elimination Chamber match and head back to the main event of WrestleMania against his rival, Drew McIntyre. Instead, McIntyre inserted himself into the match, attacking Rhodes when it was down to him and Randy Orton as the last two competitors. Apprearing to assist Rhodes, Orton hit McIntrye with an RKO. But just when Rhodes thought the coast was clear, following a successful Cross Rhodes on McIntryre, he ate an RKO from Orton. Three seconds later, and Orton is heading to WrestleMania in pursuit of his 15th world championship.

Who he’ll face is still up in the air because “SmackDown” general manager Nick Aldis — who is fed up with McIntyre’s constant interference in matches — announced that McIntyre will defend his Undisputed Championship this Friday against Rhodes.

Rhodes vs. Orton would be a fresh matchup for WrestleMania. It could get really interesting, given their history dating back to their time in the Legacy stable over a decade ago, where Orton served as Rhodes’ mentor. It’s the right move if they decide to have Rhodes beat McIntyre for the Undisputed Championship on Friday. But where would that leave McIntyre for WrestleMania?

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Welcome back, Seth Rollins

After weeks of teasers, it was finally revealed that the masked man is none other than Seth “Freaking” Rollins.

The former leader of The Vision got his revenge when he curb-stomped Logan Paul, after a little bait and switch with another masked man. Rollins’ interference seemingly cost Paul a win in the Elimination Chamber match. Rollins pulled the mask off to reveal himself, and now we have to figure out where this is going.

Unfortunately, Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed have been sidelined by injuries, which certainly disrupted whatever the original plan was. Rollins and Paul faced off at WrestleMania 39, which Rollins won. A retread of that match three years later doesn’t seem like the way to go, but WWE doesn’t have many options for Rollins at this point.

Hopefully, this is the end of the overran masked men angles.

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Danhausen is the newest WWE superstar

Danhausen was revealed to be in the box that has been part of “Raw” and “SmackDown” storylines in recent weeks.

The reveal of the eccentric goth character was met with confusion from fans. On the surface, he doesn’t look very special with his small frame and unusual face paint. But you have to see Danhausen’s antics to comprehend why he became a fan favorite on the independent wrestling scene. His theatrical sense of humor is an acquired taste, and WWE will be tasked with connecting him with their fans. Nothing about Danhausen is straightforward, and everything is tongue-in-cheek. He’s called himself “Conan O’Brien possessed by a demon” in interviews, and that is a pretty accurate description of the wrestler who is known to break out the Pee-wee Herman dance in the middle of a match. You may not understand him now, but Danhausen is in the perfect place to accentuate his character. Give it time, people.