The Royal Rumble was less than two weeks ago, but this Sunday, WWE will be putting on their next pay-per-view (PPV) event, and it is a big one. The superstars of SmackDown Live are ready for their exclusive PPV, which will be the Elimination Chamber , and there was already a packed card with seven big matches. Apparently, that wasn’t enough as one more was added on Friday afternoon, and it is a rather strange one.
With seven matches already on the main card and the majority of the roster being used, WWE thought it would be a good idea to add yet one more bout to the night. The Kickoff Show was without a match for Sunday’s event, but that has since changed.
Looking at the official website of WWE , an eighth and likely final match has been added with Mojo Rawley taking on Curt Hawkins on the pre-show.
The main storyline behind this match is that Rawley is friends with New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, and Hawkins made fun of that friendship. They have taken shots at each other on social media as well, and with them having nothing else to do, it has led to a match.
Mojo Rawley has been without a whole lot of direction ever since his tag team partner, Zack Ryder , suffered a knee injury in December. The Hype Bros had just become the number one contenders for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles, but Ryder’s injury caused WWE to look in a different direction.
Since that push came to a screeching halt, Rawley has been on his own and really hasn’t done a lot. He was an entrant in the Royal Rumble match, but Rawley hasn’t been in many matches or even been seen a lot on SmackDown Live .
Zack Ryder’s injury was reported to keep him out of action for a period of four to nine months, and it is rather ironic that Rawley’s first singles feud is with Curt Hawkins. Longtime wrestling fans will remember that Hawkins and Ryder used to be a tag team together known as The Edgeheads.
Looking at the card for the Elimination Chamber , the majority of the roster is involved in a match. The WWE Championship will see John Cena attempt to defend his newly won title against some of the toughest superstars in the entire company. Making matters even harder for him, it will be inside the devastating chamber.
The official site for the pay-per-view from WWE details all of the matches and the stories behind them. In an interesting note, there are eight matches on the card, and three of them are from the women’s division, which goes to show you the revolution is alive and well.
Here is the full card for Sunday’s Elimination Chamber :
- WWE Championship Elimination Chamber: John Cena (c) vs. AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin vs. The Miz vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt
- SmackDown Tag Team Turmoil Match: American Alpha (c) vs. The Usos vs. Breezango vs. The Ascension vs. The Vaudevillains vs. Rhyno & Heath Slater
- SmackDown Women’s Championship: Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Naomi
- Becky Lynch vs. Mickie James
- Nikki Bella vs. Naomi
- 2-on-1 Handicap Match: Apollo Crews & Kalisto vs. Dolph Ziggler
- Luke Harper vs. Randy Orton
- Mojo Rawley vs. Curt Hawkins – Kickoff Match
Yes, Mojo Rawley and Curt Hawkins have had a little bit of interaction lately on SmackDown Live , but it is a strange match to add to the Elimination Chamber . The main reason that this one is on the Kickoff Show, though, is due to the fact that so many other superstars are already being used on the main card. The WWE Championship match has six superstars in it, and the tag team turmoil match has 12, so, the kickoff needed something, and options were running thin.
[Featured Image by WWE]