John Cena will compete in his final Elimination Chamber match in Toronto. (Credit: Andrew Timms/WWE … [+] via Getty Images)
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WWE Elimination Chamber 2025 is the final stop on the road to WrestleMania 41, and what happens in Toronto will have major ramifications for WWE’s flagship event.
The two biggest matches inside the Rogers Centre are the men’s and women’s Elimination Chamber matches. The field for the men’s side is one of the most stacked Chamber fields ever: CM Punk, Damian Priest, Drew McIntyre, John Cena, Logan Paul and Seth Rollins. The women’s bout is loaded, too, featuring Alexa Bliss, Bayley, Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan, Naomi and Roxanne Perez.
With a rare Trish Stratus match as well as Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn in an Unsanctioned Match, Elimination Chamber is shaping up to be a monumental show that will have long-term effects on WWE’s future creative direction. Over the past month or so, that creative direction has gotten off-course a bit, with unclear WrestleMania paths for numerous marquee stars and SmackDown struggling to deliver entertaining storylines.
WWE Elimination Chamber 2025, however, is a chance to create some clarity for the WrestleMania 41 card and many of the company’s biggest names. Here are five smart booking decisions WWE must make at Elimination Chamber: Toronto.
ForbesWWE Royal Rumble 2025 Results, Highlights And TakeawaysBy Blake OestriecherTiffany Stratton And Trish Stratus Stand Tall
WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton will team up with Hall of Famer Trish Stratus to take on Nia Jax and Candice LeRae in a blockbuster tag team match that’s tailor-made for the Canadian crowd.
Stratus likely doesn’t fit into WWE’s long-term booking plans, but with Stratton headed for a major title defense against Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 41, the outcome of this bout should be a no-brainer and is one that will serve two purposes. One, Stratus and Stratton should win to help the champ maintain her momentum en route to that dream match with Flair. Two, this bout should end Stratton’s feud with Jax once and for all.
Stratton vs. Flair is certainly a WrestleMania-worthy match, and post-Elimination Chamber, all of WWE’s creative focus should be on that bout. That means that Stratton and Stratus should win in resounding fashion in Toronto, a result that will keep Stratton going strong and also give the fans what they want from their hometown hero, Stratus.
Kevin Owens Demolishes Sami Zayn
In a colossal clash WWE seemed to be saving for WrestleMania 41, longtime friends-turned-enemies Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will go at it in a highly anticipated Unsanctioned Match.
WWE seemingly decided that pitting Owens and Zayn, two of the company’s top Canadian stars, against one another in Toronto was the best booking move for their rivalry. It’s hard to argue with that because, given that this match won’t officially count in the record books, it should be a brutal and bloody battle between the former friends in their home country.
Another reason why Zayn vs. Owens isn’t happening at WrestleMania? Owens is reportedly slated to face Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41 instead. That match was set up a few months ago when Owens blasted Orton with a package piledriver that has sidelined “The Viper” ever since then.
With Orton’s return right around the corner, WWE’s best course of action at Elimination Chamber is for Owens to demolish Zayn. That way, the upcoming return of Orton will have a massive impact whenever he shows up to stop the seemingly unstoppable and out-of-control Owens.
Bianca Belair Wins The Women’s Elimination Chamber Match
Unlike the men’s Elimination Chamber match, there isn’t a clear-cut favorite in the women’s chamber bout. Well, at least there wasn’t until just a few days ago.
Most of the stars in the match either aren’t being pushed at a world title level or are involved in a storyline that is positioning them for a different WrestleMania match. Bayley and Perez will likely use this bout to further their rivalry while the Elimination Chamber could serve as the next step for whatever is going on with Naomi, Belair and Jade Cargill.
Alexa Bliss doesn’t have a clear direction, making her a potential darkhorse, while Liv Morgan appears destined to remain in the tag team division alongside Raquel Rodriguez after winning the WWE Tag Team Championship in an instant classic on Raw earlier this week. In recent weeks, there has been a lot of uncertainty about which star could win the women’s Elimination Chamber, but even with some messy booking muddying the women’s division, one outcome in Toronto makes the most sense.
That option is Belair winning the Elimination Chamber match. She’s the biggest star in the bout and has reportedly been discussed for a title match against Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 41. Having spent much of the past couple of years primarily in the tag team division, it’s time for Belair to be reinserted into the singles scene after she and Naomi dropped the tag titles earlier this week.
While the timing of a Belair vs. Ripley rivalry isn’t ideal given Belair’s ongoing storyline with Naomi and Cargill, Belair vs. Ripley is arguably the biggest possible match WWE could do in the women’s division right now. If not now, then when?
Cody Rhodes Rejects The Rock
The Rock returned on SmackDown two weeks ago in a bizarre segment in which he told Cody Rhodes that he wanted his “soul.”
As big of a star as The Rock is, his sudden inclusion in Rhodes’ road to WrestleMania seems both forced and unnecessary, especially after their equally strange interaction on Raw’s Netflix premiere. Why is The Rock even back in WWE at all if he’s not wrestling? There isn’t a clear answer to that, although it looks like The Rock is simply trying to convince Rhodes to turn heel and be a “corporate” champ just as The Rock was during the Attitude Era of the late 1990s.
A Rhodes heel turn, much like it did for Roman Reigns, could work down the road. But Rhodes is currently too popular to accept The Rock’s offer at Elimination Chamber and “sell his soul.” What’s more likely is that Rhodes rejects The Rock’s proposition before another star in the men’s Elimination Chamber ultimately accepts it.
Thus, Rhodes’ answer to The Rock in Toronto should be a resounding “no” that affirms his babyface status while possibly creating more intrigue about who The Rock might turn to as Plan B.
CM Punk Wins The Men’s WWE Elimination Chamber Match
After shockingly being eliminated from the 2025 WWE Royal Rumble by Jey Uso, John Cena instantly became the logical favorite to win the Elimination Chamber match.
That’s because Cena vs. Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship was once reportedly planned to headline WrestleMania 41. But what if that match doesn’t happen? Then, where does Cena go from there? Well, another match WWE considered for WrestleMania 41 is Cena vs. Logan Paul, which reportedly got some internal backlash from WWE officials, deeming it as not a good enough WrestleMania match for Cena.
Paul, however, has proven time and time again that he’s an elite in-ring worker, and what’s more, he has been an absolute heat magnet since joining on Raw on Netflix. Cena and Paul are two of the most mainstream stars WWE has at its disposal, so positioning them against one another at WrestleMania 41 would definitely get the company the media attention it’s always striving for.
Consider that Cena is going to be around consistently for the rest of 2025, and there’s a more intriguing storyline waiting for the 16-time world champion. That story is Cena failing again and again to earn a world title opportunity only to do so toward the end of 2025 when the clock is really ticking on his career.
If Paul eliminates Cena inside the WWE Elimination Chamber, that would kick off that story arc for Cena, ignite a feud with Paul and pave the way for a less predictable Elimination Chamber winner. That less predictable winner? Even though McIntyre is reportedly slated to win the match now, there is no better choice than CM Punk.
After what transpired at Royal Rumble, Punk currently appears destined for a triple threat match against Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 41.
Triple threat matches, however, aren’t nearly as appealing as straight-up singles bouts, and WWE’s clouded booking of so many top stars has resulted in a lackluster main event scene en route to WrestleMania. WWE can, however, fix its self-induced situation by avoiding the ever predictable Cena win and shaking up the main event and world title scenes.
In the unlikely scenario that Cena does lose at Elimination Chamber, Punk is the best option to win it instead. WWE has teased Punk vs. Rhodes quite a few times in the past, and it’s clear that there’s a potentially intriguing story to be told after those two left AEW only to become the anchors of WWE.
A Punk vs. Rhodes match would, much like Cena vs. Paul, allow WWE to shift other stars over into more sensible singles matches, like Reigns vs. Rollins. Not only that, but Punk would finally get his chance at a WrestleMania main event, and as one of WWE’s most popular stars, the fans would certainly be into it, too.
The bottom line is that there are too many reasons not to go with a Punk win. Cena can have his time later on, but it’s Punk’s time now.
