Australia’s women’s world champion Rhea Ripley will be the centre of attention at Perth’s Elimination Chamber event on February 24 – and we finally know who she’ll be wrestling.
On the February 6 (AEDT) edition of Monday Night Raw, Ripley was booked to defend her title against Nia Jax, providing an all-Aussie twist to proceedings.
Jax was born in Sydney but spent her childhood in Hawaii, considering herself American.
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Ripley, the overwhelming favourite to win that match in the west, is then expected to face the winner of the women’s Elimination Chamber match at WrestleMania 40 – with Becky Lynch the frontrunner.
The other competitors in that match are TBD, but Liv Morgan will face Zoey Stark in a qualifying match on next week’s Raw.
Ripley was heavily praised by wrestling legend Bret Hart in an exclusive interview with Foxsports.com.au this week.
The men’s Elimination Chamber match is expected to crown the No.1 contender for Seth Rollins’ World Heavyweight Championship, though the complications of the Cody Rhodes/Roman Reigns/The Rock storyline have thrown a wrench into that idea.
Confusingly, it is now being reported the entire Rhodes situation was pre-planned – with The Rock promised the WrestleMania match in early January, and Rhodes still being booked to win the Royal Rumble, with the negative fan reaction intended.
It’s unclear of the exact intention though a three-way match is well and truly on the cards, even though The Rock is now being heavily booed and Rhodes was made to look ridiculous by rejecting a Reigns match on Smackdown.
Responding to the backlash on social media on Tuesday, Rhodes tweeted: “Trust me.”
Also confirmed for the Elimination Chamber card is a defence of the tag team titles from Ripley’s mates The Judgment Day (Finn Balor and Damian Priest). They will face either Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate, or DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa), depending on the winner of a match on this week’s Smackdown.
Reading the tea leaves, Gunther looks likely to defend the Intercontinental Championship against Jey Uso, with Uso expected to face his brother Jimmy at WrestleMania.
Logan Paul has been confirmed to appear in Perth but a defence of his United States Championship is uncertain.
Elimination Chamber Perth takes place at Optus Stadium from 8:30pm AEDT/5:30pm AWST on Saturday February 24.
Fans can watch it live on Binge, Kayo and Foxtel, or live in person via Ticketmaster.
CONFIRMED CARD FOR ELIMINATION CHAMBER PERTH (As of February 6)
Men’s Elimination Chamber, for TBC: TBC vs TBC vs TBC vs TBC vs TBC vs TBC
Women’s Elimination Chamber, for shot at Women’s World Champion at WrestleMania 40: Becky Lynch vs Liv Morgan/Zoey Stark winner vs TBC vs TBC vs TBC vs TBC
Women’s World Championship: Rhea Ripley (c) vs Nia Jax
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship: The Judgment Day [Finn Balor and Damian Priest] (c) vs Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate or DIY [Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa]