WWE’s Elimination Chamber 2021 plans for Roman Reigns were almost a LOT different.
As announced on last week’s episode of SmackDown, Roman Reigns will not defend his WWE Universal Championship inside the Elimination Chamber at this weekend’s pay-per-view, but later on the card, against the winner of a Chamber match between six of the blue brand’s finest.
Jey Uso, Kevin Owens, Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn, Cesaro, and Daniel Bryan were later announced for the contendership match. The story is that whoever wins will enter the title fight at a huge disadvantage after enduring the Chamber.
These plans are a change from what was reported last Friday, when the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer said WWE planned on having Reigns defend the belt inside the Chamber itself. Now, the same source is reporting that WWE changed their minds after deciding they didn’t want SmackDown to follow the same configuration as Raw.
Drew McIntyre defends his WWE Title against Sheamus, AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, The Miz, and Randy Orton at the event. By going down the contendership route, WWE avoids a direct repeat.
There’s currently no word on who WWE’s preferred winner and title challenger is, though Cesaro was spotlighted after last week’s SmackDown, cutting a rousing promo on Talking Smack.
