Randy Orton halts 39-year-old superstar’s WrestleMania hopes after punching his ticket to the Elimination Chamber

The Viper trumped Sami Zayn to secure a berth at the Elimination Chamber.

Randy Orton halts 39-year-old superstar’s WrestleMania hopes after punching his ticket to the Elimination Chamber

Randy Orton on SmackDown [via- Wrestle Ops on X]

On this week’s SmackDown, Randy Orton ousted Sami Zayn in a qualifier for the Elimination Chamber. The closing moments of the match saw Orton keeping a check on his back. And as rightfully pointed out by Corey Graves on commentary, The Viper was moving way too gingerly by his standards. However, that wasn’t able to preclude Randy from heading to Perth.

An RKO at the end was everything he needed. Before the show went off air, The Apex Predator had an intense staredown with Drew McIntyre, who had already beaten AJ Styles earlier on. Coming out of SmackDown, Orton and McIntyre are in, and they now await others to join the field. Speaking of the man Orton outmaneuvered last night, Sami Zayn, his WrestleMania dreams might be over.

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There wouldn’t have been a better way for Zayn to make it to Philly than to win the Elimination Chamber match and go on to face Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight title. Turning the attention back to Randy, he could be smelling blood at this point. For the first time since 2019, Orton finds himself back inside that sadistic structure.

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Back then, he went the distance with Kofi Kingston but couldn’t get the job done. This year, he might have a better chance than ever. Last month, at the Royal Rumble, he came ever-so-close to beating Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

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However, on-point meddling from Solo Sikoa cost him. Letting the bygones be bygones, The Apex Predator now shifts his attention to the task ahead of him. He’ll know his counterparts by next Friday. It’s definitely not going to be a cakewalk for anyone involved in that setting.

Who will join Randy Orton in the Elimination Chamber match?

As the fans saw, Randy Orton exchanged some words with Drew McIntyre on SmackDown as the show faded to darkness. One would say that The Scottish Warrior is the prohibitive favorite to win the Elimination Chamber match in Australia.

Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre
Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre [via- WWE]

However, there is a quartet of names yet to be determined who’ll join McIntyre and Orton. This Monday on Raw, LA Knight will face Ivar, and Bobby Lashley goes to war against “Big” Bronson Reed. Both matches serve as chamber qualifiers.

And then, a few days later on SmackDown, the final two superstars will punch their tickets to the Optus Stadium. Logan Paul runs it back with The Miz, and Kevin Owens gets Dominik Mysterio. That’s how competitive the fray is going to be inside the Elimination Chamber.

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