Daily Update: Elimination Chamber odds, Goldberg, UFC 208 fallout

WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER PPV FROM THE TALKING STICK RESORT ARENA IN PHOENIX AT 7:30 P.M.
Curt Hawkins vs. Mojo Rawley (preshow match) – Nothing much to this one.  Rawley should win since Hawkins’ job here is to lose.  Rawley is the one who is in need of a breakout performance.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Apollo Crews & Kalisto – The very idea of this match is ludicrous.  Ziggler is having trouble getting over as a heel, so he’s booked in a position where he’s the underdog battling the odds.  Crews is having trouble getting over as a face, so he’s booked in the ultimate no-win position.  Crews & Kalisto are -1545 favorites. 
Mickie James vs. Becky Lynch – This could be the sleeper match on the show.  Either one could win but should be good.  Lynch is the -2045 favorite.
Nikki Bella vs. Natalya – This has been pushed hard on television and both women are over with the crowd.  Natalya is doing an interesting heel character but I don’t think people buy her as a heel.  They may pretend to do so as the match takes place but I don’t think they really believe it.  Still, some of her liens are funny.  Given that Nikki is in a big match at Mania, she probably should win and is a -350 favorite.
Tag team gauntlet matches for the titles with Jason Jordan & Chad Gable, The Usos, Vaudevillains, The Ascension, Heath Slater &  Rhyno and Tyler Breeze & Fandango – With the Wyatts not a team anymore, the tag team division is weak in the sense none of the teams except American Alpha are pushed seriously.  They need to create a rival for Jordan & Gable, and the best of the bunch is the Usos.  Problem is as we notes on draft day, the only real tag team feud of significant is Jordan & Gable vs. Usos, and it’s been done already recently.  I’d have put the Usos over just to create a chase, but Jordan & Gable are -5100 favorite, so doesn’t look like that will happen.
Alexa Bliss vs. Naomi for women’s title.  Naomi is a -5075 favorite to get her hand raised. 
Randy Orton vs. Luke Harper.  Orton is headed to the WWE title match at WrestleMania so he really should win here.  It’s actually a bigger match for Harper, since Orton is a star either way.  Harper is in with a great wrestler and if he can put on a great performance in losing, it’ll help his standing as he’s right now in a point in his career going single that he can go one of two ways.  He probably can’t win, so he has to do the next best thing which is have people talk about him as having put on a great match when it’s over.  Orton is a -4500 favorite.
Elimination chamber for WWE title:  John Cena, Bray Wyatt, A.J. Styles, The Miz, Dean Ambrose and Baron Corbin – Wyatt is a -8500 favorite.  Basically this is the only result that if Vince McMahon changes it, he has to revamp WrestleMania main event plans as well.  All the other results don’t matter at all in the big picture. (thanks to David Taylor for odds)

        Looking at the show on paper, it looks good, but not really a big marquee shows.  Interest in the Smackdown shows overall have been way down from the Raw shows.  The chamber should be very good, perhaps excellent and Orton vs. Harper should also be strong.  Tag team gauntlet needs 20 minutes or so to work, and aside from Jordan & Gable, the teams aren’t over and haven’t been pushed (well, Rhyno gets a great reaction but that’s more a cult thing as opposed to anything) and there’s a good chance that opens the show.  Ziggler vs. Kalisto & Crews will be good for moves but as a story, it’s swimming upstream.  So a lot here depends on the women.

THE ROUND-UP

The Latest from the F4W Staff

NEWS

WCPW launch the 2017 Pro Wrestling World Cup in the UK  
UFC 208 live results: Holm vs. de Randamie; Silva vs. Brunson  
Chavo Guerrero Sr. passes away at 68 years old  
NJPW New Beginning in Osaka live results: Naito vs. Elgin

AUDIO

DragonKing Dark: Divided We Fall 2/12
DR. KEITH PRESENTS: Just Keep On Truckin’!!! 2/12
WOR: Death of Chavo Guerrero Sr., New Japan and UFC PPV reviews, Elimination Chamber, more! 2/12
Wrestling Weekly: Hansen vs. Andre, Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, mailbag 2/10

We’re looking for reports on today’s WWE house show in Fairbanks, Alaska, today’s ROH show in Columbus, OH and last night’s WWE show in Anchorage, Alaska to [email protected].

We’re also looking for your thoughts on tonight’s Elimination Chamber, and yesterday’s UFC 208 and NJPW New Beginning in Osaka, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match for all three shows to [email protected].

WCPW TRUE DESTINY (show took place earlier today at www.fite.tv from Milton Keynes, England

Pentagon Jr. vs. Drago
Bea Priestley vs. ? (Tessa Blanchard was pulled from the show due to getting a role in the new movie being filmed on Paige)
Rampage Brown vs. Primate I Quit match
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Travis Banks
Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet
Moss & Slater in open challenge for tag titles in a ladder match
Drew Galloway vs. Joe Hendry for WCPW title
Kurt Angle vs. Alberto El Patron

Besides Elimination Chamber, WWE Raw has a house show on Sunday in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Raw will be on Monday from Las Vegas. Neither Bill Goldberg nor Brock Lesnar are scheduled for the show. There is also a Smackdown brand house show in Oakland, CA at the Oracle Arena.

Smackdown will be Tuesday from Anaheim, CA.

FIGURE FOUR WEEKLY: 2/6/2017: How WWE got it right with Goldberg this time 

Over a decade after their match at Madison Square Garden was nearly booed out of the building, it’s remarkable that Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar will once again be a marquee match on a WrestleMania card in 2017. Their collision course that became inevitable once Goldberg was booked to dominate Lesnar at Survivor Series took the next step forward on last week’s Raw as Paul Heyman challenged Goldberg to the rematch on behalf of Lesnar… Subscribers click here to continue.

WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER: February 13, 2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: NJPW New Beginning review, WWE Fast Lane/Elimination Chamber cards, more 

An update on the WWE’s WrestleMania plans and then two PPV’s leading to WrestleMania is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.  We update the situation with the Seth Rollins vs. HHH proposed match, new matches that have changed due to injuries, update injured talent and a new proposed championship match on the Mania show, as well as more on different planned matches.

We also look at plans for both Elimination Chamber and Fast Lane.

We’ve got full coverage of the New Beginning in Sapporo show headlined by Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki, with match-by-match coverage with star ratings, poll results and business notes. We look at the build up angle and the story behind the main event, and this week’s show in Osaka.

We look at the big coup by WWE Studios working with Dwayne Johnson, a current WWE star being talked about for doing MMA, Kurt Angle talks wrestling in WWE, NXT Takeover Orlando notes, and lots of thoughts on the XFL documentary and key points that were not in.

We also have more WWE WrestleMania week plans, more on Mike Adamle and his battle against dementia and his background, update on a lot of WWE injuries, a surprise coach at the Performance Center and update on where that come from, and another WWE movie project.

We also have tons of notes on the wrestlers brought to the Performance Center this past week as well as other athletes for tryouts, including who they are and their backgrounds including some very unique prospects. We also look at the most-watched shows of the past week on the network as well as a rundown of all the WWE and NXT arena events this past week with both highlights and business notes.

ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer, or by using PayPal directing funds to [email protected]. 
 
Rates in the United States are $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to [email protected]. For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52. If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.)

If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can choose one free classic issue, or two free classic issues with a 40-issue subscription.

WON BACK ISSUE: January 17, 2000 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Death of Gary Albright, Observer awards, more 

Gary Albright, a former world class amateur wrestling star and headliner on many big shows as a pro in Japan, died after collapsing in the ring at an independent show in Hazleton, PA before about 100 fans on 1/7. He was 36. The preliminary reports from the corner attributed the death of the 6-foot-4, 340-pound powerhouse to a heart attack, technically speaking a combination of severe atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus and acute pulmonary edema… Subscribers click here to continue.

SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE