With WWE Elimination Chamber 2026 set to be the final premium live event before WrestleMania 42, there are certain to be some surprises.
From potential debuts to returns of major names that haven’t been seen in the company for years — Chicago could host a number of surprises before the end of the event.
Here are six surprises that could be set to occur at WWE Elimination Chamber 2026.
6. Danhausen emerges from the mystery crate
With speculation running wild about who or what could be inside the mysterious crate, the date on it seems to line up with another important development.
On February 27 it seemed that Danhausen confirmed first that he was free from his AEW contract albeit through means of indirectly confirming (instead, posting a photo of the Genie from Aladdin after his shackles have been removed) but later, more developments from AEW.
The official AEW roster page was updated, removing Danhausen and potentially teasing that the Very Nice, Very Evil star could actually be WWE bound.
With his hometown of Detroit, Michigan being only a few hours away from the massive Chicago show, perhaps the Elimination Chamber event will see Danhausen finally revealed after the crate is opened.
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5. Paige costs AJ Lee Intercontinental Championship
One of the titles that is on the line at Elimination Chamber is Becky Lynch defending her women’s Intercontinental Championship against AJ Lee.
However, it would be a fun swerve to see their bout interrupted by the return of former WWE star Paige (fka Saraya in AEW).
Leading to a moment where the audience may be certain she’s arrived to help AJ Lee only to discover she’s really aligned with Becky Lynch, there could be a series of fun tag team encounters as the Road to WrestleMania speeds up.
With AJ Lee potentially linking up with Bayley or even a babyface call-up from NXT like Sol Ruca, there could be an amazing generational matches featuring big names from yesterday, today and tomorrow.
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4. Brock Lesnar takes out Je’Von Evans before the Chamber begins
There is a wild mismatch between heels and faces in the current landscape of the men’s Elimination Chamber bout.
With the addition of Logan Paul from WWE SmackDown to replace Jey Uso after an off-screen attack sent him away from the arena in an ambulance — there are still far more babyfaces than heels in the match.
Arguably with Trick Williams’ popularity, he barely qualifies as a heel but perhaps there will be an additional frightening force set to join the match.
If Brock Lesnar took out Je’Von Evans before he was able to make it into the match from his pod, it could end up setting up the rumored future WrestleMania 42 feud between LA Knight and Brock Lesnar.
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3. Chris Jericho returns
Another name seemingly on ice at the minute by AEW is Chris Jericho. While there were rumors that his AEW contract was set to be up at the end of 2025, later an update suggested that his contract had been frozen.
While he continues to appear on the AEW roster page (whereas Danhausen has already been removed), there could still be a surprise coming for WWE fans in Chicago.
Able to return in a variety of contexts, including being revealed as someone who has been on the other end of the line for calls with both Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis in recent weeks — there are numerous routes that the Road to WrestleMania could take to incorporate the legendary star.
Even if he really only returns to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2026 and later get tapped out by GUNTHER, it would still be enjoyable to see a return from the vintage favorite.
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2. Bianca Belair takes out Kiana James
While Kiana James was able to win her way into the Elimination Chamber match by squeaking out a win over Charlotte Flair by pinning her while she had Nia Jax in a submission hold, perhaps she won’t end up making it into a pod.
The crowd would certainly forgive Bianca Belair for any dastardly actions she might take on James in order to grab herself a slot into the titular Elimination Chamber match.
While there have been no reports that Belair will be returning any time soon, there could certainly be a ruse afoot.
Having recently commented that she is putting her injury behind her, hopefully Belair will be back in action very soon.
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1. Roman Reigns appears to close the show
With the potential to have plenty of shenanigans in the presumed main event between CM Punk and Finn Balor, one factor could end up being Roman Reigns.
While potentially unlikely to help either man with the match finish, rather than have any impact on the action it could be that Roman Reigns waits until the match is over to make a big return.
Interestingly, if Roman Reigns ends up making an appearance in Chicago for the event, there could be another surprise set to land shortly thereafter.
With the return of Reigns possibly even harkening the return of Seth Rollins to make the bout a triple-threat, there could certainly be some big creative moves left on the Road to WrestleMania 42.
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