The WWE Elimination Chamber 2026 Premium Live Event will take place on ESPN Unlimited this coming February 28, live from Chicago, Illinois, and among all the enticing matches on the card, none of them pops out more than the Women’s Elimination Chamber match.
All six competitors still have yet to be announced with two big qualifying matches remaining on SmackDown and Raw, respectively, but the field that has been announced thus far, as well as the participants announced for the qualifying matches, is absolutely loaded – and a subtle reminder to Triple H that there is a lot of talent in the WWE Women’s Division that he could be utilizing better.
Regularly, the Women’s Elimination Chamber, WarGames, and Money in the Bank matches have been the most entertaining in WWE, with the women of WWE showcasing an incredible amount of passion, attention to detail, creativity, and boldness in their construction of matches, so we can expect this year’s Chamber match to be no different.
Plus, with Bianca Belair still not back to feud with SmackDown Women’s Champion Jade Cargill, an entire half of the bracket is wide open, meaning this year’s Chamber match is as high-stakes as ever.
With that in mind, let’s rank the six women I expect to see competing in the Elimination Chamber match this year in order of their chances of battling Cargill, given Liv Morgan is the likely opponent for Stephanie Vaquer on the Raw side after their A-plus interview segment.
6. Asuka
It’s a sad day when Asuka is ranked dead last on a list of competitors in a match, but that’s exactly the case this year. Honestly, it’s as if WWE and Triple H have transitioned Asuka into being a tag team specialist and a veteran supporting presence in the locker room rather than a world title chaser, which is a bit of a shame; the phrase “Nobody’s ready for Asuka!” just doesn’t carry the same bite to it.
She qualified for the match by getting a huge win over two other WWE legends, Natalya and Bayley, in a Triple Threat match on Monday Night Raw. Although Kairi Sane still has to qualify – and probably won’t – a future feud between the two seems like the future destiny for the Empress of Tomorrow, not winning the Chamber match.
Sane has been the unwilling servant to Asuka, with the dynamic between the two wrestling icons becoming increasingly uncomfortable on-screen, leading many to believe a renewed dream feud is on the cards for the duo.
5. Alexa Bliss
Allies of convenience with Charlotte Flair, the esteemed duo of WWE superstars became an unlikely alliance and actually ended up benefiting each other as a babyface duo, earning the good graces of fans again, with Alexa giving Charlotte the positive rub she needed after fans bristled at yet another Royal Rumble victory in 2025.
Between the two multi-time world champions, Bliss is the less likely of the duo to compete against Jade Cargill on Friday nights leading up to a world title match at WrestleMania 42.
Though, as with any of the six acclaimed wrestlers in this Elimination Chamber match, it is not necessarily impossible to envision Bliss winning. Ever since the first Women’s Elimination Chamber match in 2018, which she won, Bliss has been a standout in this match whenever she has competed in it.
4. Iyo Sky
Technically, Iyo Sky still has to qualify for the Women’s Elimination Chamber match, and the duo of Raquel Rodriguez and Kairi Sane is not an easy one to go against. Both of them have a real shot at upsetting Sky, but given Sky is positioned as the best female wrestler on the roster in the ring, it would be bizarre for Triple H to have her lose this match.
Now, Sane could conceivably win to set up the betrayal of Asuka inside the Chamber and a WrestleMania feud, but with how tough it is to get on the ‘Mania card these days, WWE are probably going to hold off on that feud until after the Show of Shows – or they can just use an episode of Raw to set it up.
Meanwhile, the impending break-up between Sky and Rhea Ripley, which will destroy people’s hearts, could have its seeds planted inside the Chamber, just as has been done with other memorable break-ups between elite best friend duos (like Sasha Banks and Bayley).
It’s honestly too close to WrestleMania to have the literal tag team champions Rhiyo turn on each other, but WWE have shotgunned less fiery feuds before WrestleMania.
It’s easy to forget, too, that sometimes the first WrestleMania battle can just be the beginning of a year-long journey of a feud between truly elite wrestlers who can pull off that kind of rivalry.
All of this is a long-winded way of saying that while Sky is a threat to win the Chamber match and an even bigger part of the match than Bliss with her high-flying chops as the Genius of the Sky, she is not winning this match.
3. Rhea Ripley
The exact same argument can be transposed to Rhea Ripley, though instead of praising her as a high-flying wizard inside the Chamber who adds that dynamic to the match, Ripley is still the foremost powerhouse in WWE – yes, even above Jade Cargill and Jordynn Grace.
Ripley has become one of the most beloved superstars in pro wrestling, fulfilling her potential as a young phenom when she first made her presence known at the Mae Young Classic nearly a decade ago (wow, we are all getting old).
Because of her status in WWE, Ripley is always going to be one of the favorites in a big match, and if WWE don’t want to pull the trigger on a feud between Sky and Ripley just yet, then having the Nightmare win inside the Chamber to set up a hoss fight with Cargill actually makes some sense.
If Cargill and Bianca Belair can’t go at it this WrestleMania, then having a different flavor of powerhouse to match strengths with Cargill is in order, and Ripley has shown that she is one of those wrestlers who can step up her game to the highest level possible on the elite stage, just like Bianca.
2. Charlotte Flair
Of course, when it comes to powerful wrestlers and elite athletes who become titans of the industry on the biggest stage, there are few who can hold a candle to a motivated Charlotte Flair, even if there are still a number of fans who don’t want to admit this as truth.
The notion that Rhea Ripley, owing to her name recognition nowadays, is an automatic favorite in any match can be applied ten-fold to Charlotte, who often wins these sorts of matches when WWE are booked into a corner because they know her name brand and the reactions she gets from fans – both negative and positive – can carry any big feud.
It’s a sort of responsibility thrust on Charlotte almost by virtue of her name, athleticism, and mental focus in the big moments, and it seems like, contrary to what fans think, she would prefer to be adored than anointed the best by champions.
Regardless, Charlotte is who she is, and just like she has embraced that reality, so, too, must the fans. And in lieu of Belair, if she is indeed not recovered from her injury, Charlotte is a perfectly strong candidate to face Cargill at WrestleMania – and then Cargill can win so WWE can punt her big match with the EST until, say, SummerSlam when she is ready.
As with Ripley and Sky, there is that friendly/unfriendly dynamic between her and her own tag team partner, Alexa Bliss. An Elimination Chamber turn could be waiting for them both, so if Charlotte doesn’t win, that would be her WrestleMania story.
1. Tiffany Stratton
Yet the most likely Women’s Elimination Chamber this year is the newest breakout star in WWE, Tiffany Stratton, who was the story of the year heading into WrestleMania 41 with her unforgettable war of words with Charlotte Flair.
Stratton remains on the greener side in the ring, but her athleticism and passion for the business transcend mistakes, with any sloppiness actually, in a way, fitting the match in the same vein that sloppiness in the ring in the late 90s and early 00s were almost encouraged.
There is plenty of history between Stratton and Jade Cargill over on Friday nights. She first beat Cargill to defend her title in her biggest defense post-WrestleMania at SummerSlam, taking down the then Queen of the Ring winner.
But Cargill would get the last laugh on Nov. 1, winning the title off Stratton on Saturday Night Main Event, ending her first world title reign at an impressive 302 days – and Cargill has been champion since.
Stratton’s journey to winning that title back has already been written, including an agonizing defeat at the Royal Rumble in which she was the last woman eliminated by Liv Morgan after being the prestigious No. 30 entrant into the bout.
Yet another competitor whose skill set is perfect for shining inside the Chamber, Stratton can have another star-making performance after heading into WrestleMania as a champion last year by winning the Chamber and rekindling her entertaining feud with Cargill.
Joe helped manage the pro wrestling site Daily DDT from 2017 to 2019. He has appeared in many wrestling podcasts and has had his work featured by mainstream media sites and professional wrestlers themselves. Joe also covers soccer, writing about Tottenham for Hotspur HQ, Real Madrid for A Trip to Cibeles, and general world football for The Trivela Effect.