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Randy Orton Wins Men's Elimination Chamber, Seth Rollins Returns

Randy Orton is heading to the Showcase of the Immortals after he won the Men's Elimination Chamber Match on Saturday night.
Rick Ucchino|
Randy Orton
Randy Orton | WWE

WWE Champion Drew McIntyre has screwed over Cody Rhodes yet again, and Randy Orton is heading to WrestleMania 42 to challenge for the company's top prize.

The Viper knocked off five other competitors Saturday night in Chicago to win the Men's Elimination Chamber Match, and as of this writing, that means he has earned the right to face the Scottish Warrior one-on-one for the WWE Title at this year's 'Showcase of the Immortals'.

Rhodes attempted to go wire-to-wire to earn the victory, and nearly pulled it off. He started the match with Je'Von Evans, who unfortunately had an early night. He hit an impressive frog splash onto Trick Williams off the top of the pod, but he was immediately picked up by Logan Paul and eliminated with The Paulverizer.

The Maverick then took out LA Knight with a small package after delivering an uppercut to the Megastar's package below the belt, and then he eliminated Trick Williams after Cody hit him with a Cross Rhodes.

Paul's WrestleMania dreams would soon be dashed by a returning Seth Rollins. The Visionary sent in a decoy masked man to lure away security personnel and then snuck into the cage to deliver a stomp to The Maverick, directly leading to his elimination.

After Rollins fled the scene, Drew McIntyre entered the cage to attack Cody Rhodes with the WWE Title belt. Rhodes and Orton would both fight off the Scottish Warrior, taking him down with a Cross Rhodes and an RKO, and then Randy caught his former protege napping. He dropped the American Nightmare an RKO and pinned him to pick up a rather surprising victory.

Regardless if Rhodes, Jacob Fatu, Sami Zayn or any other competitor gets added into the mix at a later date, as recent on-screen developments have suggested is a possibility, we know that Randy Orton is guaranteed to have the opportunity to win his 15th World Championship in Las Vegas.

The Viper became the second person to punch their ticket to WrestleMania on Saturday night. Rhea Ripley won the Women's Elimination Chamber Match to open the show. She'll now challenge Jade Cargill for the WWE Women's Championship this April.

WrestleMania 42 card (as of 2/28):

CM Punk
CM Punk | Netflix
  • CM Punk (c) vs. Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship
  • Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. Liv Morgan for the Women's World Championship
  • Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship
  • Jade Cargill (c) vs. Rhea Ripley for the WWE Women's Championship
  • Brock Lesnar open challenge

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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