This will be the first Elimination Chamber to be held in the United States since 2021, as well as the first in the country with spectators in live attendance since the 2020 event. This will be the first Elimination Chamber event to livestream on the ESPN app in the United States. This will also be the first televised WWE event to be held at the United Center since the 1994 SummerSlam.
In 2011 and since 2013, the event has been promoted as "No Escape" in Germany as it was feared that the name "Elimination Chamber" may remind people of the gas chambers used during the Holocaust.[6][7]
Broadcast outlets
In addition to airing on traditional pay-per-view (PPV) worldwide, it will be available to livestream on ESPN's direct-to-consumer streaming service in the United States, Netflix in most international markets, the WWE Network in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland, SuperSport in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Abema in Japan.[8] This marks the first Elimination Chamber to livestream on ESPN in the United States, as WWE's contract with Peacock to air main roster PPV and livestreaming events expired at the conclusion of Clash in Paris in August 2025.[9][10]
Storylines
The event will include matches that result from scripted storylines. Results will be predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands,[11][12] while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.[13]
In speaking with ESPN on January 28, 2026, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque confirmed that the winners of the men's and women's Elimination Chamber matches would earn a world title match at WrestleMania 42 for the respective championships that the winners of the 2026 Royal Rumble matches did not choose.[14] As a result of men's Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns choosing to challenge for Raw's World Heavyweight Championship on the February 2 episode of Raw, this confirmed that the men's Elimination Chamber winner would challenge for the Undisputed WWE Championship. Women's Royal Rumble winner Liv Morgan has yet to make her choice.[15]
Qualifying matches for the women's Elimination Chamber also began on the February 6 episode of SmackDown, also held as triple threat matches across episodes of Raw and SmackDown. Tiffany Stratton earned the first spot by defeating Chelsea Green and Lash Legend.[16] On the following week's Raw, Rhea Ripley earned the second spot by defeating Ivy Nile and Lyra Valkyria.[17]Alexa Bliss won the third spot by defeating Giulia and Zelina on the February 13 episode of SmackDown.[18] The fourth spot was determined on the February 16 episode of Raw where Asuka defeated Bayley and Nattie.[19] The fifth spot will be determined on the February 20 episode of SmackDown between Charlotte Flair, Kiana James, and Nia Jax,[20] while the final spot will be determined on the February 23 episode of Raw between Iyo Sky, Kairi Sane, and Raquel Rodriguez.[21]
On the September 5, 2025 episode of SmackDown, AJ Lee returned to WWE for the first time since 2015, aiding her husband CM Punk against Becky Lynch and her husband Seth Rollins.[22] Lee and Punk subsequently defeated Lynch and Rollins in a mixed tag team match at Wrestlepalooza, where Lee forced Lynch to submit.[23] Following a brief hiatus, Lee returned on the November 17 episode of Raw, distracting Lynch to cost her the WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship.[24] At Survivor Series: WarGames, both women were part of opposite teams in the Women's WarGames match, where Lee's team won after she forced Lynch to submit once again.[25] Lynch subsequently regained the title on the Raw on Netflix Anniversary Show.[26] On the February 9 episode of Raw, Lee returned from another brief hiatus, much to Lynch's dismay. Lynch asked Lee if she wanted to face her at Elimination Chamber in Chicago where Lee resides. Lee mentioned that since she had already beaten Lynch twice, it would make her the No. 1 contender for the title, which Lynch denied. Lee then teased that she would go back home if she could not fight for the title and refused the match; however, Lynch eventually agreed to defend the title against Lee at the event.[17]
On the January 12, 2026, episode of Raw, Judgment Day member Finn Bálor was confronted by stablemate Liv Morgan after she noticed that Bálor had become complacent and had not made any moves to pursue a title. Morgan also claimed that Bálor was not serious about backing his claim of carrying the group on his back and winning a title, which Bálor previously stated as his goal for 2026. This led to Bálor interrupting World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk later that night, who recalled that Punk stated that Bálor was one of the people he wanted to face after winning the title at Saturday Night's Main Event XLI in November 2025. Following an exchange of words, Punk agreed to a title match on that night's episode; however, Bálor wanted the match to happen on the following episode in his home country of Ireland, which Punk agreed.[27] Punk retained the title and showed respect to Bálor afterwards.[28] The following week, Bálor also showed respect to Punk, who stated that Bálor should win the Royal Rumble match to earn a rematch at WrestleMania 42; however, when Bálor declared to Raw General Manager Adam Pearce that he would be entering the match, Pearce stated that all the spots were full, which infuriated Bálor. Later that night, Bálor attacked Punk during his title defense.[29] Two weeks later on Raw, Bálor interrupted Punk's scheduled interview with Michael Cole to challenge Punk for the title at Elimination Chamber in Punk's hometown of Chicago. Pearce denied Bálor's request, not wanting to jeopardize Punk's title defense against Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 42. Punk subsequently appeared and agreed to defend the title against Bálor at the event, and Pearce begrudgingly made the match official.[17]
↑Hoffmann, Martin (February 20, 2018). "Darum hat eine WWE-Show zwei Namen"[This is why a WWE show has two names]. Sport1 (in German). Archived from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
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