Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE considered holding a battle royal on the pre-show with the winner being added to the US Title match at the Elimination Chamber PPV.
Instead, WWE held a fatal 4-way on the Kickoff show. John Morrison defeated Ricochet, Mustafa Ali and Elias. He ended up losing to Matt Riddle in a match that involved then-champion Bobby Lashley.
The goal of the match was to find a replacement for Keith Lee, who has been out of action.