WWE Elimination Chamber thoughts
If you were hoping for swerves and major surprises at Sunday night’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, you were probably disappointed. However, if you were looking for a show filled with good-to-great matches, then you certainly got your money’s worth.
If you’ve been paying attention at all to WWE programming recently, you likely went into this show with a pretty good idea of what the top matches at WrestleMania XXVII are going to be, so the winners of Sunday’s matches weren’t that hard to predict. But with that being said, the action and the way the matches were laid out more than made up for the predictability. I’d much rather have logical booking – especially heading into the biggest show of the year – than swerves just for the sake of having them.
Edge and John Cena won their respective brand’s Elimination Chamber matches, and The Miz retained the WWE title against Jerry Lawler. So – barring any surprises over the next six weeks – it will be world heavyweight champion Edge versus Alberto Del Rio, and WWE champion The Miz versus Cena at WrestleMania on April 3.
As far as surprise appearances Sunday night, there was no sign of Triple H or The Undertaker, but Christian returned and did a run-in – he saved Edge from a post-match beatdown by Del Rio – and Trish Stratus was introduced as a trainer for the upcoming Tough Enough series. She also had a physical confrontation with Lay-Cool.
The replacement for Dolph Ziggler in the Smackdown Elimination Chamber match was The Big Show, which was definitely a letdown for fans who were expecting someone such as Triple H or The Undertaker to fill the spot.
While John Morrison didn’t win the Raw Chamber match, he put on the best individual performance of the night with his innovative, acrobatic moves.
Here is a match-by-match look at the show:
Edge retained the world heavyweight title in the Smackdown Elimination Chamber Match over Wade Barrett, The Big Show, Kane, Drew McIntyre and Rey Mysterio (31:28): Fittingly, Smackdown’s two biggest stars at the moment – Edge and Mysterio – were the first two in this match and they ended up as the final two. For the last eight and a half minutes of the contest it was a singles match between the two fan favorites, and they put on quite a show. At the 25:40 mark, Edge went for a spear, but Mysterio ducked it and rolled up Edge for a very close near fall. After a near fall by Edge, Mysterio came off the top rope but Edge turned it into a powerbomb for a two count. At 28:30, Edge applied a variation of the Texas Cloverleaf, but Mysterio countered with a roll-up for a near fall. Edge then went for a spear, but Mysterio ducked it, bounced off the ropes and Edge nailed him with a spear on the rebound. I thought for sure that was the finish, but Mysterio kicked out.
Mysterio hit his 619/top rope splash combination, but Edge kicked out. Mysterio hit another 619 and then dove off the top rope, but Edge hit him with a spear in mid-air for the victory. After the match, Alberto Del Rio entered the cage and put the Cross Armbreaker on Edge. Suddenly, Christian’s music played and he charged into the ring. He attacked Del Rio, the man who (in story line) put him out with an injury, and hit the Killswitch on him. Also of note was the performance of McIntyre, who was very aggressive and is starting to look more and more like the up-and-coming star he was touted to be.
The order of entry was as follows: Edge/Mysterio, Barrett, Kane, McIntyre and Big Show. Here is the order of elimination: Big Show pinned Barrett, 18:48; Kane pinned Big Show, 20:53; Kane pinned McIntyre, 21:08; Edge pinned Kane, 22:50; Edge pinned Mysterio, 31:28.
John Cena won the Raw Elimination Chamber Match over John Morrison, Randy Orton, CM Punk, R-Truth and Sheamus (33:10): Cena was interviewed backstage before the match and he was eating a bowl of Fruity Pebbles, a nod to the promo that The Rock cut on him this past Monday on Raw. Cena came out with the victory in this match, but Morrison stole the show and Punk also was a focal point. Punk entered the match fourth, following Morrison and Sheamus – who started the match – and Orton. Punk’s pod “malfunctioned,” however, and he got stuck in the door. Orton dragged him out, landed the RKO and pinned him. The anonymous Raw general manager then chimed in and announced that due to the malfunction, Punk was allowed back into the match. Punk returned to his pod and ended up being the last man to enter.
R-Truth was in next-to-last and was technically the first man eliminated. He began with a flurry of offense, but then was quickly eliminated after Sheamus nailed him with the Brogue Kick. Thanks for coming. A few minutes later, Sheamus connected with the Brogue Kick on Orton, and Punk then hit the GTS on a weakened Orton and pinned him. So Punk won this round with Orton to set up their expected showdown at WrestleMania. Morrison pulled off the spot of the night around the 25-minute mark, as he climbed up the cage and across the roof of the dome ala Spider-Man. He then dropped down onto Sheamus and pinned him. In doing so, Morrison sold that he injured his knee. He would suffer more damage to the knee, including missing a Starship Pain attempt on Punk, who capitalized on the miscue by hitting the GTS on Morrison and eliminating him.
That left Punk and Cena, which surprised me a bit, because there would have been more drama if Morrison and Cena were the final two. Fans could have envisioned Morrison pulling the upset and going on to face his former tag team partner The Miz at WrestleMania, but everyone knew that we weren’t getting a Punk-Miz match, so it was obvious that Cena was going over. I wonder if WWE decided to go with Punk-Cena at the end instead of Morrison-Cena because it feared that the crowd would be firmly behind Morrison and against Cena. Anyway, just 20 seconds after Morrison was eliminated, Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment on Punk on the steel grate and pinned him.
The order of entry was as follows: Morrison/Sheamus, Orton, Punk, Cena, R-Truth, Punk again. Here is the order of elimination: Orton pinned Punk, 8:59 (the Raw GM then re-inserted Punk into the match); Sheamus pinned R-Truth, 17:30; Punk pinned Orton, 21:32; Morrison pinned Sheamus, 25:17; Punk pinned Morrison, 32:50; Cena pinned Punk, 33:10.
WWE champion The Miz defeated Jerry Lawler (12:08): The crowd was solidly behind “The King,” who once again showed that despite being 61, he is still capable of putting on an entertaining, championship-caliber match. Lawler hit a superplex at the 5:20 mark for a good near fall. A couple minutes later, the referee threw out Alex Riley after he caught Riley tripping Lawler. The Miz sold concern over being out there on his own. Lawler came within an eyelash of winning when he reversed Miz’s pin attempt into a pinning combination of his own. At that point, the crowd seemed to be buying into the fact that Lawler actually could win. Michael Cole, whose cheerleading for The Miz during this match was quite entertaining (at least I thought so), stood up and began jawing at Lawler after the match spilled onto the floor. The distraction allowed Miz to gain a brief advantage, but Lawler then threw Miz over the announce table and right onto Cole.
At the 11:20 mark, Lawler hit a fistdrop from the second rope and made a cover, but Miz got his foot on the bottom rope just in time. After Miz landed a hard kick to Lawler’s head, he followed up with the Skull-Crushing Finale for the win. The match was well-booked, as Miz scored a clean win and Lawler, the sentimental favorite, put up a good fight. After the match, Cole ran into the ring and raised Miz’s hand. The crowd chanted Lawler’s name as he sold the emotion of seeing his dream of winning the WWE title and competing at WrestleMania come to an end. I was surprised that Cole didn’t physically interfere in the match, but he did rant and rave on commentary after it was over about Lawler being an embarrassment, so the seed was still planted for some type of confrontation between the two at WrestleMania.
Alberto Del Rio defeated Kofi Kingston (10:29): Interestingly, there were a lot of people cheering for Del Rio in this match, which opened the show. There was a cool spot about seven minutes in when Kingston went for a crossbody off the top, but Del Rio planted his knees in Kingston’s chest in mid-air. Kingston got in a few near falls after that and appeared to have Del Rio pinned at one point, but the referee was distracted by Ricardo Rodriguez. Del Rio hit a sick-looking neckbreaker while Kingston was sitting on the top rope, and then followed with the Cross Armbreaker. Kingston tried to block it, but Del Rio eventually locked it on and Kingston tapped out. It was another solid win for Del Rio, and WWE continues to do a great job of getting his finisher over. The match was competitive enough that Kingston wasn’t buried by losing.
I actually thought for a second that Kingston was going to pull the upset when Del Rio had difficulty fully applying the Cross Armbreaker. I thought perhaps Kingston was going to shift his weight and put Del Rio on his back for a three count. It would’ve been a bold move to have the challenger for the world heavyweight title at WrestleMania lose, but I think there is a scenario that could have worked. Del Rio could have gotten his heat back by attacking Kingston either after the match or on TV and “injuring” him. Then if Del Rio goes on to beat Edge for the title at WrestleMania, you’d have a ready-made title program between Del Rio and Kingston. The problem is that I just don’t think WWE views Kingston as a main-eventer at this point.
Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater defeated WWE tag team champions Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov to win the title (5:09): This was kept short and was perfectly fine. Gabriel hit the 450 Splash on Kozlov for the victory.
Non-wrestling segments: Booker T. got in the ring and introduced Trish Stratus as one of the trainers for Tough Enough. She got a surprisingly tepid response from the crowd. Then she tried to cut a promo combining the catch phrases of The Rock and Booker T. that bombed big time. Booker T. did his “tell me you didn’t just say that” shtick, but he couldn’t save the segment. “Is it over yet?” Cole asked sarcastically. He took the words right out of my mouth. … Vickie Guerrero came out and said “excuse me” a few times in uncharacteristically subdued fashion. She was being contrite and pleaded for Dolph Ziggler to be rehired. Smackdown general manager Teddy Long appeared on the stage and denied her request. He then announced that he had re-hired Kelly Kelly, who got in the ring and began physically assaulting Guerrero. Kelly Kelly got a much bigger pop coming out than Stratus did earlier. Lay-Cool hit the ring and double-teamed Kelly Kelly before Stratus made the save. Stratus’ bad night continued, as she botched her handstand headscissors in the corner on Layla and the crowd booed. It looks as if we may be getting Stratus and Kelly Kelly against Lay-Cool at WrestleMania.
Comments
This was probably the most predictable PPV in recent memory in terms of match outcomes, but it's a great example of how predictability isn't always a bad thing and continued a recent trend of the WWE's secondary PPVs being stronger than their major ones.
Del Rio's offense still can be sloppy looking, but there's no question he's a star in the making. Kofi looked strong in defeat and showed why he deserves a legit main-event push. These two could have an excellent feud post-WM.
The SD chamber match is an early favorite for match of the year, it was an excellent match. We may look back on this match as the moment where Drew McIntyre "got it," he really stood out in this match, which was no small feat.
The Raw chamber match was a few notches below the SD match but was still very good in its own right. Morrison continues to amaze, and R-Truth looks more and more like he'll be returning to TNA before the year is out. If Cena's promo last night is any indication, the WWE will have no choice but to turn him heel. His promo and first official response to The Rock was groan-inducing.
Miz/Lawler got about as much out of Lawler as possible. It was by no means a great match, but it was solid. Unlike their previous match on RAW, it made Lawler look capable without making Miz look weak.
The return of Christian probably went over better than the WWE had hoped. He got a far bigger pop than he had been receiving before his injury. The return of Trish Stratus couldn't have gone worse. From the tepid crowd response to horrible interview to her botched moves, she looked every bit as someone who hasn't wrestled in 5 years.
Posted by: Joe Barber | February 21, 2011 12:58 PM
I completely agree. While everything went how I thought it would, it still was a solid showing and well worth the money. The Elimination Chambers matches are consistently among my favorite matches every year and these two were among the best yet.
I wonder if Christian will somehow find himself in the title program with Edge and Del Rio, making it a three-way? It would lead to a more entertaining match and if Del Rio wins, it can plant the seeds for the long awaited feud between Edge and Christian.
Posted by: loco | February 21, 2011 1:04 PM
I was really happy to see Trish. I'm really impressed with this Tough Enough relaunch so far, keeping the coaches limited to A-List talent is a big deal.
Posted by: Toronto | February 21, 2011 1:30 PM
i think the raw elimitation chamber match was amazing i want cena cause he won the raw chamber matchto become wwe champ at wrestelmania 27 i loved it when punk got stuck in the door!anyway it was cool and edge is still world champ and del rio beat kingston!
Posted by: randy cena | February 21, 2011 1:40 PM
Please don't let this lead to Christian turning on Edge at Wrestlemania...
I thought Punk was the star of the night. Everything he did from entering the chamber to taunting every single participant, his reaction to his pod malfunctioning, his set up to put Orton to sleep and his promo was just plain awesome. The best moment of the night had to be Punk crawling quickly back into his pod once he was reinstated and then laughing maniacally once he was inside.
Posted by: Anonymous | February 21, 2011 1:55 PM
Last night's PPV was like an old movie for me. I knew what I was going to see, but I enjoyed it anyway. Morrison and McIntyre were the non-winning stars of the night. John Cena is so corny, I cannot stand his character.
Posted by: Jay | February 21, 2011 1:55 PM
I won't dispute the fact that there were some good moments, but it was predictable. Where is the incentive to purchase a PPV when you know what's going to happen? Now we get the "unexpected" tonight for free (assuming the Undertaker returns).
I liked the Lawler match, and I'm glad it was done without any interference. How about making Lawler the special referee for the match between Miz-Cena, or add a stipulation that if Cena wins, Lawler gets 5 minutes with Cole (and that would add some suspense as to whether Lawler gets a Wrestlemania match or not).
When R-Truth entered the chamber, I don't know if the very noticable groan coming from the audience was because Punk wasn't entering or because it was R-Truth...
At the end, why was Miz making his cartoonish face and holding up the WWE title over his head to the TV Monitor after Cena won? That just looked stupid. It looked too contrived and out of place. Miz and Riley should have looked at each other and either looked worried or else flash a smug grin (to indicate they might have a plan up their sleeve). Better yet, Miz should have appeared on the ramp looking at Cena in the ring, with the Wrestleman sign behind them.
Not a bad PPV, but not worth the money. A couple of odd moments here and there, but it served the purpose of establishing some build-up to Wrestlemania.
Posted by: PCH | February 21, 2011 1:59 PM
Someone should pop one to Michael Cole and make him shut up once and for all
Posted by: Firestopper09 | February 21, 2011 2:16 PM
I'm pretty surprised that Barrett went down first in the Elimination Chamber. I realize Jackson is being pushed as the power house in the Corre but really, Barrett spent a good portion of the last half year main eventing and is the leader of his faction.
It feels like there's been quite some time since a stable was truly dominant in WWE. The nexus did get some superstars to band together back in the summer but really neither nexus nor corre did much beyond grab the tag titles and we all know how unimportant those are in wwe. Heck they might as well bring back the European title and hand to the nexus or corre for all the good it would do.
Posted by: Matthew | February 21, 2011 3:00 PM
Great PPV. The Smackdown chamber was one of the best matches I've seen in a while.
Booker was burying Kofi for not showing aggression, but he has a point. Compare Kofi (or almost anyone) with the unbelievable intensity shown by MacIntyre in the chamber. Even from his entrance, snarling through the lexan at Kane, MacIntyre was riveting.
And Del Rio is still the best. How can anyone not root for him? I think he's extremely gifted inside the ring as well; I want to see him in long matches vs. Daniel Bryan... or Drew MacIntyre.
Sheamus and Kane are neck-and-neck for the "wrestlers I fast-forward through" championship, but I'll admit Kane (and even Big Slow) looked impressive in the Smackdown chamber match.
Posted by: Jules Bentley | February 21, 2011 3:15 PM
WHY NOT HAVE THE CORE & NIZIE TO DO BATTLE.HAVE EACH MEMBER TO FIGHT EACH OTHER.WE ARE GETTING LIKE TNA INSTEAD OF HAVING MEMBERS THEM GANGS UP ON ONE PERSON TO WIN,LET THEM FIGHT EACH OTHER ,THEN PEOPLE WOULD ENJOY THAT.I HAEN'T SEEM ONE NIXIE OR CORE WITH THE TEAM.
Posted by: JAMES HART | February 21, 2011 3:40 PM
I am shocked at the response to Trish. But it's been like that for former stars...neither Steve Austin (as guest host of RAW or Booker T.'s mention of him last night) nor HBK (when he showed up on RAW regarding his HoF induction) received good responses. Any thoughts on that dynamic Kev?
I am not a Cena-hater, but I see how people become haters of him. He is quite easily the most sickening wrestler of our day. I can imagine what people must have gone through during Hulkamania. Must Cena be in EVERY main event; must he win EVERY P-P-V match? We've seen Cena v. The Miz. Am I the only person who is dreading this match?
Posted by: sweetie21783 | February 21, 2011 5:08 PM
I find a strking similarity between Kofi Kingston and The Rock (When he was Rocky Maivia) KK could benefit from a heel turn, as he is not getting over despite his potential to be a big star in the future.
Plleeaassese bring back Matt Striker or even Todd Grisham -- Booker T is unbearable to listen to (and I can barely understand what he's saying).
And let's hope the positive reaction that Christian recevied gets a strong follow up...and by that I don't mean he should team up with Chris Masters to have a fued with Chavo and Tyler Reks
Posted by: eee | February 21, 2011 5:24 PM
If Booker commentates at Mania, we riot.
Seriously though, i popped big for his cameo at the rumble but he is awful on commentary. His voice is annoying, he talks way to much and at inappropriate times. Surely WWE realise he isn't good enough, is it just me????
Posted by: Bryan | February 21, 2011 6:17 PM
Kofi Kingston is in need of gimmick change / name change / everything change. I can't take him seriously because I still remember that stupid Jamaican character with the accent he was playing. Now he has no accent and he's from Africa, yet still using the Jamaican ring entrance music. I can't get into his character, which makes it hard to root for him or against him, even though he is an extremely gifted athlete, it's like he's just there. They should give him a gimmick like T.O. or Chad Ochocinco. A spoiled Diva athlete gimmick. I think that could get him over.
And R-Truth looks like a future endeavor waiting to happen. The only thing saving him in my opinion is with the loss of MVP, the WWE has a shortage of good African Americans to feature. This is also why I think Booker T is back. To fill a void.
Posted by: Maurice B. | February 21, 2011 6:27 PM
Kevin, what involvolvement do you see Christian in for wrestlemania? do you see him in mitb, or maybe the special ref for Edge vs. Del Rio, or maybe not in it at all.
Posted by: Cory | February 21, 2011 7:30 PM
i knew john cena would be going to wreslemanie he is what raw want i think him and the rock should wrestle it would be a good match
Posted by: candy | February 21, 2011 8:07 PM
A 20-second finale to the most kinetic match in the booking cycle for Raw? I completely understand creative not wanting Cena versus Morrison for any amount of time, since the crowd of late has been tepid at best about Cena and wild for Morrison. But really? 20 seconds between Morrison's elimination and Punk's? Wouldn't that be the main event version of a squash match? SmackDown's E.C. finale lasted eight and a half minutes and was, by your account, edge-of-your-seat exciting. Maybe Cena just doesn't have that sort of performance in him.
Posted by: Kyle | February 21, 2011 8:24 PM
if they're bringing these legends back, why not Lita instead of Trish ?
Posted by: Jabroni Smasher | February 21, 2011 9:27 PM
Both Elimination Chamber matches were excellent and very well booked; the only issue I had was The Big Show being the surprise entrant instead of someone interesting..
The event as a whole was solid, but the two non-wrestling segments were lackluster, to say the least.. They should have done Stratus's introduction on Raw and Kelly Kelly's re-hiring on Smackdown, rather than spending PPV time on the segments.
I'm a little disappointed with Cena winning, but at least he didn't go the "Super-Cena" route to get there.
Posted by: Are | February 21, 2011 11:16 PM
I really can´t stand John Cena anymore. That was his response to the humiliation of the Rock? Really? That´s the best he got? I´m begging for a heel turn.
And in defense of Trish Stratus: Have you seen the high heels she was wearing? No wonder she botched the headscissor. I was surprised she could run with that shoes.
Posted by: XDreamItchy | February 22, 2011 2:42 AM
I was really surprise abt Trish's return! She's my favourite wwe diva! Christian's return was at a right time too! =]
Posted by: Vincent | February 22, 2011 1:08 PM
I'm inching closer to ordering Wrestlemania this year (I know my sons want me to). If Christian is added to the World Championship picture, I will order the ppv. But, knowing that Vince has a thing against Christian, I don't have very high hopes.
Posted by: Flairfan | February 22, 2011 3:17 PM
Line of the night was from Cole after edge gave mysterio a big boot while doing the 619 - "talk about a dropped call!"
Posted by: Mark K | February 22, 2011 6:31 PM
Never understood what the big deal with Trish Stratus was back in her prime.
I guess nowadays especially since she's just another (former) blond bombshell diva amongst the herd.
Posted by: AMC | February 22, 2011 8:54 PM
I KNOW THAT CENA WOULD RAW CHAMBER AND HE DID IT MOREOVER HE WON BY LAST ELIMINATING C M PUNK I LIKE IT BUT RAW GENERAL MANAGER SUCKS WHO HAD LET PUNK REINSTATE IN THE MATCH AFTER HE WAS PINNED BY ORTON
Posted by: GURPAL | February 24, 2011 6:13 AM
when can we see a greatest wrestlemania ever countdown from you. You really know your stuff. Would be interesting
Posted by: DAve | March 2, 2011 3:30 PM