Elimination Chamber

Elimination Chamber took place on 21 February, in St.Louis, Missouri.

Formerly known as No Way Out, this pay-per-view has always been the midpoint in the transition from the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania. Wedged in between the two biggest events on the wrestling calender, it will never break any PPV-buy records or hearts. It'll never be a complete PPV, there's usually plenty of filler in order to produce three hours of television.

It can, however, create fleeting moments worthy of our adoration. For instance, when Eddie Guerrero upset all odds to defeat Brock Lesnar to pick up his first and only WWE Title back at No Way Out 2004. Or even just last year, when Edge attacked Kofi Kingston as he was entering the chamber, and assumed his place to win the WWE Title in controversial circumstances. These moments are intrical on the Road To Wrestlemania, ensuring that feuds and storylines are not only maintained, but expanded upon as well. There were two such moments on this particular night, with which the WWE intended to 'shock' it's audience.

The Raw Elimination Chamber, in which the entrants are contesting for the WWE Title, opened up the show. Sheamus and Kofi started it off, but there were no eliminations until all the other combatants - Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, Triple H and John Cena - had entered. When that elimination did come, it essentially resulted in the dismantling of Legacy. Cody Rhodes came down to the ring to slip a lead pipe to Orton, but it was used instead by DiBiase to gain the pinfall over his former mentor. DiBiase would then be eliminated by Kofi, before he was pinned by Sheamus. The reigning champion, who has been the recipient of a fantastic push of late, was finally brought back down to earth when HHH hit him with the Pedigree. The Game, however, would lose out to John Cena, as he tapped out to the STF. That wasn't the end of the drama, however...
Vince McMahon would make his way out with his enforcer Batista, and inform the newly-crowned champ that he would have to defend the title against The Animal immediately. Cena, clearly in no shape to defend himself, dropped the title to Batista.

(To see the final moments of the WWE Title Chamber, click here)

The Smackdown chamber would provide even more drama! Although The Undertaker was defending his World Heavyweight Championship against five other men - John Morrison, R-Truth, Rey Mysterio, CM Punk and Chris Jericho - he was still expected to retain the title prior to entering the steel structure. Unfortunately for Taker, this was a night for surprises. CM Punk, firstly, was able to pin R-Truth after hitting him with the GTS (oddly enough, wwe.com referred to him as the Second City Saint -- a reference to the tag-team he formed with Colt Cobana back in his days in Ring Of Honor, who were known as the Second City Saints). Rey Mysterio subsequently hit Punk with the Splash to pin the Straight-Edge Superstar, but he too was eliminated after receiving Starship Pain from Morrison. The Tuesday Night Delight would hold his own when Taker and Jericho entered the fray, impressing against the two established main-eventers. After he received a chokeslam on the steel courtesy of the Deadman, it was between Y2J and Taker. The cowardly look on Jericho's made you fully believe that he was gonna lose this match, he was that convincing. But just when we thought that Taker was about to pick up the victory, up popped Shawn Michaels from under the steel to deliver a Super Kick to the Phenom. Jericho promptly went for the cover to become the new World Heavyweight Champion.

Elsewhere on the card:

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  The Miz retained his United States Title against MVP, but only after his fellow tag-team champion The Big Show had delivered a knockout blow to the challenger.
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  Michelle McCool & Layla defeated Gail Kim & Maryse in a tag-team match, after which Maryse attacked Gail.
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  Drew McIntyre successfully defended his Intercontinental Championship against Kane, in a match that succeeded in doing nothing more than fill airtime.

(For more Elimination Chamber news, click here)

Happenings Since EC:

• Edge chose to face Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania 26 - which yours truly had predicted in a previous entry - after Y2J had cut a killer promo on his performance the night beforehand. This should be an epic WM main event.

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  The Undertaker finally agreed to face Shawn Michaels for the second year running at 'Mania. It will be a Streak vs. Career match. Although I have my own opinions about how the match will go and what'll happen to the careers of the respective men involved, I still haven't a clue which way this will do.

(The Obsessed Promo that was aired on Raw last week was one of the best I've ever seen. Proof that WWE are top-class at promoting their product and matches -- when they want to.)

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  Batista will face John Cena at WM as well. Despite the fact that there are some fans who don't have the appetite for such a contest, I actually can't wait for these two to face off. Batista has improved starkly since his heel turn and I no longer cringe when I see him on the mic or cutting promos (easily the weakest part of his game).

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  Bryan Danielson, former ROH World Champion, finally hit our television screens as Daniel Bryan, on the new WWE programme NXT. The American Dragon cut promos with his mentor The Miz and was impressive in his match with Chris Jericho. At one point in the match, he performed a suicide dive to the outside and collided with the announcer's table (see below). What was immediately noticeable while I was watching was the big size difference between Bryan and the other contenders. He is certainly not made in the mold of your typical WWE headliner. However, those of you who know him from his early days know that Danielson has the talent. He is one of my favourite wrestlers to watch and is compelling on camera at times, so let's hope WWE continue to push him further.