Wham, Bam, Summerslam!

Summerslam took place on 15 August in Los Angeles

Up until the August 9 edition of Monday Night Raw, only three matches had been booked for Summerslam (SS), one of WWE's Big Four pay-per-views. It just goes to show that three weeks is far too short a time to promote such a high profile event. It also points to slack booking, which we've been seeing from WWE in recent times and saw throughout this PPV.

The Intercontinental Championship match between Dolph Ziggler and challenger Kofi Kingston was the curtain jerker. Kofi was trying to regain a title that he had only lost 9 days previously -- did anyone really believe that he was going to win? Answer: no. WWE made the same mistake at Fatal 4 Way. The Miz defended the US Title against R-Truth, whom he had just defeated for the belt on that week's Raw. Needless to say, Mike Mizanin retained on that occasion. I bring this up because you need to give fans a reason to buy a PPV in every match, not just the top two or three on the card.

On top of that, this match was just stale if you had seen any of their other bouts over the past month. So, why couldn't they just wait until SS to put the belt on Ziggler? There was a simple answer to that, as we were to find out. The match was reaching its climax when Kofi missed with Trouble In Paradise and Dolph slapped on the Sleeper Hold. At that moment, Nexus came out of nowhere, attacking them both. The faction of NXT Season 1 Rookies, in trying to make another impact in yet another 7-on-1 beat down, caused this encounter to end in a no contest. . .

Nexus gangs up on Kofi

Following that was the Divas Championship match between Melina and Alecia Fox. This was better than their dour meeting on last week's Raw, but it's too bad that not too many people care that Melina won her first title since returning from an injury that kept her out for a year. The celebrations were interrupted by the self-professed co-Women's Champions, Layla and Michelle McCool, who proceeded to hand her a harsh beating. Alecia will surely be handed a rematch, but a feud between the new Divas champion and the entertaining Laycool could be appealing. Then again, this is the WWE Diva's division, so let's not get our hopes up. . .

Melina

Next up was the 3-on-1 handicap match between the Straight Edge Society (SES) and the Big Show, which was hastily put together the week of the PPV. Once again, just more sloppy booking. I liked the match itself, but at the same time, there was no real reason for it to be on this card other than to fill time.

Show looked dominant from the beginning, before the SES ganged up on him and took the advantage. Inevitably, the World's Largest Athlete gained the double pin over Joey Mercury and Luke Gallows as CM Punk scuttled away from the ring with Serena. All im all, nothing special, but I did like it all the same.

It will be intriguing to see where Punk and the SES go from here. In all their time together they haven't done a whole lot other than shave a few peoples' heads. In recent promos, the Straight Edge Superstar has looked fantastic, but he hasn't been able to take his three cronies anywhere above where they already were. In the context of this match though, CM Punk played the cowardly heel masterfully I thought. This would set up a defection from the SES by it's members quite nicely in my estimation, with the possibility of a Punk-Gallows rivalry or something along those lines. I quite like the sound of that idea, but that begs the question, what do you do with Serena, Gallows and Mercury after then? I guess that's a bridge we'll have to cross when we reach it. . .

Big Show -- Paul White has been great as a face so far

The midway point of the night was marked by two promos, the first of which greeted us to the sight of Kane standing by an empty coffin. He was soon joined by Sheamus, who is continuing to show more and more confidence on-screen.

That was followed by The Miz in the ring, who cut a fantastic promo over his decision to join Team WWE for the main event or not. All I can say is, go look it up and watch it for yourself -- well worth seeing. I did think he was going to turn down the offer, the typical heel thing to do, but it set up the angle for the Daniel Bryan return later on in the show perfectly. . .

The Miz

In last week's article, "Making New Ground. Sort of.", I wrote that both Randy Orton and Sheamus needed a good match in their fight for the WWE Championship, but that Sheamus also badly needed a clean win here. If we look at his title matches, his first reign was won via an accidental fall through the table by John Cena, his Royal Rumble clash with Orton ended in a DQ, he regained the title at Fatal 4 Way after a run-in from The Nexus and retained it at Money In The Bank in almost identical circumstances. Add to that list a DQ loss to The Viper at SS.

Now, if you're trying to push a fresh, new champion as fearsome and powerful in the ring, then the last thing you do is hand him an unimpressive record such as the one I just listed. I was even enjoying this match up until the point where Sheamus shoved the ref when attempting to bring a chair in. He got an RKO on the announce table for his troubles, of course. I don't see The Celtic Warrior retaining the belt at Night Of Champion and I don't envisage anyone else believing he can either. If he can't get a win over an established headliner (such as Triple H, with whom he is expected to feud with in the near future), then he may slip away from being a fixture in the main event level altogether. . .

Sheamus -- Laoch (see trunks) is the Irish for "hero"

Possibly one of the most anticipated matches of the night was the World Heavyweight Championship contest between the holder Kane and Rey Mysterio, who was striving to prove his innocence (although I'm not sure how winning a match would do that). Once again, this was another good, solid bout that was marred by bad booking.

Rey competed well for the most part against the Big Red Machine, so in desperation Kane turned to the casket. On the first attempt, he failed to close the lid on Rey, who looked as if he would eventually find a way to overcome the odds. For once, however, the WWE's Biggest Little Man couldn't find a way past a devastating Chokeslam. The clean pin and the ease with which it was picked up was surprising, but just in case you had forgotten, Kane drilled this big win home with a further Chokeslam as well as a Tombstone Piledriver.

Naturally, Kane went back to the casket once more, only to find The Undertaker inside. Taker looked at his brother, before turning to Rey. At this point, we thought he was singling out the masked man, as he said, 'did you ever hear of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth?' Before.. before I make things right.. why? Why'd you do it, Rey?" Mysterio's response was inaudible, unfortunately, but it was all a swerve anyway -- The Phenom swung around and stared menacingly at Kane. He slapped a choke on his apparent attacker, but was hit back and ended up on the receiving end of a Tombstone.

Much like everything else on this PPV, there were good and bad things about this particular angle. First off, I doubt anyone was truly surprised by The Undertaker's return -- one way or another, he was coming back at SS. The way WWE went about it was slightly confusing though. Why did Taker confront Rey in the manner he did if he wasn't the attacker? Was it just for the swerve or did Rey have something to do with it after all? I guess we'll find out more on Smackdown! this coming Friday.

It was also important to make Kane look superior in the way they did. People have to believe that he can beat his brother, as he has been made to look inferior in past feuds, but above all else it's believable -- having just awoken from a storyline coma (notice how he staggers out of the casket), Taker would be susceptible to any competitor, not just a monster heel. There was nothing particularly special about this match or the events immediately after it.

Taker and Kane partake in a choking war

Aaaaand your main event!
The heavily hyped 7-on-7 elimination tag team match between Team WWE (as advertised -- John Cena, Bret Hart, Edge, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, R-Truth and an unconfirmed seventh member) and The Nexus (Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel, David Otunga, Skip Sheffield, Heath Slater, Darren Young and Michael Tarver).

After his awesome promo earlier in the night, it had looked as if The Miz was certain to be that seventh member. But just as Team WWE had made their way to ringside with Miz in the wings in anticipation, John Cena brought out Daniel Bryan in one of those very rare moments in pro wrestling these days -- something that you simply don't see coming.

Cue huge pop, melee in the ring and a crossface from Bryan on Young, thus forcing a submission in the early moments of the 14-man crunch match. The American Dragon didn't reenter the squared circle until Team WWE were down to just himself and Cena, but when he did, he absolutely kicked ass until The Miz ran in and hit him with the briefcase. It's amazing that Michael Cole continues to bury him on commentary. This was a performance good enough to win even the harshest critics over, so to continue on insisting that AmDrag "got lucky" in this bout, that all his in-ring capabilities were conjured up by the Internet and that he is a "dweeb" and a "twerp" is incredibly baffling. Perhaps taking the US title off of his former Pro would change Cole's mind...?

In the final sequence, John Cena was left in a two-on-one situation against Gabriel and Barrett. Gabriel went for the win with his ever-impressive 450 Splash, but Cena moved out of harm's way and subsequently pinned the South African, which looked weak. So did the finish, however, when Barrett tapped out to the NPSTF (No Pressure Stepover Toehold Footlock). All in all, a fairly entertaining match where arguably it's only downfall was in the ending.

This PPV was stuck in an unfotunate pattern. On the whole it was an enjoyable event with good matches. However, nearly all of those matches were marred by sloppy or poor finishes. As I wrote before, the viewer needs a reason in every single match to buy the PPV.

"This Is Awesome" -- Daniel Bryan Returns!

S.S 2010 Part 10, S.S 2010 Part 12 and S.S 2010 Part 13

Uploaded by WWEKingHD. - Discover the latest sports and extreme videos.

You know, it was talked about during the past few weeks about how awesome it would be for Brian "Daniel Bryan" Danielson to make his return at Summerslam as the seventh member of Team WWE in the 7-on-7 main event contest. But not for one second did anyone believe that would happen. In fact, one person called into Smart Wrestling Fan on Tuesday, suggesting that Daniel Bryan would be in the elimination tag match instead of The Miz, thus turning Bryan into a massive face and creating a great feud. Even that particular caller, though, admitted that WWE Creative would never go for that.

However, when Cena revealed that Bryan would be partaking in the main event, I think everyone was in disbelief at what we were witnessing. The American Dragon made the first elimination early on when he made Darren Young submit with a crossface. He remained on the apron for the majority of the match, but when he finally re-entered the fray, it took me back to his ROH days. This truly was awesome while it lasted.

And the great thing about it was, unlike the Kane-Undertaker-casket angle, this was completely unexpected. I even read the other day that Danielson was booked to be on an indie card at the end of September, so seeing him back this early was surprising to say the least.

This should have been the point where Michael Cole stops burying him on commentary once and for all by the way. At a certain point, it stops being amusing and entertaining, and becomes plain annoying.

Either way, things are looking good for the American Dragon Brian Danielson.
Welcome back Daniel Bryan.

You're Either Nexus Or Against Us

On June 7th we were greeted to the terrifying image of Michael Tarver in a mask at ringside, just before he and the other NXT rookies stormed the ring as a Cena-CM Punk match was reaching its climax on Monday night Raw. Lead by Season 1 winner Wade Barrett, the eight-man group lay waste to everything in sight -- the wrestlers, the announcers, the timekeeper, the ring and Justin Roberts' necktie. . .

No one could believe their eyes at what had just transpired. It was the must-see segment of the week for wrestling fans (in what was an otherwise dour episode of Raw).

Unfortunately, everyone's eyes were turned to a different story over the coming days as news of Daniel Bryan's (Bryan Danielson) release filtered through. Danielson was fired after the aforementioned necktie incident (which you can read more about on The Unfinished Article in the post titled The Bryan Danielson Saga). In my opinion, getting fired is not such a bad thing for the American Dragon. Firstly, he will be rehired sometime in the near future once this whole thing blows off, he's too good not to be. Secondly, he's far better off without the Nexus. Apart from Wade Barrett, all of the members are jobbers and need this storyline to elevate them to a certain degree. Danielson on the other hand does not.

Now, back to the Nexus.

On the following week's Raw, Wade Barrett explained that his newly-formed faction were seeking contracts to join the main roster. But why was Wade leading them in their search for WWE stardom? He had already secured a contract and a guaranteed title shot after all. The answer is simple: loyalty, apparently. They had all previously made a pact to stick together no matter who won.

There was a lot of speculation among smarks on who was the driver at the end of that clip, but it seems inconsequential now several weeks later. The Nexus would continue these beat downs routinely, including this one on Vince McMahon of all people:

This kind of scene repeated itself at the PPV Fatal 4-Way. The Nexus interrupted the main event, a WWE Championship match between John Cena, Sheamus, Randy Orton and Edge, which allowed the Celtic Warrior to cheekily take the title for a second time.

The Nexus were at it again at Money At The Bank, when it was all but a given that they would intrude upon the apparently impenetrable steel cage match between Sheamus and Cena. So, not only was it no surprise that they interfered with yet another main event on a PPV, but it also led to a very crappy finish. The Rookies, if you can still call them that, prevented Cena from climbing down off the cage before the Irishman could in what was a very frustrating end to the best WWE PPV in a long time.

It's hard to see where The Nexus are going at this point. In truth, a lot of their angles and promos have been the best thing on WWE television in quite a while, especially in the absence of the likes of Triple H, The Undertaker and the recently retired Shawn Michaels, but at the same time some of those angles and promos haven't been so good (I'm perhaps being a tad unfair in that regard -- you can say the same thing about any wrestler after all). We are continually reminded on-screen about Nexus' "bigger picture," but you get the feeling that that's just codeword for "Creative haven't written that part of the script yet."

I think I speak for everyone when I say that we all want to see Nexus achieve something tangible, not something forgettable. The faction already has a natural born winner and main eventer in the shape of Wade Barrett as it's leader, and it's also acted as a vehicle for successfully moving the NXT jobbers onto the main roster. WWE now needs to let the group push on, but can it do that when they put them in overbooked matches like that at the upcoming Summerslam? (If you haven't the booking yet, it's a seven-on-seven match between The Nexus versus John Cena's team, which includes The Great Khali and Bret Hart. . .)

With any luck, Summerslam will be another stepping stone for this band of youngsters. If not, it could mean a continuation of  the low ratings and PPV buys that we've seen of late.

The Bryan Danielson Saga

Considering how much time and space I've dedicated to NXT, and the part that Daniel Bryan has played in it, on The Unfinished Article, it would be amiss of me not to comment on the story at the very least.

OK, so where do you start with a story that has caused more controversy and anger among wrestling fans than any other firing of a low-card performer in WWE history? It's arguable to say in history perhaps, but definitely in my lifetime, and considering the ultra-advanced information age I've grown up in, it's been a source of considerable gossip for marks all over the Internet.

But of course, when it comes to getting the marks out here to talk, WWE have been on their A-game ever since the inception of NXT. First, there was the repackaging of Danielson as Daniel Bryan, a Rookie in season one of the show, and his subsequent pairing with WWE Pro The Miz, which had the fans going crazy. You could not put two more polar opposites together.

 Then, on the opening night, Danielson faced Chris Jericho in the main event, which I'm sure no one ever imagined seeing. Notwithstanding that, he was allowed to look very competitive against Y2J, which he would not be able to do on Smackdown or Raw. He also took some tremendous bumps in that match to put Jericho over, which reminded me a lot of Shawn Michaels (on his latest DVD, Michaels openly says that when he first came into WWE, himself and Marty Janetti would throw themselves all over the place in order to make their opponents look good). Fans were also sent into an online-frenzy when WWE paired Kaval, known to ROH fans as Low Ki, with. . . LayCool (Michelle McCool and Layla). Oh my. It certainly got us talking anyway.

This time, however, it was unintentional. Or, at least we think so. Following the most exciting ending to Raw in years, Daniel Bryan was released, after he choked ring announcer Justin Roberts with a tie. Someone complained and that was that. WWE do have a policy on choking after the Chris Benoit double-murder suicide, so they had to set an example, especially with Linda McMahon's election coming up. Now, I don't want to dwell on this, but I did read one blogger who was so enraged with the firing that he referred back to the Benoit thing and called him a coward and so on, which I totally disagree with altogether. I don't see the point in blaming this whole saga on something that happened nearly three years ago, especially something so tragic. I could go on for hours about the toll the business takes on one's body and mind.

Getting back to the story at hand, many have speculated that this is a fake firing, that it's an elaborate work that WWE have devised. In my opinion, that's pure bull. It's very much legit. His Twitter, the username of which he changed from DanielBryanNXT to bryandanielson, says as much really. On June 13th, he tweeted "Biding my time, waiting for the right moment to speak"; three days later, he said "Still not the right time, other than to say this: I am now available for independent bookings"; and most recently on Friday 18th, he wrote "Looks like my return to the independents will be next Saturday for @chikarapro in Detroit, MI. I'm stoked to be working with Chikara again!" That confirms it so. In one week's time, he will return to the indie scene with CHIKARA Pro Wrestling, and is also expected to perform at Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW) that same weekend, while he's also rumoured to make an appearance at Dragon Gate (DGUSA) and Ring Of Honor (ROH) in the next few weeks (although the latter is unlikely as he will be unable to feature on TV or PPV). He has definitely severed ties with WWE. For now.

While some would feel that this is the end of Daniel Bryan and his career in the E, I'm inclined to think otherwise. This whole incident will blow over, and once the heat subsides (and Linda loses her election), Danielson will be resigned and start again. Hopefully. For pessimistic fans of the American Dragon's chances of a return, I offer this reminder, and another comparison with Shawn Michaels. The Rockers (HBK and Janetti) were impressive when they started out in the WWF/E, but had to leave the company after an incident in a bar. The two men returned a year later, and while Janetti could never make an impact as a singles competitor, Michaels went on to become arguably the greatest performer and entertainer of his generation. It would be outlandish to suggest that Danielson will replicate that, but it is important to remember that example when considering this firing. For now, let's just enjoy watching AmDrag getting back to doing what he does best on the indie circuit.

Here are a list of web pages and links, Facebook or otherwise, about Bryan Danielson:

• 
  
  Bryan "American Dragon" Danielson FB fan page.
• 
  
  Daniel Bryan FB page.
• 
  
  Wear A Tie For Bryan Danielson FB page.
• 
  
  Reinstate Bryan Danielson Petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/.
• 
  
  Facebook Group Petition To Rehire Daniel Bryan.
• 
  
  Dragon Undone: The End of Bryan Danielson in WWE (For Now) article at 411mania.com.
• 
  
  Whatever happened to The Final Countdown Tour? at prowrestlingponderings.com
• 
  
  DGUSA Enter The Dragon PPV featuring Bryan Danielson!

Now That You've Gotten My Attention..

Simply put, this was one of the best, possibly the most captivating, angle in a long time.

Watch the clips, they say it all. . .

So, on the eve of Season 2 of NXT, all of the participants of NXT Season 1 invade Raw, beat the holy hell out of John Cena, CM Punk, the Straight-Edge Society (SES), the announcers and other randomers, as well tearing the ring to shreds and leaving the place in a heap. . . Wow. All I can say is, thank God WWE have finally moved out of their comfort zone and done something innovative to recapture the fan's attention and imagination. More of the same, please.

OMG, WTF? and NXT.

The decline in quality that we've witnessed in NXT over the past two months has been fairly
painful. That is, if you've been watching the show at all. And considering the ratings of late, that's very likely indeed. The show has become a bit bland and it's format was never going to keep viewers consistently interested for longer than a month or so.

Nonetheless, one of the highlights of NXT since the opening show was Daniel Bryan, or better known to the indie scene as The Greatest Wrestler In The World, Bryan Danielson. From then on, he went on a losing streak before being eliminated from the competition on last week's episode. However, Bryan cut this very intriguing promo afterwards:

For some reason, the cameraman starts shaking like mad towards the end of the segment, as if this promo hasn't gone according to plan. But I think this was a work. Why else would they break "kayfabe," so to speak, and have him say his real name on tv? They wouldn't, so it has to be part of a proper storyline, and not just a shoot. Daniel Bryan then shot another promo the following week on NXT, and this probably confirms that Danialeson has a future on the main roster:

There are so many things to love about this promo. Firstly, his mic skills are astonishing. Secondly, he doesn't hold back on anything. I'm pretty sure he's the first wrestler to talk about muscular guys being pushed ahead of others on WWE television. When he claims that he's better than the Miz, you can clearly see that both William Regal and CM Punk nod in wholehearted agreement. Priceless. If you listen closely, you can also hear Regal saying "Miz, he is better than you." And it just keeps getting better. Next, he turns to commentator Michael Cole, and verbally tears him to shreds, before physically pummeling him too. Thus completing Cole's heel turn I would assume.

I am not exaggerating when I say this: this was quite possibly the greatest promo I have ever seen. I mean, I used to be a big fan of The Rock and I could watch his promos from noon till night. But the raw emotion and passion that Danielson revealed here was truly mesmerising. It could be the biggest talent-related mistake WWE have ever made if they let him go.

Some Catching Up To Do..

OK, so it's a been a while. . .

I know I still haven't posted a review on WrestleMania 26, it's still unfinished in my drafts (fail to see the irony?), cause I haven't had the time to write a full-length one, what with school work and study and all.

So I'll try and post as much as possible between now and the summer holidays, and may even get that WM entry in, but no promises. In the meantime, I'll be posting my thoughts on recent happenings in WWE and so on. Right now, I'll be concentrating on NXT and the Draft, and other things related to that.

I know I said previously that NXT was a great show in the beginning, but I have to admit that it's gone slightly stale in the past couple of weeks. Probably because nothing happens on the show! I did see Heath Slater beating Chris Jericho on last week's show though, so he's the first and only Rookie to defeat a Pro so far. Michael Cole continues to confuse me with his heelish commentary and constant bashing of Daniel Bryan (which he's obviously been told to do so by Vince McMahon through his headset). In an odd way however, it works! It's just different, I couldn't see Cole and Josh Matthews working together as well as they do here on a normal commentary format. David Otunga has certainly been one of the most impressive on-screen personas and I expect him to beat a Pro soon as well. Wade Barrett is also right up there in terms of charisma and talent. You could put this guy on either Smackdown or Raw tomorrow and he'd fit right in, he's that good in my opinion. Along with Daniel Bryan, these three are the standout performers.

I thought that this year's annual Draft was fairly solid as far as these things go. There have been shambolic ones in the past. The biggest moves of the night were Edge and Chris Jericho to Raw, who I imagine are being rewarded for the brilliant work they've done on Smackdown over the past year. Especially Jericho, who really made that main-event spot his own after Edge suffered a torn achilles tendon last year.

During the show itself, Edge was involved in a segment that made little sense, when he cost Randy Orton a title shot in his triple threat match with Sheamus and Batista. Is Edge reverting to a heel turn already? This might be for the best, considering he's not quite as good a face.

In other news from the Raw Draft show:

• 
  
  
  R-Truth and John Morrison also moved to the red brand, a transfer the Shaman of Sexy really needs to take advantage of at this point of his career. While he's still young, and has plenty more years in him, I think he must make the headline breakthrough sooner rather than later. 
• 
  
  
  The Hart Dynasty (Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith) df. Show-Miz for the Unified Tag Team Titles in a superb match. I'm becoming increasingly impressed with THD, after it seemed for ages that Creative had nothing for them to do. The win was also the catalyst for Big Show and The Miz splitting up, the former was later drafted to the blue brand, making the split complete.
• 
  
  
  Christian, who was languishing in the now defunct ECW for the past year, finally made the move to one of the top brands and I expect him to flourish on SD. Knowing WWE though, I could very easily be wrong about that.
• 
  
  
  MVP, Kofi Kingston, Kelly Kelly and Rosa Mendes were drafted to SD. A good move for all of the aforementioned people.
• 
  
  
  A final note on Jack Swagger: I have been pleasantly surprised with the All-American American's title run so far. In fact, that doesn't begin to describe how impressed I am with his in-ring performances. Since being elevated to the top spot, we've been able to see his great strength and charisma.

In the next entry, I'll probably be discussing the silly themed pay-per-views that WWE are persisting with and how they can utilise the moves in the Draft to improve their product, which has been lagging of late. I may also divulge into the general dreadfulness of TNA and the Monday Night Massacre.

See you then. . .

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:

• 
  
  
  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.
• 
  
  
  Michelle McCool & Layla defeated Gail Kim & Maryse in a tag-team match, after which Maryse attacked Gail.
• 
  
  
  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.

• 
  
  
  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.)

• 
  
  
  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).

• 
  
  
  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.