4 least memorable Elimination Chamber matches of all time

The Elimination Chamber structure
The Elimination Chamber structure

On February 17, 2019, WWE will host it's annual Elimination Chamber event wherein six men and twelve women will compete inside the demonic structure, with gold on the line.

Daniel Bryan will defend the WWE title, and the Chamber will also host a bout to crown the first WWE Women's Tag Team Champions. Both matches have the potential to be classic encounters.

The Elimination Chamber gimmick debuted as a match at the 2002 Survivor Series. In the storyline, it was the brainchild of then Raw General Manager, Eric Bischoff, and his creation saw Triple H defend the World Heavyweight Championship versus Shawn Michaels, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Kane, and Chris Jericho.

It was a blistering match which had the feel-good ending of the newly returned Michaels defeating his friend turned enemy, Triple H, to win his first World title in five years.

Fast forward sixteen years and the Elimination Chamber is one of the most highly regarded matches in all of WWE. The Elimination Chamber pay per view which originated back in 2010 is one of the most anticipated shows on WWE's annual calendar.

That is because, the Elimination Chamber, more often than not is a show that delivers and delivers big time.

Few can forget moments such as Edge losing the WWE title inside the Chamber and then winning the World Heavyweight strap back inside the Chamber on the same night, as well as Shawn Michaels emerging from under the grate to cost The Undertaker the World Heavyweight Championship, in order to goad the "Phenom" into competing against him at WrestleMania XXVI.

However, whilst many of the match-ups have been classics, there are several others that have been surprisingly terrible and entirely unmemorable.

In this slideshow, we look at the four least memorable Elimination Chamber matches of all time.

Let us know in the comments if you agree or disagree!


#4 2018 Men's Number One Contender's Match (Raw): Roman Reigns vs Braun Strowman vs Finn Balor vs John Cena vs Seth Rollins vs The Miz vs Elias - Elimination Chamber (February 25, 2018)

The 2018 version of the Chamber featured seven men instead of the usual six
The 2018 version of the Chamber featured seven men instead of the usual six

The 2018 edition of the Elimination Chamber show saw the women compete in the match for the first time in a well-received and extremely well-booked match.

However, the men's edition later in the same show saw one of the worst ever contested. It lasted an interminable 40 minutes and did not see a single fall until the 21st minute of the bout.

This was designed so that Braun Strowman, whom WWE wanted to book strongly, could eliminate five men consecutively before WWE's chosen one, Roman Reigns could spear and pin him.

However, the booking did no one any favors. The fans wanted Strowman to win and loudly rejected Reigns. Strowman eliminating five men was for naught as he ultimately succumbed to Reigns.

The match did nothing for Reigns either as his elimination of Strowman did not make him look stronger for slaying the giant, it made him appear to be a fluke winner.

The action leading up to the nonsensical booking was dull and without any of the excitement and dynamism of the women's bout.

It was an unmitigated disaster and one of the worst main-event matches the company has ever produced.

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#3 WWE Championship (Raw): John Cena vs Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels vs Kane vs Chris Masters vs Carlito - New Year's Revolution (January 8, 2006)

The second half of the Chamber match was uninspired stuff
The second half of the Chamber match was uninspired stuff

The New Year's Revolution Elimination Chamber match promised much, with long-reigning WWE Champion, John Cena, competing alongside true WWE legends, Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels.

The first half of the bout was entertaining, whilst Angle and Michaels were in the match. However, after Angle was eliminated first and Michaels third, the match fell off a cliff.

The closing stages of the match where fledgling mid-carders, Carlito and Chris Masters dominated Cena were deathly dull. All three were extremely limited in the ring at this point, and their exchanges were clumsy and awkward.

The logic of the booking was sound. Cena, the courageous babyface fighting two on one odds to prove victorious, this was booking 101, however, Cena was so unpopular with the WWE Universe that he was booed out of the building.

The only saving grace to the encounter was the cash in post-match of Edge as Money in the Bank holder. He speared Cena to win his first WWE Championship to jubilant cheers, as at last the crowd had seen some entertainment after the worst Chamber match ever at that point.

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#2 WWE Championship (Raw): John Cena vs Sheamus vs Triple H vs Kofi Kingston vs Ted Dibiase vs Randy Orton - Elimination Chamber (February 21, 2010)

The 2010 Chamber match was underwhelming, to say the least
The 2010 Chamber match was underwhelming, to say the least

2010 won't go down in history as one of the greatest years in WWE. The underwhelming nature of the product at the time is typified by one of that year's Elimination Chamber matches.

Sheamus had only been part of the main roster for a number of months, but for some reason was made WWE Champion at TLC in December. However, he had not caught on as champion and the decision was made to return the belt to Cena here.

The action was pretty sluggish throughout, and the only vague interest in the storytelling was the dissension between Randy Orton and his Legacy comrade, Ted Dibiase. Orton was ultimately betrayed, and when Sheamus was also ejected, it ensured a new champion would be crowned.

The final two were Cena and Triple H who competed once more, but this had none of the atmospheres of their previous encounters, and very much had a seen it all before vibe.

Cena made Triple H tap out with his terribly applied STFU finisher. That was that.

It was a match that ultimately meant nothing, as just like four years earlier; Cena's victory parade was only seconds long as Batista this time marched down to the ring and defeated him in an impromptu match-up for the WWE Championship.

It was yet another fruitless exercise by the company to attempt to force its fanbase to cheer Cena. What was the point?

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#1 ECW Title: Bigshow vs Rob Van Dam vs Lashley vs Hardcore Holly vs Test vs CM Punk - ECW December to Dismember (December 3, 2006)

Bigshow entered the Chamber as ECW World Champion
Bigshow entered the Chamber as ECW World Champion

2006 was not a kind year to the Elimination Chamber. After the poor outing the Chamber had in January, WWE then book-ended the year with another atrocious Chamber bout.

This time, ECW's December to Dismember pay per view played host to the brutal structure. Unlike the One Night Stand events, this show felt nothing like an ECW show and is now known as the show in which Paul Heyman became so upset with Vince McMahon's interference in the pay per view, that he left or was fired the next day, depending on who you believe.

As for the bout itself, it had the additional gimmick of each chamber pod featuring a weapon to make it more "extreme" but in truth, that factor barely came into play.

The most popular men in the match, Rob Van Dam and CM Punk were both eliminated well before the closing stretch of the encounter, which saw the green Bobby Lashley battle Big Show one on one.

The pro-ECW crowd loudly rejected Lashley and were not engaged in his quest for the gold. When he won the match, the audience turned its back on him. It was a disaster.

The quality of the encounter was reasonable when Punk and RVD were involved, but once they were gone, the lumbering Test, Bigshow, and Lashley offered zero work-rate or excitement.

Unquestionably the worst Chamber match of all time and one of the worst pay per view matches the company has ever produced.

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