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As the clock slowly runs down, we’re gearing up for the biggest PPV of the year, WrestleMania. The last halt before the big event will be the Elimination Chamber, which takes place in a few days. This time, there will only be one Elimination Chamber match, to decide the number 1 contender for the World Heavyweight title at WrestleMania. In the past, the EC matches have given some of the most memorable moments, and when it’s all set and done, the PPV will be remembered for the events that unfolded, along with the incredible action inside the structure.
In this article, I take a look at the 5 most memorable moments/events that have something to do with the Elimination Chamber; whether they happen inside the steel structure, or are the events which follow the event. Taking a trip down memory lane is always nostalgic, but going through the 15 times the structure was used can bring out some of the most insane moments. Who can forget the Swan dive head butt by Chris Benoit (Or Krispen Wah – The invisible, invincible wrestler that never was), from the top of the pod?
5. Edge participating in two chamber matches
No Way Out 2009 kicked off with the Smackdown! Elimination chamber match, which saw Edge entering the match as the WWE Champion. The match involved some of the heavyweights in the business like Triple H, The Undertaker and Jeff Hardy. To everyone’s surprise, the Champion Edge was the first person to be eliminated within the first 3 minutes of the match by Jeff Hardy! Triple H went on to win the WWE Championship. Later in the night, Edge attacked one member from the RAW! Elimination Chamber match, Kofi Kingston, and took his spot in the chamber. With Cena as the champion, very few expected that to happen, as everyone thought Cena would walk out as the World Heavyweight Champion. What happened after that was truly shocking! Not only did Edge take part in two EC matches on the same night, but he went on to win the World Heavyweight Championship in the RAW EC match! This truly was one of the most memorable moments in the EC history.
4. John Morrison’s Spiderman skills.
JoMo is regarded as one of the most skilled performers in the industry. The only thing that ever kept him from being a main eventer is his mic skills. JoMo has proven himself time and again in the ring, starting from the tag team division and climbing up the ranks, and it was in WWECW that he achieved his dream of becoming the World Champion. And when the WWECW shut down, he got his chance to shine at a bigger stage, on RAW and Smackdown!
JoMo tasted success in his single’s career, but was never able to win the ‘big one’, that is either the WWE Championship or the World Heavyweight Championship. In spite of that, he was always ranked as one of the top guys because of his insane in-ring skills, and his agility. It was at the 2011 Elimination Chamber PPV that he became a sensation, when he climbed the Elimination Chamber and came down with a big cross body on to Sheamus.
3. Shawn super kicking the Undertaker
2010 was an eventful year in the WWE. Not only did Bret Hart return to the WWE after 12 long years during the first RAW of the year, WWE also witnessed one of the best feuds in the history of professional wrestling. Two veterans went toe to toe at the grandest stage of them all, and delivered the best match of the year. Those two war horses are none other than Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker. But before that, Shawn requested Taker for the match, only for the Phenom to turn it down. The 2010 Elimination Chamber PPV saw Undertaker walking in as the World Heavyweight Champion.
Towards the end of the match, it looked like Undertaker would come out victorious. The last two men left were the Phenom and Chris Jericho. Undertaker was about to deliver the Tombstone pile driver to Chris Jericho, when Shawn Michaels snuck inside the steel structure from beneath, giving the Undertaker some Sweet Chin Music, which allowed Chris Jericho to pin the Deadman and win the World Heavyweight Championship. What followed this was one of the greatest matches of Wrestlemania and WWE history.
2. Edge cashes in his MITB contract
At New Year’s Revolution in 2006, John Cena was at the helm of the WWE, being the WWE champion. He walked into the PPV with the gold, and was involved in the Elimination Chamber match. After a brutal match, a busted up John Cena had found a way to survive, and retain the WWE title. And just when everyone thought it was over, the boss made his way out and announced that the night wasn’t over yet.
Edge had won the MITB brief case the previous Wrestlemania, thus earning an opportunity to challenge the champion any time he wanted to. Although he said he’d cash it in at Wrestlemania, he found the perfect opportunity, and the event which earned him the moniker ‘The Ultimate Opportunist’, when he cashed it on a bloody John Cena. Edge speared a helpless Cena, but it wasn’t enough. The riled up Rated R Superstar delivered another spear, and this time, it was enough to get him his first WWE title.
1.Shawn Michaels winning the first ever EC match
In 2002, Shawn Michaels and Triple H were engaged in a personal feud, with Triple H injuring Shawn Michaels (kayfabe), who had just returned from a career threatening back injury. This led Shawn Michaels to return to challenge Triple H, who was crowned the new World Heavyweight champion by the then GM of RAW, Eric Bischoff, as the WWE title was exclusive to Smackdown!, with the then WWE Champion Brock Lesnar being contracted only to Smackdown!
The feud reached a boiling point at Survivor Series, where the concept of Elimination Chamber was first introduced. The match consisted of 6 performers, of whom 2 would start the match, and the rest would be locked inside their pods till the time ran out, and each superstar would make his way into the match periodically. This match saw Shawn Michaels going toe to toe against his arch nemesis and former best friend, Triple H as the last 2 remaining performers. Shawn went on to kick out of the pedigree, and delivered a Sweet Chin Music to Triple H, winning his first World Heavyweight Championship in the process. This would go on to be the best Elimination Chamber match to date.
