Or maybe even thebetterthing.
Of all the fixtures in WWE, it has the best hit-or-miss ratio.
The Royal Rumble has had many problems in the past several years.
Cage matches are completely illogical most of the time.
Hell in a Cell is watered down.
Other than ladder matches, there arent too many major match types that still stand strong in modern WWE.
Elimination Chamber is one of those match types.
So join me in this list of matches where wrestlers are constantly shattering bulletproof plexiglass with their skulls.
Where CM Punk enters four times, each time under a different incarnation of his straight edge persona.
Where Paul Heymans ECW revival is destroyed by some really iffy booking decisions.
From Booker T in 2002 to Bayley in 2018, heres the Elimination Chamber from worst to best.
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22.
An Elimination Chamber match is announced to fulfill the vacant championship slot.
His spot is given to Mark Henry.
The Match:So.
Originally when I wrote this article, it was to hype upElimination Chamber 2015.
It was this very event that broke the streak.
The match is a slog.
The Aftermath:Although not especially well-remembered, Ryback has a fairly good run with the Intercontinental Championship.
He feuds with Big Show and Miz and comes out of it victorious.
His reign lasts about four months before he drops it to Kevin Owens.
This is arguably Rybacks last hurrah in the company before falling into obscurity and splitting.
read more: Everything you should probably Know About WrestleMania 35
Granted, there are some high points.
Cesaro and Kidd are able to breathe some life into the match and the Prime Time Players look good.
Its just that even the death-defying spots come off as a little too contrived.
El Torito is there just because.
It feels like this should be cool, but it never really gets off the ground.
The one guy in the front row desperately trying to start a THIS IS AWESOME!
chant and failing about sums it up.
All the while, Prime Time Players break up and fall into some disastrous singles runs.
As his ego gets out of control, hes placed in an Elimination Chamber match.
Its just that thats the match doesnt have much else going for it.
Big Show fending off against Barrett and Rhodes isnt all that entertaining, all things considered.
Then you toss in a comedy jobber and Khali.
Its all rather pointless and makes Big Show look kind of dumb.
Sheamus would shut Bryan up by pinning him in 18 seconds.
THE FALL OF EDGE
No Way Out 2009
Big Show vs.
Edge (c) vs. Jeff Hardy vs.
Thanks, Vickie Guerrero.
Edge is forced to defend his belt against those three as well as Big Show and Undertaker.
Meanwhile, Triple H has been cheated out of winning the Royal Rumble by Randy Orton.
The Match:The beginning is so wonderful.
Edge and Jeff Hardy are the first two to start it off.
In three minutes, Jeff rolls up Edge and eliminates him.
Gone, just like that.
He cant believe it and now were left with knowledge that were going to get a new champion.
Its anything but exciting.
Once Triple H shows up, things start getting good and they get better once Undertakers in.
The final three is nice, but once its down to Triple H and Undertaker, something feels off.
Its like, even though the match is for the title, it doesnt feel like it.
Usually, one has to win the Royal Rumble to get the title match they want forWrestleMania.
The Aftermath:Triple H goads Orton into going after the WWE Championship atWrestleMania.
STROWMANIAS RUNNING WILD
Elimination Chamber 2018
Braun Strowman vs. Elias vs. Finn Balor vs. John Cena vs.
Were given our first seven-man Chamber match out of the deal.
A nearly two-hour gauntlet match happens onRawwith all seven taking part.
They arent going to change their endgame, but they will loosen up on shoving Roman down everyones throat.
That means Roman is just there to win and nothing else.
Instead, the focus is on Braun Strowman.
The man who is capable of doing impressive stuff as long as they dont pull the trigger on him.
He can be nigh-unstoppable, but he cant win the big one.
He can dominate and win Money in the Bank, but his cash-in is a joke.
Hes able to eliminate every single competitor…except Roman.
So they can do aWrestleManiamain event that nobody wants.
Perhaps itll be time to step up.
The idea is that Goldberg destroys everyone.
Were left with Goldberg singlehandedly taking out Orton, Michaels, and Jericho.
Then he moves on to Triple H and theyve written themselves into a corner.
They can either go too far or not go far enough.
Not the best practice when hes only around for a year and isnt much of a long-term investment.
read more: The Greatest WrestleMania Storylines
Thats really the main flaw of the Elimination Chamber.
Thats why many of them are good but just not memorable or feel all that important.
That said, Goldberg murdering Jericho is a great time.
Having them actually fight isnt that hard.
The Aftermath:Goldberg eventually gets a singles match against Triple H and gets the World Heavyweight Championship.
Goldberg proceeds to dominate the company otherwise after that until leaving and claiming that they totally misused him.
Its just the main story of the match that confuses me.
Im really not sure how I feel about it.
CM Punk is in his New Nexus phase and hes the main heel of the match.
Normally, this would be a great heel twist, but Punk is completely in the right.
He wasnt cowardly or underhanded.
He was totally prepared to go kick some ass and was unfairly beaten down by the good guy.
Cena gets involved and Orton ends up RKOing him onto the steel grate outside the ring.
The final three is Cena vs. Cena then destroys Miz in every single rematch to the point of frustration.
That means six challengers are put together to face the champion, whoever he may be, atWrestleMania.
That seems to be Orton after getting himself disqualified against Cena for the sake of holding onto the belt.
The Match:The match begins with Michaels vs. Jericho, so were already off to a good start.
Thats where the problem of this specific match comes in.
Its a perfectly fine match and all, but theres little actual originality in it.
He responds by pulling a Kevin Nash and destroying everyone in the ring.
This is at least notable because he does it by smashing their heads in with chairs.
I mean, this is post-Benoit.
Its pretty surprising when it happens here.
read more: An Unlucky History of Chris Jericho at WrestleMania
We continue to get the usual tropes.
Everyone hits their finishers on Umaga to stop him.
Triple H and Michaels fight it out for the millionth time.
It ends with Triple H going over yet again.
The Aftermath:Triple H is tossed into a triple threat against John Cena and Randy Orton atWrestleMania.
Shockingly, its in the middle of the card.
He wins a six-man match to earn the #6 spot.
The Match:This match is a really sad sign of the time.
Someone like Cody Rhodes, Ted Dibiase, Mike Knox, Kofi Kingston, and so on.
Miz and R-Truth have recently lost all of their momentum against Cena and the Rock.
Kofi Kingston is Kofi Kingston.
Ziggler barely rates as a threat.
Were left with a match where everyone can go but theres little to no stock in the stakes.
After all, most of these guys have battled with each other a thousand times over.
Lord knows how many times weve seen Kofi vs. Ziggler.
When the door to the Chamber is opened to help Kofi out, Jericho throws him into the aisle.
Then he turns around and eats a kick to the skull from Punk.
Jericho tumbles out of there and is deemed too unconscious to continue.
Not the most exciting way to continue a feud, but sure, whatever.
The final two are Punk and Miz.
When Punk kicks out of the Skull-Crushing Finale, Mizs reaction is a perfect ten.
Its kind of lame for what should be a strong feud.
Punk wins and moves on.
Various wrestlers earn their spots through preliminaries, but Hardcore Holly is simply awarded a spot.
Before he can sign his contract, Bobby Lashley roughs him up and signs instead.
Holly gets his spot back by showing up the night of the show and putting Sabu out of commission.
As it is, we have three fan favorites and three guys working for Heyman.
This match is infamous.
Its the main event of one of the all-time worst PPVs.
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But honestly?
The moments of RVD fighting CM Punk make for a great novelty.
The ending has Lashley as #5 with only Test in the ring.
Lashley dominatesECW, eventually netting himself a feud with Umaga and a completely insane and bald Vince McMahon.
Unfortunately for him, hes going to have to face Cena and four others in the Chamber.
Everyone earns their spot through qualifying matches, including Cena beating Cody Rhodes.
Cody hasnt been on top of his game lately and tempers have been flaring with Legacy.
Im not kidding, check this out.
The match is all well and good and gets better once Ted Dibiase enters the fray.
The two thrash everyone else together, including a spot where they use the cages chains to strangle Kofi.
Things go sour when Cena valiantly fights them off.
A moment later, he gets rolled up for a pin.
Triple H dethrones Sheamus, leaving it Triple H vs. Cena at the end.
The Aftermath:John Cena would get his revenge by making Batista tap atWrestleManiaand winning his belt back.
Its a shame, since he was doing the best heel work of his career during this time.
THE MIDDLE-AGE DREAM COMES TRUE
Survivor Series 2002
Booker T vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kane vs.
Rob Van Dam vs. Shawn Michaels vs.
The Match:It tookWrestleManiathree years to figure out what it was doing.
It took the Royal Rumble two.
But the very first Elimination Chamber got it right immediately.
Hes in an extreme setting and has the better knowhow in using it to his advantage.
Triple H spends the rest of the match in shambles based mostly on this great beatdown.
But RVD makes a mistake of his own.
Booker T easily picks the bones of RVD and pins him.
When Kane comes in, hes fairly dominant.
Between Kane and Booker T, Jericho pins two guys with his Lionsault, which is actually unheard of!
He NEVER wins with that!
That must have really hurt.
The Aftermath:Half-dead Michaels vs. half-dead Triple H until the end of time.
Triple H gets the title back at some point.
Rather than let it go, Michaels has insisted on wanting a rematch.
Undertaker is a bit busy being champ, so thats off the table.
Michaels tries for the logical approach of winning the Royal Rumble, but that doesnt work.
Rey Mysterio comes in, meaning we get a preview of their eventualWrestleManiamatch.
Morrison eventually gets rid of Mysterio and were left with Morrison vs. Undertaker vs. Jericho.
Its an incredibly fresh three-way and totally fun to watch.
Undertaker puts Morrison away and is left with only Jericho.
Jericho picks up the pieces by pinning Undertaker and becomes the new World Heavyweight Champion.
Hes really lucky that Undertaker didnt decide to finish Jericho off earlier.
Dudes tough as hell.
Meanwhile, Michaels would get his much-needed rematch against the Undertaker and lose, causing him to retire.
I was pretty hyped from beginning to end andElimination Chamber 2014is to blame.
Its the gateway drug into wanting to see those two hoss off.
Everyone in this match is great.
Theres never a dull moment and it doesnt matter that there are no eliminations until after everyones entered.
I say mostly because of the glass they use for the pods this year.
Its just a stretch of plastic.
It looks like something youd put over your iPhone to prevent scratches.
Im sure its safer but at no point does it look good.
Still, its an awesome match.
Just about every pairing of opponents works.
Christian does a crazy splash onto Sheamus off a pod and pins him.
Bryan takes out Christian with the running knee.
Cena makes Cesaro tap out.
Then things get screwy.
The match winds down by going intoWrestleManiasetup mode.
Shots of the crowd show less anger and more indifference and annoyance.
It seems nobody can stop him.
A new Chamber match is announced where the challengers have to compete in preliminary matches.
Early in the night, hes defeated by Ric Flair in a singles match.
The Match:Were at the must-watch point of the list.
The theme of this match is that it goes against whats expected.
Not so much, as it turns out.
Its great stuff because theyre total doofs about it, but competent.
Theyll work on Kane, high-five each other, then freak out when Kane sits back up.
Yet they still hold it together long enough to beat him with double-team moves and even a double-pin.
Then they work on Cena and their zest for partnership becomes outright adorable.
Theyre bad guys for a reason, I guess.
This would be a terrible ending.
John Cena is bloody and battered, but hes defeated the oddsyet again.
Thats when Edge shows up to cash in his briefcase.
You know what I said about Elimination Chamber getting it right the first time around?
Same thing goes for this.
Edge easily defeating the usually-unbeatable Cena is a treat and succeeds at being shocking, natural, and earned.
With the other entrants involved, it becomes noticeable that there are built-in alliances.
Bayley and Sasha vs. Absolution turns into a mini WarGames match and ends with the more established team winning.
Instead, Sasha shows her true colors by betraying Bayley.
Its a shitty thing to do, except it really is every woman for herself.
Even then, youd want to successfully take out the enemy before turning on your biggest ally.
Its that decision that ruins Sasha, as Alexa is champion for a reason.
In the short-term, the match establishes Alexa enough that Nia beating her atWrestleManiais a big enough deal.
THE CRACKS OF EVOLUTION
New Years Revolution 2005
Batista vs. Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho vs.
Edge vs. Randy Orton vs.
The title is deemed vacant and a new Chamber match is put together.
Its really brilliant how the match is put together.
Theres three parts to it.
Jericho and Benoit are simply there to be believable championship contenders who can totally go.
Their job is to wrestle well.
They add nothing to the story, but they add everything to the match.
Then you have Edge, who is pretty fresh into his big heel run.
And so, he accidentally spears referee Shawn Michaels at some point and doesnt act too sorry about it.
In return, he gets taken out by a superkick and is pinned.
Edge is removed via pinfall, but in a way that doesnt hurt his standing.
That leaves Orton vs.
Triple H and Batista.
This is the last gasp of air for Ortons failed main event face run.
And really, hes the third wheel.
This is really about Batista slowly burning into his top face role.
Batista remains loyal to Triple H, but he shouldnt be.
Is he exhausted or just biding his time so he doesnt have to worry about Batista?
Instead, Batista still helps him beat Orton and Triple H wins back the vacated title.
The Aftermath:Batistas star starts to really take off and he wins the Royal Rumble.
Batista decimates Triple H atWrestleManiaand takes his belt.
EDGES TWILIGHT
Big Show vs. Drew McIntyre vs. That means a rivalry with Vickies latest squeeze Dolph Ziggler.
Eventually,SmackDownGM Teddy Long has had enough of this and puts his foot down.
Instead that spot is going to Big Show.
Not counting the Three Man Band, natch.
Oh God, do I miss those guys.
Theres a lot of Edge and Mysterio in-between too!
Really, the only pairing that may be better isalsoEdge vs. Mysterio fromanotherChamber match.
While minor, it helps that Mysterio is a viable contender.
Edge gets the win by spearing Mysterio as Mysterio goes for a top-rope splash.
Mark Henry and Chris Jericho then show up, insisting that they too get spots in there.
They each prove themselves by winning against their fellow challengers.
You dont need to use it as a place for top names to check off another win column.
They work great together until Bryan gets greedy and does a failed roll-up on Kane.
IMMEDIATELY, hes on his knees going, Wait!
and tries to talk Kane into hugging it out.
Soon all five competitors are half dead just in time for Mark Henry to step out of his pod.
And its an even match!
Orton vs. Jericho vs. Swagger is about as good as it should be, maybe better.
Then after Jerichos pinned, Swagger rolls up Orton and steals a pin.
Now you look at this match and think, Oh, right.
They were pushing Swagger for a month, werent they.
Its smaller roster seems to hit harder thanks to some great booking.
Fortunately, Cena will be defending his WWE Championship in the Chamber before that can happen.
By wearily attacking each other in a three-way, they pull off some really cool and complex counters.
Then the other guys earn their keep.
During that build-up, Ambrose sneaks in a roll-up and eliminates Corbin.
The Phenomenal Forearm into Sister Abigail is especially fun to watch.
The only downfall of the match is the new design of the Chamber itself.
The Aftermath:Everything would go downhill after this.
Cena and Miz will have a throwaway feud atWrestleManiawhile Ambrose and Corbins match doesnt even make the main show.
The writing of the show goes down the toilet soon enough and doesnt recover for at least a year.
That says something about how good it has to be.
In fact, Khali being Khali is really the only reason this isnt #1.
Ive always felt that Batista was Undertakers best regular opponent.
More than even Michaels.
They always brought out the best of each other and there was such a neat dynamic.
Batista isnt scared or overpowered when it comes to Undertaker and respects him as an equal.
Thats incredibly rare to see in an Undertaker feud.
Batista and Undertaker are able to take them each down within minutes through unintentionally working together.
Its such an awesome spot.
Finlay arms himself with a shillelagh and even thats not enough to stop the Undertaker.
Once hes eliminated, were back to Undertaker vs. Batista.
Batista has Undertaker over his shoulder and slams him into the cage outside of the ring.
Boom, Undertaker wins his spot atWrestleMania.
The Aftermath:Undertaker defeats Edge at the main event ofWrestleManiaand continue their feud for several months.
Undertaker wins and throws Edge down into Hell itself.
THE RISE OF EDGE
Chris Jericho vs. John Cena (c) vs. Kane vs.Kofi Kingstonvs.
Various wrestlers enter qualifier matches and earn their spots.
Coincidentally, remember how theres that match the same night where Edge loses in mere minutes?
Yeah, thats actually kind of important… Mysterio and Jericho end up working together to put down both monsters and its time for Edge.
This is where things get crazy.
Cena has no trouble smacking Edge, Jericho, and Mysterio around because hes Cena and theyre all exhausted.
Hell, this is PPV.
Even if Cena somehow loses, itll be another 10-15 minutes at least.
read more: The History of the WrestleMania Battle Royal
Cena only lasts for less than three minutes.
It can also be used on a nigh-invincible super soldier rapper.
They do a level 3 super combo of a Codebreaker, 619, and spear to beat Cena.
to, Heh, okay, now were talking.
Mysterio gets rid of Jericho and were down to a wonderful Edge vs. Mysterio ender.
Mysterio gives Edge everything hes got, but Edge wont be put away.
I mentioned earlier how the Elimination Chamber in 2005 wasnt Edges match to win.
And its the best!
Its so the best!
