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Elimination Chamber

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This article is about the professional wrestling match. For the pay-per-view event named after this match, see WWE Elimination Chamber.
The Elimination Chamber at New Year's Revolution 2006

The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) promotion. It features a large chain-linked circular steel structure or "chamber" which encloses the ring.[1] The chamber's floor is platformed over the ringside area which elevates it to ring level and within the chamber are four inner enclosures outside each ring corner.[2] While similar in profile and nature to WWE's original large scale steel-structured match, Hell in a Cell, the Elimination Chamber match is strictly a six participant match wherein two participants begin the bout in the ring as the remaining four are held within each inner enclosure and are released into the match at five minute intervals. The objective is to eliminate each opponent from the match via pinfall or submission. The winner is the last remaining participant after all others have been eliminated. As in the Hell in a Cell match, disqualifications do not apply.[1][3] The structure itself is 16 ft (4.9 m) high, 36 ft (11 m) in diameter, weighs over 10 tons, and comprises 2 mi (3.2 km) and 6 tons of chain.[2][4] 13 Elimination Chamber matches have taken place in WWE since its inception in November 2002.

History

Origin

Prior to the introduction of the Elimination Chamber match, WWE only promoted two matches in a caged environment, the steel cage and Hell in a Cell matches. The steel cage was the first type of cage-based match in professional wrestling and consisted of four fenced walls of steel surrounding the ring apron, while the Hell in a Cell was a taller roofed version that surrounded the ring and ringside area on the ground rather than the apron. In 2002, WWE announced the creation of the Elimination Chamber, a match that combined elements of WWE's Royal Rumble match, Survivor Series matches and World Championship Wrestling's (WCW) WarGames matches,[5] such as the countdown timer and time intervals from the Royal Rumble and War Games matches, the enclosed cage format of War Games, and the elimination process from the Survivor Series contest.[6]

Brand and pay-per-view designation

In 2002, to exploit additional on-screen talent after buying World Championship Wrestling (WCW), WWE began a brand extension that divided the roster between the two primary television programs of WWE, Raw and SmackDown!.[7] Former WCW President and then Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff formally announced the creation of the chamber during the October 21 edition of Raw and scheduled the match to feature participants from the Raw brand roster at the 2002 Survivor Series.[8] The match was exclusive to the Raw brand for the first four matches and at joint-branded pay-per-view events, but upon the creation of the ECW brand in 2006, the match was instead promoted for the newly created brand at the 2006 December to Dismember.[9] Beginning in 2008, the match became exclusive to the No Way Out pay-per-view, and two Elimination Chamber matches were featured annually for two years among the three brands.[10][11] In 2010, WWE replaced their No Way Out event with the self-titled WWE Elimination Chamber, a new pay-per-view event which continued the tradition of its predecessor.[12]

Injuries

Triple H suffered a legitimate injury during the 2002 Survivor Series match with swelling on the inside of his throat which put pressure on his esophagus and trachea.[13][14] This was caused after Rob Van Dam performed the maneuver the Five Star Frog Splash off the top of one of the chambers. Triple H also expressed concern that he might have broken his wrist and noted anything could have caused it.[15] Sheamus reportedly suffered a concussion during the Raw Elimination Chamber match in 2010.[16]

Match

Rules

The Elimination Chamber match is a variation of elimination-based matches which draws elements from steel cage and Hell in a Cell matches, in that the wrestling ring is surrounded by a large steel fenced cage supported by girders. The Elimination Chamber is a circular chain-linked structure that encloses the ring. Its floor is platformed over the ringside area around the ring which elevates and levels it with the ring mat. Within the Elimination Chamber, facing the outside of each ring post behind each ring corner, are four enclosures referred to as inner chambers.[1] The match is contested by six participants, with two beginning the bout in the ring, while the other four are held within each inner chamber.[4] Every five minutes, one of the four participants within a chamber is released into the ongoing match. This continues until all four have been released, and so an Elimination Chamber match typically lasts over twenty minutes.[4] The objective of the match is to eliminate each opponent from the match by executing a pinfall or a submission, which can occur in the ring or on the chamber's elevated floor. Disqualifications do not apply in the process of elimination. The winner of the match is the last remaining participant after all others have been eliminated.[4][17]

Structure

According to a WWE Magazine article in 2009 by WWE's production designer Jason Robinson, who co-designed the structure, several designs for the Elimination Chamber were considered. The structure was manufactured in Colorado Springs, Colorado and took six to eight weeks to make from design blueprints; it cost US$250,000 to construct.[2]

The structure is made of black-painted steel with an outer structure of 16 frames, each weighing 300 pounds (140 kg).[2] The chamber is 16 ft (4.9 m) high and 36 ft (11 m) in diameter, and weighs a total of 16 tons, 10 of which consists of steel.[2][3][4] Each inner chamber consists of three large steel framed sheets of plexiglass, costing US$225 per sheet.[2] The chains that surround the chamber stretch 2 mi (3.2 km) long and weigh 6 tons.[3][4]

A 50-foot flatbed truck is needed to transport the chamber. Assembly in the arena takes eight hours to complete, and eight motors are used to suspend the structure over the ring before each event.[2] When not in use, the structure is stored at a dock in Newark, New Jersey.[2]

Variations

The fifth match, held by the ECW brand at December to Dismember, was a slight variation called the "Extreme Elimination Chamber".[18] In this variation, each chamber had one of four weapons for the competitors locked inside to hold on to. When each competitor's chamber opened, their weapon entered the match with them.[19] The four weapons used in the match were a crowbar, a table, a steel folding chair, and a barbed wire-wrapped baseball bat.[19]

Match history

The Elimination Chamber debuted at WWE's PPV event Survivor Series 2002 on November 17, 2002 at Madison Square Garden. Since the inaugural match, there have been 12 other matches (13 overall) as of Elimination Chamber 2010 on February 21, 2010. Two matches are planned for the 2011 Elimination Chamber event; one hosted by Raw and the other by SmackDown. The Raw brand has been featured in the most matches, with eight; ECW has been featured twice, including its joint-branded match with SmackDown. The SmackDown brand has been featured 4 times including the joint-branded match with ECW. No Way Out has featured more Elimination Chamber matches than any other pay-per-view, with four. Triple H and Chris Jericho hold the distinction of being involved in the most number of Elimination Chamber matches to date, with six, with Triple H having the most number of victories, with four. The majority of matches have been contested for a top-tier championship, with the World Heavyweight Championship being fought for the most in six matches, while three matches in 2008 and 2011 awarded the winner with number-one contenderships. The Elimination Chamber match has been contested only in indoor arenas in the United States and once in Puerto Rico. Since 2008, the match has been featured in February pay-per-view events only.

Key
Symbol Meaning
# The overall match number
Brand The WWE brand which was featured in the match
Stipulation What each match was contested for
Match The officially promoted match with all the participants
Event The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the title changed hands
History
# Brand Winner Stipulation Match Date Event Location Ref.
I Raw Shawn Michaels World Heavyweight Championship Triple H (c) vs. Booker T vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kane vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Rob Van Dam November 17, 2002 Survivor Series (2002) New York City, New York [20][21]
II Raw Triple H World Heavyweight Championship Triple H (c) vs. Goldberg vs. Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Kevin Nash vs. Randy Orton August 24, 2003 SummerSlam (2003) Phoenix, Arizona [22][23]
III Raw Triple H World Heavyweight Championship[A 1] Batista vs. Chris Benoit vs. Edge vs. Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton vs. Triple H
(with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee) 		January 9, 2005 New Year's Revolution (2005) San Juan, Puerto Rico [24][25]
IV Raw John Cena WWE Championship John Cena (c) vs. Kurt Angle vs. Carlito vs. Chris Masters vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Kane January 8, 2006 New Year's Revolution (2006) Albany, New York [26][27]
V[A 2] ECW Bobby Lashley ECW World Championship The Big Show (c) vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Hardcore Holly vs. CM Punk vs. Test vs. Rob Van Dam December 3, 2006 December to Dismember (2006) Augusta, Georgia [18][9]
VI SmackDown-ECW The Undertaker World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania XXIV Batista vs. Big Daddy V vs. Finlay vs. The Great Khali vs. Montel Vontavious Porter vs. The Undertaker February 17, 2008 No Way Out (2008) Las Vegas, Nevada [28][10]
VII Raw Triple H WWE Championship match at WrestleMania XXIV Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho vs. John "Bradshaw" Layfield vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H vs. Umaga [29][10]
VIII SmackDown Triple H WWE Championship Edge (c) vs. The Big Show vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Vladimir Kozlov vs. The Undertaker vs. Triple H February 15, 2009 No Way Out (2009) Seattle, Washington [30][11]
IX Raw Edge[A 3] World Heavyweight Championship John Cena (c) vs. Edge vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kane vs. Mike Knox vs. Rey Mysterio [11][31]
X Raw John Cena WWE Championship Sheamus (c) vs. John Cena vs. Triple H vs. Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase vs. Kofi Kingston February 21, 2010 Elimination Chamber (2010) St. Louis, Missouri [32][33]
XI SmackDown Chris Jericho World Heavyweight Championship The Undertaker (c) vs. R-Truth vs. John Morrison vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk [34][33]
XII SmackDown Edge World Heavyweight Championship Edge (c) vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Kane vs. Wade Barrett vs. Big Show February 20, 2011 Elimination Chamber (2011) Oakland, California [35]
XIII Raw John Cena WWE Championship match at WrestleMania XXVII John Cena vs. Sheamus vs. CM Punk vs. Randy Orton vs. John Morrison vs. R-Truth [36]

Compilation release

In July 2010, WWE released Satan's Prison: The Anthology of the Elimination Chamber, a DVD featuring every Elimination Chamber match as of Elimination Chamber 2010.[37] The European release of the DVD is titled Iron Will.[38] The January 2005 match was heavily edited from the original broadcast which included cutting out commentary and piping in noise from the audience, this is reported to take place whenever anything positive is said about Chris Benoit.[39]

Notes

  1. ^ The championship was vacant for this match.
  2. ^ This edition of the match was promoted as the Extreme Elimination Chamber, which featured a weapon in each inner chamber.
  3. ^ Kofi Kingston was originally scheduled to be apart of the match, but due to a scripted attack by Edge during his entrance he was unable to take part, Edge was allowed to take place.

See also

References

Notations

  • "WWE Elimination Chamber History (2002–2008)". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 17 February 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2008.

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c "Elimination Chamber Description". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Robinson, Jason (2009). "Cold Steel". WWE Magazine: pg. 49. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  3. ^ a b c "2007 Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts". Wrestling’s Historical Cards. Kappa Publishing. 2007. p. 119.
  4. ^ a b c d e f McAvennie, Mike (21 May 2007). "The painful process of Elimination". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 3 February 2008.
  5. ^ DiFino, Lennie (21 April 2009). "Ragin' Cagin' at War Games". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  6. ^ Robinson, Jon (9 October 2003). "WWE Smackdown Top 10: #10: The Elimination Chamber". IGN. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  7. ^ "WWE To Make RAW and SMACKDOWN Distinct Television Brands". World Wrestling Entertainment. 27 March 2002. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  8. ^ Ouellette, Christopher (22 October 2002). "Full WWE RAW Results - 10/21/02 (24 hours after No Mercy)". Wrestleview.com. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accesdate= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ a b Martin, Adam (4 December 2006). "December to Dismember PPV Results - 12/3/06 (New ECW Champ...)". Wrestleview.com. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |acessdate= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ a b c Martin, Adam (17 February 2008). "No Way Out PPV Results - 2/17 - Las Vegas (Two Chambers, & more)". Wrestleview.com. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  11. ^ a b c Martin, Adam (15 February 2009). "WWE No Way Out Results - 2/15/09". Wrestleview.com. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  12. ^ Martin, Adam (9 October 2009). "Name change for another WWE PPV". Wrestleview.com. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  13. ^ Powell, Jason (20 November 2002). "Triple H details his throat injury, doesn't blame Rob Van Dam". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  14. ^ Powell, Jason (18 November 2002). "Triple H expected to be at Raw, update on his neck condition". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  15. ^ Powell, Jason (20 November 2002). "Afternoon Update: Triple H injury, Jericho's schedule, Flair's daughter". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  16. ^ Martin, Adam (23 February 2010). "Report: Sheamus suffers concussion". Wrestleview.com. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  17. ^ "Specialty Matches: Elimination Chamber". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  18. ^ a b Tello, Craig (3 December 2006). "Mission Accomplished". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2 February 2008. Cite error: The named reference "ECWChamber" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  19. ^ a b Tello, Craig (29 November 2006). "Chamber of Horrors". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  20. ^ "Survivor Series 2002 – Elimination Chamber match". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 3 February 2008.
  21. ^ "Full WWE Survivor Series Results - 11/17/02 (Quick Results)". Wrestleview.com. 17 November 2002. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  22. ^ "SummerSlam 2003 Main Event". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 21 December 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  23. ^ Keller, Wade (24 August 2003). "8/24 WWE SummerSlam PPV: Ongoing "virtual time" results of live event". PW Torch. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  24. ^ "New Year's Revolution 2005 Main Event". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  25. ^ Martin, Adam (9 January 2005). "New Year's Revolution (RAW) PPV Results - 1/9/05 - San Juan, PR". Wrestleview.com. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  26. ^ "New Year's Revolution 2007 Main Event". World Wrestling Entertainment. 6 January 2006. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  27. ^ Sokol, Chris (8 January 2006). "Edge surprise champ after Revolution". SLAM! Sports. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  28. ^ "The Deadman doubles down". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2 February 2008. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  29. ^ "The Game gets his title match at WrestleMania". World Wrestling Entertainment. 17 February 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
  30. ^ Passero, Mitch (15 February 2008). "Regaining the throne". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  31. ^ Tello, Craig (15 February 2008). "Shameless in Seattle". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  32. ^ "Preview: WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  33. ^ a b Martin, Adam (21 February 2009). "Elimination Chamber Results - 2/21/10". Wrestleview.com. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  34. ^ Burdick, Michael (21 February 2010). "Results: Heartbroken". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  35. ^ "Preview: SmackDown Elimination Chamber Match". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  36. ^ "Preview: Raw Elimination Chamber Match". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  37. ^ "Satan's Prison- The Anthology of the Elimination Chamber DVD". WWE Shop.com. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  38. ^ "Iron Will: The Anthology of WWE's Toughest Match DVD". Silver Vision. 24 June 2010.
  39. ^ Martin, Adam (27 July 2010). "Heavy edits on new WWE DVD involving Benoit". Wrestleview.com. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
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