The Elimination Chamber is a match type in professional wrestling (seen in World Wrestling Entertainment). It is a variation of the steel cage and Hell in a Cell matches, in that the ring is surrounded by a steel structure of chain and girders, but instead of a standard steel cage, the Elimination Chamber is circular, allowing for four inner chambers (or 'pods') to be placed on the apron with platforms keeping the wrestlers from the floor. The metal is black and the chambers are made of 'bulletproof' glass. The chamber is 36 feet in diameter and is composed of 10 tons of steel and 2 miles of chain. [1]
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Rules
The match is contested by six wrestlers, two beginning the match in the ring and the other four in the glass chambers. After a predetermined amount of time (three, four or five minutes) a chamber opens at random and a wrestler is added to the two already competing, and this continues until all men are released. Wrestlers are eliminated by pinfall or submission within the ring ropes, often leading to some being eliminated before every wrestler is released into the match. The winner is the final man left after all others have been eliminated. So far, there is no provision as to what may happen if a competitor escapes the Chamber without being eliminated, although noncompetitors and recently eliminated competitors have interfered on behalf of one of the remaining competitors. Because of the logistics of the Chamber's design, no other enclosure-based match is typically scheduled on the same card as the Elimination Chamber, and the Elimination Chamber itself has not been used for any match other than the one described above. Former RAW general manager Eric Bischoff was given on-screen credit for creating the match in the fall of 2002, stating it combines elements of WWE's Royal Rumble, Survivor Series and WCW's War Games matches, in that the countdown timer comes from the Rumble and War Games, the enclosed cage format from War Games, and the elimination process from the Rumble and Series. [2] To date only five Chamber matches have been held, with the first two having moments where the 'bulletproof' chamber glass was shattered during an attack. Triple H entered both of the first two Elimination Chamber matches as reigning World Heavyweight Champion and was involved in the final pinfall of the first three, losing the first and winning the second and third. The fourth match on January 8 2006 was the first to be held with the WWE Championship on the line. The fifth match on December 3 2006 was the first to be held with the ECW World Championship on the line. The fifth match, held at the ECW pay-per-view December to Dismember, was a slight variation called the 'Extreme Elimination Chamber'. In this variation of the match, each 'pod' in the Chamber would have one of four weapons for the competitors locked inside to hold on to. When each competitor's chamber opened, their weapon entered the match along with them. The four weapons used in the match were a crowbar, a table, a steel chair, and a barbed wire baseball bat.
Match History
| No. | Match | Event and Date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Shawn Michaels defeated Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Kane, Chris Jericho, and Triple H (c) to win the World Heavyweight Championship. | Survivor Series November 17 2002 |
39:20 |
| II | Triple H defeated Goldberg, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Kevin Nash, and Shawn Michaels to retain the World Heavyweight Championship | SummerSlam August 24 2003 |
19:12 |
| III | Triple H defeated Edge, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Batista, and Randy Orton (w/Shawn Michaels as Special Referee) to win the vacant World Heavyweight Championship | New Year's Revolution January 9 2005 |
34:55 |
| IV | John Cena defeated Kurt Angle, Shawn Michaels, Carlito, Chris Masters and Kane to retain the WWE Championship | New Year's Revolution January 8 2006 |
28:23 |
| V | Bobby Lashley defeated The Big Show (c), Rob Van Dam, Hardcore Holly, CM Punk, and Test to win the ECW World Championship | December to Dismember December 3 2006 |
24:42 |
Notes
- Shawn Michaels has been in the most Chamber Matches. He has competed in three and been a special referee in one. Triple H and Chris Jericho have also wrestled in three.
- Triple H has the best record of all the past competitors, winning two of his three matches.
- All six competitors have yet to be in the ring at the same time.
- John Cena is the only competitor to win an Elimination Chamber without waiting in a pod.
- Bobby Lashley is the only winner to not bleed.
- Goldberg and Carlito both have the longest streak of eliminating opponents with three a piece.
- Chris Jericho holds the record for eliminating the most competitors total. He has elimated four (Booker T & Kane in the 1st, Kevin Nash in the 2nd, and Edge in the 3rd).
- Shawn Michaels has contributed to most of the finishes in an Elimination Chamber Match to either eliminate, or help eliminate an opponent.
- Chris Jericho and Kane are the only two title holders to hold a Championship during an Elimination Chamber Match, but not have to defend it. Jericho held the World Tag Team Championship in the 1st match. Meanwhile, Kane also held the World Tag Team Championship, but in the 4th match.
Notes
- ^ [? 2007 Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts]. Wrestling’s Historical Cards 112. Kappa Publishing (2007).
- ^ WWE RAW (October 28, 2002) results. Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on November 1, 2006.
References
- CompleteWWE.com: Survivor Series 2002 results. Retrieved on November 1, 2006.
- CompleteWWE.com: SummerSlam 2003 results. Retrieved on November 1, 2006.
- CompleteWWE.com: New Year's Revolution 2004 results. Retrieved on November 1, 2006.
- CompleteWWE.com: New Year's Revolution 2005 results. Retrieved on November 1, 2006.
