The Story/Statistics of the Elimination Chamber

Let’s reset the clock. The fall of 2002 to be exact.

While the Monday Night War had been put to bed by over a year at this point, Eric Bischoff had another war to fight.

This time, as General Manager of RAW, he had to combat the voluptuous Stephanie McMahon of SMACKDOWN.

On the blue brand, Stephanie put Brock Lesnar, WWE Champion, inside Hell in the Cell with The Undertaker.  What resulted was an instant classic, full of brutal savagery that was the pinnacle of the feud at hand.

Bischoff knew he had to do something in order to counter-act this.

Enter the Elimination Chamber.

Announced on RAW shortly after No Mercy where the Hell in the Cell match took place, Bischoff announced five men to be in the match, with the sixth (Shawn Michaels) answering his invitation later.

This device of disaster was hidden from public view until the big day. When Survivor Series 2002 hit, no one realized what it’s full potential could be.

16 feet tall and 36 feet wide, this pentagonal-shaped structure of pain was designed to let men inflict severe damage upon one another.

There are three other notes to keep in mind when talking about the Chamber:

1. The “cage”, or what we know as the outer portion, is held together by chains. Not steel mesh, or blue bars, but chains like you’d see on tires in the winter time. There is about two tons of the material inside the chamber. When the PG rules went into effect, it was really hard not to imagine blood there because these chains really do inflict damage.

2. Connecting said cage to the ring, steel grates were built-in. Imagine if you were body-slammed onto your barbeque grill. That’s the concept in a nutshell. Now imagine superstars being hurled like cord-wood over the top and onto the floor! YEE-OUCH!

3. There are PODS in the damn thing. One pod for each corner of the ring, they are topped in chain, with plexiglass concealing it’s inhabitant from the outside action. This glass apparently can stop bullets, but not WWE superstars!

It maybe bulletproof, but it ain’t KANE PROOF!

In the first Chamber environment, it was a contest with the World Heavyweight Championship on the line.

To read more about the event and the match itself, please click on this review conjured up here.

If you didn’t click, long story short: it was a wonderfully done match, despite the pratfalls and botches that nearly conspired to ruin the thing. Triple H getting his throat crushed on a five-star from Rob Van Dam is one example, while certain superstars missing cues to do things is another.

Over the next decade, the Chamber laid waste to many superstars. With or without titles on the line, everyone who stepped foot into the Chamber walked out a changed person than what they were before.

Let’s take a look at the records of the men who have competed inside the Chamber:

Superstar	Record
Triple H	4-2 Won World Heavyweight Championship (1x) (2005) Won WWE Championship (1x) (2009 SMACKDOWN) Retained WHC (1x) (2003) Lost WHC (1x) (2002) Won #1 Contender (1x) (2008 RAW)
Shawn Michaels	1-3 Won WHC (1x) (2002) Ref’ed 2005 Chamber Screwed Undertaker out of WHC in 2010.
Chris Jericho	1-5 Won WHC (1x) (2010 SMACKDOWN)
Rob Van Dam	0-2
Booker T	0-1
Kane	0-5
Goldberg	0-1
Randy Orton	0-3
Kevin Nash	0-1
Edge	2-2 Won WHC Championship (1x) (2009 RAW) Lost WWE Championship (1x) (2009 SMACKDOWN) Retained WHC (1x) (2011 SMACKDOWN)
Chris Benoit	0-1
Batista	0-2
John Cena	3-1 Retained WWE Championship (1x) (2006 NYR) Won WWE Championship (1x) (2010 RAW) Lost WHC (1x) (2009 RAW) Won #1 Contender (1x) (2011 RAW)
Carlito	0-1
Chris Masters	0-1
Kurt Angle	0-1
Big Show	0-3 Lost ECW Championship (1x) (2006 D2D)
Hardcore Holly	0-1
CM Punk	0-3
Test	0-1
Bobby Lashley	1-0 Won ECW Championship (1x) (2006 D2D)
Finlay	0-1
MVP	0-1
The Great Khali	0-1
Big Daddy V	0-1
JBL	0-1
Umaga	0-1
Jeff Hardy	0-2
Vladimir Kozlov	0-1
Rey Mysterio	0-3
Mike Knox	0-1
Kofi Kingston	0-1
John Morrison	0-2
R-Truth	0-2
Drew McIntyre	0-1
Wade Barrett	0-1
Sheamus	0-2 Lost WWE Championship (1x) (2010 RAW)
Undertaker	1-2 Won #1 Contender (1x) (2008 SMACKDOWN) Lost WHC (1x) (2010 SMACKDOWN)
Ted DiBiase (Jr.)	0-1
John Morrison	0-2

 

Now before you start scratching your head at some of these, there are some statistics to go over.

- Triple H went coast-to-coast in 2002 (as in he started the match and was also there at the end).

- Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho started a Chamber match twice (2003 and 2008 RAW).

- Edge is the only man to compete in two EC’s in one night. After losing the WWE Championship within the first five minutes of the SMACKDOWN match, Edge took Kofi Kingston out of the RAW match and went on to win the World Heavyweight Championship.

- Summerslam 2003 featured the shortest amount of time in-between combatants. In that match, it was three minutes.

- As noted above, Kane has lost the most amount of Chamber matches without winning one. Chris Jericho’s saving grace was the WHC victory in 2010 SMACKDOWN.

- Undertaker has been amongst the final two in all three matches he has been in. He defeated Batista in 2008 on a wicked Tombstone reversal. In 2009 he was pinned clean by Triple H. In 2010, he was taken out by Shawn Michaels, then pinned by Chris Jericho to lose the World Heavyweight Championship. Between Triple H/Shawn Michaels/Batista, they account for five  of ‘Taker’s matches at Wrestlemania.

- Triple H has been amongst the final two in all six matches he has been in. After losing the 2002 Survivor Series match, Triple H didn’t lose a Chamber match until 2010 when he lost to John Cena via a submission.

- Speaking of John Cena, he has one stat unique to him. He has lost the WWE Championship twice right after an Elimination Chamber match. At 2006’s New Year’s Revolution, he lost to Edge, who had Money in the Bank cashed in. In 2010, he lost to Batista, who had title match granted to him. Both announcements were made by Vince McMahon.

 

- Shawn Michaels is the only man to compete, referee. and interfere in EC matches.

- Undertaker was nearly fried extra crispy in 2010. During his entrance, the fire pyro went up at the wrong place and time, and thus the Phenom more than felt it. He is the only man to be injured during a Chamber match for something other than the match itself.

- Since 2008 when the EC was relegated to the February PPV, the last men standing who were CHAMPIONS have compiled a record of 4-1 at Wrestlemania. The only loser was Edge in 2009 when he lost the WHC to John Cena in a Triple Threat match. For anyone wondering, John Cena did indeed win the WWE Championship in the 2010 RAW Chamber match, and although he lost it mere minutes later, he would re-win the title at Wrestlemania, so the statistic still stands.

-Since 2008 when the EC was relegated to the February PPV, the last men standing who were #1 Contenders have compiled a record of 1-2 at Wrestlemania. The only winner was when Undertaker defeated Batista in the SMACKDOWN 2008 match, then defeated Edge for the WHC at Wrestlemania. Triple H lost at that year’s ‘Mania to Randy Orton, who actually pinned John Cena in that Triple Threat contest. Also, John Cena won his #1 contender RAW match from 2011, but lost at Wrestlemania to The Miz.

- Dolph Ziggler was “fired” from SMACKDOWN in 2011 (for a short time), and therefore his spot in that EC was opened up. Big Show filled the slot.

To wrap this up, this should be the hype-up page for the Chamber coming up February 19th. It’s amongst the most brutal matches in wrestling history, and there hasn’t been a totally bad match of the bunch. Should be a good PPV with two really good Chamber matches, everyone should enjoy this one!

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Viva La Raza: The Eddie Guerrero Tribute Post (10th Anniversary Edition)

On that blustery Sunday afternoon of November the 13th 2005, I was helping my Dad doing what he does best: patch up an automobile.

While I forgot what he was fixing, what happened next I’ll never forget.

My Mom, who was never a fan of sports-entertainment, came rushing out to the porch yelling for me to come inside.

So she told me a wrestler had died, and I was thinking to myself who could it have been? Surely there was a legend, whose years were most likely behind him, who had a short illness and passed on. Maybe even an afterthought on television shows like most jobbers. Tried to downplay this as much as I could.

Until I saw on the computer screen from WWE.com that said, “Eddie Guerrero 1967-2005”.

I broke down and cried.

Amongst the very first times I’ve teared up for something to do with wrestling, it had to do with a performer whose presence was more than welcome on my television screen.
As for my markdom of Eddie so to speak, it has to go all the way back to the first episode of RAW I ever watched back in 2002.

The Rock was making fun of Eddie Guerrero like only The Rock can. “Viva la viva Eddie Guerrero!” It was one of those epic rips I know for sure was a laugh riot then, still is now. It was one of things where surely now it would be a generic-character bad guy being in the Guerrero role, but Guerrero is Latino mothereffin’ Heat y’all, and therefore he looked as good as the competition!

His singular biggest impact on me though would come a few months after that spat with Rocky.

After a months-long feud with Edge, the two combatants were set to square off on SMACKDOWN in a feud-ending No Disqualification match. While the acting was pretty much straight-forward wrestling until the commercial break, the contest post-break was brawling and weapon chicanery to the max!

Edge and Eddie took equal abuse. Whether it’d be a sunset-flip powerbomb or a helo (sorry for my spelling) onto the ladder, both men had the grimaced look of grizzled warriors. The climatic finish saw Edge use his patented Edgecution on Eddie... FROM THE TOP OF A GOD DAMNED LADDER! That’s right, Eddie’s face met nothing but canvas and ate a three count for his troubles. Bloodied from a legitimate cut, Eddie would get a thunderous ovation for his hard work. A bad guy getting applause for his efforts? Another feather in Eddie's cap on his talents. 

For the next year, Eddie would not only turn face, but team up with beloved nephew Chavo on a hellacious run of “Los Guerreros”. The only thing more epic than their matches, and there was quite a few of them, was their vignettes based on the motto of “Lying, Cheating, and Stealing.” Baby bottles and dance parties were amongst the topics not spared for this “dastardly duo”, who seriously had some heel-like attitudes in a face situation. 

No Way Out 2004 though would see Eddie receive his biggest triumph: the WWE Championship. After Frog-Splashing Brock Lesnar (who was taken out by Goldberg), Eddie ran into the crowd where his legitimate family was sitting ringside. Later-shown backstage camera footage saw the locker room pay respect to the veteran, who certainly had a long road before getting the belt.

Long story short, the long road consisted of kicking drug and alcohol habits that should have destroyed him, but didn’t. Eddie turned his life around. He found his savior in Jesus Christ and renewed his vows to beloved wife Vickie. 

2004-2005 would see a character change as Eddie turned heel on friend Rey Mysterio. Bringing in “bastard children” and even Vickie as a rookie WWE on-screen character, the feud was silly, but had tons of great matches in them. Despite all of that, Eddie’s character remained red hot with the fans.

Along this time, Eddie was showing signs of another face turn when he and Batista, then-champion, were tagging and showing respect to one another. They were even going to be on the same team at the Survivor Series, taking on team RAW with Shawn Michaels as the captain.

Eddie’s last appearance on TV saw him beat Mr. Kennedy by DQ, but then get BLASTED in the head with a chair.

Cut back to that Sunday afternoon.

There was a Supershow going to be taped anyway for RAW and SMACKDOWN, but instead of pushing Survivor Series, it became a Eddie Guerrero Tribute. A move people expected, but was appreciated given the circumstances.

Four of the most emotional hours of television ensued. The lines of faces and heels were cast aside as men took each other on in friendly matchups, while others were nowhere near consolable on the matter. Like Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit for example, two long-time friends on the road. You know shit's going down when Rey Mysterio takes off his mask! Speaking of Mysterio, one of the sadder pieces of imagery was the opening to that RAW when they had everyone stand in silence for the bell toll, and fans/wrestlers alike where pretty much stone-cold in their appearance. Rey, having Shawn hold him, looked like a child mourning for his father, and became the most sympathetic person right then and there. Keep in mind Shawn kicked Rey’s head off in one of the best matches of the year, but the two hugged it out like brothers post-match.

Eddie’s autobiography is one of the saddest things ever read too, because of the realization that sets in after closing the final page. If you want to see what I’m talking about, you can order the book here. Literally, the book was released so close after Eddie’s death (very accidentally, that date was chosen for months), that the literary irony doesn’t enter a subconscious until you really think deep down.

For one of the most bizarre analogies ever written, Eddie Guerrero is like Dale Earnhardt. Like Dale’s death in that 2001 Daytona 500 spurred the evolution of safety, Eddie’s death spurred the evolution of health/drug testing. The Wellness Policy, instituted by WWE in early 2006, has not only tested superstar for illegal drug use, but also for medical conditions either pre-existing or not-known. For example, MVP had a heart condition not known about until a Wellness test, and as a result, he got a life-saving pacemaker.

Even ten years on, it hurts as much as it did now as it did then. Eddie is one of the most unique men in wrestling history. While short in stature, he was not short in every other conceivable nature. The skills, persona, charisma, you name it, were in a stratosphere hardly contained by a wrestling ring. In a era now where a ton of new wrestling talent seem to look and sound the same, Eddie was someone who can be looked at as an original.

I have no real ending for this, so with tears welling up yet again, “Thank You Eddie!” 

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