Before this show aired, I made a comment that despite the gimmick and despite the starpower, the show was in danger of being predictable. While I do pride myself on my ability to forsee booking decisions (though you'll see that I've dug myself into a hole so far this year), even the smartest of fans hope to be outsmarted by WWE creative. It's fun to understand the product, but even more fun to be brought to your knees by it.
In the case of the Elimination Chamber, the results were pretty predictable, but the booking to get to them was not. We had some returns, some surprises, and some unique booking decisions all throughout the night. Some worked, some didn't. The important thing is that one of my favorites returned, but we'll get to that later. For now, let's start rating the booking:
Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio - This was rumored to potentially be a title match but I'm glad it wasn't. Knowing that Del Rio would win, there was no reason to give him a midcard title when Kofi could actually utilize the thing. I do like the way Kofi has been booked though. I know he has been losing ad nauseum to ADR, but his attitude towards him has mirrored the one that got him his biggest push last year against Randy Orton. That's something he will need if he ever wants to break that midcard barrier. I'm not sure that's coming just yet, but he looked pretty good against Del Rio and gave him a very solid match. That match was booked very well, as both men looked good and ADR got the "Miz treatment" by getting a solid victory over a midcard champion. These wins help show that these guys are above the midcard, which is important for their believability in the main event. Excellent way to open the show.
Smackdown Elimination Chamber for the World Heavyweight Championship: Edge(c) vs. Kane vs. Wade Barrett vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Drew McIntyre vs. ??? - It was fun to speculate for two days as to who would take Dolph Ziggler's spot in the match. Sadly, between the three men on "Mouthing Off" and our other contributors, not one predicted it right! The reason? It was so obvious that it wasn't obvious. The sixth man was the Big Show, adding another babyface to the fray, and one that had a bone to pick with Wade Barrett. How did we all miss that?
As for the match, it was a lot of fun. I was particularly impressed with Drew McIntyre as he really showed a lot in this match. I liked that they kept him in there a while to try and help him regain a little credibility. What I didn't like as I watched the match was that Rey made it to the final 2 along with Edge. I'm pretty critical of Rey, but his booking borders on ridiculous sometimes. Looking back though, I can understand why he was the guy to be in the final two. For one thing, he and Edge could create the most exciting near falls of the six competitors. Secondly, as a face who has feuded with ADR, the thought could cross your mind that Rey COULD win. The thing about this match is that the winner goes on to main event Wrestlemania. Knowing that ADR is the challenger, the winner has to be a babyface, so having two in the finals makes it at least a little unpredictable in the finish.
The last thing I want to say about this match is that I really liked that nobody got eliminated until everyone was in. That's not something that usually happens and I liked it. This made most of the competitors look tough to eliminate, which is how it should be. Solid all around match, and with Edge retaining, we got our Mania match.........or do we?
Post Match: Christian Returns!!!!! - Now, I predicted Christian to be in the Chamber and to win it, but admittedly, that was more hope than confidence. As a fan of Christian, I want to see him utilized in the main event where he belongs, so I've been hoping for Christian to find a way into the Edge/Del Rio match as I think it adds a great dymanic and simply makes for a better match. I was so happy to hear Christian's music hit when ADR was beating up Edge and I hope this angle goes somewhere. Christian is long overdue for a big program and this should be it. Great return and hopefully the start of great things to come for "Captain Charisma".
New Tough Enough Trainer Announced........Trish Stratus - We got a short segment where Booker T introduced Trish as the second trainer on Tough Enough (Booker was first to be announced). This was basically a time killing segment, as it accomplished nothing other than making the announcement. Trish loooked great, but when she tried to combine Rock, Booker, and Trish into one catchphrase, it was a trainwreck the size of Rikishi's ass. I've always found Trish to be an overrated talent that got a pass on everything due to her fantastic looks and this segment pretty much proved my point. She still looks good, but still can't cut a promo. To be honest, she was always a better antagonist.
WWE Tag Team Championship: Santino Marella & Vladimir Koslov(c) vs. Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel (The Corre) - This has been a feud on Smackdown, but The Corre hadn't been able to secure the gold. Now they have. The match wasn't all that long, and it wasn't all that exciting either, but it accomplished the title change which I think was probably where WWE wants to go. It will probably be Nexus vs. Corre going towards Mania, while I fully expect a great backstage segment between Rock and Santino at this show. Wrestlemania is about utilizing your talents properly, and while mos have been really enjoying Santino's development in the ring, he's comedy personified and will do that at the big show. This Slater/Gabriel team is now two time champs and are somehow one of the most credible teams around. I'm predicting Nexus, but heel vs. heel? I need to know who else can challenge this team though.......
Vicki pleads for Dolph but gets a surprise - Another time killing segment, this one might have actually been worse than the first one. At least the first one garnered a decent pop for Trish. This segment had Vicki plead for Dolph's job, only for Teddy to rehire someone else, Kelly Kelly. She got an ok reaction, but Kelly isn't a big enough attraction to return on a PPV in my opinion. Of course, Kelly attacked Vicki, LayCool help Vicki, and then Trish comes out to help Kelly. Some may have liked it, but watching Trish botch moves was pretty painful for me. I know she tweeted her excuse which was that she was in heels, but go back and watch her matches for most of her career. Trust me when I tell you that she was botchtastic in wrestling boots as well. There's a reason that I find her overrated (greatest female talent my touchas!!!) and she continues to prove that her looks got her everything even to this day. Still, her looks are top notch and I like her even more as a brunette, but if plans call for her to wrestle at Mania (and they might), she better get to work as Michelle McCool could very easily outwrestle her these days.
WWE Championship: The Miz(c) vs. Jerry "The King" Lawler - On the surface, this was a 61 year old former star wrestling against WWE's newest franchise player. If you didn't follow the story, you would think that it was a throwaway and nothing else. What we got was the polar opposite. Jerry Lawler gave us all he had, and the psychology of this match came through beautifully. As we saw Miz's supporters get tossed from ringside (Riley) and taken out via physical means (Cole), the possibility of Jerry Lawler actually winning started looking very real. At this point, you knew Miz couldn't weasel his way out and had to beat Lawler himself, and in this case, he did just that. When Miz hit th Skull Crushing Finale, hearts were crushed too, as Lawler's dream died in the following three seconds. It was a great story while it lasted, and one that you don't get to see on a regular basis. It's not your typical WWE title match, but that's what made it intriguing. The story was great and the match itself wasn't terrible. Even without big spots and incredible moves, I was interested. THAT is the sign of great storytelling.
PS: Michael Cole celebrating in the ring afterwords was a nice touch. He didn't help Miz win, but he pissed off Lawler anyway. It should be exciting to see where this rivalry goes.
Quick Note: John Cena eating fruity pebbles was a nice touch. Might as well play right into the joke!
#1 Contender Elimination Chamber: John Morrison vs. CM Punk vs. Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. R-Truth vs. Sheamus - This match was also pretty obvious as to who would come out on top. About the only "swerve" anyone thought could happen was John Morrison coming out on top, leaving Cena to feud with The Great One. Those of us with a brain realize that Rock isn't going to wrestle at Mania so the winner was obvious, but that doesn't mean we couldn't get a quality chamber match. I believe we did.
The highlight of the match, which is becoming commonplace these days, was John Morrison. The dude IS Spiderman and he continues to use his creativity to wow the crowd. It's just plain fun to watch Morrison in gimmick matches and for that reason, I kind of want him in Money in the Bank even if he probably deserves a singles match at this point.
Also of note was the "faulty pod". Punk's pod wouldn't open, and he got stuck, leaving Orton to beat him up while immobile. This led to a quick RKO and elimination, but the GM reversed the decision. Of course, Punk was put back in the faulty pod, which opened just fine the next time. You have to suspend your disbelief in wrestling, but that was kind of amusing. Still, it was unique booking to say the least and it worked. Punk ended up eliminating Orton and that feud is probably the most heated in the WWE behind Lawler/Cole. Well done in allowing that feud to grow even more.
R-Truth lasted about 5 seconds in this match. No word on whether he knew what city he was in............and Sheamus was tough, but basically irrelevant. He has really moved down the ladder as he is most certainly behind Punk and Miz in terms of top heels on Raw. Keep in mind that's as much to do with the quality work those men do as it is the negatives about Sheamus.
The match ended abruptly after Punk pinned Morrison (which I'd still like to see that feud again) and then Cena hitting the AA onto the steel on Punk for the win. The match had some great spots and excitement, but we all knew who would win. Given that fact, it ended up working pretty well.
All in all, this was a very successful Pay Per View in my opinion, and Wrestlemania is starting to really shape out. I am personally very excited for that show, and I think the combination of young talent, big draws, heated feuds, and special appearances will be just right for this show. The Elimination Chamber simply did its part in moving in the right direction, and that's what it should do. No issues with booking here, though I must end this article with my head down.
For the second show in a row, Christian costed me the picks crown. This show goes to SM Punk, Eric Kravit, and Jennifer Garcia, who all successfully picked every match sans the tag titles. As an aside, Jennifer is the girlfriend of SM Punk, so I'm sure that given these results, there will be anxiety in that relationship as to who will outshine whom when it comes to Wrestlemania picks. If I was him, I'd just be grateful to have a girlfriend who loves wrestling! Still, my fire has been lit and I don't plan on letting either outpick me on the grandest stage of them all!
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