Soon WWE once again is going to unlock the belly of the beast, when it is time for Elimination Chamber.
Since 2002, WWE wrestlers have entered this devilish structure in hopes of getting to the pinnacle of their careers, WrestleMania.
Over the years and years, the Chamber has called for victims, a few interesting stories have developed around it and today we try to cover a lot of them.
11. The Undertaker Burned His Coat While Entering The Ring
The Road to WrestleMania 26 certainly wasn’t all fun for the ‘Deadman’ in 2010.
In what could have been perceived as a devilish attack by his pyromaniac-brother, Kane, this wasn’t planned at all.
During his entrance towards the chamber, Undertaker’s iconic coat caught fire on his pyro and Undertaker had to storm to the ring, while suffering from legit burns.
10. Edge Survived The Chamber As Champion In 2011
In one of his last wrestling appearances before his first retirement, Edge dominated the chamber as very few others did.
Winning inside the structure is one thing, but defending your World Title inside is a whole different ballgame.
Since then a few champions survived the chamber, but before Edge, only John Cena and Triple H were able to climb that mountain.
The Chamber serves as a final test before you can enter WrestleMania as champion and Edge certainly did by defeating Wade Barrett, Drew McIntyre, Big Show, Kane and Rey Mysterio that night.
9. Edge Did The First MITB Cash-In Ever After The Chamber Lifted
In 2006 the Elimination Chamber happened as part of the New Year’s Revolution Pay-Per-View.
The Money in the Bank concept was very new then and Edge held on to his briefcase for almost a year, when he finally decided to cash it in.
John Cena, who survived the Chamber as champion that night, was surprised and overrun by the shocking and novel moment, which was announced to him by Vince McMahon after the Elimination Chamber match.
Of course, Edge was able to win the WWE Championship that night, making history in the process.
8. Shawn Michaels Appeared From The Insides Of The Chamber In 2010
As if being burned wasn’t enough, The Undertaker got screwed in 2010 and lost his World Heavyweight Championship to Chris Jericho.
It is very rare that a person not involved in the match does interfere. Shawn Michaels did hide inside the floor of the chamber, waiting for the opportune moment.
The ageing Mr WrestleMania never got over the fact that he almost did beat The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak, but yet failed.
Since Undertaker wasn’t going to grant him another chance, Michaels took matters into his own hands that night.
7. Kalisto Fell From The Middle Of The Chamber
The Chamber, given its very climbable structure, was the scene of many breathtaking spots over the years.
However, few of them come close to the height and style of one Kalisto, in what may have been his career moment so far.
During the 2015 Tag Team Elimination Chamber match, Kalisto managed to climb up into the middle of the structure’s dome, which it had back then.
Nobody has done this before and after Kalisto arrived there, he launched himself into his peers down in the ring to a thunderous reaction.
6. Mark Henry Once Entered The Match Too Soon
The 2015 Elimination Chamber event was also remembered for one special happening.
During the Intercontinental Championship Elimination Chamber, which was eventually won by Ryback, Mark Henry’s pod was opened way earlier than planned.
When Dolph Ziggler tackled Wade Barrett into Henry’s pod, the window simply collapsed and Mark Henry walked right into the match.
The match fell apart after that, which had Dolph Ziggler trying to save a doomed match by shouting directions.
5. There Was An ‘Extreme’ Elimination Chamber
16 tons of steel. The haunted structure of pain. No man stepping inside will ever be the same coming out.
That is how WWE has promoted the Chamber over the years. In 2006, however, this was not enough! WWE felt like the Chamber needed more.
Which meant everyone got weapons, thus creating the first and only ‘Extreme’ Elimination Chamber.
The match fell apart due to multiple replacements and backstage politics. When Paul Heyman and Vince McMahon couldn’t agree if CM Punk or Bobby Lashley should win the match and McMahon decided on Lashley, Heyman even left the company.
The match was unable to win fans over and the extreme version of the match never to be seen again.
4. 2018 Saw the First And Only Seven-Man Elimination Chamber
At the 2018 Elimination Chamber, we saw the first ever seven-man Chamber match.
Usually, the format sees four wrestlers enter the pods and the last two to enter will begin a singles match. After some time has passed, a wrestler will be released from a pod into the match, and this continues until all participants have entered.
Former Raw General Manager Kurt Angle held qualification matches to determine the six hopefuls, one of which would face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 34 for the Universal Title.
For the final spot, a four-way between Bray Wyatt, Apollo Crews, Matt Hardy and Finn Bálor was announced. Seth Rollins was later added to make it a five-way.
When Bálor and Rollins both pinned Wyatt at the same time, Angle decided to have both men enter the Chamber – thus making it the first-ever and only seven-man Elimination Chamber match.
3. Germany calls the show ‘No Escape’
When WWE decided to rename its annual ‘No Way Out’ pay-per-view in 2010, the show kept its name in Germany.
After ‘No Way Out’ returned in June 2012, WWE decided to give the Chamber show a new name in Germany: ‘No Escape’. A name that has been kept ever since.
But why the special treatment in Germany? WWE feared the ‘Elimination Chamber’ name could be linked to the holocaust.
Why WWE hasn’t just decided on a name that works globally, rather than spending money by marketing two different names for the same show, is anyone’s guess.
2. WWE Wanted To End The Chamber
In 2015, suddenly the Chamber was replaced as the final stop before WrestleMania with the basic non-gimmick pay-per-view Fastlane.
Stephanie McMahon later explained that most new arenas are unable to support the chamber setup.
There was a chamber match in 2015 but it happened later in the year instead of before WrestleMania.
The popular format then returned two years later with a new structure that today’s arenas would support.
1. Triple H Is The King Of The Chamber
In order to conquer the Elimination Chamber and enter WrestleMania, it takes incredible endurance and tons of will. Something that Triple H certainly has.
The ‘Cerebral Assassin’ has won four out of his six Elimination Chamber matches.
Nobody has won more matches inside the belly of the best. Only 2002 and 2010 saw Triple H suffer a defeat in the structure.
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