Review: WWE Elimination Chamber 2017

On 12th February, WWE's Smackdown brand took it's final major pit-stop before WrestleMania 33 as the Elimination Chamber returned for the first time in almost two years. The titular match saw AJ Styles, The Miz, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt and Baron Corbin challenging for John Cena's WWE Championship in the evenings main event, whilst Randy Orton, Dolph Ziggler, Natalya, Mickie James and Nikki Bella were also featured on the three hour show. The direction for the biggest show of the year would become a lot clearer heading out of the Phoenix, Arizona show, but would Elimination Chamber be worth the watch?

Kick Off

Mojo Rawley def. Curt Hawkins (6:58) 

A couple of minutes into this one, I was watching GIF's of JBL falling over on Twitter. Therefore it would be difficult for me to really comment on the quality of anything after those first few exchanges. However, I had absolutely no reason to care about either of these two guys and their reasons for having this match were confusing at best and then there was very little that grabbed me or made me want to keep my attention on Rawley and Hawkins at gone midnight. This match was perhaps a symptom of booking six wrestlers in the main event and every tag team on the brand in the same match, as it meant that Rawley and Hawkins were pretty much the only two wrestlers that were left available for the Kick-Off show spot. In it's defense, the crowd sounded like they were pretty into it, but that may have been down to the excitement of a city hosting it's first WWE PPV in over four years.

Main Show

Becky Lynch def. Mickie James (11:45) 

The opening match found it's groove early doors and developed into a solid, enjoyable contest. The pair wrestled a nice technical contest, that had plenty of animosity behind it and played out in front of a healthily invested audience. The bulk of the contest revolved around James focusing on Lynch's arm, following catching The Lass Kicker on the way into the ring, with Becky doing a cracking job of selling the arm and helping keep that part of the narrative in the audiences mind throughout. The bout however felt a little cockeyed in it's layout, feeling like it was beginning to elongate it's second act out, before cutting itself short just when it appeared like it was about to get going. For me, the work on the arm could have been used to develop stronger near falls for James and developed to create more issues for Lynch, to the point where I was questioning just how Lynch was going to pull out a victory over the 3 time TNA Knockout's Champion. 

Apollo Crews [Uhaa Nation], Kalisto def. Dolph Ziggler (7:20)

I'm still trying to think about what the aim of this match was. I'm sure that those aims weren't to get wild cheers for Dolph Ziggler battering babyfaces Apollo Crews and Kalisto with a steel chair, but then again Ziggler was the one in the two on one handicap match, so who the fuck knows. The bulk of the match boiled down to a Ziggler v Crews singles match, after The Show Off had chucked Kalisto into part of the set, before the babyfaces picked up the win when Kalisto "bravely" made his way back down to the ring for a two on one assault. The more I think about this match, the more it actually caused me mental (and perhaps physical) pain. The time would have been much better used on a decent singles match between Ziggler and either babyface, with their previous TV matches being used to develop something resembling a character for either. 

American Alpha (Chad Gable, Jason Jordan) def. Rhyno [Rhino] & Heath Slater, The Usos (Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso), The Vaudevillains (Aiden English & Simon Gotch), The Ascension (Konnor, Viktor), Breezango (Fandango, Tyler Breeze) in Tag Team Turmoil to retain WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship (21:05)

The first championship contest of the evening, all Smackdown's tag teams got a run-out in a match that seemed to designed to take up as much screen time, with as little build as possible. The bulk of the match was taken up by the on again, off again, feud between the title-holders American Alpha and The Usos with the two having a decent (albeit with a sloppy finish) six minutes collision, that demonstrated the potential the two teams have together. It's a shame that this feud has been rolling along since the brand split and has yet to be fully captilised upon and could very well find itself lost in the shuffle when the card for WrestleMania 33 is put together. The post-match attack by Jimmy & Jey, that continued to showcase the fire shown in the match, set-up a dramatic conclusion where The Ascension attempted to capitilise on the fallen champions. This was helped by some smart booking where Viktor and Konnor had picked up a pinfall in a multi-team bout on the go-home Smackdown Live. A trick was perhaps missed in not having The Ascension take the belts, as it would have provided extra material to burn through on the next seven episodes between now and WrestleMania, whilst also making American Alpha's issues with The Usos bigger and lifting The Ascension from tag team fodder for at least a couple of weeks. 

The earlier portion of the bout was watchable, carried by how over Heath Slater & Rhyno remain with the audience. The duo's involvement in the first three sections of Tag Team Turmoil worked it's job of putting some heat on The Usos, but the trio of matches were nothing to get excited about. The opener with Breezango never seemed to click, floating through some awkward comedy, but The Man Beast's match winning Gore made things worthwhile. The Vaudevillains struggle on the main roster was showcased as they fell to Slater & Rhyno in just over two minutes. The idea was obviously to build momentum behind the babyfaces, that could be transferred over as heat for The Usos followed the elimination and to an extent it was successful in it's aims. As a whole, the bout suffered from the problems that the majority of types of matches do, in that in trying to tell an arch across five matches, each individual clash was underdeveloped and even the more exciting streaks of action struggled to stand out across the a mostly beige backing. 

Nikki Bella v Natalya ended in a Double Countout (13:15) 

Let's get the finish out of the way early...a Double Countout is pretty lame no matter how many PPV/Special Events/Network Specials/Extra Value Sports Entertainment Deals, you host a month. The two women did the best they could with it, having a fierce brawl up the entrance way, that will perhaps make a rematch stronger, but having wrestled for almost fifteen minutes, it wasn't what this programme needed. I was relatively high on this match before it broke down, as Natalya and Bella put together some decent technical exchanges, as an unusual narrative of The Fearless One looking to prove her wrestling chops to her more critically acclaimed opponent, whilst still having an underlying edge bitterness between the duo. The sequence of submissions just before the finish was a clear highlight. Even without a definitive finish, this was a match that more than held it's own with the other two Women's bouts on the card. 

Randy Orton def. Luke Harper (17:13)

In the only male one on one contest on the card, Luke Harper produced his strongest singles match outing in WWE and arguably Orton's best since he stole the show at WrestleMania 31 with Seth Rollins. It wasn't a particularly complicated contest, sticking to a familiar structure, but the pair did the fundamentals well, drawing in the live crowd and taking them on a journey in the process. The two showed real ring intelligence, starting with a wild brawl around ringside, which initially grabbed the interest, before The Viper took the sting out of the contest with a series of wear down holds. This lead to the people, who had been mostly behind Orton from the outset, beginning to root more and more for Harper, with a near perfect build into The Backwoods Brawler's fiery and flashy rebound.

The contest's second part was built around Harper's momentum continuing to build, as he picked up a number of near falls on the 8 time WWE Champion, including a sweet sequence into a sitout powerbomb. The flash finish with The Apex Predator hitting an RKO out of the proverbial nowhere, gives room for a potential rematch and with the issues involving the Wyatt Family yet to be settle the chances that these two will tangle again over the next few weeks, months and years are high. A rematch under relaxed rules could tear the house down. With the two mixing technical and brawling style throughout the contest and doing the basic to a high standard, this became a real sleeper contest, easily the strongest bout on the undercard.  It wasn't anything new but, just like a good Ploughman's sandwich, each ingredient was done well, creating a tasty combination.

Naomi def. Alexa Bliss to win WWE Smackdown Women's Championship (8:18) 

Curiously placed between the semi-main and main event, Naomi capturing her first championship in WWE, was the shortest and weakest of Women's trio. The match wasn't given enough time to really find it's feet, but the moments that the two had to potentially shine were often awkward or mistimed. The finish in particular was more than a little confusing to follow, with Naomi's split legged moonsault and Bliss' Twisted Bliss seemingly happening about four times in various combinations before Naomi got the pin. The confusion surrounding the finish took away the feel good moment of the former Funkadactyl grabbing gold, at least for me anyway. The main positive I took away from the bout was the strength of Bliss' character, which drove the story and kept me from drifting to social media at a couple of points. Both of the women have bags of potential and getting to work with Becky Lynch, Natalya and Mickie James on a regular basis will almost certainly push them to deliver on that potential.

Bray Wyatt def. John Cena, AJ Styles, The Miz, Dean Ambrose, Baron Corbin in an Elimination Chamber Match to win the WWE Championship (34:26)

The main event of the show was one of the best booked Elimination Chamber matches that I can remember with almost every step along the way getting the very best out of the talent involved, managing to create a compelling, exciting contest, that managed to create potential friction for future events, whilst providing a satisfyingly clean finish that propelled the winner Bray Wyatt into the upper echelon. Perhaps the best piece of business done was having John Cena and AJ Styles start the match and act as the spine or glue, continuing their epic in-ring feud. I could watch these two wrestle for days and it got the crowd pumped from the very beginning. Whenever the pair came back together (also extended to having Dean Ambrose come out third, calling back to their No Mercy three way was nice touch) there was an extra jolt of energy and with the two spending over half an hour in the Chamber, meaning that if there was ever a risk of thing beginning to drag, Cena and Styles would run through a sequence and you straight back into wizardry and wonder. Cena and Styles forever. 

Outside of the Cena and Styles love-in the Chamber did two other things particularly well, that being it's abundance of big highspots or moments and the timing, and also placement, of it's eliminations. The bulk of the craziness took place before the first elimination, taking advantage of the bodies filling up the structure and the new design to create chaos that perhaps hasn't been seen in this type of match before. Ambrose's whirlwind of offence after entering five minutes in, somehow managed to build into The Lunatic Fringe, Cena and Styles battling on a ledge installed half way up the chamber, in a stunning visual, before the madness peaked with an impressive take on the tower of doom from Ambrose, Styles and Wyatt. The bout settled soon after with the elimination beginning about 20 minutes in, with a nice domino effect that saw Corbin, Ambrose and Miz gone with a space of five minutes. Corbin's attack on Ambrose following the elimination, should begin an interesting Intercontinental title feud and made The Big Breakfast look like a real monstrous bastard. 

Wyatt winning the WWE Championship was an emotional moment for anyone who has followed The Eater of World's tumultuous career, since he debuted as "The Tank with the Ferrari Engine" Husky Harris on the second series of NXT in 2010. After his ups and downs, call ups and set backs, it was immensely satisfying to see someone, who has clearly worked his arse off, reach a career highlight. Having Bray pin both Cena and Styles with Sister Abigail, put a real exclamation point on the win, instantly lifting Wyatt up to the next level and legitimising his title reign before it even properly began. Whilst The New Face of Fear isn't quite as hot as 2014-15 when he was ripping it up with Cena, Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns, but a length of time with Wyatt at the helm of the blue brand has heaps of potential, especially with the initial storytelling possibilities with Randy Orton and Luke Harper over the WrestleMania period and beyond. 

Talking Smack

The main feature of the Renee Young and Daniel Bryan post-show was a chat with Alexa Bliss and Mickie James. Both gave pretty separate interviews, continuing to be an unconvincing partnership, with no particular chemistry and even contradicting outlooks. Bliss however gave another good accounting of herself as an individual character, listing a number of reasons for why she lost her Smackdown Women's Championship to Naomi, that seemed to be anything but giving praise to her opponent. For me, James' promo didn't really work, as she rambled for a long time and looked uncomfortable with the more relaxed style of the show.

• American Alpha were interviewed about retaining their Smackdown Tag Team Championships and The Usos attack.
• An interview with Naomi closed the show with a big focus on WrestleMania taking place in her hometown.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.71/10

Show in a Sentence : A superb main event, but only Orton v Harper managed to stand out on the undercard, although only the Handicap match was distinctly poor, mainly because of the head spinning booking.

Review - James Marston

Twitter - @ATPWrestling 

Facebook - /acrossthepondwrestling 

Instagram - @ATPWrestling

Retro Review: WWE No Way Out 2009

Get your retro hats and your old-school slippers on and settle in for Retro Review!

In this edition we head back to 15th February 2009 and the 10th incarnation of WWE's No Way Out. Barack Obama was the President of the United States, Gordon Brown was the Prime Minister in the UK. Lily Allen was at the top of the UK charts with The Fear, whilst Lady Gaga's Just Dance was ruling all across the pond. Romantic comedy He's Just Not That Into You was doing bits at the box office, but was WWE producing a quality PPV?


The show was main evented by an Elimination Chamber match for John Cena's World Heavyweight Championship, with Chris Jericho, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Mike Knox and Rey Mysterio all gunning for the prize. Edge also defended his WWE Championship inside the Chamber, with Jeff Hardy, The Big Show, The Undertaker, Triple H and Vladimir Kozlov all chasing the belt, whilst Shane McMahon and Randy Orton tangled in a No Holds Barred match. With just two other matches on the card, including one for the ECW Championship, did No Way Out leave WWE in good stead heading into the 25th Anniversary (sic) of WrestleMania? Let's find out.

The Seattle crowd were treated to Melina retaining the Women's Championship over Beth Phoenix (accompanied by Rosa Mendes & Santino Marella) in the dark match. We also get three seperate commentary teams for the show, as Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler takes charge for the main event, the All or Nothing and No Holds Barred matches, Jim Ross and Tazz take care of the opener and Matt Striker and Todd Grisham are on hand for the ECW Championship match.

Match 1

WWE Championship Elimination Chamber

Edge vs. Jeff Hardy vs. The Big Show vs. The Undertaker vs. Triple H vs. Vladimir Kozlov

The first thing I noticed about this match is the sheer star power involved. For an opening match to have five wrestler who have a very good case to be in the WWE Hall of Fame is an incredible, and the reaction that each of the guys get's is fantastic. Even poor old Vladimir Kozlov was being pushed as a star at the time on the Smackdown brand, even if the crowd clearly hasn't taken to him being in a such a match. Whilst the match doesn't start until about 15 minutes into the show, the big names making their way to the ring keeps the crowd nice and warm before Jeff Hardy and Edge can get things going.

The booking of this bout is superb, with an ebb and flow that get's the crowd roaring by the end of the match. Having Jeff Hardy eliminate the WWE Champion Edge before the third participant entered the match was a masterstroke, as it came completely out of the blue. The spear into small package spot was done well and Edge sold the moment nicely with a look of complete surprise upon his face. Having Hardy get the pin on Edge, allowed the babyface to get his revenge for Edge taking his WWE Championship at the previous month's Royal Rumble PPV, without actually winning back the title. The whole opening sequence between Hardy and Edge was top notch.

It has to be said that Vladimir Kozlov's involvement does drag the bout down a little. Kozlov just wasn't cut out for performing at this level, as can clearly be seen in his dull section of action with Jeff Hardy, once he enters the match. He's clearly out of his depth with guys like Jeff Hardy and Triple H, with his offence looking sloppy and selling unconvincing. Perhaps his best involvement in the match is opposite the fiery Undertaker, who comes in like a house on fire, and eliminates Kozlov after a Last Ride. As a stark contrast to Kozlov, The Undertaker is the star of the bout, putting on fantastic performance, with a number of little details that are often forgotten by today's top stars. Even when Undertaker was inside his pod, he always looked ready to enter the match and looked like he couldn't wait to get out and inflict some damage, which added a lot to when he finally made got released. 

Triple H and The Undertaker showed glimpses of the brilliance that would combine to produce two memorable matches at WrestleMania in years to come, as The Game and The Deadman end up as the final competitors in the bout. The two going back and forth with some big moves has the crowd on the edge of their seats and it's magical to see a crowd so hooked on the action, it definitely adds an extra elements as a viewer at home. The finish is one that's been used numerous times and in different ways, but still looked impressive as Undertaker was able to use the ropes to get Triple H into the Tombstone Piledriver position, only for the Game to reverse and hit a Pedigree to pick up his 8th WWE Championship. This would be The Cerebral Assassin's final reign with the title. 

Order of Elimination

1st - Edge via pinfall (Jeff Hardy - Small Package) 

2nd - Vladimir Kozlov via pinfall (Undertaker - Last Ride)

3rd - The Big Show via pinfall (Jeff Hardy - Swanton Bomb)

4th - Jeff Hardy via pinfall (Undertaker - Tombstone Piledriver)

5th - The Undertaker via pinfall (Triple H - Pedigree)

Winner - Triple H in 36 minutes - *NEW CHAMPION* 

Next PPV 

At April's WrestleMania 25, Triple H would go on to succesfully retain the WWE Championship against Randy Orton in the main event, The Undertaker would put on a classic with Shawn Michaels, Edge would drop the World Heavyweight Championship (more on that in a moment) to John Cena in a Triple Threat also involving The Big Show and Jeff Hardy would put over brother Matt in an Extreme Rules match. Vladimir Kozlov wouldn't get another PPV appearance until September 2010's Night of Champions, teaming with Santino Marella in a Tag Team Turmoil match for the WWE Tag Team Championships, that also involved The Usos, The Hart Dynasty, the makeshift duo of Mark Henry & Evan Bourne, as well as eventual winners, Cody Rhodes & Drew McIntyre.

Match 2

No Holds Barred

Randy Orton vs. Shane McMahon

It'd be easy to quickly write off Randy Orton and Shane McMahon's No Holds Barred match, if you haven't seen it, but this is the best non-Elimination Chamber match on the card, by quite some way. Obviously this one isn't going to be a technical wrestling classic, but that's not what the storyline called for. This is a brutal, spot-based contest that see's both men put in strong performances, with both Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase also adding to the bout. Orton moving off the announce table just in time, as McMahon comes flying off the top rope with an elbow drop, is a superb spot, that is well-timed and looks really quite painful. Orton dripping with blood also creates a great visual and there's even an element of storytelling with McMahon focusing in on The Legend Killers ankle with a number of chair shots.

What let's this one down is the crowd. They honestly couldn't give a shit about Shane McMahon, and are only mildly interested in what Randy Orton has for them. It's a real shame as the two do put on a good match, but neither seems particularly interested in getting the crowd into the action. This might have been alright if this was short bout, but when a contest goes almost twenty minutes, it needs a crowd to be invested in the characters involved in the match. Orton's flash RKO for the victory does get a decent pop, but it's really not befitting of someone who's weeks away from a WrestleMania main event! 


Next PPV - As mentioned earlier Randy Orton would go on to be on the losing side of WWE Championship main event at WrestleMania, to Triple H. Shane McMahon would next get his face on PPV at April's Backlash event, in a bizarre six man tag team match, being joined by Triple H and Batista to take on Orton, Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes, in a match that would see Orton win the WWE Championship.

Match 3

ECW Championship

Finlay w/Hornswoggle vs. Jack Swagger (C)

This bout should have been the sleeper of the show, with both men known for their technical stylings. Unfortunately, something seems to go terribly wrong about two or three minutes in the clash and it's clear that neither man has a clue what's going on. Whilst Finlay attempts to lead Swagger, the then ECW Champion's lack of experience shines through (This is only Swagger's 2nd PPV bout) when he randomly works the Irishman's arm. It's a painful watch at points, with the KeyArena clearly not interested in the action, there's almost an audible sigh of relief when a clunky closing sequence see's Swagger retain with a Gutwrench Powerbomb.

Winner

Jack Swagger via pinfall (Gutwrench Powerbomb) in 8 minutes

Next PPV - Despite being ECW Champion there was no place on the WrestleMania 25 card for Jack Swagger, he'd have to wait until Backlash, where he'd drop the ECW title to Christian. Finlay made it onto WrestleMania however, featuring in the Money in the Bank Ladder match with Christian, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Mark Henry, Montel Vontavious Porter, Shelton Benjamin and winner, CM Punk.

Match 4 

All Or Nothing

Shawn Michaels vs. John "Bradshaw" Layfield

There isn't such a thing as a bad Shawn Michaels match, but this comes pretty damn close to it. The whole match is pretty much set up for an involvement from Michaels wife, Rebecca (the commentary team made sure we knew she'd be involved by constantly referencing her and how the current storyline (which was shit, by the way) had effect Michaels family). So what we get is JBL beating on Michaels for over ten minutes with his dull offence, before he mouths off at Rebecca who punches him, this somehow fires up Michaels enough to hit a Superkick and win. It's cheesy as Welsh rarebit and doesn't make much sense, but at least it was an end to this piss-poor feud before it could stink up WrestleMania 25.

Winner

Shawn Michaels via pinfall (Sweet Chin Music) in 13 minutes, 19 seconds

Next PPV

Shawn Michaels would join The Undertaker at WrestleMania to put on what is considered one of the best matches of all time. JBL would go onto win the Intercontinental Championship from CM Punk on Monday Night RAW #824, before dropping the belt in 21 seconds to Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania! 

Match 5

World Heavyweight Championship Elimination Chamber

Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Kofi Kingston Edge vs. Kane vs. Mike Knox vs. John Cena (C)

What a brilliant twist there is before the match can even begin! Edge attacking Kofi Kingston as he makes his way to the ring, clattering him with a chair on the steel steps, is one of the most memorable moments of 2009. Whilst it signalled the end of Kofi Kingston's experimental push, and it could be argued that Edge then becoming part of the match didn't make a whole lot of sense, the crowd is woken up and the match that seemed pretty straight forward heading in (CENAWINSLOL) was turned on it's head. This was WWE doing something outside of the box and create a whole new dimension to the main event, shifting the road to WrestleMania into a different lane.

Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio give us a completely different -start to the earlier Chamber, but work equally as well together as Edge and Hardy did. It's a clever decision to have the two start the match, as their smooth exchanges get the crowd warmed back up following two disappointing matches. Whilst the crowd couldn't give a fuck about Mr. 10:15, Mike Knox, they do pop hard for an excellent dive off the top one of the pods from Mysterio that eliminates Kane. The commentary teams quickly get's over the Mysterio gaining redemption on Kane for their feud from earlier in the year, which is a nice touch. 

Whilst the crowd lulled a little bit in the middle, John Cena's entry brought some much needed energy into the bout as the World Heavyweight Champion comes charging out of his pod. Cena gets treated like a big star by both the crowd and the booking team, as he ends up taking a Codebreaker, a 619 and a Spear before Edge eliminated him. Just as Edge's early elimination had a big effect on the earlier Chamber, this completely changes the feel of the match. The current champion not being part of the final three means that we're definitely going to get a new World Heavyweight title holder and the KeyArena got hot quickly. Another risky piece of booking for the main event, especially taking the title off of Cena just before the biggest show of the year, but it definitely makes for great viewing six years later.

The final three of Edge, Rey Mysterio and Chris Jericho combine to create some world class action, making use of all three's notable talents. Once Mysterio eliminates Jericho, we get not only some smashing storyline development between Mysterio and Edge (based around Edge taking out Mysterio's friend Kofi Kingston earlier on), but some superb action that has the crowd willing Mysterio on all the way. There's some huge near falls as Mysterio works the perfect underdog roll, with the crowd clearly believing that Mysterio would win the match, due to Edge still being part of the Smackdown roster. The reaction Edge winning the title after hitting Mysterio with a spear is huge, as the PPV encompassing story comes to a close. A quality finish to an excellent main event, the finishing sequence pushes this match just ahead of the opener to claim the Match of the Night crown.

Next PPV

Edge would drop the World Heavyweight Championship back to John Cena at WrestleMania in a Triple Threat that also included The Big Show, after Cena had previously won a title match by disqualification on Monday Night RAW #823. Rey Mysterio would defeat John Bradshaw Layfield in 21 seconds to win the Intercontinental Championship on the same PPV. Chris Jericho would defeat the legendary trio of Jimmy Snuka, Ricky Steamboat & Roddy Piper, before getting beaten up by Ric Flair and Mickey Rourke, whilst Kane would be unsuccesful in the Money in the Bank ladder match. 

This was the last WWE PPV appearance of Mike Knox, however his last match for the company didn't come until April of the next year (A losing effort against JTG on Friday Night Smackdown). Knox would re-emerge in TNA for his next PPV appearance at Final Resolution 2012, as a masked member of Aces and Eights alongside Devon, DOC and another masked indivdual (Florida-based CJ O'Doyle) in a losing effort to Garrett Bischoff, Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe and Wes Brisco. That's one hell of a fall for Mr. 10:15. 

Finally...

ATPW Rating - 7.5

In a show full of future Hall of Famers, Edge became the star of the show. Having the PPV book ended by his story, gives this show a unique feel for a WWE PPV, with the Rated R Superstar putting in two performances worthy of a WWE Hall of Famer. His wrestling is spot on throughout, his opportunistic character shine all night long and the crowd is into everything he does. If there's one PPV that encapsulates every think that's great about the Ultimate Opportunist gimmick, No Way Out 2009 is that PPV.


Despite the two other matches falling flat, the three headline bouts all deliver above and beyond expectations. If WWE had managed to put on two more decent undercard bouts and found space for the likes of CM Punk in the Chambers, instead of Vladimir Kozlov and Mike Knox (seriously, why didn't Edge take Knox out, instead of Kingston?) then the score for this show would have ridiculously high for a WWE PPV. Still this the highest rating for a WWE PPV so far, putting it just behind NXT Takeover: Respect and PROGRESS Chapter 21: You Know We Don't Like to Use the Sit Down Gun on the ATPW Scale leader board.


Definitely worth a look on the WWE Network if you have three hours to space.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2015 DVD Review (UK & EUROPE EXCLUSIVE)

WWE Elimination Chamber 2015 is out on DVD now, available from wwedvd.co.uk and all other reputable DVD stockists. Broadcast live on the WWE Network from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA on 31st May 2015. The show features Seth Rollins defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event against Dean Ambrose. There's also five other matches featuring the likes of Cesaro, Kevin Owens, Kalisto, Neville and Paige in action with two Elimination Chamber bouts on the card. The Intercontinental, WWE Tag Team aThe entrancnd Diva's Championships are also up for grabs. The disc includes over ten minutes of special features, including one further match. Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and John "Bradshaw" Layfield provide the commentary.

Due to starting off with an Elimination Chamber this DVD is slow to get into the action, taking over ten minutes before the first bell rings, but if you're a fan of entrances you'll be buzzing here. The first Elimination Chamber of the night features The New Day defending the WWE Tag Team Championships against The Lucha Dragons, The Ascension, Tyson Kidd & Cesaro (with Natalya), Los Matadores (with El Torito) and The Prime Time Players, in what is by far the better of the two Chamber matches on offer here. The novelty of this being the first tag team Chamber certainly helps things along, creating a good spectacle, whilst the creativity of guys like Cesaro and Tyson Kidd also add to the enjoyment here.

A Triple Threat bout for the Nikki Bella's Diva's Championship, including Naomi and Paige, has plenty of good ideas but is plagued with mistakes and plays out in front of a dead crowd. The crowd wakes up for a classic Champion vs. Champion contest between Kevin Owens and John Cena, as the pair load the bout full of action from start to finish. The match is a back and forth affair that heralds Owens' arrival in WWE in style, with plenty of big moves and big near falls. It's a match that Neville and Bo Dallas struggle to follow, as they go through the motions in a pretty dull contest. 

Mark Henry being revealed as Rusev's replacement in the Elimination Chamber match for the Intercontinental Championship is the highlight of the six men's expeditions to the ring. In all honesty things don't get much better from here on out as the contest, that also involves Dolph Ziggler, King Barrett, Ryback, R-Truth and Sheamus, put on the worst Elimination Chamber in history, by quite some way. The bout is full of botches, and quickly descends into utter chaos as those in the ring try to work out how to cover up a truly horrendous blunder. With no sense of urgency, the match plays out in front of a dead crowd who clearly couldn't care less who walks out of the Chamber with the title and you'll feel that way too once this one is over. 

It's a good job that WWE decided to opt with Seth Rollins (with J&J Security and Kane) defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Dean Ambrose as it's main event then, as the former Shield pals work a pacy and exciting contest, that shows off the pairs in-ring chemistry well. The finish isn't too my personal tastes, as it negates any previous build up in the match, and comes out of left field, but I'm sure there will be plenty who got a kick out of it. The show closes with an appearance from Roman Reigns, which is all well and good, and offers some storyline development to lead us into WWE's next full show DVD offering, Money in the Bank (Out 24th August 2015). A short contest between Stardust and Zack Ryder is included on the Special Features and whilst it's decent enough, there's no rhyme or reason for it taking place.

Finally....

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.29

Kevin Owens vs. John Cena and Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose are probably worth buying this event for on it's own, and whilst the Tag Team Elimination Chamber also has it's moments and is an interesting novelty, everything else on the card is either completely miss-able or painful to watch. The Intercontinental Elimination Chamber may be the most botched match on history and certainly doesn't benefit from a second viewing. 

Payback from two weeks before is a much better show from top to bottom, but lacks the quality of a Owens vs. Cena or Rollins vs. Ambrose. So, if you're after big matches go for this release, however if you want a more comfortable three hour watch then Payback should be your choice.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2015 Review

Just two weeks after Payback, WWE was back with a WWE Network exclusive show Elimination Chamber. With a card stacked full of intrigue, including a Elimination Chamber bout for the vacant Intercontinental Championship, Seth Rollins defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Dean Ambrose, United States Champion John Cena battling NXT Champion Kevin Owens and more, could Elimination Chamber live up to expectation?

Elimination Chamber match for the vacant Intercontinental Championship

Dolph Ziggler 

vs. 

King Barrett 

vs. 

Ryback 

vs. 

R-Truth 

vs. 

Sheamus

 vs. 

Mark Henry

Before this match there was the revelation (actually revealed previously on the Elimination Chamber Kick-Off) that Rusev wouldn't be in the Elimination Chamber, due to a fracture foot suffered against Ryback on Thursday Night Smackdown #823. A quick recap of The Bulgarian Brute suffering the injury was shown, before a backstage segment showed Lana wishing Dolph Ziggler luck in the upcoming bout. "It's about you tonight" signalled that Lana would most likely not be involved in the bout and it was clear that WWE's plans for the bout would be majorly changed by Rusev's absence. Clearly, a little of the matches sting was taken away due to the injury, and the mystery around who would replace him fell flat as soon as Mark Henry walked out to start the bout.

The strength in this one came from the one-on-one interactions, as it was never going to be able to compete with the tag team bout in terms of big spots. Everything between Dolph Ziggler and King Barrett was very well done, especially a nearfall sequence that end in a crucifix pin for Ziggler, as was Barrett battering R-Truth in the pod and the subsequent comeback. Ziggler may have been the matches MVP, putting on strong stretches of action with Ryback and Sheamus (as well as the aforementioned Barrett) with the action with The Celtic Warrior calling back to their feud, with plenty of the fire that made the program a highlight of WWE's television. Although, the sequence that lead to Ziggler's elimination, with Sheamus no-selling a fameasser to hit a Brogue Kick was weak.

The match did have a few set-pieces (apart from blokes getting thrown in the pods), the main one seeing Sheamus trap himself in his own pod using his necklace, whilst acting as if he was trying to escape. Unfortunately this was completely missed by the commentary team, who instead decided to explain how Sheamus had "picked the lock" with the necklace. The other set-piece seemed to be Barrett sending Ziggler into Mark Henry's pod breaking the "lexane" and allowing Henry in the match. Whether this was supposed to happen or a botch, I'm really not sure, with Henry sort of standing about a lot for a while whilst action went on around him, even breaking up a pinfall for the banter, before intially succumbing a Sheamus Brogue Kick.

The closing sequence between Sheamus and Ryback was satisfying tussle, with the pair going back and forth for five minutes. The pair worked through a slick and brutal series of action on the outside, with Sheamus escaping a Shellshocked attempt before hitting White Noise onto the steel grate, which looked great, even if a later rolling senton looking a little too dangerous, with Sheamus seemingly cracking his head on the grate. The finish saw the duo go to a familar spot, with Ryback turning a Brogue Kick into a powerbomb. The two made use of the Chamber, with The Celtic Warrior first sent into the steel before being sent into the ring. After finally hitting Shellshocked, Ryback picked up the pinfall and his first Intercontinental Championship. Whilst Michael Cole signposted Ryback's win with a pre-match speech about The Big Guy telling a young fan that sometimes "The good guys win", it still felt like a big moment for Ryback, and will hopefully give the character the direction that he's been missing. Daniel Bryan putting over Ryback post match was a nice touch, as was Bryan switching his usually "Yes" motion for The Big Guy's "Feed Me More" calling card.

Singles Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Dean Ambrose 

vs. 

Seth Rollins with Kane & J&J Security

Bucking the trend for recent WWE World Heavyweight Championship matches, there was a little in the way of backstage shenanigans and build-up for this one, which is fine and dandy as far as this reviewers concerned. Of course, the match was included in the opening build-up package (which was a bit of a mess, to be honest), but apart from that we were left with one solitary backstage segment to quench the thirst before the main event. With Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose chatting away like old women over a fence, Triple H would interrupt to reveal that Reigns would be unable to accompany Ambrose to the ring and Ambrose would be disqualified if Reigns interfered in anyway. A new development that changed the terrain of the match, can't complain with that really. The pre-match prom featuring The Lunatic Fringe cutting a fresh promo in front of a brick wall was superb, reminiscent of the type of promos seen from the then Jon Moxley on the indy scene.

Despite the rushed feud between the two over the past two weeks, Ambrose and Rollins brought it in this match. Both men put on stellar performances that should cement Rollins' as a reliable main event, whilst building a case from Ambrose to be given more opportunities in the role. The two clearly know each other so well, as the wrestling was smooth and practically flawless, but it was the little touches that really stood out for me. Ambrose attempting a German Suplex off the top rope, which of course teased the spot Rollins' often used as a member of The Shield where he would flip out of the suplex and land on his feet, instead slipping between Ambrose's leg before delivering a double stomp with Ambrose caught in the ropes. The Lunatic Fringe raking the champion's back in the corner also got a big pop from me, because it suited the character so well (plus his facial expression was perfect)

With multiple near falls and some well-worked high spots, this was the WWE main event style, which can often end up a bit of mess, done well. Whilst the match lacked slightly in believable false finishes, the builds towards the near falls were exciting enough to almost make up for this. Ambrose missing a rope hung leg drop bulldog, followed by Rollins missing a springboard high knee, before hitting an Enziguiri that went directly into a pendulum lariat from Ambrose was a particular highlight of mine. Throw in some believable selling by both men, that got over each near fall and moment nicely and you've got a throughly entertaining twenty minutes of action. Oh yeah, and Ambrose diving off the top rope onto Kane and J&J Security was a great, character-based spot also.

In my preview, I'd called for Rollins to get the win for this one on his own and in a way, he kind of did. J&J Security got involved a little bit with their cheeky shenanigans, whilst Kane was quickly twatted by Ambrose when tried to interject his mouldy head into the bout. The finish itself, just about worked. With Rollins pushing the referee into the path of an Ambrose dive, the pair worked through a nice sequence (including a missed Phoenix splash from Rollins) before Ambrose was able to hit Dirty Deeds and a second referee counted the pin. Of course, the original referee woke up and disqualified Rollins for the push. The only reason this works, for me, is because of the two characters involved in the match and how well they played those characters throughout, including when the referee revealed the result. Obviously Ambrose decided he'd won and deserved the belt (after Reigns had helped him overcome the Authority) and dicked off with the World Heavyweight Championship. As enjoyable as this match was, I'm expecting an even better encounter between the two at Money in the Bank.

Singles Match

John Cena vs. Kevin Owens

If you'd read the Elimination Chamber 2015 Preview and Predictions piece then you'd know I was looking forward to this match just a little bit and boy, oh boy, did it deliver. And then some. Straight into the biggest talking point of the match, Kevin Owens pinned John Cena (Yes, John "Bloody" Cena) clean with a Pop-Up Powerbomb, seconds after Cena seemed to be launching another comeback with a huge skull-smashing lariat. I don't think it's quite settled in yet. Owens only had his debut match for WWE in December last year, and having ploughed from Sami Zayn, Finn Balor, Adrian Neville, Solomon Crowe, Alex Riley and CJ Parker on NXT, he just defeated the fifteen time World Heavyweight Champion. To put that into context, over the last five years only Brock Lesnar, Daniel Bryan, The Rock and CM Punk have gotten clean pins on Cena in his 34 PPV matches.

What made the victory even sweeter was that almost everyone was convinced that Owens would put in a good fight, but eventually fall to the Cenation Leader. The match played into this with Owens throwing a lot at Cena, but being unable to put him away. Go Home Driver, Cannonball, Pop up Powerbomb, an Attitude Adjustment, a spun-out slam version of a Package Piledriver, a top rope Fisherman's Buster all failed to put Cena away. Playing into the many cliches we've seen in John Cena matches over the past few years, Owens frustration at not putting Cena away played out very well, with the former Mr. Wrestling doing a tremendous job of showing this in the final few minutes of the bout. The moment Cena hit that huge lariat on Owens I, like many I would presume, saw Cena hitting another Attitude Adjustment and pick up the win.

The contest built and built from the moment that match started, adding layers and getting a lack lustre Corpus Christi crowd involved nicely. Owens domination early on was built mostly around strikes and attempting to ground and pound Cena, with the commentators putting him over a no nonsense brawler, but as the match developed and Owens became more frustrated with being able to finish Cena, his offence developed into big power moves, before finally attempting offence from the top rope, like a superb double jump moonsault and a Senton. On the other side of the coin, we saw multiple comeback attempts from Cena end up getting cut off by Owens, I'd have liked to see a bit more of that frustration from Cena in being unable to really get going in the match, especially after he was unable to get the win with an Attitude Adjustment or the STF. Whilst Cena's performance was strong, this mirroring could have pushed things up a level.

The big question now is "Where the hell do we go from here?". It was announced later in the show that we'd see a rematch between the duo at Money in the Bank on 14th July, and this match left plenty of room for the two to have an enjoyable rematch, that will almost certainly garner even more interest over the next two weeks on television (whilst Owens simultaneously engages in a feud with Samoa Joe on NXT). Will WWE put enough faith in Owens to have him go over Cena two times in a row? They clearly have big plans for Owens and I'd expect him to play an integral part in SummerSlam in August. Owens post-match promo proved the rocket has been strapped to his back, it's all a matter of how much fuel WWE is willing to give the NXT Champion.

Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Tag Team Championships

The Lucha Dragons 

vs. 

The Ascension 

vs. 

The New Day (C) 

vs. 

Tyson Kidd & Cesaro with Natalya 

vs. 

Los Matadores with El Torito 

vs. 

The Prime Time Players

The first ever Tag Team Elimination Chamber bout was an intriguing affair to say the least, featuring some big spots and all the thrills and spills you'd expect from the gimmick. The Lucha Dragons were the providers of the majority of the big spots, despite being eliminated just under half way through the match, with Sin Cara hitting a Senton off the top of one of the pods and Kalisto scaling to the middle of the Chamber to drop down onto the rest of the field. Kalisto was also involved in another big bump that save him get Superplex off the top of a pod by Cesaro, before Tyson Kidd hit a springboard elbow for a good near fall. The Lucha Dragons being eliminated so early was probably the biggest structural problem with the match, as they were arguably the most over babyface team in the match and could have offered the match a bit more of story to tell, with the pair starting the match.

Whilst the match was thoroughly entertaining throughout, it suffered from wrestlers breaking up pins that were on members of other teams. This could of been out of habit and an unfamiliarity with the match type, but should have been addressed before the match began or at least covered for by the commentary team. Luckily once down to just two teams, the action became much more focused, with The Prime Time Players and The New Day both putting in strong performances, with a solid "numbers game" type story, that allowed Titus O'Neil and Darren Young to shine (having already eliminated The Ascension and Tyson Kidd & Cesaro). O'Neil catching Kofi Kingston's Trouble in Paradise attempt and Big E's overhead belly to belly suplex to Young on the outside were the highlights of the closing stretch that saw all three of the New Day get the pin on O'Neil following some cleverly trickery that lead to a Trouble in Paradise from Kingston. Both The Prime Time Players and The Ascension would have to be in contention for a tag titles shot heading out of the show, maybe we'l see a number one contender's bout on Monday Night RAW.

Singles Match

Neville 

vs. 

Bo Dallas

For me, this was the only match on the show that failed to live up to my expectations going in. That isn't to say it was a bad match, because it wasn't, what was presented was absolutely fine. However, for a feud that has been so heavily focused around Neville's injured leg, even going as far as having Dallas cut a promo before the match revolving around Neville having an "injured wing", the leg didn't come into play at all. Beyond Neville hitting a handful of kicks to Dallas' leg early doors, there wasn't a hint at the previous injury either from Dallas focusing some offence on the leg, or Neville getting caught up because of it. 

Without prior knowledge of the feud, this was entirely acceptable fair, with Dallas' character getting a good opportunity to shine through. Whilst Neville's offence is often spectacular, Dallas' character work has been just as strong as of late and that again came to forefront here. Little touches like screaming and gasping for air when Neville placed him in a headlock, made what could have been a dull rest spot into a chuckle worthy moment, a big thumbs up for distracting the ref by claiming Neville was holding his tights (whilst he had Neville in a cravate) before, with the ref distracted, pulling The New Sensation's hair and sending him to the mat. Hopefully we'll get some more of Dallas across WWE's product, as he could be a valuable part of the mid-card, but Neville getting the win with the Red Arrow was almost certainly the right decision for now.

Triple Threat Match for the Diva's Championship

Paige 

vs. 

Naomi 

vs. 

Nikki Bella (C)

I felt bad for the ladies in this one, as whilst they tried to cram as much into their six minutes as they possibly could, something clearly went wrong in the first few minutes and they spent the rest of the match trying to recover. It would seem Paige was out of position to take an enziguiri from Nikki Bella after Naomi had ducked the same attack. Paige especially looked completely out of her depth and was clearly lost when she could be heard saying "Oh yeah, I remember" prior to a decent Rack Attack into Rear View spot. Apart from this the content was mostly strong, using the three competitors nicely, particularly in the aforementioned spot and when Naomi saved Nikki from the P.T.O with a well placed superkick. Nikki picking up the win with a Rack Attack on Naomi, following Naomi's messy but admirable reverse rana on Paige. A match with good ideas, but mostly sloppy execution.

Other Stuff

Two recaps were aired to promote the upcoming Money in the Bank PPV on 14th June, the first off Dolph Ziggler winning a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank 2012 before cashing it on Alberto Del Rio at Monday Night RAW #1037, then Seth Rollins grabbed the only briefcase at Money in the Bank 2014, before cashing in during Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 31 to win the title. Expect to see a few more of these in the next few weeks across WWE television. The Kick-Off Panel of Renee Young, Booker T, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton put over the results of the Kevin Owens vs. John Cena bout well, whilst also taking in turn to chat about upcoming matches, with some nice interchange between Graves and Saxton over the possible result of the Ambrose vs. Rollins contest. The commentary team revealed the first six participants for this years Money in the Bank ladder match, with Randy Orton, Dolph Ziggler, Neville, Sheamus, Roman Reigns and Kofi Kingston entering the match. Reason for these six being placed in the match were not given. The new WWE Network show Swerved also received some promo time, with the show scheduled to begin in June. Stone Cold Steve Austin podcast returns to the WWE Network on 1st June, with Paul Heyman the guest, in what will surely be another entertaining edition of the most watched show on the Network. Don't Try this at Home, you bloody moron. American punk-rock band The Offspring provided the theme song with Coming for You, which is apparently written about Booker T's famous outburst towards Hulk Hogan. An advert for Totino's aired, this was a real treat. How lucky are we!? 

Finally...

Owens vs. Cena and Rollins vs. Ambrose both offered two very different slices of sport-entertainment, that were both a lot of fun, with potential to go in a number of directions in the two weeks until Money in the Bank. The headline Elimination Chamber bout for the Intercontinental Championship might not have been the strongest outing for the gimmick, but was still an entirely watchable affair, with smatterings of good action. The mid-card was also strong with a lively tag team Elimination Chamber that delivered on it's quirky setting, whilst Dallas and Neville had a decent match. The sole undercard match showed the Diva's at least trying, even if the execution was a little missing.

A strong Network special from WWE, can they continue their good form with what is often a highlight of the year, Money in the Bank on 14th June? We shall see.

The Rating

Headline bout - 6.5/10

Upper card - 7.75/10

Mid-card - 5.75/10

Under-card - 3/10

• Overall - 6.5/10