The Elimination Chamber has become a staple of WWE programming. Created in 2002 the match has become a regular on WWE television, becoming as popular as having its own PLE in 2010.
Having been placed on the road to Wrestlemania is a huge deal for the PLE. It signifies the importance of the event and its overall influence on the biggest show of the year. It is a show that every wrestler on the roster hopes to be a part of.
Now just because of its placement doesn’t mean that the show always delivers gold. Elimination Chamber has usually been 50/50 when it comes to its matches. There have been some matches that are fantastic while others that leave the audience wanting to leave the arena. Below we will discuss the best and the worst of these matches.
Best: Survivor Series 2002
To look at great chamber matches look no further than the first one at Survivor Series in 2002.
It was the beginning of the brand split and not a single wrestler was happy that Triple H was handed the World Heavyweight Championship. That started a huge line of challengers that were put against Triple H inside the first Elimination Chamber.
The match was fantastic, as the first of many usually is. It was a match unlike anyone had seen before thus everything looked new and fresh. The spots with RVD and Kane used the chamber well and every competitor got a chance to shine. It was easily one of the deepest chamber matches in history featuring 5 future Hall of Fame wrestlers.
Having Michaels go over in his last championship victory was the perfect way to cap off one of the best Elimination Chamber matches in company history.
Worst: December to Dismember 2006
Nothing about the ECW rival went well. Including the solo PLE that decided to put on that included one of the worst chamber matches. Trying to make it an extreme chamber match seemed like a novel idea, but it was poorly executed.
To being with no one outside of Lashley had any chance of winning. It was no secret that he was getting his push so the win was inevitable at this point. It took most of the drama out of the match.
This was followed by the match not getting as extreme as advertised. With the ECW being the banner of the PLE one would think more violence would be used. Alas, this was not the case and it set the stage for a lackluster match.
Best: Elimination Chamber 2017
Smackdown Live has amassed an imposing roster of wrestlers after the most recent brand split. It was a varied bunch that helped to set the brand apart from Monday Night Raw. It was also a bunch that allowed Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan to put together one heck of an Elimination Chamber.
Scheduled for the WWE Championship the match was excellent. In Ambrose, Styles, Cena, Wyatt, Corbin, and The Miz you had the best workers in the company. They constructed a near-perfect match, which was a deviation from the usual car wreck that chamber matches were. This was a straight-up wrestling match
This was also great for its surprising ending. Having Cena lose before the final too, with Wyatt eventually taking the championship was a great booking decision. It ended the night on a massively high note for everyone.
Worst: Summerslam 2003
It only took a year for a bad chamber match to rear its ugly head, but that’s what we got as the main event of Summerslam. Granted this was deep into Triple H’s reign of terror so the result wasn’t in much question. That still doesn’t mean that the group of wrestlers has to phone it in.
HBK, Jericho, and Orton didn’t seem to be very motivated during the match. Kevin Nash was well past his prime and lumbered around when he was in the ring. These were the men who should have carried the match, but they laid an egg.
This match did not need to happen. It was clear it was the Goldberg and Triple H show so why not just book the two in a singles match to the main event? It was useless to layer in other men to create an attraction. It wasn’t good.
Best: Elimination Chamber 2011
In 2011 there were two chamber matches to take place on the PLE. The Raw main event was a so-so affair with a more than predictable ending whereas the Smackdown version blew everyone out of the water.
The Smackdown Elimination Chamber was a fantastic match. World Champion Edge, Kane, Wade Barrett, Drew McIntyre, Big Show, and Rey Mysterio brought an interesting dynamic to the match. The men used their history to create some good drama during the contest. It was also interesting to see Edge in a babyface role during this match, not something that we were used to.
As great as the match was it was the final 9 minutes that put it over the top. Rey Mysterio and Edge put on as exciting a final sequence as any would get in a chamber match. The wrestling was crisp, fast-paced, and had reversal after reversal. Only after a mid-air spear did Edge retain the strap and put an exclamation point on the match.
Worst: Elimination Chamber 2022
Going to Saudi Arabia has never worked out incredibly well. There have been lackluster PLEs littered with a myriad of terrible matches, and 2022’s trek to the Middle East was no different.
Bringing the Elimination Chamber to Saudia Arabia didn’t seem to be a bad idea, the only problem was WWE did nothing to make the chamber match exciting. Sure, there were stars like Brock Lesnar, Bobby Lashley, Seth Rollins, Riddle, A.J Styles, and Austin Theory, but nothing was done with them. This match existed to move the title over to Lesnar, which made no one happy.
Removing Lashley from the match before he got a chance to enter was a mistake. It took away from the main showdown that we were all waiting for and was a disservice to the WWE Championship reign of the man. Every step of the book in this match was a joke and not something anyone should be proud of.
Best: Elimination Chamber 2019
2019 was a year where Kofi Kingston lucked out. Going into the chamber match it was believed that Mustafa Ali was on the cusp of a big push, but an injury put him out of the contest. Thus, Kofi was shoehorned into the contest and Kofi Mania began.
This might have been the closest chamber match in history. All of the men involved had a great chance of walking away from the winner, and the fans ate it up. Daniel Bryan had settled so well into his heel role and gave the fans someone to hate with the passion of a thousand suns. It made everything that happened during the match better.
As much as there were other men in the match, this ended up being the Kofi show. The reactions he got, during the match, were some of the loudest of his career. It was the start of something that would become a massive phenomenon.
Worst: Elimination Chamber 2015
2015 was an odd year for the Elimination Chamber. It was moved to a later month in the year, and the world championship was in the main event… in a singles match. Why it was not put inside the chamber was a head-scratching move and it led to an even more head-scratching move. The move of having the Intercontinental Championship be decided in the chamber.
It may have been something that would have worked if WWE paid any attention to the match. Of the men involved only Ryback and Wade Barrett seemed to have any chance, not a great start to the match. The action was flat throughout, and the fans might as well have been sitting on their hands. There was no reaction during the match.
Having Ryback win was WWE trying to cash in on his popularity, but it had already started to wane. This match did nothing to make the IC strap look like a major title within the company.
Best: No Way Out 2009
Both Elimination Chamber matches were fantastic on this PLE. It is hard to pick between the two but the chamber match that occupied the main event had a slight edge.
Outside of Mike Knox, this was an impressive lineup. Edge, John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Kane, and Chris Jericho were the top guys. Guys who knew each other well and could piece together great wrestling all over the chamber.
What sets this match apart from most was the constant twists and turns that it took. To start with Edge inserted himself into the match when he wasn’t even involved in the brand. It was an interesting twist to start the match, but it wasn’t the only one. Reigning World Heavyweight Champion, John Cena was eliminated halfway through the match. It was a shock that resonated not only throughout the crowd but through the remaining wrestlers. The look on Edge’s face told the entire story.
To finish off the match The Rated R Superstar finished his shocking night by winning the World Championship. It was a match that no one saw coming and also one that no one will ever forget.
Worst: Elimination Chamber 2018
WWE has always had at least one guy who gets pushed to the moon regardless of public perception. Hulk Hogan and John Cena are perfect examples of this. As was Roman Reigns for a long time in WWE. Reigns was made to look invincible in singles matches and they got unwatchable as a result.
The Elimination Chamber is a great example of how the early push of Roman Reigns was a failure. Braun Strowman running through the competition got our hopes and they were soon dashed when Reigns took home the victory. It was such a deflating ending to a match that could have had anyone else go over. Reigns “standing tall” was not the moment WWE thought it would be.
This match was also over 40 minutes long. That is far too long for a match structured the way this one was. It got us bored and that boredom turned to hate as the match concluded.
