When it comes to the WWE Elimination Chamber PLE, it’s not always that the World Heavyweight Championship is defended. In today’s WWE, the Elimination Chamber is revolved around the themed match. Initially, the titles would be involved, but now it’s number one contender matches.
For the first time in 15 years, there will finally be a World Title match at Elimination Chamber. It will be CM Punk, defending his gold against Finn Bálor. There have been four occasions where the World Heavyweight Title was defended at Elimination Chamber, all stemming from the original lineage of the belt, which was from 2002 to 2013. Here are the ranked matches booked at the event.
#4: Alberto Del Rio vs. Big Show – Elimination Chamber 2013
In late 2012, WWE decided to turn Alberto Del Rio face for the first time in his career. Due to World Heavyweight Champion Big Show, concluding his feud with Sheamus, WWE needed more challengers for “The World’s Largest Athlete”.
On an episode of SmackDown in early 2013, Del Rio shockingly defeated Big Show in a Last Man Standing Match to become the new champion. They would go on to have a rematch at the Royal Rumble event, resulting in Del Rio retaining.
After Del Rio retained his championship against Big Show, the story was not over yet. Due to Del Rio winning in a controversial finish, Big Show received one more shot at Elimination Chamber. This time, the match was a regular bout for the World Heavyweight Championship. The match was a little underwhelming for fans, as two Last Man Standing Matches followed it. The low expectations made this match difficult to watch, as it seemed that fans were ready for Del Rio and Big Show’s rivalry to end.
What ruined the match was the botch towards the end, where Big Show held Del Rio’s bucket while waiting too many seconds for Del Rio to kick him in the head to lead to the finish. Both men did their best to deliver, but the feud was already tired out at the Royal Rumble.
#3: Elimination Chamber Match – Elimination Chamber 2012
This had to be one of the most unique Elimination Chamber Matches that was for the World Heavyweight Championship. Around this time, it was unclear as to which champion the Royal Rumble winner, Sheamus, was challenging for.
Initially, Daniel Bryan was going to defend his title against Big Show, Mark Henry, Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Wade Barrett. Changes were quickly made as Orton and Henry were pulled out of the match due to injuries. This factor led to Santino Marella and The Great Khali becoming replacements.
The match started slowly, but it worked its way up. One of the highlights of the match was when Big Show broke into Bryan’s pod and started destroying him all over the chamber. After Big Show was eliminated in the match, Marella started picking up miraculous pinfalls by eliminating Rhodes and Barrett.
When it was down to Bryan and Marella, the crowd was on their feet for Marella. There were so many nearfalls that had fans think Marella was winning the title. Although it was obvious that Bryan was retaining, Marella’s performance was what made the match fun to watch.
#2: Elimination Chamber Match – Elimination Chamber 2010
During the road to WrestleMania 26, there were opportunities laid out for wrestlers from SmackDown and RAW. Six wrestlers from each show were in the Elimination Chamber Match for their brand’s top championship. The main event of the show was an Elimination Chamber Match for SmackDown. It was The Undertaker defending his title against Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, John Morrison, and R-Truth.
It was one of those matches where everyone involved had their own spot to showcase. R-Truth was able to rap his theme song while starting the match off as well. Both Mysterio and Morrison presented their high-flying abilities all over the chamber. Jericho would use his previous experience inside the chamber for this match, while The Undertaker was destroying like he always does. The Undertaker was already going through a lot as he faced burns on his face and chest due to his botched entrance. It still didn’t stop him from competing inside the chamber.
Eliminations were drawing, leading to Undertaker chokeslamming Morrison on the steel. The match ended with Undertaker and Jericho as the final two. Where it seemed that Undertaker was coming up with the win, Shawn Michaels snuck inside the cage from the ringside steel. Michaels would hit Undertaker with a “Sweet Chin Music”. This led to Jericho taking the advantage by getting the pin to become World Heavyweight Champion.
#1: Elimination Chamber Match – Elimination Chamber 2011
This had to be the best Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Championship. It was a mixture of veterans such as the defending champion Edge, Rey Mysterio, Kane, and Big Show. There were also younger talents involved, such as Wade Barrett and Drew McIntyre.
Mysterio was the highlight of the night, showcasing his chemistry with Edge and using his high-flying abilities against bigger opponents. Big Show had a destructive moment where he had the upper hand over his rival, Wade Barrett. Big Show made short work of him by finishing off with “The WMD”. Seeing that Big Show was a dominant force, Edge, Mysterio, Kane, and McIntyre all teamed up to eliminate the giant. Kane would shortly eliminate McIntyre as well.
Edge and Mysterio applied their past relationship as a tag team to eliminate Kane. Both men pulled a classic as the final two in the chamber. There was so much back and forth to a point where Mysterio was scoring near falls. Edge eventually got the upper hand on Mysterio to retain his title.
