The ESSENTIALS: The Elimination Chamber

Welcome to this very special edition of the ESSENTIALS.  With the 10 year anniversary of the Elimination Chamber PPV coming this Sunday, I find it fitting that we take a look back at the 10 most memorable moments in the history of the event.  The match is well known for it's brutality, high risk spots and shocking endings.  With so much to choose from, I narrowed it down to the biggest game changing moments from the last decade.


Find out which of your favorites made the cut after the jump!

*NOTE: All WWE related photos courtesy of WWE.com

Number 10: Edge and Rey Mysterio tear down the house (Elimination Chamber 2011)

Last year's Smackdown chamber offered up plenty of great moments, but it was the ending 1 on 1 match between Edge and Rey Mysterio, that stole the show.  These two always electrify together with their amazing chemistry, but this is possibly, the best match they've ever had.  They tore the house down and gave us the best ending to a chamber match to date.  The bar has now been set, and it will be a challenge for every man involved in the Raw and Smackdown matches this Sunday to live up to the standard set here.





Number 9: Rob Van Dam's leap of faith (Survivor Series 2002)

There have been many great spots in the 10 year history of the elimination chamber, but RVD innovated the idea by climbing atop his pod and then performing his five star frog splash finish off of the top.  At the time, it was one of the most amazing dives I had ever seen.  Since then, superstars such as Rey Mysterio, Jeff Hardy and John Morrison, have all delivered similar moments.  Still, it's Van Dam who first had the balls to attempt such a high risk maneuver, and that makes this moment all the more prominent.





Number 8: Edge cashes in (New Year's Revolution 2006)

When Edge won the first Money In The Bank ladder match in 2005, he constantly teased cashing in the contract on various occasions.  At New Year's Revolution 2006, he finally achieved his lifelong dream of becoming WWE Champion, by cashing in on a battered John Cena.  Cena had just finished defeating five other men (including Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle) in a grueling elimination chamber match, to retain his championship.  He could barely stand, and Edge saw this as a prime opportunity to strike.  That night we learned two things, that Edge was the Ultimate Opportunist, and that this great rivalry, had only just begun.





Number 7: The greatest elimination of all time (No Way Out 2008)

In the 2008 Raw chamber match, Umaga laid a brutal path of destruction.  He would viciously mow through Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho and Jeff Hardy and it looked as if the monster was unstoppable.  In what will go down as the greatest single elimination in the event's history, all four legends would have to work together to eliminate the biggest threat in the match.  Shawn Michaels would strike first, hitting a Superkick out of nowhere.  Jericho would connect immediately after with the Codebreaker, leading Umaga right into a Pedigree by Triple H.  Saving the best for last, wrestling's greatest daredevil, Jeff Hardy, would dive off of a pod with the Swanton Bomb.  Chris Jericho then sealed the deal, pinning the Samoan Bulldozer to the relief of everyone else in the match.





Number 6: CM Punk gets a second chance (Elimination Chamber 2011)

When Punk was eliminated by Randy Orton in Raw's chamber last year, I was a bit disappointed (I had pegged him to win the match).  Moments later, we received a pleasant surprise.  The anonymous GM declared that since CM Punk's pod door had malfunctioned, that he would be the first competitor to ever be granted a second chance.  Punk seized this opportunity by eliminating Orton and finishing as the runner up.  It was a brilliant move, and one that allowed Punk to yet again, make history.





Number 5: Chokeslam to HELL (No Way Out 2008)

In one of the most devastating spots I have ever seen, MVP met his maker with this classic moment.  The Undertaker is the LAST superstar you want to find yourself trapped inside of the chamber with. Knowing this, MVP tried to escape the deadman's grasp by climbing on top of one of the pods.  Bad idea, The Undertaker followed and once he got his hands on Porter, he leveled him with a thunderous chokeslam all the way down to the mat.  It was one of the most brutal bumps in EC history, and one that I'm sure MVP will never forget.





Number 4: HBK won't take "no" for an answer (Elimination Chamber 2010)

Shawn Michael's quest to defeat The Undertaker will go down as one of the greatest storylines of all time.  After his brilliant performance at the Royal Rumble a month prior, Shawn would shock the world at the 2010 Elimination Chamber PPV.  Taker had Chris Jericho beaten, and it looked as if he would retain his World Heavyweight Championship and crush HBK's hopes of a Wrestlemania rematch.  What happened next, nobody saw coming.   Shawn would emerge from underneath the chamber and level the deadman with one of the most infamous superkicks of all time.  Chris Jericho would then pick up the victory, leaving The Phenom seeking revenge and Shawn earning his second chance at immortality.





Number 3: The Ultimate Opportunist (No Way Out 2009)

Edge is in my opinion, the greatest thing to happen to the elimination chamber since the invention of steel.  He almost always delivered a classic performance at the event, and will go on to be the man most synonymous with it as time goes on.  Perhaps no night in Edge's career is more symbolic of his brilliance then this one.  Having lost his WWE Championship in the opening chamber match, he would later attack Kofi Kingston on his way into the second one, becoming the first man to ever compete in two chamber matches in one night.  What made this moment most memorable, was the fact that he even managed to walk out of the second match the World Heavyweight Champion.  A moment truly defining for the event's most valuable performer, and one of the more memorable moments in WWE history.





Number 2: Golberg is UNLEASHED (Summerslam 2003)

As soon as Goldberg entered the steel prison, there was a look of horror over every other superstar's face.  He would lay waste to everything in sight.  Most notably, Chris Jericho, who he would hit with the most brutal spear of all time through the chamber glass!  A then rookie Randy Orton, would also suffer Da Man's wrath, taking a crippling powerslam to the mat.  Shawn Michaels would be the victim of a vicious Jackhammer as well.  It was one of the most dominant performances of all time, until Triple H put a halt to it with his trusty sledgehammer.  Even though The Game would win the match and retain his World title, it's Goldberg's brutal rage that everyone remembers that night.  Easily the most intense performance in the match's history.





And which moment is the most ESSENTIAL in the history of the Elimination Chamber?





Number 1: The Showstopper's triumph (Survivor Series 2002)

The Shawn Michaels comeback tour was riding high throughout 2002.  The first ever elimination chamber match had a hype that may never be seen again.  We all knew that we were going to witness something special that night and there was a feeling of magic in the air.  Moments like this are very rare.  You can always do better, but everyone always remembers the original.  So it's only fitting that Shawn Michaels would win his last major title in the WWE in the inaugural chamber match.  It was an emotional moment for us all, marking the return of an icon who was told he would never wrestle again.  Many men have had their hands raised in victory since then, but none were more meaningful than this one.










And there you have it, the most ESSENTIAL Elimination Chamber moments of ALL TIME!




Let me know where you agree/disagree.




Thanks for reading,


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