WWE Elimination Chamber
Encyclopedia
Elimination Chamber (also known as No Way Out (2010) in Germany
) was a professional wrestling
pay-per-view
event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment
(WWE), which took place on February 21, 2010 at the Scottrade Center
in St. Louis, Missouri
. It was the first Elimination Chamber
event. Six matches were aired on the broadcast and one dark match occurred prior to the live broadcast.
The concept of the event was that the two main event matches, one each for the World Heavyweight Championship
and the WWE Championship
, would occur in an Elimination Chamber
. Each match featured six competitors: the defending champion and five challengers. Sheamus defended the WWE Championship against Triple H
, Ted DiBiase
, Randy Orton
, John Cena
, and Kofi Kingston
in the Raw
Elimination Chamber. In the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match, The Undertaker defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Chris Jericho
, John Morrison, Rey Mysterio, CM Punk
and R-Truth
. On the undercard, Drew McIntyre defended the WWE Intercontinental Championship
against Kane
, The Miz
defended the WWE United States Championship
against Montel Vontavious Porter, and Maryse
and Gail Kim
competed against Team Lay-Cool
(Layla
and Michelle McCool
) in an interbrand Divas
tag team match
.
The event received 285,000 pay-per-view buys, an increase on the figure earned by the 2009 No Way Out
pay-per-view. Despite the increased number of buys, the event received generally negative reviews, with reviewers criticising the undercard of the show as being "weak" and consisting of "filler" material. However, positive feedback came from the Elimination Chamber matches.
In late 2009, World Wrestling Entertainment
(WWE) held a poll on their official website to allow fans to choose a name for their February pay-per-view
. The choices included Elimination Chamber, Heavy Metal, Battle Chamber, Chamber of Conflict and No Way Out, which had been the name of the preceding Elimination Chamber-based event
. The name Elimination Chamber won, and the event was renamed. Despite this, the event was still promoted as No Way Out in Germany
.
The concept of the show was that each main event match was to be contested as an Elimination Chamber
match. The Elimination Chamber is a circular steel cage, consisting of chain
s and girder
s, that surrounds the ring. Four 'pods' are enclosed within the chamber, one behind each ring post, which are on a steel platform surrounding the outside of the ring. Six wrestlers compete in the match; four are enclosed within the pods and released at random at specific time intervals, and two start the match. Wrestlers can only be eliminated via pinfall and submission, and the last wrestler left is the winner. For the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, both WWE world championships, the WWE Championship
and the World Heavyweight Championship
, were to be defended in separate Elimination Chamber matches.
Just prior to the commencement of the World Heavyweight Championship
Elimination Chamber match, The Undertaker was involved in a pyrotechnics
accident during his ring entrance. He was temporarily engulfed in flames when the pyrotechnics were mistimed, and his jacket caught on fire. It was later reported that he'd suffered first- and second-degree burns to his neck and chest, and according to a WWE spokesperson the injury "looked like a bad sunburn". He was only allowed to participate in the match after being cleared by a ringside doctor and was given bottles of water throughout the match to douse himself with to attempt to alleviate the discomfort.
involving different wrestlers from scripted feuds
and storylines that had been seen on World Wrestling Entertainment
's television programs – Raw
and SmackDown. Wrestlers were portrayed as villains
or heroes
, or more ambiguous characters in scripted contests that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match on the pay-per-view
. All wrestlers were from WWE's Raw and SmackDown brands—a storyline division
in which WWE employees are assigned to a television program of the same name.
The main event matches for the Elimination Chamber event consisted of two Elimination Chamber
matches, with Raw's WWE Championship
defended in one and SmackDown's World Heavyweight Championship
defended in the other. Qualifying matches were held on the February 1 episode of Raw to determine the five challengers who would face the WWE Champion Sheamus in Raw's Elimination Chamber match. In qualifiers, John Cena
defeated Cody Rhodes, Triple H
defeated Jack Swagger, Randy Orton
defeated Shawn Michaels
, Ted DiBiase
defeated Mark Henry
, and Kofi Kingston
defeated The Big Show
by disqualification.
Michaels was upset at losing this chance at a championship while the Undertaker remained a champion. This was following his failed record-breaking attempt at Royal Rumble 2010 to gain a ticket to main-event Mania 2010 against Taker.
In the weeks prior to Elimination Chamber the participants faced off in several matches, which included DiBiase vs. Cena ending in a no contest, Sheamus defeating Orton by disqualification, DiBiase defeating Kingston via pinfall, and Cena vs. Triple H ending in a no contest due to Sheamus interfering and attacking both participants. The February 5 episode of SmackDown saw the five wrestlers qualify to challenge The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship in a similar fashion. John Morrison defeated Drew McIntyre and Kane
in a triple threat match. Throughout the rest of the episode, this was followed by R-Truth
defeating Mike Knox
, CM Punk
defeating Batista via countout, Chris Jericho
defeating Matt Hardy
, and Rey Mysterio defeating Dolph Ziggler
. In the following weeks, the six wrestlers faced off in different combinations in singles matches that saw Mysterio pin Punk, Morrison vs. R-Truth end in a no contest due to Morrison suffering a storyline
ankle injury, and Jericho defeating The Undertaker. On the February 19 episode of SmackDown, Morrison and R-Truth teamed up to face CM Punk and his 'follower' Luke Gallows
in a tag team match
, which Morrison and R-truth lost via referee stoppage.
In late December 2009, WWE Divas Champion Melina
tore her anterior cruciate ligament
, and was forced to vacate the championship. As a result, it was announced in January 2010, that a single-elimination tournament
would be held to determine a new champion. The tournament began on the January 4 episode of Raw, when Maryse
advanced to the semi-finals by defeating Brie Bella
. She was followed into the semi-finals by Gail Kim
, Alicia Fox, and Eve
, who defeated Jillian Hall
, Kelly Kelly, and Katie Lea Burchill
respectively. In the semi-finals, Maryse defeated Eve and Kim defeated Fox. It was then announced on the February 8 episode of Raw that Maryse and Kim would face one another in the final at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
On the February 12 episode of Smackdown, the WWE Intercontinental Champion
Drew McIntyre faced Kane
in a non-title match. After the match went to a double-countout, Kane chokeslammed McIntyre. It was announced the following day on WWE's official website that Kane and McIntyre would meet at Elimination Chamber for the Intercontinental Championship. The following week, on the February 19 episode of SmackDown, Kane defeated Dolph Ziggler in a singles match. Following the match, he was attacked by McIntyre, but Kane was able to fight back and fend off the attack.
) to eliminate DiBiase after 25-and-a-half minutes. Immediately afterward, Sheamus eliminated Kingston by pinfall, before being eliminated himself by Triple H at approximately 29 minutes, leaving only Cena and Triple H in the match. Cena used a submission hold
, the STF on Triple H to eliminate him from the match via submission. As a result, Cena won the WWE Championship for the sixth time, his eight world championship overall.
Immediately following the conclusion of the match, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon
interrupted to cut a promo. He told Cena that he would be going to WrestleMania XXVI
, only if he could beat Batista, and then ordered Cena to face Batista in a previously unannounced match for the WWE Championship. Batista speared Cena, and then performed a "Batista Bomb" (a sitout powerbomb) on him to earn a pinfall victory, making Batista the new WWE Champion.
The third match featured Drew McIntyre defending the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Kane
. The match began with Kane taking the advantage over McIntyre by clotheslining him over the top rope to the floor. Towards the end of the match, McIntyre attempted to leave the arena and lose via countout, which would have allowed him to retain the championship, but Kane brought him back inside the ring. When re-entering the ring, McIntyre poked him in the eye and then performed his "Future Shock DDT" (a double underhook DDT) to win the match by pinfall and remain the Intercontinental Champion.
interrupted. Guerrero stated that a result of the Raw Divas
making disparaging remarks about the SmackDown Divas, she was changing the match to an interbrand Divas tag team match
, with Raw Divas Kim and Maryse facing Team Lay-Cool
(Michelle McCool
and Layla
) from SmackDown. The story of the match was that Maryse and Kim could not work together, and Maryse attacked Kim, allowing McCool to hit her finishing move for the victory. Following the match, Maryse performed her "French Kiss DDT" on Kim. Following the match, The Miz
was interviewed backstage by Josh Mathews about NXT
, on which he was a mentor. He was interrupted by Montel Vontavious Porter, who informed The Miz that the two had a match next. This was followed by William Regal cutting an in-ring promo on NXT. He was interrupted by the winner of the 2010
Royal Rumble match, Edge, who stated that he would be deciding which championship to challenge for at WrestleMania on the next episode of Raw. Edge then speared Regal.
The fifth match was a previously unannounced contest which saw The Miz defend his WWE United States Championship
against Montel Vontavious Porter. The Miz was accompanied by his tag team partner, The Big Show
, while Porter was accompanied by Mark Henry
, with whom he had regularly teamed. Porter took the advantage at the beginning of the match, before The Miz was able to fight back with a swinging DDT. When he climbed to the top rope, however, Porter knocked him off to regain the advantage. The Big Show pulled The Miz out of the ring to safety, and then threw Mark Henry into the security barricade at ringside. With the referee
distracted by this, The Big Show used his "Knockout Punch" on Porter, and The Miz was able to pin him to retain his championship.
The main event of the pay-per-view was the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship, featuring the defending champion The Undertaker, CM Punk, Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, and R-Truth. Mysterio, Morrison, and Jericho entered first and were locked into pods. The Undertaker was the fourth to make his way down to the ring, but an accident occurred during his match when his pyrotechnics were mistimed, resulting in him being momentarily engulfed in flames. He was cleared by a ringside doctor to wrestle, however, and was able to compete in the match. The final two, who were to start the match, were CM Punk, who was accompanied by his stable, The Straight-Edge Society of Serena
and Luke Gallows
, and R-Truth. Punk cut a promo on his way to the ring, but was interrupted by R-Truth's entrance. Punk was able to eliminate R-Truth in about three-and-a-half minutes, before any other competitor had entered the match, and was able to finish his promo afterward. Mysterio entered after the first five minutes had passed, and eliminated Punk before the next competitor entered. The next entrant was revealed to be Jericho, and he and Mysterio wrestled for five minutes until Morrison was released. Morrison utilised his "Starship Pain" finisher (a split-legged corkscrew moonsault) to pin Mysterio and eliminate him from the match. The final entrant into the match was the defending champion The Undertaker, who was able to eliminate Morrison following a chokeslam
after approximately 28 minutes. Shawn Michaels
, who had requested and been denied a match with The Undertaker for WrestleMania, snuck into the chamber, and performed his "Sweet Chin Music" superkick on The Undertaker. This allowed Jericho to pin The Undertaker to win the match and the World Heavyweight Championship for the third time.
to get revenge. The Undertaker accepted the match on the condition that if Michaels lost, he would have to retire, to which Michaels agreed. Two weeks later, the pair agreed to make the match a no countout, no disqualification match.
Edge returned from injury at the Royal Rumble
as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble match, which he won, earning a guaranteed match for any WWE world championship. Following Jericho's victory in the Elimination Chamber, in which he won the World Heavyweight Championship, Edge speared him the following night on Raw and announced that he had elected to face Jericho at WrestleMania. Following this announcement, Edge began a campaign of surprise attacks on Jericho, spearing him on several occasions in an attempt to play mind games with Jericho. On the March 12 episode of SmackDown, Jericho hosted a special edition of his talk show segment, The Highlight Reel, with Edge as the guest. Edge attempted to spear Jericho again, but Jericho was able to avoid it and hit Edge with the World Heavyweight Championship belt instead.
After Batista won the WWE Championship from John Cena at Elimination Chamber, Cena requested a rematch. Mr. McMahon agreed, on the condition that Cena must defeat Batista in a non-title match that night on Raw. Batista intentionally low-blowed Cena during the match to get disqualified and set up their match at WrestleMania. To build up their match, Batista interfered in several of Cena's matches in the weeks prior to WrestleMania, both attacking Cena or distracting him so that his opponent could gain the advantage.
Tension within The Legacy
faction had been growing since Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase accidentally cost Randy Orton the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble. After DiBiase eliminated Orton from the Elimination Chamber match, with the help of Rhodes, Orton turned on Rhodes and DiBiase, and attacked them during a six-man tag team match causing The Legacy to lose. In the following weeks, Orton faced DiBiase in a singles match and DiBiase and Rhodes in a two-on-one handicap match, until the guest host of Raw, Steve Austin
, booked a triple threat match between Orton, Rhodes, and DiBiase for WrestleMania.
After being eliminated from the Elimination Chamber match by Triple H, Sheamus attacked him on the March 1 episode of Raw in retaliation. The following week, Sheamus challenged Triple H to a match at WrestleMania, which Triple H accepted. On the final episode of Raw before WrestleMania, Sheamus teamed up with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase to defeat Triple H and Randy Orton in a two-on-three handicap match.
's wrestling section, Dale Plummer and Nick Tylwalk also slammed the Divas match, rating it 0.5 out of 10, and stating that it "was pretty much a complete waste of time", a sentiment echoed by the Pro Wrestling Torch's James Caldwell, who stated that the match was a "throwaway". The non-Elimination Chamber matches on the show were mostly derided as being unimportant, with The Baltimore Sun
' s reviewer Kevin Eck stating the they "came off as filler".
Despite the generally negative reviews, McNichol praised the unannounced championship match between Batista and Cena, stating that "it was good storytelling and played out Batista's current character traits well". Also praised was Vince McMahon's surprise appearance at the PPV. He singled out John Morrison's performance in the Elimination Chamber match as "impressive". His praise was echoed by Caldwell, who stated that Morrison had "some standout moments" throughout the match. Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer
praised the United States Championship match between The Miz and Montel Vontavious Porter, stating that it was "good". Eck agreed, stating that it was "the best of the three non-chamber matches".
Overall, Plummer and Tylwalk rated the event 6 out of 10, stating that it was "a strangely paced, uneven affair that dragged between its pair of namesake matches", but that it succeeded in building up matches for WrestleMania
. McNichol agreed, praising the storyline developments in setting up WrestleMania
matches, but ultimately calling the event "forgettable". He awarded the event 7 out of 10. Caldwell also criticised the pay-per-view heavily, stating that it was an "underwhelming overall PPV with a weak, weak mid-card".
17,000 people attended Elimination Chamber at the Scottrade Center
, drawing a gate of US$
850,000. The event received 285,000 buys on pay-per-view, an increase of 13,000 compared to No Way Out 2009's
272,000 buys. The DVD of the event was released on March 23, 2010.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) was a professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWE), which took place on February 21, 2010 at the Scottrade Center
Scottrade Center
Scottrade Center is a 19,150 seat arena located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, opened in 1994. It is the home of the St...
in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. It was the first Elimination Chamber
WWE Elimination Chamber
Elimination Chamber was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on February 21, 2010 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the first Elimination Chamber event...
event. Six matches were aired on the broadcast and one dark match occurred prior to the live broadcast.
The concept of the event was that the two main event matches, one each for the World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
and the WWE Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
, would occur in an Elimination Chamber
Elimination Chamber
The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE promotion. It features a large chain-linked circular steel structure or "chamber" which encloses the ring. The chamber's floor is platformed over the ringside area which elevates it to ring level and within...
. Each match featured six competitors: the defending champion and five challengers. Sheamus defended the WWE Championship against Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
, Ted DiBiase
Ted DiBiase, Jr.
Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase Jr. is an American professional wrestler and actor signed with WWE, where he appears on its SmackDown brand...
, Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
, John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
, and Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
in the Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
Elimination Chamber. In the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match, The Undertaker defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
, John Morrison, Rey Mysterio, CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
and R-Truth
Ron Killings
Ronald Aaron "Ron" Killings is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE working on its Raw brand. Since working for the company, he has been a one time United States Champion under the ring name R-Truth and a two time Hardcore Champion under the ring name K-Kwik...
. On the undercard, Drew McIntyre defended the WWE Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
against Kane
Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
, The Miz
Mike Mizanin
Michael "Mike" Gregory Mizanin is an American professional wrestler and reality television personality better known by his nickname and ring name The Miz. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment on its Raw brand...
defended the WWE United States Championship
WWE United States Championship
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
against Montel Vontavious Porter, and Maryse
Maryse Ouellet
Maryse Ouellet is a Professional Glamour Model and a former professional wrestler, better known simply as Maryse. She most recently worked for WWE...
and Gail Kim
Gail Kim
Gail Kim is a Canadian professional wrestler of Korean descent, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where she is the current TNA Women's Knockout Champion and one half of the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions with Madison Rayne...
competed against Team Lay-Cool
LayCool
LayCool was a villainous professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Layla and Michelle McCool...
(Layla
Layla El
Layla El is an English dancer, model and professional wrestler of Moroccan and Spanish descent. She is employed by WWE as a WWE Diva and appears on the SmackDown brand as Layla...
and Michelle McCool
Michelle McCool
Michelle Leigh McCool , is a retired American professional wrestler who is best known for her time in WWE.McCool originally worked as a middle school teacher in Palatka, Florida. She joined WWE in 2004 after participating in the 2004 WWE Diva Search. In her initial on-screen role, she acted...
) in an interbrand Divas
WWE Diva
Diva is a term used by World Wrestling Entertainment , an American professional wrestling promotion, to refer to its female talent. The term is applied to women who appear as wrestlers, managers or valets, backstage interviewers, or ring announcers....
tag team match
Professional wrestling tag team match types
Much like singles matches, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace...
.
The event received 285,000 pay-per-view buys, an increase on the figure earned by the 2009 No Way Out
No Way Out (2009)
No Way Out was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on February 15, 2009 at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington. It was the 11th and final event under the No Way Out name and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown and ECW brands...
pay-per-view. Despite the increased number of buys, the event received generally negative reviews, with reviewers criticising the undercard of the show as being "weak" and consisting of "filler" material. However, positive feedback came from the Elimination Chamber matches.
Production and concept
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWE) held a poll on their official website to allow fans to choose a name for their February pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
. The choices included Elimination Chamber, Heavy Metal, Battle Chamber, Chamber of Conflict and No Way Out, which had been the name of the preceding Elimination Chamber-based event
WWE No Way Out
No Way Out was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced every February by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The event was created in 1998, with its inaugural event produced as an In Your House event in February of that year. The event in 2000 was rebranded...
. The name Elimination Chamber won, and the event was renamed. Despite this, the event was still promoted as No Way Out in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
The concept of the show was that each main event match was to be contested as an Elimination Chamber
Elimination Chamber
The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE promotion. It features a large chain-linked circular steel structure or "chamber" which encloses the ring. The chamber's floor is platformed over the ringside area which elevates it to ring level and within...
match. The Elimination Chamber is a circular steel cage, consisting of chain
Chain
A chain is a sequence of connected links.Chain may also refer to:Chain may refer to:* Necklace - a jewelry which is worn around the neck* Mail , a type of armor made of interlocking chain links...
s and girder
Girder
A girder is a support beam used in construction. Girders often have an I-beam cross section for strength, but may also have a box shape, Z shape or other forms. Girder is the term used to denote the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams...
s, that surrounds the ring. Four 'pods' are enclosed within the chamber, one behind each ring post, which are on a steel platform surrounding the outside of the ring. Six wrestlers compete in the match; four are enclosed within the pods and released at random at specific time intervals, and two start the match. Wrestlers can only be eliminated via pinfall and submission, and the last wrestler left is the winner. For the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, both WWE world championships, the WWE Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
and the World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
, were to be defended in separate Elimination Chamber matches.
Just prior to the commencement of the World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
Elimination Chamber match, The Undertaker was involved in a pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics is the science of using materials capable of undergoing self-contained and self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions for the production of heat, light, gas, smoke and/or sound...
accident during his ring entrance. He was temporarily engulfed in flames when the pyrotechnics were mistimed, and his jacket caught on fire. It was later reported that he'd suffered first- and second-degree burns to his neck and chest, and according to a WWE spokesperson the injury "looked like a bad sunburn". He was only allowed to participate in the match after being cleared by a ringside doctor and was given bottles of water throughout the match to douse himself with to attempt to alleviate the discomfort.
Background
Elimination Chamber featured professional wrestling matchesProfessional wrestling match types
Many types of matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, can be found in the form of performing art that is professional wrestling....
involving different wrestlers from scripted feuds
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
and storylines that had been seen on World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
's television programs – Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
and SmackDown. Wrestlers were portrayed as villains
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
or heroes
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
, or more ambiguous characters in scripted contests that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match on the pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
. All wrestlers were from WWE's Raw and SmackDown brands—a storyline division
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
in which WWE employees are assigned to a television program of the same name.
The main event matches for the Elimination Chamber event consisted of two Elimination Chamber
Elimination Chamber
The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE promotion. It features a large chain-linked circular steel structure or "chamber" which encloses the ring. The chamber's floor is platformed over the ringside area which elevates it to ring level and within...
matches, with Raw's WWE Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
defended in one and SmackDown's World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
defended in the other. Qualifying matches were held on the February 1 episode of Raw to determine the five challengers who would face the WWE Champion Sheamus in Raw's Elimination Chamber match. In qualifiers, John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
defeated Cody Rhodes, Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
defeated Jack Swagger, Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
defeated Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
, Ted DiBiase
Ted DiBiase, Jr.
Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase Jr. is an American professional wrestler and actor signed with WWE, where he appears on its SmackDown brand...
defeated Mark Henry
Mark Henry
Mark Jerrold Henry is an American professional wrestler signed with WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. He is a 1992 Olympian, and winner of the 2002 Arnold Strongman Classic...
, and Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
defeated The Big Show
Paul Wight
Paul Donald Wight, Jr. , better known by his ring name, Big Show, is an American professional wrestler and actor, currently signed to WWE on its Raw brand....
by disqualification.
Michaels was upset at losing this chance at a championship while the Undertaker remained a champion. This was following his failed record-breaking attempt at Royal Rumble 2010 to gain a ticket to main-event Mania 2010 against Taker.
In the weeks prior to Elimination Chamber the participants faced off in several matches, which included DiBiase vs. Cena ending in a no contest, Sheamus defeating Orton by disqualification, DiBiase defeating Kingston via pinfall, and Cena vs. Triple H ending in a no contest due to Sheamus interfering and attacking both participants. The February 5 episode of SmackDown saw the five wrestlers qualify to challenge The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship in a similar fashion. John Morrison defeated Drew McIntyre and Kane
Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
in a triple threat match. Throughout the rest of the episode, this was followed by R-Truth
Ron Killings
Ronald Aaron "Ron" Killings is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE working on its Raw brand. Since working for the company, he has been a one time United States Champion under the ring name R-Truth and a two time Hardcore Champion under the ring name K-Kwik...
defeating Mike Knox
Mike Knox
Michael Shawn Hettinga is a American professional wrestler. He is best known for wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment as Mike Knox. He is also an avid fisherman, and fishes in his spare time.-Independent circuit :...
, CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
defeating Batista via countout, Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
defeating Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy
Matthew Moore "Matt" Hardy is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
, and Rey Mysterio defeating Dolph Ziggler
Nick Nemeth
Nicholas Theodore "Nick" Nemeth is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE performing on its Raw brand under the ring name Dolph Ziggler. He is the reigning WWE United States Champion...
. In the following weeks, the six wrestlers faced off in different combinations in singles matches that saw Mysterio pin Punk, Morrison vs. R-Truth end in a no contest due to Morrison suffering a storyline
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
ankle injury, and Jericho defeating The Undertaker. On the February 19 episode of SmackDown, Morrison and R-Truth teamed up to face CM Punk and his 'follower' Luke Gallows
Drew Hankinson
Andrew "Drew" Hankinson is an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment , where he appeared under the ring names Festus and Luke Gallows...
in a tag team match
Professional wrestling tag team match types
Much like singles matches, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace...
, which Morrison and R-truth lost via referee stoppage.
In late December 2009, WWE Divas Champion Melina
Melina Perez
Melina Nava Perez is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Women Superstars Uncensored. She is best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring mononym Melina....
tore her anterior cruciate ligament
Anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament is a cruciate ligament which is one of the four major ligaments of the human knee. In the quadruped stifle , based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament.The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur...
, and was forced to vacate the championship. As a result, it was announced in January 2010, that a single-elimination tournament
Single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination tournament, also called a knockout, cup or sudden death tournament, is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match or bracket is immediately eliminated from winning the championship or first prize in the event...
would be held to determine a new champion. The tournament began on the January 4 episode of Raw, when Maryse
Maryse Ouellet
Maryse Ouellet is a Professional Glamour Model and a former professional wrestler, better known simply as Maryse. She most recently worked for WWE...
advanced to the semi-finals by defeating Brie Bella
The Bella Twins
Brianna Monique Garcia and Stephanie Nicole Garcia are American twin professional wrestlers. The twins are a professional wrestling tag team under the ring names Brie Bella and Nikki Bella, collectively referred to as The Bella Twins, and work for WWE on the Raw brand.Before being promoted to the...
. She was followed into the semi-finals by Gail Kim
Gail Kim
Gail Kim is a Canadian professional wrestler of Korean descent, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where she is the current TNA Women's Knockout Champion and one half of the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions with Madison Rayne...
, Alicia Fox, and Eve
Eve Torres
Eve Marie Torres is an American dancer, model, and professional wrestler. She is working for WWE on Raw brand. She is a two time WWE Divas Champion.Torres began her career as a model and dancer...
, who defeated Jillian Hall
Jillian Hall
Jillian Faye Fletcher is an American professional wrestler who is currently signed to Women Superstars Uncensored. She is also known for her tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Jillian Hall or simply Jillian...
, Kelly Kelly, and Katie Lea Burchill
Katarina Waters
Katarina Leigh Waters is a German-born English professional wrestler and valet, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Winter. She is best known for her time in World Wrestling Entertainment, performing on its Raw brand under the ring name Katie Lea...
respectively. In the semi-finals, Maryse defeated Eve and Kim defeated Fox. It was then announced on the February 8 episode of Raw that Maryse and Kim would face one another in the final at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
On the February 12 episode of Smackdown, the WWE Intercontinental Champion
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
Drew McIntyre faced Kane
Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
in a non-title match. After the match went to a double-countout, Kane chokeslammed McIntyre. It was announced the following day on WWE's official website that Kane and McIntyre would meet at Elimination Chamber for the Intercontinental Championship. The following week, on the February 19 episode of SmackDown, Kane defeated Dolph Ziggler in a singles match. Following the match, he was attacked by McIntyre, but Kane was able to fight back and fend off the attack.
Event
Prior to the live broadcast of the pay-per-view, Christian defeated Ezekiel Jackson in a singles match by pinfall.Preliminary matches
The first match that aired on the pay-per-view was the Raw Elimination Chamber match, which involved Randy Orton, Triple H, Ted DiBiase, Kofi Kingston, John Cena, and the defending WWE Champion Sheamus. Sheamus and Kingston started the match, while the other four competitors were locked inside 'pods'. One pod at a time opened during the match at intervals of five minutes, releasing a wrestler into the match. Triple H was the first wrestler released, followed by Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, and finally Cena. After Cena entered the match, Cody Rhodes, an ally of both DiBiase and Orton went to ringside, and threw a steel pipe into the cage. DiBiase used the pipe to hit both Orton and Cena, and then covered Orton to eliminate him from the match after approximately 24 minutes. Kingston used his finishing move, "Trouble in Paradise" (a 540 kick540 kick
In martial arts and tricking, the 540 kick, also known as inside turning kick, jump inside kick, tornado kick and Xuanfengjiao , is a jump kick move...
) to eliminate DiBiase after 25-and-a-half minutes. Immediately afterward, Sheamus eliminated Kingston by pinfall, before being eliminated himself by Triple H at approximately 29 minutes, leaving only Cena and Triple H in the match. Cena used a submission hold
Professional wrestling holds
Professional wrestling holds include a number of set moves and pins used by performers to immobilize their opponents or lead to a submission. This article covers the various pins, stretches and transition holds used in the ring...
, the STF on Triple H to eliminate him from the match via submission. As a result, Cena won the WWE Championship for the sixth time, his eight world championship overall.
Immediately following the conclusion of the match, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
interrupted to cut a promo. He told Cena that he would be going to WrestleMania XXVI
WrestleMania XXVI
WrestleMania XXVI was the twenty-sixth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on March 28, 2010 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. This was the fourth WrestleMania to...
, only if he could beat Batista, and then ordered Cena to face Batista in a previously unannounced match for the WWE Championship. Batista speared Cena, and then performed a "Batista Bomb" (a sitout powerbomb) on him to earn a pinfall victory, making Batista the new WWE Champion.
The third match featured Drew McIntyre defending the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Kane
Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
. The match began with Kane taking the advantage over McIntyre by clotheslining him over the top rope to the floor. Towards the end of the match, McIntyre attempted to leave the arena and lose via countout, which would have allowed him to retain the championship, but Kane brought him back inside the ring. When re-entering the ring, McIntyre poked him in the eye and then performed his "Future Shock DDT" (a double underhook DDT) to win the match by pinfall and remain the Intercontinental Champion.
Main event matches
The next match was scheduled to be the final of a tournament to determine a new Divas Champion after the championship was vacated. Maryse and Gail Kim had entered the ring when official consultant to the SmackDown General Manager, Vickie GuerreroVickie Guerrero
Vickie Lynn Guerrero is an American professional wrestling personality, manager, shifting authority figure and occasional wrestler. She is the widow of professional wrestler Eddie Guerrero, currently signed to WWE on its Raw brand...
interrupted. Guerrero stated that a result of the Raw Divas
WWE Diva
Diva is a term used by World Wrestling Entertainment , an American professional wrestling promotion, to refer to its female talent. The term is applied to women who appear as wrestlers, managers or valets, backstage interviewers, or ring announcers....
making disparaging remarks about the SmackDown Divas, she was changing the match to an interbrand Divas tag team match
Professional wrestling tag team match types
Much like singles matches, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace...
, with Raw Divas Kim and Maryse facing Team Lay-Cool
LayCool
LayCool was a villainous professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Layla and Michelle McCool...
(Michelle McCool
Michelle McCool
Michelle Leigh McCool , is a retired American professional wrestler who is best known for her time in WWE.McCool originally worked as a middle school teacher in Palatka, Florida. She joined WWE in 2004 after participating in the 2004 WWE Diva Search. In her initial on-screen role, she acted...
and Layla
Layla El
Layla El is an English dancer, model and professional wrestler of Moroccan and Spanish descent. She is employed by WWE as a WWE Diva and appears on the SmackDown brand as Layla...
) from SmackDown. The story of the match was that Maryse and Kim could not work together, and Maryse attacked Kim, allowing McCool to hit her finishing move for the victory. Following the match, Maryse performed her "French Kiss DDT" on Kim. Following the match, The Miz
Mike Mizanin
Michael "Mike" Gregory Mizanin is an American professional wrestler and reality television personality better known by his nickname and ring name The Miz. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment on its Raw brand...
was interviewed backstage by Josh Mathews about NXT
WWE NXT
WWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
, on which he was a mentor. He was interrupted by Montel Vontavious Porter, who informed The Miz that the two had a match next. This was followed by William Regal cutting an in-ring promo on NXT. He was interrupted by the winner of the 2010
Royal Rumble (2010)
Royal Rumble was the twenty-third annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on January 31, 2010 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown and ECW brands...
Royal Rumble match, Edge, who stated that he would be deciding which championship to challenge for at WrestleMania on the next episode of Raw. Edge then speared Regal.
The fifth match was a previously unannounced contest which saw The Miz defend his WWE United States Championship
WWE United States Championship
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
against Montel Vontavious Porter. The Miz was accompanied by his tag team partner, The Big Show
Paul Wight
Paul Donald Wight, Jr. , better known by his ring name, Big Show, is an American professional wrestler and actor, currently signed to WWE on its Raw brand....
, while Porter was accompanied by Mark Henry
Mark Henry
Mark Jerrold Henry is an American professional wrestler signed with WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. He is a 1992 Olympian, and winner of the 2002 Arnold Strongman Classic...
, with whom he had regularly teamed. Porter took the advantage at the beginning of the match, before The Miz was able to fight back with a swinging DDT. When he climbed to the top rope, however, Porter knocked him off to regain the advantage. The Big Show pulled The Miz out of the ring to safety, and then threw Mark Henry into the security barricade at ringside. With the referee
Referee (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling referee is the official figure that makes sure that wrestling matches move smoothly in an attempt to maintain kayfabe. The referee also has the ultimate power in the ring...
distracted by this, The Big Show used his "Knockout Punch" on Porter, and The Miz was able to pin him to retain his championship.
The main event of the pay-per-view was the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship, featuring the defending champion The Undertaker, CM Punk, Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, and R-Truth. Mysterio, Morrison, and Jericho entered first and were locked into pods. The Undertaker was the fourth to make his way down to the ring, but an accident occurred during his match when his pyrotechnics were mistimed, resulting in him being momentarily engulfed in flames. He was cleared by a ringside doctor to wrestle, however, and was able to compete in the match. The final two, who were to start the match, were CM Punk, who was accompanied by his stable, The Straight-Edge Society of Serena
Serena Deeb
Serena Deeb is an American professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment, appearing on the SmackDown brand and also known for her time with the developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling. under the ring name Serena...
and Luke Gallows
Drew Hankinson
Andrew "Drew" Hankinson is an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment , where he appeared under the ring names Festus and Luke Gallows...
, and R-Truth. Punk cut a promo on his way to the ring, but was interrupted by R-Truth's entrance. Punk was able to eliminate R-Truth in about three-and-a-half minutes, before any other competitor had entered the match, and was able to finish his promo afterward. Mysterio entered after the first five minutes had passed, and eliminated Punk before the next competitor entered. The next entrant was revealed to be Jericho, and he and Mysterio wrestled for five minutes until Morrison was released. Morrison utilised his "Starship Pain" finisher (a split-legged corkscrew moonsault) to pin Mysterio and eliminate him from the match. The final entrant into the match was the defending champion The Undertaker, who was able to eliminate Morrison following a chokeslam
Chokeslam
A chokeslam refers to a type of body slam in professional wrestling in which the wrestler grasps their opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks powerful on camera...
after approximately 28 minutes. Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
, who had requested and been denied a match with The Undertaker for WrestleMania, snuck into the chamber, and performed his "Sweet Chin Music" superkick on The Undertaker. This allowed Jericho to pin The Undertaker to win the match and the World Heavyweight Championship for the third time.
Aftermath
Following his interference in the Elimination Chamber match to prevent The Undertaker from winning, Shawn Michaels cut a promo on the next episode of Raw, stating that he interfered so that The Undertaker would agree to a rematch at WrestleMania XXVIWrestleMania XXVI
WrestleMania XXVI was the twenty-sixth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on March 28, 2010 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. This was the fourth WrestleMania to...
to get revenge. The Undertaker accepted the match on the condition that if Michaels lost, he would have to retire, to which Michaels agreed. Two weeks later, the pair agreed to make the match a no countout, no disqualification match.
Royal Rumble (2010)
Royal Rumble was the twenty-third annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on January 31, 2010 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown and ECW brands...
as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble match, which he won, earning a guaranteed match for any WWE world championship. Following Jericho's victory in the Elimination Chamber, in which he won the World Heavyweight Championship, Edge speared him the following night on Raw and announced that he had elected to face Jericho at WrestleMania. Following this announcement, Edge began a campaign of surprise attacks on Jericho, spearing him on several occasions in an attempt to play mind games with Jericho. On the March 12 episode of SmackDown, Jericho hosted a special edition of his talk show segment, The Highlight Reel, with Edge as the guest. Edge attempted to spear Jericho again, but Jericho was able to avoid it and hit Edge with the World Heavyweight Championship belt instead.
After Batista won the WWE Championship from John Cena at Elimination Chamber, Cena requested a rematch. Mr. McMahon agreed, on the condition that Cena must defeat Batista in a non-title match that night on Raw. Batista intentionally low-blowed Cena during the match to get disqualified and set up their match at WrestleMania. To build up their match, Batista interfered in several of Cena's matches in the weeks prior to WrestleMania, both attacking Cena or distracting him so that his opponent could gain the advantage.
Tension within The Legacy
The Legacy (professional wrestling)
The Legacy was a villainous alliance of professional wrestlers in World Wrestling Entertainment. The group was led by Randy Orton and contained the tag team of Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase....
faction had been growing since Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase accidentally cost Randy Orton the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble. After DiBiase eliminated Orton from the Elimination Chamber match, with the help of Rhodes, Orton turned on Rhodes and DiBiase, and attacked them during a six-man tag team match causing The Legacy to lose. In the following weeks, Orton faced DiBiase in a singles match and DiBiase and Rhodes in a two-on-one handicap match, until the guest host of Raw, Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
, booked a triple threat match between Orton, Rhodes, and DiBiase for WrestleMania.
After being eliminated from the Elimination Chamber match by Triple H, Sheamus attacked him on the March 1 episode of Raw in retaliation. The following week, Sheamus challenged Triple H to a match at WrestleMania, which Triple H accepted. On the final episode of Raw before WrestleMania, Sheamus teamed up with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase to defeat Triple H and Randy Orton in a two-on-three handicap match.
Reception
The event received mixed to negative reviews. Writing for The Sun, Rob McNichol criticised the majority of the show as being "filler" and stated that the Divas match was "poor fare". Writing for Canadian Online ExplorerCanadian Online Explorer
Canadian Online Explorer is a bilingual online news and information site from Canada.A subsidiary of Quebecor Media, Canoe.ca is a leading local and national interactive media provider of news, entertainment and services, helping to inform and connect Canadians...
's wrestling section, Dale Plummer and Nick Tylwalk also slammed the Divas match, rating it 0.5 out of 10, and stating that it "was pretty much a complete waste of time", a sentiment echoed by the Pro Wrestling Torch's James Caldwell, who stated that the match was a "throwaway". The non-Elimination Chamber matches on the show were mostly derided as being unimportant, with The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
Despite the generally negative reviews, McNichol praised the unannounced championship match between Batista and Cena, stating that "it was good storytelling and played out Batista's current character traits well". Also praised was Vince McMahon's surprise appearance at the PPV. He singled out John Morrison's performance in the Elimination Chamber match as "impressive". His praise was echoed by Caldwell, who stated that Morrison had "some standout moments" throughout the match. Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer
Dave Meltzer
David A. Meltzer is the editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Sports Illustrated senior writer Frank Deford has praised Meltzer's work, saying that "Meltzer, I believe, is the most accomplished reporter in sports journalism." Meltzer has written for the Oakland Tribune, the Los Angeles...
praised the United States Championship match between The Miz and Montel Vontavious Porter, stating that it was "good". Eck agreed, stating that it was "the best of the three non-chamber matches".
Overall, Plummer and Tylwalk rated the event 6 out of 10, stating that it was "a strangely paced, uneven affair that dragged between its pair of namesake matches", but that it succeeded in building up matches for WrestleMania
WrestleMania XXVI
WrestleMania XXVI was the twenty-sixth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on March 28, 2010 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. This was the fourth WrestleMania to...
. McNichol agreed, praising the storyline developments in setting up WrestleMania
WrestleMania XXVI
WrestleMania XXVI was the twenty-sixth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on March 28, 2010 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. This was the fourth WrestleMania to...
matches, but ultimately calling the event "forgettable". He awarded the event 7 out of 10. Caldwell also criticised the pay-per-view heavily, stating that it was an "underwhelming overall PPV with a weak, weak mid-card".
17,000 people attended Elimination Chamber at the Scottrade Center
Scottrade Center
Scottrade Center is a 19,150 seat arena located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, opened in 1994. It is the home of the St...
, drawing a gate of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
850,000. The event received 285,000 buys on pay-per-view, an increase of 13,000 compared to No Way Out 2009's
No Way Out (2009)
No Way Out was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on February 15, 2009 at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington. It was the 11th and final event under the No Way Out name and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown and ECW brands...
272,000 buys. The DVD of the event was released on March 23, 2010.
Results
| # | Matches | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark | Christian defeated Ezekiel Jackson | Singles match | Unknown |
| 1 | John Cena John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand.... defeated Sheamus (c), Triple H Triple H Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley... , Randy Orton Randy Orton Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand... , Ted DiBiase Ted DiBiase, Jr. Theodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase Jr. is an American professional wrestler and actor signed with WWE, where he appears on its SmackDown brand... and Kofi Kingston Kofi Kingston Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom... |
Elimination Chamber Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE promotion. It features a large chain-linked circular steel structure or "chamber" which encloses the ring. The chamber's floor is platformed over the ringside area which elevates it to ring level and within... match for the WWE Championship WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963... |
43:50 |
| 2 | Batista defeated John Cena (c) | Singles match for the WWE Championship | 00:31 |
| 3 | Drew McIntyre (c) defeated Kane Kane (wrestler) Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury.... |
Singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship WWE Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand... |
10:16 |
| 4 | Team Lay-Cool LayCool LayCool was a villainous professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Layla and Michelle McCool... (Michelle McCool Michelle McCool Michelle Leigh McCool , is a retired American professional wrestler who is best known for her time in WWE.McCool originally worked as a middle school teacher in Palatka, Florida. She joined WWE in 2004 after participating in the 2004 WWE Diva Search. In her initial on-screen role, she acted... and Layla Layla El Layla El is an English dancer, model and professional wrestler of Moroccan and Spanish descent. She is employed by WWE as a WWE Diva and appears on the SmackDown brand as Layla... ) defeated Maryse Maryse Ouellet Maryse Ouellet is a Professional Glamour Model and a former professional wrestler, better known simply as Maryse. She most recently worked for WWE... and Gail Kim Gail Kim Gail Kim is a Canadian professional wrestler of Korean descent, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where she is the current TNA Women's Knockout Champion and one half of the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions with Madison Rayne... |
Tag team match Professional wrestling tag team match types Much like singles matches, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace... |
03:36 |
| 5 | The Miz Mike Mizanin Michael "Mike" Gregory Mizanin is an American professional wrestler and reality television personality better known by his nickname and ring name The Miz. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment on its Raw brand... (c) (with The Big Show Paul Wight Paul Donald Wight, Jr. , better known by his ring name, Big Show, is an American professional wrestler and actor, currently signed to WWE on its Raw brand.... ) defeated Montel Vontavious Porter (with Mark Henry Mark Henry Mark Jerrold Henry is an American professional wrestler signed with WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. He is a 1992 Olympian, and winner of the 2002 Arnold Strongman Classic... ) |
Singles match for the WWE United States Championship WWE United States Championship The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand.... |
13:01 |
| 6 | Chris Jericho Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer... defeated The Undertaker (c), John Morrison, R-Truth Ron Killings Ronald Aaron "Ron" Killings is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE working on its Raw brand. Since working for the company, he has been a one time United States Champion under the ring name R-Truth and a two time Hardcore Champion under the ring name K-Kwik... , CM Punk CM Punk Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion.... and Rey Mysterio |
Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship World Heavyweight Championship (WWE) The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand... |
35:36 |
| (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match | |||
Elimination Chamber entrances and eliminations (Raw)
| Eliminated | Wrestler | Entered | Eliminated by | Method of elimination | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Randy Orton | Ted DiBiase | Pinned after an Attitude Adjustment by Cena | 31:44 | ||
| Ted DiBiase | Kofi Kingston | Pinned after a Trouble in Paradise | 35:16 | ||
| Kofi Kingston | Sheamus | Pinned after a High Cross | 36:13 | ||
| Sheamus | Triple H | Pinned after a low - blow and Pedigree | 40:50 | ||
| Triple H | John Cena | Submitted to the STF | 43:50 | ||
| John Cena | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Elimination Chamber entrances and eliminations (SmackDown)
| Eliminated | Wrestler | Entered | Eliminated by | Method of elimination | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-Truth | CM Punk | Pinned after a GTS (Go To Sleep) | 03:34 | ||
| CM Punk | Rey Mysterio | Pinned after a Springboard Dive | 09:58 | ||
| Rey Mysterio | John Morrison | Pinned after a Starship Pain | 20:00 | ||
| John Morrison | The Undertaker | Pinned after a chokeslam on the steel floor | 28:24 | ||
| Undertaker | Chris Jericho | Pinned after a Sweet Chin Music from Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December... |
35:36 | ||
| Chris Jericho | N/A | N/A | N/A |
See also
- List of WWE pay-per-view events
- WWE Elimination ChamberWWE Elimination ChamberElimination Chamber was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on February 21, 2010 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the first Elimination Chamber event...