WWE Elimination Chamber Match Review #12: 2011 – World Heavyweight Title (Smackdown)
There were two Elimination Chamber matches that took place at the 2011 Elimination Chamber PPV. The first featured the Smackdown roster competing for the World Heavyweight Title while the Raw talent competed for a shot at the WWE Champion (The Miz) at WrestleMania.
The Smackdown World Title match took place as the second match on the card.
WWE Elimination Chamber
February 20, 2011
Oracle Arena in Oakland, California
Kane was the first man to enter the arena and enter a Lexan pod. It is Kane’s fourth appearance in a Chamber match. Booker T on commentary put over the Elimination Chamber match being scary for anybody that enters the structure. Drew McIntyre was up next. He was only 25 years old at this time and considered by many to be a future World Champion. Wade Barrett was up next. This was during his run with “The Corre” group that failed miserably and had a very generic theme song that I had forgotten about until I just heard it again watching this match.
Teddy Long’s music hit. He was the Smackdown GM. He’s not in the match, sorry playas. Long said that last week on Smackdown, he fired Dolph Ziggler and now he presents Ziggler’s replacement…well it’s a Big Show. Good ovation for Show. The guys in the pods were upset with that announcement. Show stared at Barrett, who beat him to get in the Chamber match due to help from The Corre.
Rey Mysterio was up next as one of the two men to start the match. Good ovation for him like usual. Edge was up last. He was the World Heavyweight Champion that was a face. The pop for Edge was pretty big. Edge was a main event heel most of the previous five years, but he was in a face role after he returned at the 2010 Royal Rumble and they kept in that role until the end of his career.
Analysis: I remember going into this thinking that Edge would retain the title because Alberto Del Rio was the heel Royal Rumble winner, so he needed a face opponent and Edge was in a face role.
Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Title: Edge vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Wade Barrett vs. Big Show vs. Kane Rey Mysterio
Pre-match notes: The faces were World Champion Edge, Rey Mysterio and Big Show while Kane, Barrett and McIntyre were the heels.
The announcers were Michael Cole, Booker T and Josh Mathews.
Edge and Mysterio were the two best workers in the match, so it was a smart choice to have them start the match. Edge stomped away on Mysterio in the corner. Mysterio got his boot up followed by a headscissors. Mysterio with a kick, but Edge came back with a back body drop that sent Mysterio over the top onto the steel grating. Mysterio came back with a hurricanrana back in the ring. Edge took over again by shoving Mysterio back first into the cage repeatedly. Edge whipped Mysterio into the pod that Kane was standing inside of while Mathews said that Lexan glass is the strongest glass produced in the world. Mysterio with a drop toe hold sent Edge into the turnbuckle as the clock ticked down.
It’s Wade Barrett at #3 with a kick on Mysterio. Edge slowed down Barrett with punches. Edge launched Mysterio onto Barrett to take him down. Edge sent Mysterio face first into the steel. Barrett hit a side slam on Edge for a two count. Barrett hit a pumphandle slam on Mysterio for a two count. Barrett whipped Mysterio sternum first into the turnbuckle. Edge ducked a Barrett attack and sent Barrett onto the steel outside the ring. Mysterio with a dropkick on Edge. Barrett picked up Mysterio and used his feet to knock down Edge. Mysterio with a hurricanrana on Barrett to send him back into the ring. Mysterio dropkick on Barrett and Edge came in with a boot to the face knocked down Mysterio. The clock ticked down to zero again.
Kane is in at #4 as he decked Edge, Mysterio and Barrett with punches. Kane with another punch for Edge followed by a seated dropkick on Barrett. Kane splashed all three guys against the turnbuckle, kick to Edge and a sidewalk slam by Kane to Barrett. Mysterio with a kick on Kane for a two count. Edge and Kane each nailed Kane with kicks to the head. Barrett hit a clothesline on Edge and Rey at the same time as they went for a double clothesline on Barrett. Kane sent Mysterio and Edge onto the steel. Kane battled Barrett with Kane sending Barrett into the cage. Kane nailed Rey with a punch. With Mysterio on the top rope, Kane decked him with a punch to the throat leading to an Edge dropkick on Mysterio. Kane with a clothesline that sent Barrett over the ropes onto the steel.
Drew McIntyre is #5 in the match, he picked up Mysterio and launched him into the glass pod. Ouch. Barrett and McIntyre worked together on Kane with a double clothesline on the steel grating. McIntyre looked like he would work with Barrett, but McIntyre hit a low blow and then sent Barrett back first into one of the empty pods to break the glass. McIntyre with a suplex on Edge. Edge came back with a DDT on McIntyre. Kane grabbed Edge by the throat, kick to McIntyre, Edge punched Kane and Rey wanted a 619 on Kane, but Kane decked Rey with a punch and a kick by Kane for Edge. Kane sent Mysterio face first into a pod. Ouch! That looked nasty. Kane with a back body drop on McIntyre took down Barrett on the steel. Kane and Edge hit a boot to the face at the same time to knock them down. The clock ticked down to zero.
Big Show is the last man at #6 with the crowd cheering him. Show threw everybody out of the ring including a hard chop on McIntyre. Show chased after Barrett and whipped him back first into the pod. Show worked over Barrett with five hard chops to the chest followed by a whip into the cage. Show decked Barrett with a KO Punch and pinned him.
Wade Barrett eliminated by Big Show
Kane jumped off the top with a clothesline on Show and Edge hit an elbow off the top on Show for a two count. McIntyre hit the Future Shock DDT on Show for a two count. Mysterio was on top of one of the pods. Mysterio jumped off the pod with a seated senton splash, which looked impressive, but it only got a two count on Show. Kane kicked Show, Mysterio with a 619 on Show and Edge hit a Spear on Show. Kane knocked down Edge and Mysterio with punches. Kane hit a Chokeslam on Show and covered for a pinfall to eliminate him.
Big Show eliminated by Kane
McIntyre jumped off the top rope to try to attack Kane, but Kane caught him and hit a Chokeslam. Kane pinned McIntyre to eliminate him.
Drew McIntyre eliminated by Kane
Kane dumped Edge over the top to the floor. Mysterio hit Kane with a spinning DDT for a two count. Mysterio with a springboard leg drop to the back of the had of Kane for two. Mysterio headscissors led to the 619 connecting for Mysterio and Mysterio went up top, but Kane caught him. Edge hit a Spear on Rey and Kane at the same time while Kane was holding Rey. Edge pinned Kane to eliminate him.
Kane eliminated by Edge
After the elimination, Kane nailed Edge with a boot to the face. Kane picked up Mysterio and spiked him with a Chokeslam. Kane with a Chokeslam for Edge as well. Kane finally left.
Edge and Mysterio both used the ropes to get back to their feet with the crowd cheering both guys. Edge went for a Spear, Mysterio got a rollup for two and the crowd thought that was it. Mysterio with a cross body block, Edge rolled through for a cover and Mysterio kicked out. Mysterio with a boot to the face followed by a bulldog for a two count. Mysterio went up top, he jumped onto Edge’s shoulders and Edge countered with a sitout Powerbomb for a two count. The nearfalls are getting better every time with the crowd believing all of them. Mysterio countered a Powerbomb attempt with a headscissors, Rey wanted the 619, but Edge caught him and slapped on the Edgecution submission hold on the legs of Mysterio and Mysterio countered by getting a pinfall attempt where he sat on top for two. Edge charged in, Mysterio moved and Edge hit the turnbuckle. Mysterio ran the ropes and Edge hit a Spear for a two count! The nearfalls keep getting better. Mysterio sent Edge into the ropes, 619 and a splash off the top rope got a two count. The crowd thought that was it too and so did I. The announcers did a good job of marking out for the nearfalls. Mysterio with a headscissors and he connected with a 619 again. Mysterio went up top, he jumped off the top, Edge got back to his feet and hit a Spear leading to the pinfall win for Edge. The crowd was cheering loudly for that finish. The match went 31:30.
Rey Mysterio eliminated by Edge
Winner: Edge
Both guys were exhausted as the bell rang. Replays aired of all the big spots in the match including the midair Spear from Edge that won the match.
Analysis: ****1/2 It’s an amazing match. Fantastic work by Edge and Mysterio in being the focus of the match as the two guys that started it and ended it. Those last eight minutes were special. Drew McIntyre had a pretty good showing although I wish he lasted longer. Everybody worked their ass off. It’s the perfect kind of match for guys like Show and Kane because they can stick with their power moves without tiring out. Both guys were effective as the biggest guys in the match that had some memorable spots, but they couldn’t get the job done. Whoever put this match together did a tremendous job. They really planned all the spots well. One of the most important things is that the crowd bought into this match so much and they got louder as the match went on. When the work is great and the crowd is hot, that’s when you have the makings of a special match.
Post match, Edge was attacked by Royal Rumble winner Alberto Del Rio because they were set for a WrestleMania. Christian made the save for Edge. He got a big ovation because he was out for about six months when Del Rio took him out in an injury angle. Christian beat up Del Rio and then Edge hit a Spear.
Analysis: That set up Edge vs. Del Rio at WrestleMania 27 not in the main event of course, but the PPV opener. Sadly, Edge found out soon after that his neck injury was really bad and he was medically disqualified from ever wrestling again because he might get paralyzed if he took another bump. The feud turned into Christian vs. Del Rio with Christian getting his first World Title win in his career.
THREE RANDOM THOUGHTS
– The ****1/2 out of five-star rating makes it arguably the best Elimination Chamber match ever. The way it was booked from start to finish was brilliant. The two guys that started it, carried the match (even though Mysterio eliminated nobody) and delivered what was arguably the best final two sequence in Elimination Chamber match history. I remembered it being awesome. Then I watched it again today and I was amazed at how special it was.
– They had one of the more physical Chamber matches because of how many guys were tossed into the pods. I lost count by the end of it. It might have been their goal to crank up the intensity and if it was, they succeeded in cranking up the intensity.
– I have a small gripe with the match in that I think McIntyre could have been in the final three instead. I get why they went with Kane because he feuded with Mysterio and Edge, so having Kane hit them both with a Chokeslam set things up well. In McIntyre’s case, they could have had him do something similar to “send a message” and get him some heel heat.
Bonus: No “this is awesome” chant even though the crowd was loud for the whole thing. I don’t know when that chant started becoming a regular thing in WWE, but in today’s WWE they chant it too early. This match certainly deserved it.
FACTS & OPINIONS
Wrestler that lasted the longest: Edge and Mysterio at 31:30.
Most Eliminations: Edge and Kane with 2.
Best Performers (3): Edge – He started it and finished it in a spectacular fashion.
Rey Mysterio – Same as above. Incredible performance.
Kane – He was needed as a veteran heel big man to work over Edge and Rey.
Most Memorable Moment: Edge hitting the Spear on Mysterio when Mysterio was jumping off the top rope. That’s what I’ll remember the most.
Match Rating: ****1/2 out of five.
That’s all for me. Check out the full list of my WWE PPV Review archive right here. Thanks for reading.
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John Canton
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