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Aired live on pay-per-view
Oakland, California at Oracle Arena
The dark match was Daniel Bryan defending the US Title against Ted DiBiase. Bryan won with the LaBell lock in an eight minute match. Thanks to Dot Net Reader Joseph for the info…
The show opened with a video that hyped the Elimination Chamber match…The opening video aired, followed by the pyro, and Michael Cole welcomed us to the Elimination Chamber. The announcers seemed to cut out and they went straight to the ring where Ricardo Rodriguez was introduced, and he introduced Alberto Del Rio while insulting the Oakland Raiders.
The full announce team of Cole, Josh Matthews and Booker T checked in. Del Rio cut his promo and said he was committed to excellence unlike the losers in Oakland. He said the winner of the chamber match had the honor of losing to him at WrestleMania 27. He called Kofi Kingston a piece of trash and other things, but Kofi's music cut him off…
1. Alberto Del Rio defeated Kofi Kingston at 10:31. Booker started the match by saying if Kofi doesn't win tonight, "where does he go?" Del Rio hit a slam out of a lock up and worked the back. Kofi flipped out of a lift and hit a standing dropkick. Del Rio rolled to the floor and Ric Rod checked on him.
Kofi finally went to the floor and kicked Del Rio. He rolled him in the ring and hit several strikes. Del Rio tossed him to the floor and drove him into the steps. He rolled Kofi back in the ring and worked the back again. I thought his finisher was an arm breaker?
Del Rio whipped Kofi to the corner and Kofi hit a Pele kick off the buckle run up. Nice. They traded blows and Kofi hulked up. He hit the Boom Drop at 6:34 and setup for the Trouble in Paradise. Del Rio ducked it and went to the corner.
Kofi charged in Del Rio moved. Kofi slipped through the ropes and hit the pendulum kick. Kofi went to the top for the huge cross body, but Del Rio jumped up and turned it into a gut buster for two. Del Rio set Kofi on top, but Kofi pushed him down and hit a missile drop kick that NORAD picked up for two.
Ric Rod distracted the ref as Kofi hit a big DDT. The ref finally made the count, but Del Rio kicked out. Kofi hit the SOS, but Del Rio kicked out for a great near fall. Kofi set Del Rio in the corner and jumped for his ten punches. Del Rio ducked out and hit a neck breaker from the top rope. He followed with the cross arm breaker for the win…
Shore's Slant: Great opening match. The action got the crowd very hot yet didn't set the bar too high for the rest of the show. I'm really surprised that Booker T buried Kofi like he did at the beginning of the match. Unreal.
Randy Orton was shown backstage…Todd Grisham interviewed Edge and asked him about his recent history with Vickie Guerrero and how that affected his chamber match. Edge said he realized no champion in the last five years has retained in chamber, but he's one a chamber so he knows what it takes.
Drew McIntyre walked up and chased off Grisham. McIntyre said he was happy things worked out for Edge, but asked about the innocent victim Kelly Kelly. He said Edge took something precious away from him so he was going to take something precious away from Edge tonight. Edge said the world title and Kelly had something in common, neither would ever be seen with McIntyre and walked off…
Shore's Slant: Very good exchange between Edge and McIntyre. I've been wondering when they were going to play off the Kelly thing for them. I'm intrigued for sure.
The Elimination Chamber video aired…Ring entrances occurred for the Smackdown chamber match. The entry order was Kane, Drew McIntyre, and Wade Barrett. After they were locked in, Teddy Long's music hit and said he fired Dolph Ziggler, so here was his replacement. He left, and Big Show's music hit. He took his place in the last pod and Rey Mysterio and Edge started the match.
2. Edge defeated Kane, Drew McIntyre, Rey Mysterio, Wade Barrett and Big Show in and Elimination Chamber match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship at 31:36. Edge and Rey bounced around for each other for a minute and then Edge tossed Rey over the top onto the steel. Edge went after him, but Rey fought back and set Edge on the corner in front of McIntyre. Rey hit a hurricanrana as McIntyre banged on the glass.
Edge rolled to the side and Rey followed. Edge shoved Rey into the cage and then Big Show's pod. Mysterio hit a drop kick and both recovered as Barrett entered the match. Barrett attacked both men. But Rey ran at Edge who tossed him over his head for a West Coast Pop on Barrett. Edge slid Rey across the steel into the cage and Barrett hit a sidewalk slam on Edge.
Barrett scored near falls on both men and charged at Edge. Edge pulled the rope down and Barrett crashed to the floor. Mysterio dropped Edge and went to the top. Barrett grabbed him for Wasteland and used Rey to kick Edge. Rey grabbed the cage to prevent Wasteland and ended up reversing into a hurricanrana into the ring. Rey setup for 619, but Edge hit a big boot for a near fall.
Kane checked in next and cleaned house. Rey kicked Kane for a near fall, and then Edge and Barrett did the exact same thing. Edge and Rey hit a double suplex on Kane and everybody sold being exhausted. Edge and Rey rolled to the side to take a breather while Kane worked Barrett on the cage.
Rey tried to attack Kane, but Kane punched him and tied him to the tree of woe. Edge hit a dropkick on Rey for a near fall. Kane continued to work the group and Drew McIntyre came in. He immediately tossed Rey like a javelin into a pod. He and Barrett attacked Kane and drove him into the cage. Barrett started to climb in the ring and McIntyre kicked the ropes. He grabbed Barrett and drove him through the Lexan on one pod.
McIntyre went to work on Edge. He hit several strikes and a slam. He setup for Future Shock, but Edge reversed into an impaler DDT. Kane killed Rey by driving him into another pod and ran great series that left everyone laid out as Big Show checked in.
Show took out everybody and went for Barrett. Show final caught him and drove him through a pod. Barrett tried to climb the cage and Show hit him with about 300 chops and then drove him into the cage. Barrett fell in the ring and Show hit the knockout punch to eliminate Wade Barrett. Wade Barrett was eliminated at 19:21.
Rey Mysterio hit a West Coast Pop on Show from the top of the pod. He followed with 619 and Edge hit a spear. Kane took out Edge and Rey and then a chokeslam on Big Show. Kane eliminated Big Show at 20:59. McIntyre went right at Kane from the top, but Kane caught him for another chokeslam. Kane eliminated Drew McIntyre at 21:13.
Rey attacked Kane and hit a 619. He went for a hurricanrana into a pin but Kane held on. Edge hit a spear on both of them and covered Kane. Edge eliminated Kane at 22:55. Kane went crazy and chokeslammed Edge and Rey before leaving the ring.
Both men sold the chokeslams for over a minute and then stood in opposite corners. Edge charged for the spear but Rey dodged and hooked a roll up for two. Rey hit a cross body, but Edge floated over for another near fall. Rey hit a wheelbarrow bulldog for a near fall and went to the top.
Edge punched him and climbed up. They battled and Edge fell down. He tried for a flying head scissor, but Edge reversed into a powerbomb for two. Edge tried for another powerbomb, but Rey reversed into a 619 setup. Edge grabbed his feet on the try and locked in a submission hold. Rey reversed into a rollup for two.
Edge setup for the spear again. Mysterio moved and Edge hit the middle turnbuckle. Rey hit the far rope and Edge turned at hit the spear for a great near fall! Rey hit a dropkick from behind and finally hit 619. He followed with the splash and Edge kicked out again. Rey hit the 619 again and went to the top rope. Edge stood up and hit the spear in the air for the pinfall victory.
Post-match, Del Rio ran to the ring and kicked Edge in the head. He punched him several times and then locked on the arm breaker. The refs couldn't break them up. Suddenly Christian's music hit and he ran to the ring in street clothes. He attacked Del Rio and beat the hell out of him until the refs dragged him off. Christian broke free and hit the worst finisher in wrestling to leave Del Rio in the ring…
Shore's Slant: Great chamber match. All the matchups were good, the spots were hot, and the right guy won. That said, why did the final three have to be the same old veterans? What happened to the talent initiative? And why would you bring Christian in to muddy up the title match for WrestleMania 27? Odd choice.
The announce team hyped The Miz vs. Jerry "The King" Lawler. Backstage, Matt Striker respectfully asked Lawler about how he felt. Lawler gave a serious promo and said the show had to go on and he has a chance tonight to do two things he has never done, win the WWE title and compete at WrestleMania…
Booker T was introduced and he climbed in the ring while Cole shit on him. Booker T said he wanted introduce another trainer for Tough Enough. Trish Straus's music hit and she came to the ring. Booker put her over and asked he what's up.
She said she was hanging out with the kids on Tough Enough and had developed a new catch phrase. She took off her jacket and did a "Finally, the Trish Stratus has come back to Oakland to deliver Stratisfaction to the millions (and millions) of SUCKA!" She dropped to her knee and did Booker's pose. She said she was there that night to see Lawler win the title. Booker did his catch phrase to end the segment…
Shore's Slant: Trish Stratus is a coach on Tough Enough? My life just got better and worse at the same time. It got better because I'm covering Tough Enough for the site and Trish is my favorite Diva of all time. It just got worse because my wife knows all of those things. Oh well.
3. Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater (w/Ezekiel Jackson) defeated Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov (w/Tamina) to become the WWE Tag Team Champions at 5:06. Santino and Slater started. Santino lost control almost immediately and Slater tagged in. Marella scored a trip and tagged in Kozlov. Kozlov hit the battering ram on Gabriel. Gabriel stood on the apron and hit a pele kick on Kozlov. He tagged in Slater who hit a corkscrew elbow over the top rope.
Kozlov made a hot tag and Santino hit his face series on Slater and Gabriel. He hit the Cobra on Gabriel, but Slater kicked Santino and tagged in Gabriel. Gabriel missed a senton and Kozlov tagged in. Kozlov worked Gabriel and Slater made the blind tag. Kozlov slammed Gabriel and Zeke pulled him from the ring.
Kozlov tried to figure out what happened. Slater attacked from behind with a neckbreaker. He tagged Gabriel and hit a drop kick on Santino. Gabriel hit the 450 splash for the win…
Shore's Slant: Whatever. The titles don’t mean anything. They'll find that out as soon as the Corre tries to make a big deal out of it. Maybe with any luck this will put some heat back on the belts.
Backstage, Todd Grisham asked The Miz if he was nervous after seeing a title change already. Miz said it was 2011 and the year of the Miz, not 1983 when it was good to be the King or 1999 when the Great One was running around. He said he would address Rock later, but he would address Lawler in just a few minutes. He said Lawler would face the same fate as whoever won the Raw chamber match, they would both lose…
Cole started putting over Miz when Vickie Guerrero came out with a very subdued "Excuse me." She said that a tragedy occurred on Smackdown. She said Dolph Ziggler attacked Teddy because he was confused and committed a crime of passion. She begged everyone to contact Teddy and ask him to hire Dolph back.
Teddy's music hit and he came to the ramp. Vickie said nice things about him and Teddy said he was in a hiring mood. She thanked him and Teddy told her to shut up. He said he hired someone else and gave them free reign to thank Vickie for her work as acting GM.
Kelly Kelly's music hit and she chased Vickie around the ring. Vickie climbed back in the ring and begged for mercy. Kelly kicked her and beat the hell out of her. LayCool ran out and made the save. They beat up Kelly until Trish Stratus made the save. LayCool acted like they were leaving and attacked Trish from behind.
Trish fought back and hit the chick kick on McCool and then her handstand hurricanrana in the corner on Layla. She followed with Stratisfaction on both women and celebrated with Kelly Kelly…
Shore's Slant: Trish botched the hurricanrana, but everything else was pretty good. It was nice to see her in the ring (and doing moves in six inch heels no less) and hopefully we get something with Trish and LayCool at WrestleMania 27.
A video setup the WWE title match…
4. The Miz (w/Alex Riley) defeated Jerry "The King" Lawler for the WWE Championship at 12:07. King scored a couple of quick roll-ups and the crowd chanted "This is awesome." Lawler hit ten punches in the corner and tossed Miz to the floor. King went after him and Alex Riley distracted him. Miz shoved King into the post to take control.
Miz rolled King in the ring for a two count. He choked King on the ropes and Riley got a cheap shot when the ref admonished Miz. Miz hit his clothesline in the corner and worked King. King fought back and hit a superplex for two.
King hit several punches and then back to back drokicks. King hit a back drop and then a drop punch for two. King hit the rope and Riley swept the leg. The ref didn’t see it, but saw King down. He ejected Riley and Miz looked upset.
Miz charged at King in the corner. King moved and Miz hit the post. King setup for the piledriver, but Miz escaped and hit a kick. King reversed the cover for a great near fall. Miz charged at King and King pulled the rope down. Lawler followed and Cole screamed at King allowing Miz to attack from behind.
King fought back and worked Miz on the announce table as Cole screamed about it. King threw Miz over the table, taking Cole out in the progress. King rolled Miz in the ring and hit several punch moves. He hit the punch from the second rope and Miz put his foot on the rope to break the count.
King tried for the pile driver, but Miz flipped him out. They traded reversal pins attempts and Miz hit a big kick to the head. He followed with the Skull Crushing Finale for the win. Post-match, the crowd chanted "Jerry" for King who looked at the WrestleMania 27 sign and shook his head. Lawler's music played as he shook hands while leaving the ringside area…
Shore's Slant: That was the match I thought we could get out of Lawler. A lot of punches and a few dropkicks. I'm happy he got his moment. But what the hell was up with that ending? It just happened. No build, and yet no surprise either. It was just a strange series to end on.
Backstage, John Cena was eating a big ass bowl of Fruity Pebbles. Josh Matthews walked in and tried to ask about the Rock and Cena said he was focused on the Elimination Chamber. He said he felt "Yabba dabba delicious." I shit you not…
Matt Striker asked CM Punk about the match and Cena. Punk said he was perfect against Cena so he "can't see Cena winning this match." He went on to say he couldn’t see anybody winning but him…A video hyped WrestleMania 27…The announce team recapped the Smackdown chamber match…
Ring announcements occurred for the Raw chamber match. The entrant order was Randy Orton, R-Truth, CM Punk (who mouthed off to Orton) and John Cena. Sheamus and John Morrison started the match…
5. John Cena defeated Randy Orton, R-Truth, CM Punk, Sheamus and John Morrison in an Elimination Chamber Match to become the number one contender for the WWE Championship at 33:16. Sheamus and Morrison traded blows and Sheamus rolled to the side. Morrison hit a dive over the top rope that knocked Sheamus down. He hit the rope for the Chuck kick. Sheamus ducked and Morrison grabbed the cage and held on. He hit the kick from there in a cool spot.
Morrison slammed Sheamus near the corner and jumped up for the Starship Pain. Sheamus popped up and shoved Morrison into a pod. Sheamus slammed Morrison against the cage and then tossed him back in the ring as Orton checked in.
Orton cleaned house and hit his "scoop powerslam" as Booker called it on both men. He clotheslined Sheamus over the top and then tossed Morrison on top of him. Orton slammed Morrison through the empty pod and then hit the rope DDT on Sheamus on the steel. CM Punk looked on sadistically.
Orton continued to pick both men apart in the ring. He hit a top rope superplex on Morrison for a near fall. He did the same to Sheamus and the timer started counting down. Orton stood right in front of Punk's door and Punk was chosen. Punk tried to get out, but the door was stuck, and Punk got stuck in the door.
Orton attacked him and beat him down. He dragged him out of the pod and tossed him in the ring. Orton hit a RKO and pinned Punk to eliminate him. Punk was crawling towards the door when the GM's chime rang. Cole read the email that said Punk didn't have a fair entry so he is reinstated in the match. Punk climbed back in the pod and the ref locked it.
Sheamus attacked Orton and hit the Irish Curse backbreaker. He tried for the Brough Kick but Orton ducked. Morrison hit a Chuck kick on Orton and Sheamus hit a clothesline on Morrison.
The timer counted down and Cena was chosen. The door came open and Sheamus attacked Cena in the pod. He beat Cena down and then tossed him in the ring. Orton grabbed him and Cena picked up Morrison for an AA on the steel. Morison landed on his feet and Sheamus hit a backbreaker on Cena. Morrison hit a splash on Orton and Sheamus. Everybody sold.
The timer counted down and Truth was chosen. Sheamus tried the same thing with Truth that he did with Cena. Truth ducked the attack and attacked Sheamus in the pod. Sheamus kicked him away and then charged. Truth hit a hip toss on the steel and climbed in the ring. He hit a Lie Detector on Cena and turned into a Brough Kick to be eliminated. Sheamus eliminated R-Truth at 17:33.
Morison dragged Sheamus to the corner and kicked him. Orton drove Morrison into a pod window and then climbed in the ring. He and Cena traded blows. Orton hit a slam on Cena and the timer counted down again. Orton setup to attack Punk, but Cena grabbed him from behind and picked him up for an AA.
Orton reversed into an RKO on the steel and CM Punk stayed in the pod. Sheamus hit a Brough kick. Punk ran out then and covered for a near fall. He rolled Orton in the ring and then mocked Orton's viper moment. He grabbed Orton and hit the GTS to eliminate him. CM Punk eliminated Randy Orton at 21:35.
Punk hit a knee on Cena and then one on Sheamus. He tried for a bulldog, but Sheamus slammed him on the steel. Morrison ran up to the top of a pod and Sheamus followed. Sheamus attacked him and tried for a High Cross from the top. Morrison kicked him down and climbed the cage to the top of the dome. He dropped a punch from there on Sheamus to eliminate him. John Morrison eliminated Sheamus at 25:21.
Cena attacked Punk and hit all his moves. He hit You Can't See Me and Punk rolled to the side. Cena tried to pick him up for the AA, but Morrison ran up and hit a splash on both men. Cena covered Punk on the steel for two. Morrison attacked Cena and tried for the running knee. Cena ducked and Morrison hit the Lexan and sold a knee injury.
Punk attacked Cena and locked on a figure four headlock. Cena stood up and Morrison hit a Doomsday Device on Punk for a two count. Cena hit an AA on Morrison that caused Morrison to hit his knee on the ropes. Punk hit a roundhouse kick on Cena and went to the top.
Punk hit a clothesline from the top on the steel on Cena and hurt his own left arm in the process. He hit a slingshot on Cena into a pod and went over to Morrison to do the same. Morrison grabbed the pod instead. He jumped over to the cage and hit a chuck kick on Punk. Punk rolled into the ring and Morrison went for Starship Pain.
Punk rolled out of the way and Morrison landed on his hurt knee. Punk followed with GTS for the elimination. CM Punk eliminated John Morrison at 32:55. Cena immediately scooped Punk up for an AA. Punk grabbed the ropes. Cena tried to drag him off and then finally hit it over the ropes onto the steel where he covered for the victory.
Shore's Slant: Fantastic chamber match. John Morrison is a star! I mean it. If that guy doesn't get a title shot/run in the near future something is wrong. The only thing bad about this match was R-Truth. He looked like a jobber bad. He better get a map or a GPS so he can stay out of trouble.
Even though I predicted the outcome of every one of these matches, I still thought it was a very well wrestled PPV. Thanks for following along with me tonight and reading all 4000+ words of coverage. Members will be listening to Jason Powell and me breaking down this show shortly. Sign up now and have all the inside information as the road to WrestleMania 27 shoots into high gear tomorrow.
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