Since its creation in 2002 the Elimination Chamber has left an indelible mark on not only World Wrestling Entertainment but wrestling culture in general.
Championships have been contested, retained, and lost inside the demonic structure.
Friendships have been dissolved in the quest for glory and survival.
Most importantly, the men that have stepped inside never leave the same. Their bodies endure unimaginable hell; their minds are altered and their very souls are often left behind.
So many thrilling moments have taken place and the match has been a long time favorite of fans across the globe.
In this edition of Five Things I present my five favorite Chamber matches.
These are in no particular order.
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2002
World Heavyweight Champion Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Rob Van Dam vs Booker T vs. Kane vs Chris Jericho
Eric Bischoff was a very busy man when he took the position of Monday Night Raw's General Manager in July of 2002.
He set out to remind every viewer at home and in the arenas that he was a creative juggernaut; never more was that on display when he introduced the concept of the Elimination Chamber on October 21.
When he initially uttered the words "Elimination Chamber", there was a bit silence and head scratching. After all, nobody had ever heard of such a match. What exactly would it entail and who would be entering into battle?
A few video packages later and it became very clear that this wasn't going to be a walk in the park for the six men chosen to compete at Survivor Series in Madison Square Garden.
After being gifted the World Heavyweight Championship, Triple H had embarked on a reign of terror and made a laundry list of enemies in the process.
His actions were so treacherous that best friend turned mortal enemy Shawn Michaels opted to make a full time return to the squared circle.
Originally he had meant to vanquish The Game at Summerslam and resume life outside the ring. The opportunity to really hit his hated rival where it hurt the most was too good to pass up.
Triple H conspired with mentor Ric Flair to screw over Rob Van Dam and Kane in their respective challenges, the latter seeing the Intercontinental Championship temporarily retired.
Chris Jericho was riding high having already been the first WWE Undisputed Champion so naturally he saw himself as the only logical winner of the first Chamber match.
Booker T had really found his groove as both a singles and tag team competitor after coming over from WCW the prior year. The five time, five time, five time WCW World Champion looked to add a sixth under the WWE banner.
All those elements combined to deliver one of the best main events at a Survivor Series to date.
For nearly forty minutes, each man gave their blood, sweat, and tears engaging in what was truly war.
RVD came off the top of one of the entry pods with a five star frog splash onto Triple H, badly damaging his throat. Miraculously Hunter kept on fighting and was one of the last two remaining.
Jericho had a stellar match eliminating both Kane and Booker with a Lionsault.
But it was the Heartbreak Kid who shone the brightest. He went from a man nobody ever saw making a comeback to tuning up the band in a way he hadn't before.
One Sweet Chin Muaic later, Shawn captured his first world championship in five years. Ironically the prior title win also came at Survivor Series in 1997 when he exiled Bret Hart to WCW.
It was an amazing performance and is fondly looked back upon to this day.
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2009
World Heavyweight Champion John Cena vs. Edge vs Kane vs Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho vs Mike Knox
Edge's night didn't begin in stellar fashion at No Way 2009 on February 15, 2009
In the show's opening match he entered as WWE Champion only to be eliminated from his Elimination Chamber title defense by Jeff Hardy in only 2:59 of the 35:55 bout.
It was a result that stunned everyone especially him. He had been so certain that the path to Wrestlemania as the kingpin was paved on easy street, a loss never crossed his mind.
Most men would have faded into obscurity, too embarrassed to even try and reclaim the gold.
Edge wasn't most men.
As Kofi Kingston made his entrance for the main event, a Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Championship, the ultimate opportunist saw his chance to simply end his night with a different title around his waist.
He brutally assaulted Kingston then locked himself into his designated pod. Seeing no way in removing him, officials allowed him to compete in the match.
Edge inserted himself into a group of sharks and victory didn't seem possible to onlookers.
Yet there were spectacular moments of unexpected teamwork to rid the match of the toughest competition.
After absorbing many attacks from all angles, Kane was the first man eliminated by Mysterio after a seated senton off one of the pods.
Edge and reigning champion Cena were the fifth and sixth entrants respectively and as Jim Ross would say, that's when business really picked up.
Cena took the fight to anyone within reach but the mob mentality kicked in and descended upon him.
Jericho hit a codebreaker, Mysterio followed with a 619, and Edge finished him off with a spear.
After Mysterio eliminated Jericho, he and Edge went back and forth in quite the struggle.
To the dismay of everyone, The Rated R Superstar pinned Mysterio with a spear and captured the championship.
Very few, if any, men had ever rebounded from a devastating loss only to come out smelling like roses as the event faded to black. It was another piece of the puzzle that formed his Hall of Fame career.
It was revealed that then-Smackdown General Manager Vickie Guerrero paved the way for Edge to enter the match proving friends in high places combined with ingenuity is a deadly combination.
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2011
World Heavyweight Champion Edge vs Rey Mysterio vs Wade Barrett vs Drew McIntyre vs. Kane vs. The Big Show
Nobody knew that as Edge stepped into the Chamber once again that it would be not only his last one but his next to last match ever.
His neck as it turned out had been through the wringer after having it fused together in 2003 and he wound up being forced to retire a year earlier than he had planned.
As only he could though, Edge participated in one of the finest Chamber matches in company history.
Dolph Ziggler was originally slated to compete but he and Vickie Guerrero found themselves fired from Smackdown by then-GM Theodore R. Long. The Big Show was eventually tapped to replace him.
With one of the grandest championships on the line, a very interesting mix of brute force, speed, cunning, and youth all aimed to take the WHC away from the defending champion.
Barrett was looking to continue the momentum set by fellow Corre members Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel who had earlier brought tag team gold into the fold.
McIntyre was coming off a successful run as Intercontinental Champion and sought to further cement his status as "The Chosen One"
Barrett held his own but a KO from Show made him the first to be eliminated.
Adding in the devastation brought forth by Kane and Big Show and the tenacity of Mysterio and it was no surprise the match was a classic.
Kane lived up to the Big Red Monster moniker with a pair of eliminations; both Big Show and McIntyre had their ends ended with a choke slam.
Edge could have been thrown off by the looming threat posed by the dangerously brash Alberto Del Rio but instead he channeled everything within him to add another major victory to his legacy.
He took out Kane with a spear and for a second time the match came down to him and Mysterio.
Rey gave all he had as well and very nearly captured his third world championship with a 619 and a springboard splash. Incredibly Edge kicked out at the last second.
Following a second 619 Mysterio came off the top rope only for Edge to spear him out of mid-air and score the victory.
It all proved to be bittersweet. Edge would turn back Del Rio's challenge at Mania and then announce his retirement the next night on Raw.
To paraphrase his theme song.. On this day we saw clearly just how gifted and special he was to the wrestling world.
Thank you Edge!
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2014
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs John Cena vs Sheamus vs Cesaro vs Christian vs Daniel Bryan
Conspiracy and intrigue surrounded this star studded championship match.
Daniel Bryan had been left out of the 2014 Royal Rumble and had to get into the Chamber on his own pure skill and a little interference from The Wyatt Family in his qualifying six man tag match; he, Sheamus, and Cena defeated The Shield via DQ on an edition of Raw.
Cesaro was experiencing something of a career resurgence under the tutelage of mastermind Zeb Colter and was the one the majority wished to see emerge victorious.
Christian was never one to turn down.. One.. More.. Match and was no pushover. A former two time World Champion and multi-time champion overall, he was set to do battle and possibly upset the entire field.
Surprisingly the underdog going into the match was the defending champion himself.
Forced to compete against his challengers in singles matches, Orton had lost to Bryan, Cena and Cesaro via pinfall and Sheamus via DQ. Only Christian fell victim to an RKO.
With all that swirling in his head, The Viper was in no rush to enter the fray when his pod opened (the last to do so). It took Sheamus and a Brogue Kick to destroy the pod to get him involved.
The action came hot and heavy as one would expect given the participants.
Christian eliminated Sheamus with a frog splash off a pod before Bryan took him out with a running knee.
The Wyatt Family made their presence felt once again when they turned up inside the Chamber. They beat on Cena allowing Orton to hit an RKO and send his greatest rival packing.
He also took advantage of another's assistance; Kane cleared the Chamber of Bray and his disciples only to also assault his former tag team champion partner Bryan as well.
Orton went on to hit an RKO and hold onto his title until Wrestlemania where Bryan would avenge all prior losses to him in New Orleans.
In a sad irony, this proved to be Christian's last Chamber match just as 2011 was Edge's.
Captain Charisma was sidelined with several concussions leading to WWE retiring him as an active competitor. He definitely had a Hall of Fame career and I hope he eventually joins his best friend in being honored.
Thank you Christian!
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2010
World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker vs. Chris Jericho vs. C.M. Punk vs. John Morrison vs. R-Truth vs. Rey Mysterio
If anyone ever doubted the toughness of The Undertaker, this night on February 21, 2010 silenced them permanently.
On his way to the ring, The Dead Man suffered first and second degree burns to his chest and neck when mistimed pyro resulted in his jacket catching fire.
Being a true American Bad Ass, he was able to compete after being evaluated and wrestled as if he had only stubbed his toe.
Five challengers awaited him and the 35:40 epic encounter saw many twists and turns.
Punk was in the midst of his Straight Edge crusade and opted to deliver a speech. In between his preaching he managed to eliminate Truth in the opening three minutes.
Mysterio eliminated Punk and flew around the Chamber in a battle of aerial assault with Morrison.
His rivalry with Jericho was renewed and the two exchanged counters of their respective signature moves.
Morrison eliminated Mysterio and hung around into the final three. Taker was the final entrant and choke slammed the Guru of Greatness onto the Chamber's steel grate section to eliminate him.
Despite the unodly pain he must have been in, Taker was poised to finish off Jericho when an unexpected face arrived.
For weeks Shawn Michaels had been trying to get a Wrestlemania rematch with Undertaker, each time being denied.
Seeing that a simple request wasn't going to work, HBK took a more direct approach. He emerged from under a grate and delivered Sweet Chin Music as if it were Survivor Series 02 all over again.
A clearly shocked Jericho made the cover and captured his last World Championship to date.
It was also the last time to date Undertaker has reigned atop the mountain as well.
At least he was able to retire Michaels at Wrestlemania 26 in one of the greatest matches in the event's history.
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That wraps up this edition of Five Things!
What are your five favorite Chamber matches? Feel free to chime in!
Until next time, always look at wrestling on the Bright Side!!
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