SmackDown Elimination Chamber Match – Elimination Chamber
Generally, it is tough to get an Elimination Chamber match wrong (although there are exceptions – the 2015 IC title chamber and ECW chamber say hello). A brutal structure combining elements of a Hell in a Cell, Survivor Series, and Royal Rumble matches to form a mean stipulation bout for the ages.
While it may have got flack for looking more safe and gimmicked in the last few years, there are still some absolutely brilliant matches in this era of the chamber’s new design.
For nearly a decade, Cesaro had been one of the most underappreciated and consistently brilliant wrestlers on the WWE roster, so fans were eager for him to get his moment.
This bout – in essence – was a display for Cesaro, but calling it a one-person match would be doing all other participants a huge disservice. With a lineup featuring Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn on top of Cesaro, it focused more on continuing and interweaving storylines.
Ingeniously starting with Daniel Bryan and Cesaro, as imagined, the 2 started off the PPV with fiery offense before Corbin ruined all. A brilliant bit of character work, his heel character matched his slowing down tactics in great fashion.
Sami Zayn tries locking himself in the pod to avoid entry and later climbs the truss – only to get kicked down by Cesaro, who follows up with some pull-ups at the top of the structure. A now face Owens and a now heel Zayn do not reunite their old alliance, and Jey is number 6, getting a biased entry number.
Owens hits all with a moonsault from the top of a pod afterwards. Jey then traps Owens’s arm in a podcast, attacking a defenceless KO, with Jey eliminating fan choice Cesaro in a gutting fashion. Mid-one-legged Cesaro Swing, Uso kicks then eliminates Cesaro. After an exchange, Bryan pins Jey.
Booked with storyline support and many innovative moments, it is a candidate for the greatest ever chamber. Whilst fan-favorite Cesaro did not win despite his rise and brilliant performance, few will complain at ‘The Goats’ win. It may have ultimately felt somewhat pointless as Bryan was immediately crushed by the Universal champion Reigns after. No matter these points, it is still one of the greatest bouts of the years so far.