10 Things You May Not Know About The WWE Elimination Chamber
Eliminate your curiosity with tales of devastating injuries, backstage politics and other good stuff...
When the Elimination Chamber was introduced in late 2002 nobody - from the wrestlers in the match to WWE management to the fans - knew quite what to expect, and the gimmick's longevity wasn't guaranteed.
The Chamber has stood the test of time, however, and has certainly evolved over the course of its over twenty-year existence. It has gone from being a once-in-a-while stipulation used almost randomly, to having its own yearly namesake event, often with multiple Chamber matches on show.
The look and feel of the Chamber has changed and we've progressed from just having the men fight over a world title to having tag team and women's Chamber matches, too.
There have been close to thirty of the things now and they're usually a highlight, but just how much do you really know about The Devil's Playground?
There are some interesting backstories, titbits and shocking facts concerning the match and, as we get ready for the next instalments, why not whet the appetite with some little-known or perhaps long-forgotten Elimination Chamber anecdotes and footnotes?
10. It Was Triple H's Idea
While on television the Elimination Chamber was touted as the brainchild of on-screen Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff, in reality the structure came from the mind of the then reigning World Heavyweight Champion Triple H.
According to The Game in this WWE.com article, he pitched the idea and drew a rough outline of what envisioned it to look like on a napkin.
What, and were the Hell in a Cell blueprints drawn in the dirt on the back of a white van?
The Cerebral Assassin was a major fan of classic NWA and had tried to convince top brass to revive the War Games gimmick in the past. When that fell on deaf ears, he dreamt up this atrocity instead.
Naturally, his basic idea was then turned into something altogether more extravagant and when he saw the finished product he wasn't asking for credit, saying:
"In typical WWE form, it was twice as big as I envisioned it and twice as elaborate. We don’t do anything small, so I should have known better. When I stood in it for the first time, I thought, ‘Jeez. Please don’t tell anybody this was my idea!'".
It wasn't the only regret he would have after that first Chamber match was over...
Written by Lewis Howse
Features journalist for Cultaholic.com and script writer for the Cultaholic YouTube Channel.
