10 Best Eliminations In WWE Elimination Chamber History

WWE's Elimination Chamber is all about the eliminations. Without them, it would be a match where six - or seven where this year's men's match is concerned - people are locked in a human chicken coop with the sweet release of death the only way to escape...

Now that I've written that down and can see it in black and white I'm all for that idea and want to see it happen immediately. On a week where WWE opened Raw with a two-hour match I believe there's a chance...

Most of the time I find the destination to be a lot more satisfying than the journey in Elimination Chamber matches - the polar opposite of just about every other match stipulation WWE utilise today. While the likes of AJ Styles and John Cena can have an utter barnstormer to leave an arena full of people obliged to chant "this is awesome" for 10 minutes straight, a Cena win undoubtedly ruins everything that happened before and leaves a sour taste in the mouths of many.

With the chamber, however, I find you look through your hands at a series of painful happenings before the result leaves you smiling and satisfied with what's just happened - much like the sex thing I've heard so much about.

Here are a number of fantastic twists and turns on a number of exhilarating journeys in the Elimination Chamber's illustrious history...

10. AJ Styles - 2017

Some might say that Bray's elimination of John Cena - guaranteeing there would be a new WWE Champion on the night - is better but I'm a really sentimental man and probably don't hate John Cena as much as you...

I know that a year is a long time in any walk of life, but in the midst of this seemingly controversial entry, I want you to take your mind back to Elimination Chamber 2017 and the feeling that came over you when Bray Wyatt finally won the big one.

I know he's a lost cause now but seeing Bray win the WWE Championship just filled your heart with joy and saw it take off in flight with the eagle's nest - or however that goes.

For years, The Eater of Worlds was the guy everyone would label the most misused talent in WWE. Finally, with the Randy Orton Storyline rumbling on in a confusing fashion, it looked like WWE were finally going to have his in-ring performances match his mic work - then he lost in the supposed main event of WrestleMania 33 and was back to square one.

Admit it, even if it's seemingly unfathomable now with the laughing man who can do nothing else but laugh floundering on Raw, you were genuinely elated for Bray back in a time when WWE were looking like fulfilling the bloke's potential.

9. Sheamus - 2014

You know Christian, right? Back in 2011 his peck completely tore off the bone and instead of going for surgery immediately he put it off, heading back to television for one more appearance so he could be written off by Alberto Del Rio - handing Berti a bit of the old heat we hear so much about while furthering a storyline.

Christian's a consummate professional, and by this time, a knackered old goat as well - the fact his last ever professional wrestling match took place a month after this one tells you everything you need to know.

Despite a lifetime's worth of injuries leaving his body in tatters, the PEEPle's Champion still managed to climb on top of a pod inside the Elimination Chamber and deliver a Big Splash to Sheamus. Remember the injuries, specifically the pectoral muscle coming completely off the bone, and this elimination is more awesome than you initially remembered. What a trooper.

8. Jeff Hardy - 2009

Randy Orton is famed for hitting an RKO out of nowhere, with The Undertaker's Tombstone Piledriver perhaps as far as can possibly be the other way on the scale of moves you can see coming a mile off - with the set up for the finisher taking longer than most.

However, with the steel floor of the chamber level with the ring canvas Taker managed to spring a surprise on an unassuming Jeff Hardy with one of the most unique Tombstones we've ever seen - I know The Deadman did the same move to Batista in the chamber, but I like this one better because it took place in that 2009 spectacular.

So as Jeff leaned with his back against the ropes while standing on the steel floor, Taker - all seven-feet of him - crept up from behind while in the ring and pulled The Charismatic Enigma over the top rope and back into the ring, immediately getting him into the Tombstone position in one swift motion.

Smooth.

7. Sheamus - 2011

Did you know that John Morrison does the parkour - he does, you know. Isn't that one of the more convenient past times to have when WWE has a match stipulation that is essentially an X-rated children's climbing frame?

As you can see from the picture above, the lead singer of The Door's second coming used his prowess in the parkour and the frame of the chamber to his advantage - Spider-Manning his way to the ceiling and flopping himself down onto Sheamus.

Was it a tad convoluted and perhaps not as fluent as John imagined it would be as his hung from the top of the chamber like your granny's old drapes? Aye - but the margin for error when doing something from that height is so small so give him a break!

6. John Cena - 2009

Now this one had to be something special to leave Edge's face looking like that - and it was, you know. At the height of SuperCena anything less than the most severe elimination we'd seen since England's from the 2006 World Cup - f**k you Ronaldo and your winking eye - wouldn't have worked.

So with Edge up for an Attitude Adjustment, it seemed all hope was lost - that was until Chris Jericho hit a Codebreaker outta nowhere, a Rey Mysterio 619, and a Rated R Spear from Edge - who was knocked off John's shoulders thanks to Chris' input - in quick succession spelled the end for the Leader of the Cenation.

It was like the latter stages of a boxing match, with one fighter thinking 'I've had enough of this, it's time to end this thing' before hitting a sweet combination for the KO - only with the boxer taking the form of three wrestling GOATs hitting their respective finishers in perfect unison.

5. MVP - 2008

It's a Chokeslam off the top of a pod. It's a Chokeslam off the top of a pod. There's nothing much more to say here because it's a Chokeslam off the top of a pod. Just look at the picture and imagine how awesome a visual that is when it's in motion.

The height, the flip, the landing, the sudden nature of the move with Taker looking like he was the one going to be sent flying by a couple of MVP's strikes seconds before, cheeky little Finlay stealing the pinfall and taking all of the credit for The Deadman's handy work - there's so much to love about this sequence of events.

Power Ranger Montel only has himself to blame, mind you. Just watch this clip from Luke Gallows to see why - it's my favourite impression of all time. Even if he is talking about Kane, the same applies for The Undertaker.

4. Rey Mysterio - 2011

In the dying embers of the World Heavyweight Championship chamber match in 2011, Rey Mysterio kicked out of a Spear, Edge then kicked out of a 619 and complimentary splash as this felt increasingly more like a relentless PWG match than a WWE main event - I know it took place early in the card but it's for one of the main championships for crying out loud.

After a period of selling, Rey hit another 619 and during the time he was setting up for the complimentary splash, Edge somehow regained his composure to hit a Spear outta nowhere while Rey was in mid-air.

It was an incredible finish in a match where Edge overcame all of the odds. He was the unlucky one who drew number one, he had to get past a field that included Wade Barrett, Big Show, Kane, Rey and Drew McIntyre, he was the one in the closing stages of his career - with his final match coming just over a month later at WrestleMania XXVII although we didn't know this yet.

In the process of doing all of that, Edge became the first man in five years to defend his Championship in a chamber match - and good on him for doing so, booking his ticket to the MAIN (curtain jerker) EVENT of WrestleMania in the process!!!

3. Rob Van Dam - 2006

I don't care that December to Dismember was the worst pay per view in the history of WWE, Test's elimination of RVD belongs in the pantheon of all-time Chamber KOs.

We all know how Test was back in 2006 and if you don't, just imagine if Ryback ate Scott Steiner, The Warlord and Hulk Hogan and then injected himself with ALL of the steroids. All of them. He was gassier than grandad after Christmas dinner, and that's saying something. The man was huge to the point that he was no longer a man - he was something more than just a man that my imagination simply cannot fathom.

So then, with his torso and arms quite literally stuck in the same position since there was too much muscle for them to really move in any direction, the fact that Test got on top of one of the pods and delivered his patented Elbow Drop onto a steel chair that was on top of Rob's head - is really, really staggering.

If you haven't seen it, go watch it. There's nothing finer than a Big Sweaty Man flying through the air and causing utter devastation when he lands.

2. The Undertaker - 2010

You'd think that being locked inside the Elimination Chamber would completely eliminate the threat of any outside interference. WRONG - where Shawn Michaels is concerned at least.

The Heartbreak Kid spent the entire 2010 World Heavyweight Championship chamber match under the ring, dislodging one of the steel floor panels to get into it to hit Sweet Chin Music on The Undertaker who seemingly had the match won.

This KO blow from Michaels allowed Chris Jericho to take The Deadman's championship, leaving Taker with no choice but to have yet another match with HBK on the Grandest Stage of them All - which would turn out to be Michaels' last, of course.

How is it the old lads know how to make you feel the feels that bit harder than the young ones do... this was yet another example of another emotive moment that took a storyline to the very next level. Well played, Shawn.

1. Triple H - 2002

As I said in the early stages of this article, I am a sentimental man. There are very few moments that have the entire WWE Universe singing from the same hymn sheet, but this was one of them. Everybody wanted Shawn Michaels to win and he did so, with the noise coming through the screen from the Madison Square Garden crowd being like, loud - like, really loud.

Shawn Michaels - complete with poo-brown tights, cowboy boots and a haircut that belonged on a young lady in the swinging '60s - overcame the odds to defeat Triple H and take The Game's World Heavyweight Championship in the first-ever chamber match.

In what was only his second match in four years - the first coming at SummerSlam against his former best pal months earlier - following that seemingly career-ending back injury, Michaels hit Sweet Chin Music just about outta nowhere for the win moments after it looked like Triple H was going to win AGAIN. The right man won, one hell of a journey was completed, everyone went home happy - apart from HHH who was forced to spend the night in a hospital with a crushed throat, still in his gear, covered in blood and confetti, until 11 am the next morning. Poor lad...

I've done a WTF Retro episode on his match. Watch it please xo