WWE Announce First Ever Seven-Man Elimination Chamber
Via the curious medium of Facebook Live.
Kurt Angle announced last night on Facebook Live that the upcoming men's Elimination Chamber match will feature seven men.
This follows a convoluted series of events which led to both Seth Rollins and Finn Balor pinning Bray Wyatt in a qualifying match.
Last night's Raw was supposed to see a 'second chance' fatal four-way between the men who had lost qualifying matches so far: Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt, Matt Hardy, and Apollo Crews. Instead, it became a five-man match after Angle added Seth Rollins to the mix. This was perhaps due to the fact that Rollins suddenly has no storyline as we approach WrestleMania, thanks to the surgery underwent by tag team partner Jason Jordan.
Rollins and Balor both pinned Wyatt simultaneously, ending the night in confusion (until Angle's Facebook Live announcement). It was initially presumed by many online that the pair would wrestle on next week's Raw, with the winner advancing to the Elimination Chamber. This would seemingly follow WWE booking convention, but instead the unlikely step was taken to make the Chamber match a seven-man contest.
There is already speculation that this decision - and the entire involvement of Rollins in the first place - could be heavily linked to WWE's earlier online gaffe. Prior to Raw, a photo was uploaded (and quickly deleted) on WWE.com, depicting Balor alongside the five men already confirmed for the Chamber match. This would imply that he was booked to win the four-way, only for WWE to add Rollins and book the unpredictable double-winner finish to keep fans guessing.
There has been no mention yet of how the seven-man Chamber will logistically work, given the fact that there are only four pods in a traditional six-man Chamber setup (with two wrestlers beginning the bout in the ring). My best guess is that three Superstars will start the match, with four watching on from the surrounding pods.
This follows a convoluted series of events which led to both Seth Rollins and Finn Balor pinning Bray Wyatt in a qualifying match.
Last night's Raw was supposed to see a 'second chance' fatal four-way between the men who had lost qualifying matches so far: Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt, Matt Hardy, and Apollo Crews. Instead, it became a five-man match after Angle added Seth Rollins to the mix. This was perhaps due to the fact that Rollins suddenly has no storyline as we approach WrestleMania, thanks to the surgery underwent by tag team partner Jason Jordan.
Rollins and Balor both pinned Wyatt simultaneously, ending the night in confusion (until Angle's Facebook Live announcement). It was initially presumed by many online that the pair would wrestle on next week's Raw, with the winner advancing to the Elimination Chamber. This would seemingly follow WWE booking convention, but instead the unlikely step was taken to make the Chamber match a seven-man contest.
There is already speculation that this decision - and the entire involvement of Rollins in the first place - could be heavily linked to WWE's earlier online gaffe. Prior to Raw, a photo was uploaded (and quickly deleted) on WWE.com, depicting Balor alongside the five men already confirmed for the Chamber match. This would imply that he was booked to win the four-way, only for WWE to add Rollins and book the unpredictable double-winner finish to keep fans guessing.
There has been no mention yet of how the seven-man Chamber will logistically work, given the fact that there are only four pods in a traditional six-man Chamber setup (with two wrestlers beginning the bout in the ring). My best guess is that three Superstars will start the match, with four watching on from the surrounding pods.
Written by Jack King
jack.king@cultaholic.com Twitter: @JackTheJobber
