WWE Elimination Chamber Plans Delayed By Pirates

The Elimination Chamber pay-per-view on Saturday, February 24 almost had to take place without the actual Elimination Chamber structure. 

WWE held the Elimination Chamber Kickoff Event in Perth, Australia on Thursday night and Michael Cole revealed the structure took over a month to arrive in Australia because of pirates. 

Cole said: "A structure which took over a month to get here. Originally it was supposed to ship through the Suez Canal, but pirates ended those plans. So it was sent to Miami, transported via truck to Los Angeles, taken by ship to Sydney, and then by train to Perth."

Shipping through the Suez Canal has fallen dramatically in 2024 so far due to attacks on shipping by Yemen's Houthi rebels. The Houthis have launched a number of attacks on ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, with attacks being aimed at ships with perceived links to Israel. Several shipping firms have suspended travel through the Red Sea as a result of the attacks. The situation has also led to increased attacks from pirates off the Somali coast.

The head of the UN organisation for maritime issues has warned shipping companies to be on high alert for piracy off the African coast after ship seizures in recent months raised concerns that diversions away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal would prompt an increase in hijackings.

Two Elimination Chamber matches are set to take place inside Perth's Optus Stadium on Saturday. The women's match will be Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Liv Morgan vs. Naomi vs. Raquel Rodriguez for the right to challenge for the Women's World Championship at WrestleMania 40. The men's match will see Kevin Owens, Bobby Lashley, Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre, Logan Paul, and LA Knight wrestle for the right to challenge Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Title at the Show of Shows. 

Taking place in Australia, Elimination Chamber will have a very different start time to most WWE pay-per-views. The WWE Elimination Chamber start times are as follows: 

• Greenwich Mean Time - 10 am 
• Australian Western Standard Time - 6 pm 
• Eastern Standard Time - 5 am
• Central Standard Time - 4 am
• Mountain Standard Time - 3 am
• Pacific Standard Time - 2 am
• Hawaiian Standard Time - 12 am 

H/T WrestleTalk