Elimination Chamber 2015: General Card & Results Discussion

[Navi]

On RAW tonight they announced a new network only PPV, happening on the 31st of May. They are bringing back the Elimination Chamber in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Now a friend of mine is going to a live show that night, and it had been originally billed as a WWE Live event. Now she's all excited because apparently this will be the newest PPV. It's going to be interesting, because there is another live show that night in SC.

So what does this mean for the Elimination Chamber? It looks like half the roster including Cena, won't be there as they are at the live event in SC. No matches have been announced, so I'm wondering just what the hell is going on, if they even know themselves.

 

[TheICChampion]

Well, supposedly now they're saying a tag title match and IC title match will be taking place inside the chamber. Lucky SOB's. How are they getting special treatment considering they're one of the quietest crowds the WWE usually works in front of?

 

[Prince Vee]

On RAW tonight they announced a new network only PPV, happening on the 31st of May. They are bringing back the Elimination Chamber in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Now a friend of mine is going to a live show that night, and it had been originally billed as a WWE Live event. Now she's all excited because apparently this will be the newest PPV. It's going to be interesting, because there is another live show that night in SC.

So what does this mean for the Elimination Chamber? It looks like half the roster including Cena, won't be there as they are at the live event in SC. No matches have been announced, so I'm wondering just what the hell is going on, if they even know themselves.

In my verdict, this isn't a great idea.. You see, there are many casual fans and hard core fans who doesn't have the WWE Network. And the network itself isn't available in all the countries across the globe as they've advertised.

There were many negative feedback for just the United States Championship match between Rusev and Sheamus which is exclusively only on WWE network. In that perspective a whole PPV exclusive only on WWE network doesn't seem to be more appealing.

If you still don't wanna buy my verdict, here it is, I'm from the country where the WWE network isn't available yet! How am I supposed to watch that PPV?

 

[Aquaman6686]

This is a great idea in my opinion. This will get more people to sign up for the Network. The Intercontinental and WWE Tag Team Championships being defended inside the Elimination Chamber is absolutely incredible and immediately SKYROCKETS the importance of those championships. This is one of the best ideas WWE has put forth in a long, long time.

I would book the matches like this:

Triple Threat Tag Team Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship: Big E & Kofi Kingston (C) vs. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd vs. Curtis Axel & Macho Mandow

Elimination Chamber Match for the vacant Intercontinental Championship: Bad News Barrett vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus vs. Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz vs. Stardust

 

[enviousdominous]

My biggest beef (among others) with the AWARD WINNING* WWE Network is that they're using PPVs that were once worth something to hype a content service that devalues the overall product.

I have no doubt that Elimination Chamber being exclusively on the Network is a cheap ploy to get more subscribers on board. Maybe two free months in a row wasn't a good enough marketing tool to drum up some more subscribers.

As a service for getting PPVs for ten bucks a month, I'll admit that it's a steal for diehard fans like myself. On the contrary, these PPVs hardly feel like PPVs at all when they're secondary to the mountain of content that the Network provides for you.

Honestly, I see more value in episodes of RAW and SMACKDOWN than I see in their PPVs. It's all about perception; new episodes of those programs are only available through content services other than what the WWE provides. By my math, those shows are just as expensive as a PPV which devalues the PPV.

I'm very "meh" about making time for the Elimination Chamber, but I'll admit that I'm not likely going to cancel my Network subscription any time soon.

*Over-The-Top Content Service winner at the Cynopsis Sports Media Awards, aka useless bullshit award

 

[Navi]

In my verdict, this isn't a great idea.. You see, there are many casual fans and hard core fans who doesn't have the WWE Network. And the network itself isn't available in all the countries across the globe as they've advertised.

There were many negative feedback for just the United States Championship match between Rusev and Sheamus which is exclusively only on WWE network. In that perspective a whole PPV exclusive only on WWE network doesn't seem to be more appealing.

If you still don't wanna buy my verdict, here it is, I'm from the country where the WWE network isn't available yet! How am I supposed to watch that PPV?

Well in answer to your last question, there are ways of getting the network even if it's not available in your country. I know friends of mine in the UK had it the day after it launched in the US, and they didn't officially get it until almost a year and a half later. You still have to pay the subscription fee every month, you don't get it for free, but you can still watch it.

 

[rbv13]

Why run the event during a Free to New Subscribers month? Shouldn't the goal be to turn those newbies into paying customers in June and beyond?

It looks like the Live Event scheduled the same day as the Chamber is has an afternoon bell time. This will leave enough time for travel between the two.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Why run the event during a Free to New Subscribers month? Shouldn't the goal be to turn those newbies into paying customers in June and beyond?

That is the goal and they're obviously hoping the EC event will seal the deal for new subscribers when the free month membership expires. Not every new subscriber will stick around, too cheap to pay $10 I suppose, but some of them will and any subscribers that stick around as paying customers beats losing those who don't.

According to WWE.com, the two Elimination Chamber matches will be for the WWE Tag Team Championship and the newly vacated WWE Intercontinental Championship. I have no problem with this whatsoever as, its own little way, it's a couple of firsts for the EC concept; it'll be the first time a tag team EC match has been held, it'll be the first time an EC match will be for the WWE Tag Team Championship and it'll be the first time an EC match has been held for the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

It's a real shame that Bryan's career has been hijacked by these ongoing problems with his neck, but what's lousy luck for him is a potential opportunity for someone else.

 

[MKick]

I imagine it will just have a thinner roster than normal. Given that the two chamber matches are for the tag titles, and IC title it makes sense. You don't need to have the big names on the show with two awesome gimmick matches on the card.

Besides, what a cool experiment for the WWE to do. Deliberately have a PPV with a thinner roster to see how it goes. You only know when you try.

 

[kadroan]

Why run the event during a Free to New Subscribers month? Shouldn't the goal be to turn those newbies into paying customers in June and beyond?

It looks like the Live Event scheduled the same day as the Chamber is has an afternoon bell time. This will leave enough time for travel between the two.

The live event actually got rescheduled to November shockingly. Sucks for South Carolina WWE fans. https://bonsecoursarena.com/event/wwe-live I guess WWE going all out for Elimination Chamber now.

 

[Cub McCallister]

It'll be interesting to see how they put the Tag Team Titles match together, I'm guessing it'll be 3 teams rather than have 6 which would be better, IF this is done right and they put the right wrestlers in their it can be a decent ppv. Because the Wwe is going all out for the event, my card would be:

1) Curtis Axel & Damien Sandow Vs Luke Harper & Eric Rowan
Tag Team Match. Have Harper and Rowan start of the ppv by beating Axelmania and Mandow.

2) Nikki Bella (C) Vs Paige Vs Naomi Vs Natalya
Diva's Title Fatal 4 Way Match. I would add this to the show with Nikki retaining the title and the reason I keep the title on her is because she should lose it to Charlotte at Summerslam.

3) John Cena (C) Vs Ryback
United States Title Open Challenge Match. I would have Ryback answer the challenge with Cena retaining.

4) The New Day (Big. E & Kofi Kingston) Vs Cesaro & Kidd Vs The Prime Time Players
Tag Team Titles Elimination Chamber Match. I would have Big E and Kofi retain the titles with both of them pinning Cesaro at the end.

5) Seth Rollins (C) Vs Roman Reigns
Wwe World Heavyweight Title Match. Have Rollins retain with the Phoenix Splash.

6) King Barrett Vs Dolph Ziggler Vs Sheamus Vs Neville Vs Stardust Vs Dean Ambrose
Intercontinental Title Elimination Chamber Match. This needs to be the main event with Neville retaining the title and keeping onto it for a good couple of months you could have him beat either Ziggler or Sheamus to win the match.

 

[xTUGx]

Here's my predictions for the matches on the card:
-WWE World Heavyweight Championship EC Match: Rollins, Reigns, Orton, Ambrose, Kane and Bray Wyatt

-US Title EC Match- Cena, Rusev, Harper, Rowan, Ryback and Sandow

-Intercontinental Championship EC Match: Sheamus, King Barrett, Neville, Ziggler, R-Truth and Stardust

-WWE Tag Team Titles EC Match: New Day (Big E&Kofi Kingston), Brass Ring Club and The Ascension

-Divas Title Standard One fall bout- Naomi vs Nikki Bella

 

[MartialHorror]

I've become quite cynical as a wrestling fan, as WWE gets dropping the ball so much that I am convinced that whenever it holds any ball, it is because it accidentally fell into WWE's hands...before being dropped again.

But the build up to Elimination Chamber has been surprisingly good. The Tag Team and Diva Championship storylines have been pretty damn compelling and I am excited to see the matches. The Intercontinental Title in many ways feels more relevant than the WHC picture right now with all these upper midcard guys...and R-Truth...Even then, I like the announcers playing up Truth's craftiness and experience in EC matches.

Cena Vs Owens should be veeeery interesting.

Even though Rollins Vs Ambrose seems a bit predictable, I do expect a fun match and hopefully they will get a REAL match. No gimmicks, no major interruptions (at least until the end), nothing to get in the way of them performing. I'm really excited.

 

[cornerdon26]

Neville defeats Bo Dallas (5mins)
Sheamus wins IC title (30mins)
Owens defeats Cena vis countout after multiple power bombs outside (10mins)
The New Day retain Tag Title via some cheating antics, Woods maybe does a Shawn Michaels (20miins)
Naomi wins Divas title after help from Tamina (5mins)
Rollins defeats Ambrose (15mins)

 

[Dagger Dias]

Pre-Show: Stardust VS Zack Ryder
Yeah, I didn't care about this at all. Definitely the right call for this to have been the pre-show match.

Ascension VS Cesaro & Tyson Kidd VS Los Matadores VS Lucha Dragons VS New Day VS Prime Time Players (Elimination Chamber match for the Tag Team Championship)
This was good. The spot with Kalisto crashing down on everyone after hanging from the top of the chamber was unexpected and cool. Also found the spot where New Day were pulling Kalisto through the top of their pod amusing. The rest of the match went about the way I thought it would. Was rather surprised by this going on first.... It sure set the pace for the rest of the night though.

Naomi VS Nikki Bella VS Paige (Triple Threat match for the Divas Championship)
This was the worst match of the night, but not as bad as it could have been. The pizza delivery guy was running late and this being the match he arrived during ended up being good timing. Glad they got this over with and really hope Paige gets her singles match title shot next. You know, the one she earned that Naomi stole. No more Naomi please.

John Cena VS Kevin Owens
WOW. Match of the night. Fantastic effort by both guys, especially Owens. This was his big opportunity and he stole the show tonight. I see a big future for him when he makes the full jump to the main roster. You know you did an amazing job when you have the best performance on a show where there's also World Heavyweight Championship match and not one but two Elimination Chamber matches in the same night. Can't wait for the rematch.

Bo Dallas VS Neville
Nothing special, at least Neville got the win. After Cena VS Owens the fans needed a less important match to relax during though, so while I initially expected this to open its placement here made sense.

Dolph Ziggler VS King Barrett VS Mark Henry VS Ryback VS R-Truth VS Sheamus (Elimination Chamber match for the Intercontinental Championship)
The tag team Chamber match was better. First of all.... why make Barrett the King Of The Ring if you're going to have him be eliminated so early in matches like this? Henry's inclusion was fine. Wyatt was rumored and would have been better. Oh well. At first I was a bit disappointed to see Mark Henry show up, then by the time the match started I didn't mind anymore. It could have been so much worse. I was worried that Rusev's replacement would have been The Big Show.... Thank goodness that didn't happen. Ryback winning was a terrible decision. Sheamus should have won the match. Ryback won't do a single bit of good for that belt. Worst match of the night other than the divas. Sheamus' pod not opening when it was supposed to was pretty funny.

Dean Ambrose VS Seth Rollins (World Heavyweight Championship)
I really liked this. 2nd best match of the night after Cena VS Owens. The way the match ended was a route I didn't see coming and I'm definitely interested in seeing what happens tomorrow on Raw. I'd have been fine with either outcome, however I was leaning more toward Rollins. No Reigns heel turn that I had predicted. Still a good match and a good end to the show leaving plenty of incentive to watch Raw.

Overall Thoughts
Well, this was a really fun show to watch. I disagreed with a couple of the match results. Paige should be the Divas Champion right now and Sheamus should be the Intercontinental Champion. Other than that, it was a good show overall. I rank it as the 2nd best show of the year so far. If you missed Cena VS Owens then you absolutely must check it out. Both of the Chamber matches are worth checking out as well, and the World Heavyweight Championship match. Another memorable moment was Lawler calling JBL "JR". Oops!

Dagger's 2015 PPV Rankings
1. Wrestlemania 31
2. Elimination Chamber 2015
3. Payback 2015
4. Extreme Rules 2015
5. Royal Rumble 2015
6. Fastlane 2015

 

[MartialHorror]

Shucky Ducky Quack Quack!

I loved the "Cena Vs Owens" match and enjoyed the majority of the 'Rollins Vs Ambrose' match. The Tag Team EC was...uneven, some cool spots and some sloppy moments. I disagree about Kalisto's big drop as it looked so staged. Everyone looks up, sees Kalisto and raises their arms when they had plenty of time to escape. I think it's very nice of the Ascension to assist in catching him. It was a clusterfuck, but an entertaining one I guess.

The IC EC match was pretty average. Why did Mark Henry save Ziggler? The only thing I can guess is originally Rusev was going to be part of a similar spot, where he wanted to take Ziggler out himself. Ryback worked hard though and I'm fine with him as champ.

Neville Vs Bo was worthless. The Diva Triple Threat match was weak, although I am glad Nikki retained. Her reign needs to end, but she's held the belt for too long and I don't think dropping it in a triple threat would really benefit anyone. Whether it's Paige or Naomi, Nikki needs to be beaten in a '1 on 1' match.

 

[MaryChristine]

awful... from beginning to end.
was that fall from the chamber a botch from kalisto...it was embarrassing.
whats with the awkward segment between lana and dolph? STOP!
That didn't feel like a main event.
WWE If u can't handle this many PPVs then don't do it... get ur shit together.

 

[MCMG]

I was falling asleep at some points during the night but Cena/Owens kept me awake. Absolutely loved it. Was truly shocked by the finish too but it was an amazing moment. Lets hope they really persist with Owens. What is also telling is just how fantastic Cena is but everyone already knows that.

Rollins/Ambrose was fun even if I was just waiting for the shenanigans. I was shocked again by the ending but I actually really liked it. There are questions to be answered which leads to the next show and it gave everyone a taster of Ambrose as champ. Moreover, Rollins keeps the belt in a BS manner yet again. Also, the Reigns/Ambrose "bromance" is pretty fantastic.

The tag chamber was ok. Thought Cesaro and Kidd should have done even more. They are clearly the stars of the division and by far the best workers in that match. I love the New Day too and them retaining is just wonderful. The match was probably always going to be a bit of a mess with that many people involved.

The IC chamber wasn't much to shout about. There have been many better Chamber matches which is a shame. Ziggler, Sheamus and Barrett are all great. I'm really not sure why Truth was involved and the choice of Henry was ridiculous. This match is meant to be exciting and dangerous and Henry just doesn't tick the right boxes. Why not have Stardust in the match so when it's time to go for it they actually can.

I really liked Sheamus being "stuck" in the pod. Loved Ryback winning. This match, however, just didn't feel special at all which was the whole point of the Chamber.

Divas match was what it was. Bored of The Bellas especially as babyfaces. I'd much prefer to see Namoi with the belt. Or, you know, the really talented women down in NXT. Bo/Neville was just filler but Neville won and that is all that matters.

This special was just ok. Probably a C. Cena/Owens stole the show. Rollins/Ambrose was a fun match with a superb, emotive ending. The two Elimination Chamber matches were fine but simply didn't stand out. Extreme Rules and Payback were stronger from top to bottom and Fastlane had that phenomenal Reigns/Bryan match so I can't say I'm enthralled with this PPV but it had it's moments and it was effectively free.