With the PPV tomorrow, I figured I'd go ahead and start up a thread for it. And hopping over on WWE.com, I was pretty shocked to realize
there's a grand total of four matches officially announced for it. Anybody know if that's a record for fewest number of matches
announced the day before a PPV? Granted, of course two of those matches are Chamber matches, but it seems like they'd both have to go over an
hour in order to fill up the entire PPV (unless they plan to add an unannounced match like they did with Miz/MVP at the Rumble). Anyhow, my picks:
Smackdown Elimination Chamber: I'll pick Jericho, though I'm not 100% sure of that. He certainly seems like a near-lock, but I just
have a weird feeling the WWE is going to try and pull some kind of swerve. I hope I'm wrong though.
RAW Elimination Chamber: I think Sheamus retains here. It's been more than noted here that he's desperately in need of credible wins
and winning the Elimination Chamber would definitely be a huge step towards that. I predict he wins and then we have some kind of tournament or
one-off match on RAW to determine the number contender for WrestleMania (kind of like how they did Edge/Orton/Michaels to determine who faced Cena
before WrestleMania 23).
Drew McIntyre vs. Kane: No question McIntyre wins here, unless Kane gets a DQ or count out victory. Not really much else to say.
Gail Kim vs. Maryse: I could really see this going either way, but I love Maryse, so I'm gonna pick her.
quote:
Originally posted by the goon
I was pretty shocked to realize there's a grand total of four matches officially announced for it. Anybody know if that's a record for fewest number of matches announced the day before a PPV?
Big Show and Miz aren't currently booked for the show, are they? I could see an impromptu match against Crime Tyme or Goldust/Yoshi happening at the PPV.
If that's the case I can't blame WWE for not advertising it. Although given MVP and Henry pinning them in a non-title match on Monday wouldn't they make more logical (and not totally jobberiffic) challengers?
quote:
Originally posted by punkerhardcore I think that record still sits firmly with December to Dismember which had a grand total of two announced matches.
quote:
Originally posted by punkerhardcore HBK costs Taker his title, and leaves the door open for Jericho to win.
Shawn mentioned to Teddy Long in that backstage skit two weeks ago that he wanted to get into the Elimination Chamber so he could win the belt and give Taker the rematch at Mania. So while I think he will be the one to cost Taker the title, I think he will try to win at the end, but still come up short to Jericho.
The lack of well-hyped matches is pretty inexcusable, but in this case, I think there might be SOME sort of method to the madness.
There are simply plenty of things they can do to fill up time and create a nice, full, twisty-turny show, when you consider who is not booked into an
official match:
(1) ShowMiz should and probably will defend the titles, and I agree that MVP/Henry are the logical choice at this point. Why not set that deal up on
Monday, when you could have hyped it in the immediate aftermath of the upset/non-title win? Probably because that would have ruined any sense of drama
over ShowMiz's scheduled title defense the next night on ECW.... flimsy excuse, but I can see WWE thinking it's the right play.
(2) Shawn Michaels is not booked. Everybody and their mother is now expecting him to be a surprise entry into the SD Chamber. This will take some
doing, but would be worth it to cost Taker the title (it really should end up on Jericho).
(3) Batista is not booked. His new "I don't owe you people anything" shtick means he doesn't owe us matches (getting counted out) or
explanations (for attacking Bret), but I figure we get he'll tip his hand at the PPV as prelude to his announced appearance on RAW.
(SYNTHESIS OF 2 AND 3) I still feel like a nice little play for WWE would be for Vince to pull some strings to create a Batista-for-HBK trade. Vince
wants Batista to be his hired goon for dealing with Bret, and in exchange, he sticks Teddy Long with Shawn Michaels as "adequate compensation." There
are a billion different ways to play things from there, but they could play out in a combination of the PPV (Shawn getting into Taker's business)
and on RAW (more of Batista's side of the story, though he could also interfere and cost Cena in the other Chamber match, too). The various skits
and machinations to establish the trade and the severity of Morrison's injury (or to have Michaels punk out R-Truth as a swerve) would be a
night-long dealy made up of either backstage segments or in-arena announcements/promos.
(4) Bret is not booked. But no matter how shitty that little leg-breaking skit was on Monday, you can bet it'll be recycled ad nauseum on the PPV
in the form of video packages. Because nothing beats paying to see something that already happened on free TV~! Either that, or Vince/Batista will
address it (and the Mystery Female Driver) in a skit/promo on the PPV. It won't be an issue that is ignored for 3 hours, I promise you that.
(5) Edge is not booked. But regardless, he really oughta be ubiquitous on the PPV, either in backstage skits/confrontations to tease the ambiguity of
which title he'd chase, or in a bigger stand-alone sort of segment/promo (naming his WM opponent after doing guest commentary, say). Edge needy
PPV time, not just for the good of the stories, but because he's one of WWE's three best all-around performers and it'd be stupid not
to put him to use entertaining us.
So looking at the big picture... yeah, only 4 announced matches. But 2 of those are guaranteed to be in the 30-40 minute range. And there's just
that huge list of 5 things above that all oughta be dealt with, but not really in ways you can hype in a traditional way before a show.
But they WILL happen. And they will eat up a substantial amount of time... time well-spent, or poorly-spent? I really dunno. But spent it will
be...
To be utterly serious: I'm more concerned that WWE thinks McIntyre/Kane is worth ITS time than I am about what unannounced things they'll do
with all the rest of the time. Something I'd FF on Friday nights, and here it is, live and in color, on a pay-per-view. Whee?
It's really gonna be on the SD Chamber match and proper use of the unannounced swerves/unbooked talent to "make" this show.... everything else
looks like a giant whiff to me on paper.
Rick
[Edited on 2-20-2010 by OORick]
I'm going to predict the final three in the elimination chamber are HBK, Taker, and Jericho. Taker pins HBK but when he is about to pin Jericho
HBK superkicks him before leaving the chamber giving Jericho a cheap win. This sets up Taker/HBK II and makes sure Jericho's victory is weak.
Sounds about right for WWE.
John Cena wins the other chamber because a world title is just what the Cena/Hart v Vince/Batista feud needs (sarcasm). And if Sheamus goes to
wrestlemania as champ it would be harder to call him the weakest booked world champion of all time.
There will probably also be something hyping NXT. Maybe the new guys will be shown backstage though it'll probably just be a video package.
Edit: I actually may be getting behind this Cena winning idea. Batista somehow sneaks into the chamber and knocks out Cena's opponent. Cena
gets to be upset that he won the title cheaply and it would make sense for Batista to want Cena to have the title. It would end up retroactively
making Batista's actions the last few weeks make sense.
[Edited on 2-21-2010 by TownOfDalem]
Uh, ECW One Night Stand had ZERO announced matches before the show.
I think its safe to say that One Night Stand, being a non-WWE roster show featuring many non-WWE wrestlers and existing solely to be a homage to
another company was a special situation that people would hold separately from the routine WWE shows that Elimination Chamber or December to Dismember
are that follow up on existing stories and exist in the current storylines. ONS was a special and (at the time at least) one-time event that meant
well more than the matches. Plus the unannounced card held true to ECW's long dead booking style and habit of not announcing matches ahead of
time.
Of course the thing both have in common is that WWE probably believes(ed) that the Chamber sells the PPV or doesn't and thus gets lazy and
doesn't book the rest of the show. Pretty much the full extension of WWE's general disregard for the undercard, and probably a natural
product of putting most of your booking energy into the top 25% of the card and then sticking 12 of your top dudes in 2 matches instead of 6.
Most of One Night Stand's matches WERE announced, albeit on WWE.com only. They didn't actively promote them on television, but as I
remember it, all of the matches save for Awesome/Tanaka (and Sabu/Rhino, but that was set up as an impromptu deal during the show) were announced on
the website.
As for my Elimination Chamber thoughts:
RAW Elimination Chamber: Cena won't win, because he's attached to the Bret/Vince/Batista build for Mania. Kofi I might have thought
had a shot to be the major upset a few months ago, but his push has stalled so much that I don't see how he could possibly win. Randy or Ted I
think are building to facing each other at Mania, so I don't see either of them taking the belt. HHH is the only possible new champion I could
see, but if he's going to be in the title match at Mania, I see him being the face chasing the heel champion, so I pick Sheamus to
retain.
Smackdown Elimination Chamber: R-Truth seems to be getting a bit more of a push lately, but he's still nowhere near believable World Champ
level. In another part of the year, I might almost believe in the possibility of the huge Morrison upset, but not heading into Mania. Rey and Punk I
think are going to get each other at Mania, and I don't think the belt will be involved. I agree that Michaels will cost Taker the belt in one
way or another (I also wouldn't be surprised to see him take out Morrison or Truth and take their spot), and Jericho will win the belt and
go on to face Edge at Mania.
Intercontinental Championship Match: 95% certain Drew McIntyre wins the match. 100% certain that he remains champion.
Divas Title Tourney Final: Maryse seems almost too obvious of a winner, and if the rest of my picks are right, then we're talking about
all heels winning the mens' matches, so I'll say Gail Kim wins, giving us one face win for the night.
Cherokee Jack beat me too it, but I was going to say that I was 95% positive that most of the matches from the first One Night Stand were announced in
advanced (as I recall being especially psyched for Benoit/Guerrero).
quote:
Originally posted by TownOfDalem John Cena wins the other chamber because a world title is just what the Cena/Hart v Vince/Batista feud needs (sarcasm). And if Sheamus goes to wrestlemania as champ it would be harder to call him the weakest booked world champion of all time.
quote:
Originally posted by punkerhardcore Shawn mentioned to Teddy Long in that backstage skit two weeks ago that he wanted to get into the Elimination Chamber so he could win the belt and give Taker the rematch at Mania.
You guys all think the Bret injury was story-real? Or is this a setup for a segment where Bret appears in a wheelchair/crutches, Vince taunts him,
turns his back, "OMG! HE'S STANDING UP!", *WHAM*, "WE GOT A MATCH AT WRESTLEMANIA!"?
Oh yeah, Sheamus and Jericho - count me in on that.
Smackdown: Jericho. Punk's already locked in a feud with Rey; R-Truth and Morrison are cepts for the MitB match; UT is locked into the HBK
match. The only swerve is if UT somehow wins, then loses the belt pretty promptish on Smackdown.
RAW: Sheamus, with HHH going after him for Mania. DiBiase and Orton to somehow mess up. Cena, as mentioned above, ain't going to win.
Drew over Kane. If they have him lose it'll pretty much kill his push.
Maryse over Kim.
That's four heel winners, so I expect I'm totally wrong.
quote:
Originally posted by deshorta
That's four heel winners
As for HBK winning the title or costing Taker the title: Given how they're doing the whole "things are falling apart for Shawn" routine, what if HBK tries to interfere to cost Taker the belt and while Jericho is about to get the cheap win in comes Edge. (Or alternatively, HBK wins, thinks he'll get Taker at WM as a rematch but Edge says he'll fight HBK, leading to a month of Shawn trying to lose the belt or something ridiculous).
quote:
Originally posted by wings76fan
As for HBK winning the title or costing Taker the title: Given how they're doing the whole "things are falling apart for Shawn" routine, what if HBK tries to interfere to cost Taker the belt and while Jericho is about to get the cheap win in comes Edge. (Or alternatively, HBK wins, thinks he'll get Taker at WM as a rematch but Edge says he'll fight HBK, leading to a month of Shawn trying to lose the belt or something ridiculous).
Booooooo "swerve".
Cena wins. McMahon orders immediate defense vs. Batista.
Batista pins and is new champ.
Well, I have to eat my words since I said Cena wouldn't win the Elimination Chamber and shut Triple H out of a world title match at WrestleMania
(okay, so Batista is technically the champ, but same difference). But I still can't believe Triple H won't be involved in a title match
somehow, so I'm wondering if he takes the belt off of Batista (with Cena interference) on RAW tomorrow or something, though I don't know if
they would have the title jump between four guys in two nights. Otherwise, the match sounded pretty good from the recap I read over on 411.
And I guess we can now officially put Sheamus with the likes of Rey Mysterio and CM Punk for worst title reigns ever.
Did Sheamus even eliminate anyone who mattered (HHH/Orton)?
Nope. DiBiase pinned Orton, Kofi pinned DiBiase, Sheamus pinned Kofi, HHH pinned Sheamus, Cena forced HHH to submit.
EDIT: And yes, I think Sheamus has overtaken both Punk and Rey for worst reign. They at least got a couple of token title defense pins over JBL,
whereas Sheamus has had two defenses, only one of which was on PPV, and both ended in DQs.
[Edited on 2-22-2010 by Cherokee Jack]
If they're going to try and capitalize off of Danielson being an indie/internet sensation wouldn't it be a good idea for folks interested to
be able to find him in the internet by allowing him to be called "Bryan Danielson" rather than Dan Bryan?
With Batista getting the title, who does HHH fight at WM assuming Batista/Cena?
He can still fight Sheamus in a "now this means a lot less than it could have" match.
Unless we get the belt off Bats in the next couple weeks like Goon said.
quote:
Originally posted by C.MontgomeryPunk
If they're going to try and capitalize off of Danielson being an indie/internet sensation wouldn't it be a good idea for folks interested to be able to find him in the internet by allowing him to be called "Bryan Danielson" rather than Dan Bryan?
No Divas championship in favor of a Vicki-called Divas cross-brand tag match won by Layla/Michelle over Gail/Maryse.
"Impromptu" US Title match between Miz and MVP won by Miz.
Whatever.
US hockey victory over Canada was the right call to watch.
[Edited on 2-22-2010 by williamssl]
In the Raw match everyone was in before the first elimination.
In the Smackdown one R-Truth and Punk start, and Truth's gone before the first pod opens.
I know he's the least pushed, and I understand it would be insane to think he had a chance of winning, but (especially when it seems like
they've been trying to push him a bit as of late) why bother putting him in the match if that's all you're going to do? It does
nothing for Punk, who's already way above Truth's level, and only makes Truth stand out even more as the guy who doesn't belong.
I don't really get doing a Miz/MVP impromptu match for the second PPV in a row, with the exact same result. But I'm thinking this Miz/Daniel Bryan stuff could be good and will be the main reason I check out NXT.
Its called "We only booked 4 matches and we had to kill an hour between Elimination Chambers."
This PPV has basically been an exercise in wasting time.
The SD side of things sounded awesome in it's delivery and HBK-tainted result. Too bad the rest of it, especially a Divas match that could only
be described as execrable, sounded like it totally sucked
[Edited on 2-22-2010 by Paddlefoot]
quote:
Originally posted by LuckyLopez
Its called "We only booked 4 matches and we had to kill an hour between Elimination Chambers."
I was disappointed by the Smackdown elimination chamber. People mentioned that Truth didn't make it past the opening 5, but Punk not making it
past the next 5 bothered me. All his early momentum was squandered for the second ppv in a row. The rest of the match seemed lacking something big.
I dug the RAW match, even though it ended with Cena/HHH. I was surprised HHH tapped. I don't think Cena/Batista needs to be for the title.
This is the 3rd year in a row Cena is going to be getting a title shot. In the era of diluted, and multiple titles, that may seem like nothing major,
but it's never been done before.
My brother flipped out when HBK interrupted and has already called this the most predictable WrestleMania of all time in terms of matches, and
winners, and one of the worst if MITB isn't on the card. I don't feel that strongly about it, but I wonder what some of you guys think?
He's not wrong, is he? I mean I couldn't get excited for HBK tonight because we basically all spent the match waiting for the end that we
all knew would happen for weeks.
Predictable can deliver, especially from the smarky/workrate sense, but the show definitely seems to lack much in the way of emotion and surprise
factor to me.
quote:
Originally posted by cardscott5
I don't think Cena/Batista needs to be for the title.
quote:
Originally posted by Chris Is Good517
I really have no idea why somebody decided it needed to be for the title.
While the match ups have ended up like most were predicting, I'm completely fine with all of them so far (as opposed to how I was with Triple
H/Orton and, to a lesser extent, Cena/Edge/Show last year). Kind of like I said in my last post, this is an instance where I'm okay with the WWE
going the safe and predictable route, as I really wanted Edge/Jericho and Taker/Michaels.
And I can certainly see the argument for Cena/Batista not needing the title, but I'm okay with it. For one, they've never done a title match
together, so this isn't like Triple H/Orton last year, where we've already seen it a million times (as far as I can recall, they've
wrestled each other once). And while it ain't exactly Rock/Austin, it's probably about the closest thing the WWE has to it in this
era, so I'm okay with them getting to do a WWE title program for WrestleMania. Also, Taker/Michaels will fit the bill as the "big match that
doesn't involve a title" for WrestleMania XXVI.
Now, if Vince and Bret Hart stay involved in this feud (and don't do their own feud/match), I could see the argument for it being overkill. But
then again, we did get the fatal fourway with a McMahon in every corner at WrestleMania 2000, so this would at least be less than that.
And the more I think about it, the more I could still see Triple H/Sheamus at WrestleMania, though it would really surprise me if Triple H took that
big of a step down the card. Since Triple H eliminated Sheamus from the match tonight, all it would take is Sheamus being pissed off and one beatdown
on Triple on RAW, and we have a feud.
I'm 100% against Cena-Batista involving the title. This WM was shaping up to be a very strong card outside of the title matches.
Cena-Batista (with Bret/Vince)
Punk-Rey (Hair v. Mask)
Taker-HBK II
Orton-Dibiase (with something doing for Rhodes)
ShowMiz tag title defense
MITB (hopefully)
The first three are fine by themselves, with tons of heat for all each. The other three are great for the undercard. HHH-Sheamus is much better with
the WWE title involved, and Edge-Jericho would go on last.
Now, if we get HHH-Sheamus, we'll care even less. And the WWE title will seem like an afterthought in a match that will likely go on last
between Cena & Batista.
Unless Vince was pissed that so many people had the WM card pegged in right before the Rumble, and is dicking around just to have the same result.
[Edited on 2-22-2010 by G-B]
My bad on the double post/edit/quote. Which almost happened twice.
[Edited on 2-22-2010 by G-B]
I thought the PPV overall was pretty enjoyable although the constant updates of the Team USA-Canada hockey game garnered more suspense amongst our
group. The ending of both Elimination Chambers felt flat, especially Raw where everyone was just seemingly eliminated in a matter of minutes. At
least we could've had a few minutes of Cena-Triple H reversing each other's finishers and Sheamus looking stronger.
I do agree that Punk needed to be in the Chamber match longer and the fact that he still continues to garner despite always getting beaten is a
testament to the strength of his character and mic skills. As someone else mentioned in another thread, he's approaching Jericho-esque levels of
maintaining his heat even though he always loses.
Haven't seen this mentioned anywhere in the thread but Taker apparently got set on fire by his pyro during his entrance, which is why he was
sweating head to toe while just hanging out in the pod and also why some of skin was charred pink. What a trooper.
On the subject of the potential Triple H/Sheamus match, I think the fact that it will be much more of a throwaway match without the WWE title is balanced out by the fact that we won't have to see Triple H in his ninth WrestleMania title match since 2000 (you'd have to go back to WrestleMania X-7 for the last time Triple H appeared on a WrestleMania card but not in a title match).
quote:
Originally posted by hail2thesteve
Haven't seen this mentioned anywhere in the thread but Taker apparently got set on fire by his pyro during his entrance, which is why he was sweating head to toe while just hanging out in the pod and also why some of skin was charred pink. What a trooper.
Here are two live accounts (crappy grammar and all) I found about the Taker incident, from Wrestlezone and 411:
"I was at the Chamber PPV tonight. Just got home and read your results to see if there was any mention of the horrifying incident that happened.
In your notes, it was said that Undertaker "runs to the ring in a hurry." I'm assuming it didn't make the air, but the Undertaker indeed ran
to the ring...because the wall of fire that goes off when he's way down the aisle, went off as he was standing at the top of the ramp. It
literally engulfed him. Fire when up through his trenchcoat and all the way up. He shook around and dashed forward to get away from the source, threw
off his jacket, and luckily, the fire didn't catch anything that was on him. He got in the ring and was absolutely furious.
So yeah, Taker ran to the ring because he was on fire. But I tell ya what, he may actually be a Deadman, or have special powers because for all
intents and purposes, he should have been burned and burned badly. My theory is that the jacket ventilated him enough to save him. The flames went in
and around him inside of it and when he threw it off, it stopped fairly quickly.
We could have seen a real tragedy, but thankfully, Taker survived."
And the second:
"Undertaker's coat accidentally caught on fire during his entrance. He then ripped off his burning coat. While in his pod referee constantly gave
him bottled waters to pour down his arm. Not sure if this was seen on camera.
After it went the PPV went off air he stormed up the ramp staring directly at the pyrotechnic area, stopped at the top of the stage (right next to the
spot the pyro accidentally burned him) and yelled something at the pyrotechnics and made a threatening gesture before exiting the stage.
Also, when Undertaker left his pod, the door broke and couldn't be closed back. Referee's constantly tried to close is but was unsuccessful.
It was kinda funny because minutes later, the pod Jericho hid in also got jammed open and couldn't be closed."
Wouldn't suprise me if they hold a MitB match and have HHH win it, so that he can main event the new PPV later in the year.
My guess is that Vince got scared that with he and Bret seemingly the "big draw" this year, and TNA moving to Mondays, he has to have a killer WM line
up. Failure at this particular point would rest firmly on his shoulders, and he really doesn't seem to like that.
I guess this is why Bats walked out of his qualifying match?
Any chance of a HBK/Taker/HHH three-way? I don't see HHH being a curtain jerfer at Mania.
Is it just me, or does he Elimination Chamber PPV report on the top page link to the old Royal Rumble report?
I was thinking of a HHH/HBK/Taker match too. HHH could get pissed that everyone forgets how close he came to beating Taker, wants the glory...
I don't see HHH jerking the curtain, but if he pulled out a good match out of sheamus mid card, it would have a greater benefit in the long run.
Worth mentioning...
quote:
Undertaker suffered burns to his chest as a result of a pyrotechnic malfunction during his entrance when flames reached and burned his jacket as he made his way ringside for his match at tonight's Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
Upon catching on fire, he immediately ripped off his coat and sprinted towards the ring. He then doused himself with bottles of water before and during his scheduled match in the Elimination Chamber.
Company sources indicate Taker was extremely upset about the situation upon returning to the locker room, though officials worked to calm him down.
quote:
Originally posted by TownOfDalem
John Cena wins the other chamber because a world title is just what the Cena/Hart v Vince/Batista feud needs (sarcasm). And if Sheamus goes to wrestlemania as champ it would be harder to call him the weakest booked world champion of all time.
There will probably also be something hyping NXT. Maybe the new guys will be shown backstage though it'll probably just be a video package.
Edit: I actually may be getting behind this Cena winning idea. Batista somehow sneaks into the chamber and knocks out Cena's opponent. Cena gets to be upset that he won the title cheaply and it would make sense for Batista to want Cena to have the title. It would end up retroactively making Batista's actions the last few weeks make sense.
Dalem, your av is one of the greatest things I've ever seen. I love it.
Taker is also lucky he usually soaks his hair before coming out as well. If I was the pyro guy I think I'd have just left right then and walked home.
I thought about Taker-HBK-HHH as well. And I think it makes perfect sense.
They've been teasing issues with HHH & HBK all throughout HBK's "chase" of Taker. Add than on to the fact that there have been reports
about Taker's health, and it makes perfect sense to go with the three-way.
And I think I'd rather see that than HBK-Taker II anyway--if Taker's really in bad shape. Working together, you know HHH & HBK will pull
out all the stops in a 'Mania match.
I guess that means Sheamus-Kofi on the undercard if there's no MITB?
Speaking to WM, pwtorch is saying that there is plans to give Bret Hart the title at WM! With this being leaked, plans could change however the plan
is Hart/Cena vs Batista/McMahon with whoever getting the pin will get the title.
It could go something like this -
With Batista being a SD! star he could give the title to Vince by having him pin Hart for the ultimate insult. Batista takes out Hart and tags in
Vince who does some postturing before going for a pin - however Bret kicks out. Cena takes out Batista by brawling him at ringside, leaving Vince and
Bret, with Bret getting Vince in the Sharpshooter and Vince tapping out to give Hart the title.
The next night on Raw, Hart would give up the title, something he couldn't do all those years ago - give his last farewell speech and leave once
and for all.
I hope they do go this direction and don't change it because it was leaked. Even if everybody knows it's coming it still would make a great
ending.
If Sheamus doesn't somehow get the title back before WM, then instead of putting HHH into the UT/HBK match they could possibly put HHH into a hair vs. hair match with Punk... since they had a mini-feud upto and at the Rumble. Or maybe do a tag team match with HHH/Dibiase vs. Orton/Rhodes? Long shot, but maybe most interesting: forget about Batista being Vince's muscle and have Vince tag with HHH against Bret & Cena
I think the decision to put the title back on Cena was a swerve for a swerve's sake because by all accounts, Triple H-Sheamus was going to be for
the title (and lord knows that match needs the belt to be important as opposed to Batista-Cena which would be a big match no matter what).
Thankfully, I'm glad they decided to swerve us on the Raw chamber match rather than Smackdown.
Even though I enjoyed this PPV, something was missing - not sure if it's because it's the third year in a row where we've gotten a
double Elimination Chamber line-up or because we had another hot-shot belt change (which was kind of the m.o. back in late 2008/early 2009) or a
combination of both.
I don't know what's going to happen with HHH. I'm not sure I'm a fan of putting him in the HBK vs Undertaker match, but should
Taker win that would be his biggest given the in front of and behind the camera power of HBK and HHH.
What about HHH as referee in the Cena/Hart vs Batista/McMahon match? Would that be over-booking/overkill? Would HHH need a match on the PPV?
Edge vs Jericho vs HHH?
quote:
Originally posted by jefft221
If Sheamus doesn't somehow get the title back before WM, then instead of putting HHH into the UT/HBK match they could possibly put HHH into a hair vs. hair match with Punk... since they had a mini-feud upto and at the Rumble. Or maybe do a tag team match with HHH/Dibiase vs. Orton/Rhodes? Long shot, but maybe most interesting: forget about Batista being Vince's muscle and have Vince tag with HHH against Bret & Cena
While I don't like it, Bats/Cena with the title on the line is the "close the show" finale type thing that I'm sure WWE is looking for.
Absent the title, not sure that's the headliner.
Vince/Bret if it is happening surely ain't.
I don't know that Edge/Jericho would be either - just doesn't feel like a WM headliner (albeit a good match and something I am very
interested in seeing).
And HBK/Taker 2...well...it wasn't the headliner last year so why this year?
And Trips/Sheamus for the title...same thing.
I realize I'm being completely subjective and not offering much beside "this feels like x / this doesn't feel like x", but out of everything
there, Cena/Bats for the title has a very "close the show" ring to it.
I'm not a John Cena hater, but my God was he terrible last night. The announcers weren't much better. He was in the chamber for less than 10 minutes, took a few moves from Orton, got a break, then took a few moves from Sheamus before eliminating Triple H to win the title. Mcmahon announces the Batista match and suddenly, Cena can barely get up, is on rubber legs, and completely gassed. The worst part was after the defeat, on the mat, writhing in pain and...desperately reaching for the wrestlemania sign??? Terrible.
In fairness, that's really not on Cena. Or even the announcers. That's the absurd booking that tells Cena to act like he's dead when he's wrestled a fairly mundane match and tells the announcers to sell that he's been through a war when he spent most of the match standing around.
Just watched footage of the Undertaker get scorched on his way to the ring and holy crap, if that guy didn't have the biggest balls in wrestling before, that just solidified it. I couldn't imagine something like that happening and then having the luxury of receiving medical treatment right after it. If it was, in fact, as bad as it looked...the fact that he wrestled a match right after it happened is unbelievable. Much more due to the fact that he had to spend a decent amount of time standing in a pod and hoping to hell that he wasn't seriously burned.
For those curious to see the pyro incident:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6V6LrrCz3Q
Man, Taker has had some bad luck with pyro in his career, hasn't he?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAktqHeVjAY
That is fucking horrifying and I in no way mean to make light of it, but at the end of that video once Taker has ditched the coat and gotten clear of the pyro you see him take that second to stop, take a deep breath, and give the universal sign of "Wow, holy shit, I can't believe that just happened" that most men have done at one time or another after a close call with fire, electricity, power tools, booze, guns, knives, or cars.
Indeed it is (horrifying, I mean). I don't blame him for being so reportedly upset after the show.
On a lighter note, dipshit Michael Cole has a Scooby Doo moment at 0:38:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCLGXzyEJh0
[Edited on 2-22-2010 by The Riot Act]
Cena also went into the chamber last. My theory was that they were having him wrestle as little as possible because of his neck/back injuries. I mean, they certainly don't want to be without him again for another X number of months, so best to take it easy on him.
A few things...
1) Got the show and I don't think it was as bad as it sounds. Frankly, it seemed like a 3 star show with simply a horrible crowd. If the crowd
were hotter I could easily see this one in the 3.5 area, but they brought negative heat to the show. My overall score would probably end up as a 2.5
as a result.
2) The SD Chamber was a 4 star PPV main event if you are into those things. That alone makes me not regret this purchase. Jericho's chicken
shittery was gold.
3) To avoid the same time shift error I had during the TNA PPV, I fast forwarded through 10 minutes of the show which I deemed useless. And yes, that
part was the Undertaker's entrance. I missed every bit of it. In retrospect... wow... he is a beast.
Overall product ended up being kind of mediocre, but the apathetic crowd really, REALLY hurt this one.
To be fair Taker is lucky he does come to the ring with the coat, imagine Kane who is basically topless not having that luxury of a barrier between
skin and fire (it may not be much but its something)
As for Jericho getting in the pod twice, best moment of the night.
A blonde woman wasn't spotted in the pyrotechnics truck before the show, was she?
The coat could be a two edged sword. It might protect you from some of the burning but it could also take away a second or two of "holy crap I am
burning" feeling and once you clear the pyro you still have a flaming coat on your back.
Glad that Taker is mostly OK. I would really like to see Taker/Shawn 2 at WM. I could see Triple H as a guest referee of some sort. Him and HBK being
in rocky straits and no love loss for Taker could lead HHH to being an enforcer type ref, beefing with each guy, giving them time to rest.
If the match was a 3 way dance I think that could work too. I think Taker standing tall in what could be his last WM would be the great iconic image
the WWE is always looking for. If it was the last match of the night you get the up ending, especially if the three guys pull out the stops and make
it a brutal match with lots of close falls.
I hadn't really thought of HHH-HBK-Taker in a three-way dance but if they could even come close to the awesomeness that was HHH-HBK-Benoit from
Wrestlemania XX, fuck...that would be sweet.
EDIT - As a lover of all things related to Chris Jericho chicken-shittery, man it sounds like he took it to a new level with running back into the pod
to avoid the Taker. Seeing that alone would've almost been worth the price of ordering it.
[Edited on 2-22-2010 by gobbledygooker]
What got me was Taker using John Morrison to batter the pod door down to get at Jericho. I was laughing as it was, but that was just the icing on the
cake :-D
Also - I think Cena should give up taking part in the Elimination Chamber. Even when if he wins he gets screwed out of the title - first Edge and now
Batista!
quote:
Originally posted by TomS
Also - I think Cena should give up taking part in the Elimination Chamber. Even when if he wins he gets screwed out of the title - first Edge and now Batista!
Thought it was a pretty average show bookended with some fun matches. We got one result we all knew was coming, and another that was the typical
Elimination Chamber-type swerve we've gotten plenty of before.
I have a bit of a different perspective on the Sheamus-No-Title situation. On one hand, the Cena/Batista match really didn't need a title
attached to it. But in terms of a championship situation, HHH v. Sheamus for the title is much more of an obvious conclusion than Cena/Batista, which
is didn't need the belt to have the only conclusion they are going to have. The less obvious conclusion that the former match could have is if
no belt is on the line. Even with it being Wrestlemania and all, if HHH were serious about pushing his protege Sheamus to new levels, either pulling
out a less pressureous 20 min match at Mania, or actually letting him beat him in the biggest PPV of the year would be a huge boon for Sheamus,
especially after they didn't allow him to eliminate neither HHH nor Cena in the Chamber. It could also set up Sheamus' first real lengthy
feud in the WWE and allow HHH to get his heat back at the Extreme Rules PPV the month after, while allowing Sheamus to forever have the "I beat HHH at
Wrestlemania" claim to bring up like others bring up their accomplishments time to time. Something that could never happen if Sheamus is champion at
Wrestlemania.
On the other hand, I'm too lazy to look and see who said it, but someone had the idea that HHH would come back and get a title match tonight and
take the belt back for his feud thanks to Cena or something. I guess if they had Sheamus invoke his rematch clause (which I fully expect them to
forget about), they would be able to do something like that.
Back to the PPV, it was rather meaningless otherwise. I liked this MVP/Miz encounter better than others they have had, but the match that made the
most sense was ShowMiz v. Team Red Jumpsuit....of course...they could be hoping to use that as the tag match at Wrestlemania.
And speaking of stretching to Wrestlemania, I'm guessing that is their explanation for Maryse/Gail being postponed. Which is dumb. Because
unless theyre finding some past star to come back and challenge for that particular title, the only women's feud with any heat is Beth v. Mickie,
and that should be the only diva match on the card.
Looking forward...I was away this week and must have missed the news that the new PPV on the schedule was MitB...which I believe to be one of the
worst ideas ever presented. It has become such a staple of Wrestlemania, that it hurts to lose it, not to mention, the people left without matches at
Wrestlemania would be quite perfect for this match. Taking into account a Punk/Rey match, we still have
Kofi/Morrison/Christian/Shelton/McIntyre/Zeek or Kane as the powerhouse...Bourne/Carlito/Primo/Kidd/Rhodes etc to round out the rest of the bill, and
all people they might have trouble booking otherwise. Oh well. I guess they could always do Christian v. Zeek and Morrison v. McIntyre ro something
if they needed to get them in...but I'd be lost to find Kofi a spot in that case. Still, at least the card going into Mania is while sort of
obvious, a lot of the matches we were hoping would wind up there.
quote:
Originally posted by Martman
My theory was that they were having him wrestle as little as possible because of his neck/back injuries. I mean, they certainly don't want to be without him again for another X number of months, so best to take it easy on him.
Yeah, it makes perfect sense if you take it as "Vince agreeing to give Batista the easy win if he takes out Bret." Batista took out Bret and it had
nothing to do with Cena until Cena got himself involved. Batista then walks away from the Elimination Challenger, tells Cena to just walk away and
forget him, and acts in secrecy and confidence. Turns out that for weeks Batista's known that Vince would give him a title shot immediately
after the Chamber match and the easy win, which is why he saw no need to compete in qualifiers or fight anyone he didn't have to. He was focused
on this. Cena is just a happy coincidence.
Of course if you look at it as Batista vs Cena setup and a continuation of their stuff since Batista dropped him on the ring steps then you have to
suspend a lot of disbelief to accept that it just worked out that Cena was champ. But I do think that was the story. Had Sheamus or HHH won then
Vince would have pulled the same stunt. Vince wasn't out to get Cena and Batista had nothing personal against him, it was just about the belt.
Of course Batista and Vince are free to contradict me to tonight and make it illogical if they wish.
EDIT: I would say the show was pretty much exactly what you could have reasonably expected. Sheamus never had a chance in hell of retaining and
anyone who thought he would pin HHH, Orton, or Cena was probably crazy given the last 3 months. Match was fine on paper was pretty by the numbers RAW
booking. SD chamber was much better as the talent was more interesting and did their things the way they do it well, all pretty predictable right
down to the HBK ending but also entertaining enough. And then everything between it was a ton of useless filler because WWE put no interest in
booking anything beyond the Chambers.
Pretty much the definition of lazy booking but the performers did their jobs so if that's enough for you, there you go.
[Edited on 2-23-2010 by LuckyLopez]
quote:
Is he really injured?
quote:
Originally posted by Martman
But that could easily have been someone else, since I remember reading about Alex Shelley having that too.....