‘WWE Elimination Chamber 2014’ Results & Review
Elimination Chamber, as you’re reading this, has been and gone and we are now well on our way down the road to WrestleMania XXX. There were lots of questions to be answered going in to Elimination Chamber, and in all honesty most of those questions were left unanswered as the show went off the air at 4am UK time on Monday morning on the 24th February 2014.
The show itself was one of those WWE b-shows that ranged, at various times from poor, to mediocre, to good, to fantastic, so lets look at the actual results before talking about the show in more depth shall we?
- Kick-off Show: The Rhodes Brothers beat Ryback & Curtis Axel
- Intercontinental Championship: Big E retained his title against Jack Swagger
- WWE Tag Team Championship: The New Age Outlaws beat The Uso’s
- Grudge Match: Titus defeated Darren Young
- WWE Divas Championship: AJ Lee kept her title against Cameron
- Grudge Match: Batista defeated Alberto Del Rio
- Six Man Tag Team Match: The Wyatt Family beat The Shield
- WWE World Title Elimination Chamber Match: Randy Orton retained against Daniel Bryan, John Cena, Cesaro, Christian and Sheamus
So there are there results of the show. We left the PPV with no championships changing hands and most matches having the outcomes that I predicted on the preview a few days ago. It was a fairly uninspired card and many of the matches left much to be desired. But there were still a couple of matches that made the show worth watching, and one match that stole the show and is a definite contender, and an early one at that, for match of the year.
The kick-off show tag match was okay but it was short and felt like just another television match, I was happy to see Cody and Goldust retain here, but the match itself was just passable.
We opened the show with the I-C title on the line. Big E is still very green, hardly sells in his matches and feels dangerous when he’s running around throwing fists. Swagger managed to pull Big E to a decent match though and it ended as I thought it would, with Big E keeping his title against the talented Real American.
The Outlaws’ match against The Uso’s was another “okay” match. The Uso’s did all they could to pull the slow, blown up and passed-their-prime Outlaws to a decent match, and at times it was good, but Billy Gunn was sloppy and the outcome, with Roadie and Gunn retaining is a real shame, and I hope to see The Uso’s actually get green-lit soon for a title run, because The Outlaws aren’t cutting it, and the tag division was doing so well.
The match between Titus and Young was never going to be a classic, but damn, this was painful. The fans buried the match with chants of “we want wrestlers” and a variety of other comments that showed their lack of interest here. Titus looked slow and out of his depth. Young isn’t bad, but he didn’t look so good here. The match was the worst on the card, but Titus predictably won.
The match that was given to us on the night without any pre-booking was the Divas Championship match between AJ and the challenger Cameron. Naomi was supposed to wrestle here but she was injured by Aksana a couple of weeks ago on RAW. This wasn’t so good either but they kept it short and simple so that is something to be thankful for. AJ needs some new challengers, and soon. Cameron won by DW, but AJ kept her title, when Tamina got involved.
Batista and Del Rio provided me, a wrestling fan who wants to see some change in WWE, with some humorous moments. It’s only saving grace. Del Rio was cheered from the outset, and Batista was heavily booed each time he used an offensive move on his heel opponent. The fans chanted negatively at Batista and the match in general and just basically buried the contest. This solidifies the fact that if they end WrestleMania with Orton vs. Batista, the fans will kill the match in moments. Batista, obviously, won here, after being beaten up by Del Rio for most of the match.
The six man match pitting The Wyatt Family against The Shield had fans chanting “this is awesome” before the combatants even touched one another. The fans were loving this from beginning to end, and rightfully so. This was a spectacular match featuring six men who wanted to turn heads and leave a mark on this show. That they did. This was the best match of the night, and arguably the best match of 2014 from WWE so far. Just a fantastic array of high spots, great chemistry and on-point offence from everyone involved. The Wyatt’s won in a match that could have gone either way. The Shield, surprisingly, didn’t show any signs of a split here.
The main event chamber match was a mixed bag. At times it was slow and a little boring, and at times it was thoroughly entertaining with moments that will inevitably be replayed for years to come. Sheamus was the first man to be eliminated, and he looked like he might have been injured, or he was just selling well. Christian quickly followed, then Cesaro and Cena, leaving Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton as the final two. The Wyatt Family had cost Cena the match, and Kane was then involved, and this brought on the ending to the match. Bryan hit the match-winning knee on Orton, only for Kane to break-up the count. Bryan then got hit with two RKO’s before being pinned. The fans in the arena didn’t boo loudly, they just stood, dejected and deflated, again, by WWE’s refusal to grant Bryan a victory. This time though, it felt perhaps a little different, as the announcers focused on the fans dejected response. Will we see Bryan added to the Mania main event on RAW? Only time will tell. I just hope they don’t book him in a mid-card match against Kane. Orton retained here.
Overall the show was a watchable one, but it didn’t do as much as I felt it should have to set up things for WrestleMania which is a month away. The outcomes were mostly predictable, as has become common with WWE, but the main event was good, mostly, and the six man match was excellent, so the show did have its rewards, even if it had its frustrating parts too.
Until next time.
