Elimination Chamber (2010)

The Elimination Chamber pay-per-view featured two Elimination Chamber matches.

In late 2009, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) held a poll on their official website to allow fans to choose a name for their February 2010 pay-per-view. The choices included Elimination Chamber, Heavy Metal, Battle Chamber, Chamber of Conflict, and No Way Out, which had been the name of the preceding Elimination Chamber-based event.[9] The name Elimination Chamber won, but the event was still promoted as No Way Out in Germany as it was feared that the name "Elimination Chamber" may remind people of the gas chambers used during the Holocaust.[2][3][10]

The concept of the show was that each main event match was to be contested as an Elimination Chamber match.[10] The Elimination Chamber is a circular steel cage, consisting of chains and girders, that surrounds the ring. Four 'pods' are enclosed within the chamber, one behind each ring post, which are on a steel platform surrounding the outside of the ring. Six wrestlers compete in the match; four are enclosed within the pods and released at random at specific time intervals, and two start the match.[10] Wrestlers can only be eliminated via pinfall or submission, and the last wrestler left is the winner.[10] For the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, both WWE world championships, Raw's WWE Championship and SmackDown's World Heavyweight Championship, were to be defended in separate Elimination Chamber matches.[10]

The 2010 event became the first event of what is now one of WWE's yearly pay-per-views. An Elimination Chamber event has occurred every year since except in 2016. It has also mostly occurred in February, except for the 2015 event, which was held in May, and the 2020 event held in March. While originally designed for single competitors, the first tag team Elimination Chamber match occurred at the 2015 event. The chamber itself was redesigned for the 2017 event, becoming square in design. A women's version of the match first occurred at the 2018 event, which also featured the first seven-man chamber match.

Just prior to the commencement of the World Heavyweight Championship Elimination Chamber match, The Undertaker was involved in a pyrotechnics accident during his ring entrance. He was temporarily engulfed in flames on three occasions when the pyrotechnics were mistimed, and his jacket briefly caught on fire. He suffered first- and second-degree burns to his neck and chest, and according to a WWE spokesperson the injury "looked like a bad sunburn".[11] He was only allowed to participate in the match after being cleared by a ringside doctor and was given bottles of water throughout the match to douse himself with to alleviate the discomfort.[11] Chris Jericho, who also competed in the match, has told on multiple occasions how the pyrotechnician responsible was relieved of his employment with WWE and escorted from the arena following a threat of violence from The Undertaker.[12][13] The Undertaker himself explained that he had previously expressed concerns to the technician regarding the pyro arrangement, but was ignored. He feels he was saved from severe injury by applying water to his hair, and altering his attire from a sleeveless to a sleeved jacket, just minutes before the accident.[14]

The professional wrestling matches at Elimination Chamber featured professional wrestlers performing as characters in scripted events pre-determined by the hosting promotion, WWE.[15][16] Storylines between the characters were produced on WWE's weekly television shows Raw and SmackDown of the Raw and SmackDown brands—storyline divisions in which WWE assigned its employees to different programs.[17]

The Undertaker defended his World Heavyweight Championship in an Elimination Chamber match.

The main event matches for the Elimination Chamber event consisted of two Elimination Chamber matches, with Raw's WWE Championship defended in one and SmackDown's World Heavyweight Championship defended in the other.[10] Qualifying matches were held on the February 1 episode of Raw to determine the five challengers who would face the WWE Champion Sheamus in Raw's Elimination Chamber match. In qualifiers, John Cena defeated Cody Rhodes, Triple H defeated Jack Swagger, Randy Orton defeated Shawn Michaels, Ted DiBiase defeated Mark Henry, and Kofi Kingston defeated The Big Show by disqualification.[18] In the weeks prior to Elimination Chamber the participants faced off in several matches, which included DiBiase vs. Cena ending in a no contest, Sheamus defeating Orton by disqualification, DiBiase defeating Kingston via pinfall, and Cena vs. Triple H ending in a no contest due to Sheamus interfering and attacking both participants.[19][20] The February 5 episode of SmackDown saw the five wrestlers qualify to challenge The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship in a similar fashion. John Morrison defeated Drew McIntyre and Kane in a triple threat match. Throughout the rest of the episode, this was followed by R-Truth defeating Mike Knox, CM Punk defeating Batista via countout, Chris Jericho defeating Matt Hardy, and Rey Mysterio defeating Dolph Ziggler.[21] In the following weeks, the six wrestlers faced off in different combinations in singles matches that saw Mysterio pin Punk, Morrison vs. R-Truth end in a no contest due to Morrison suffering a storyline ankle injury, and Jericho defeating The Undertaker.[22] On the February 19 episode of SmackDown, Morrison and R-Truth teamed up to face CM Punk and his 'follower' Luke Gallows in a tag team match, which Morrison and R-Truth lost via referee stoppage.[23]

In late December 2009, WWE Divas Champion Melina tore her anterior cruciate ligament, and was forced to vacate the championship.[24] As a result, it was announced in January 2010 that a single-elimination tournament would be held to determine a new champion.[24] The tournament began on the January 4 episode of Raw, when Maryse advanced to the semi-finals by defeating Brie Bella.[25] She was followed into the semi-finals by Gail Kim, Alicia Fox, and Eve, who defeated Jillian Hall, Kelly Kelly, and Katie Lea Burchill respectively.[26][27] In the semi-finals, Maryse defeated Eve and Kim defeated Fox.[28] It was then announced on the February 8 episode of Raw that Maryse and Kim would face one another in the final at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.

On the February 12 episode of SmackDown, the WWE Intercontinental Champion Drew McIntyre faced Kane in a non-title match. After the match went to a double-countout, Kane chokeslammed McIntyre.[22] It was announced the following day on WWE's official website that Kane and McIntyre would meet at Elimination Chamber for the Intercontinental Championship. The following week, on the February 19 episode of SmackDown, Kane defeated Dolph Ziggler in a singles match. Following the match, he was attacked by McIntyre, but Kane was able to fight back and fend off the attack.[23]

Sheamus lost the WWE Championship to John Cena in an Elimination Chamber match.

The first match that aired on the pay-per-view was the Raw Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship, which involved Randy Orton, Triple H, Ted DiBiase, Kofi Kingston, John Cena, and defending champion Sheamus. Sheamus and Kingston started the match. Triple H was the first wrestler released, followed by Orton, DiBiase, and Cena. Cody Rhodes, an ally of both DiBiase and Orton appeared and threw a steel pipe into the cage. DiBiase struck Orton with the pipe and Cena performed an Attitude Adjustment on Orton. Dibiase struck Cena with the pipe, and then covered Orton to eliminate him. Kingston performed his finishing move, "Trouble in Paradise" (a 540 kick) to eliminate DiBiase. Immediately afterward, Sheamus eliminated Kingston after a High Cross before being eliminated himself by Triple H after a Pedigree. Cena forced Triple H to submit to his submission hold, the STF[7][30] to win the title, his eight world championship overall.[31]

Immediately after the conclusion of the match, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon interrupted to cut a promo. He told Cena that he would be going to WrestleMania XXVI, only if he could beat Batista, and then ordered Cena to face Batista in a previously unannounced match for the WWE Championship. Batista speared Cena, and then performed a "Batista Bomb" (a sitout powerbomb) on him to earn a pinfall victory, making Batista the new WWE Champion.[7][30][32]

The third match featured Drew McIntyre defending the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Kane. The match began with Kane taking the advantage over McIntyre by clotheslining him over the top rope to the floor. Towards the end of the match, McIntyre attempted to leave the arena and lose via countout, which would have allowed him to retain the championship, but Kane brought him back inside the ring. When re-entering the ring, McIntyre poked him in the eye and then performed his "Future Shock DDT" (a double underhook DDT) to win the match by pinfall and remain the Intercontinental Champion.[7][30]

Maryse (left) and Gail Kim (right) who teamed up to face LayCool (Michelle McCool and Layla).

The next match was scheduled to be the final of a tournament to determine a new Divas Champion after the title was vacated. Maryse and Gail Kim had entered the ring when official consultant to the SmackDown General Manager, Vickie Guerrero interrupted. Guerrero stated that as a result of the Raw Divas making disparaging remarks about the SmackDown Divas, she was changing the match to an interbrand Divas tag team match, with Raw Divas Kim and Maryse facing LayCool (Michelle McCool and Layla) from SmackDown. The story of the match was that Maryse and Kim could not work together, and Maryse attacked Kim, allowing McCool to hit her finishing move for the victory. Following the match, Maryse performed her "French Kiss DDT" on Kim.[7][30] Following the match, The Miz was interviewed backstage by Josh Mathews about NXT, on which he was a mentor. He was interrupted by Montel Vontavious Porter, who informed The Miz that the two had a match next.[7][30] This was followed by William Regal cutting an in-ring promo about NXT. He was interrupted by the winner of the 2010 Royal Rumble match, Edge, who stated that he would be deciding which championship to challenge for at WrestleMania on the next episode of Raw. Edge then speared Regal.[7][30]

The fifth match was a previously unannounced contest which saw The Miz defend his WWE United States Championship against Montel Vontavious Porter. The Miz was accompanied by his tag team partner, The Big Show, while Porter was accompanied by Mark Henry, with whom he had regularly teamed. Porter took the advantage at the beginning of the match, before The Miz was able to fight back with a swinging DDT. When he climbed to the top rope, however, Porter knocked him off to regain the advantage. The Big Show pulled The Miz out of the ring to safety, and then threw Henry into the security barricade at ringside. With the referee distracted by this, The Big Show used his "Knockout Punch" on Porter, and The Miz was able to pin him to retain his championship.[7][30]

The main event of the pay-per-view was the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship, featuring The Undertaker, CM Punk, Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, and R-Truth. Mysterio, Morrison, and Jericho entered first and were locked into pods.[7][30] The Undertaker was the fourth to make his way down to the ring, but an accident occurred during his entrance when his pyrotechnics were mistimed, resulting in him being momentarily engulfed in flames. He was cleared by a ringside doctor to wrestle, however, and was able to compete in the match.[11] The final two, who were to start the match, were CM Punk, who was accompanied by his stable, the Straight Edge Society of Serena and Luke Gallows, and R-Truth. Punk cut a promo on his way to the ring, but was interrupted by R-Truth's entrance. Punk was able to eliminate R-Truth in approximately three-and-a-half minutes, before any other competitor had entered the match, and finished his promo afterward. Mysterio entered after the first five minutes had passed, and eliminated Punk before the next competitor entered. The next entrant was revealed to be Jericho, and he and Mysterio wrestled for five minutes until Morrison was released. Morrison utilised his "Starship Pain" finisher (a split-legged corkscrew moonsault) to pin Mysterio and eliminate him from the match. The final entrant into the match was the defending champion The Undertaker, who was able to eliminate Morrison following a chokeslam onto the chamber floor after approximately 28 minutes. Shawn Michaels, who had requested and been denied a match with The Undertaker for WrestleMania, snuck into the chamber, and performed his "Sweet Chin Music" superkick on The Undertaker. This allowed Jericho to pin The Undertaker to win the match and the World Heavyweight Championship for the third time.[7][30][33]