By Carson Koschik Well, it's officially WrestleMania season. WWE's Elimination Chamber, which is the final PPV before WrestleMania, was last night and it was pretty damn good in my opinion. Even though the ending of the PPV was a little underwhelming, every match of the card delivered and set a good pace for WrestleMania. Now it's time to highlight the best of the best from the build-up to Elimination Chamber and the event itself. Best Feud Winner: The Rock vs. CM Punk Even though this encounter was a lot more predictable than their first bout, the build-up was arguably a lot more intense. It just goes to show that CM Punk, as great of a wrestler he his, is way better character-wise when he's chasing the title, especially when he's convinced himself that he was still the WWE Champion. The Rock may not have been in peak performance mode, as some of his promos were a little odd (remember the "Crackhead" story?), but both men were successful in creating an interesting feud that led up to what was another must-see match.
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By Drew Lapoint What a wild and explosive night it was last night in New Orleans for the Elimination Chamber pay per view event. With every predictable action the WWE Universe witnessed, it seemed as though an unpredictable reaction soon followed. Its been said time and time again for far too long that the WWE has lost its ability to swerve the viewers, and that for years now when we see and event on paper, there's a good chance that we can see the outcome coming from a mile away. Last night was no different for me as a viewer. Sure I had high hopes that the booking team may take a chance on doing something different, but wasn't expecting anything out of the ordinary. Boy was I wrong on that one. While victories for Alberto Del Rio and The Rock were widely expected, who really thought Jack Swagger would emerge victorious from the Elimination Chamber number one contenders match? Two weeks into his return, Swagger has seemed reinvigorated more so than I've ever seen him. He's always been great in the ring, but his "All American American" character certainly ran its course and after his world title push three years ago, Swaggers been swimming in obscurity ever since. During his most recent absence, it was widely speculated that Swagger was due his walking papers from the company. With all the new blood recently infused into the main programs, and the part-time legends around for Wrestlemania season, nobody really saw Swagger being any kind of important fixture aside from a couple Superstars appearances or getting squashed for the greater good of more popular superstars. Enter Zeb Coulter as his mouthpiece, and a new "Real American" gimmick, Swagger suddenly looks credible again, I just don't think anyone expected his moment in the sun would come so soon after returning, especially considering the star power that was in the chamber match. At this rate its sink or swim for Swagger and his road to Wrestlemania, and being a fan of his myself, I wish he and Del Rio all the best because I think their feud will be controversial to say the least, and if done properly, we have two bright, young stars ready-made for the future. WWE swerved us on this one, all we can do is let it play out to see where things are headed, but for the first time maybe since his debut, Swagger is a force to be reckoned with and has a character to go along with it. CM Punk spits in the face of WWE Champion The Rock. Basic match with Brodus Clay and Tensai defeating Team Rhodes Scholars in the pre-show. It lasted mere minutes and was pretty formulaic tag team action. The finish was never in doubt, but it's still a shame to see Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow reduced to this. I fear what place they will have on the WrestleMania 29 card after their latest loss, since both guys are deserving of a spot. Good match with Alberto Del Rio successfully retaining the World Heavyweight Championship against Big Show. I was afraid that the action would be boring since there was no stipulation this time around, but they managed to work well together. Of course, the noticeable botch with Del Rio failing to kick the bucket next to Show's skull hurt the overall blow of the bout, but it was still nice to see the World's Largest Athlete tap out for once. I was disappointed not to see Dolph Ziggler cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase here, which must mean he'll be cashing in at either WrestleMania 29 or further down the line. Decent match with Antonio Cesaro successfully retaining his United States Championship against The Miz via disqualification. The action was good while it lasted, but it could've used a few more minutes to feel memorable. The finish came out of nowhere and Miz's "accidental" disqualification was vastly disappointing. Miz had an injury going into the bout, so why couldn't that have been his reason for losing clean here? I just don't understand how you could have Cesaro win cleanly at Royal Rumble last month but not in the rematch. This apparently is heading towards a championship rematch at WrestleMania 29, which is something I'm not eagerly anticipating. I'm glad the star-spangled prize will be defended at the show of shows, but can't Cesaro be given a fresh opponent to work with instead? Excellent Elimination Chamber match with Jack Swagger emerging victorious as the new number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. I appreciated Chris Jericho and Daniel Bryan kicking off the bout, which made for an awesome exchange between the two. The match treaded water until Mark Henry entered, who proceeded to single handedly destroy each of the participants. Having Team Hell No be the first ones taken out from the bout was smart booking since no one believed they'd be the victors anyway. I would have liked to see Henry last longer, but they protected him well by having him take three finishers and then decimate the remaining three Superstars before leaving. In all honesty, I did not see Swagger's victory coming, but I gues it's better than having Orton get the win here. My only issue with Swagger winning is that he just returned a mere two weeks ago and isn't over enough to be considered a threat to the World title at Mania. Nonetheless, he's a fresh face in the title scene, finally has new entrance music, and will make for a great opponent against Alberto Del Rio. By Chris Michaels The World Heavyweight Championship has not had these many eyes on it in a long time. It has been a while since the WWE Universe has cared about what happens with the World Title picture. This year we only have ONE Elimination Chamber match and this will decide the #1 Contender to face the winner of the World Title match between The Big Show & Alberto Del Rio at WrestleMania. The challengers are; Kane, Jack Swagger, Daniel Bryan, Mark Henry, Randy Orton, and Chris Jericho. Now I’m assuming people are wondering who will walk out with the title, well, I will try to break it down as much as I possibly can to determine who that winner could be: Daniel Bryan & Kane: I put these two together because it is almost inevitable that they will be the main cause for each other being eliminated. These two have been arguing more, screwing each other of matches, and have even decided to compete in matches alone without their partner by their side. It is only a matter of time before these two split up and Daniel Bryan and Kane go their separate ways and continue their respective singles careers. I was thinking that the time would come sooner than later, but with the split of Rhodes Scholars, Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara being inconsistent with their schedule, and there not being a believable heel tag team (closes is Prime Time Players) Team Hell No has no competition so it could mean we see Bryan and Kane continue to carry the tag division until that team comes around. So that means neither man has a chance at winning the match. I would be worried if I were Team Hell No. The longer this angle continues, the more it gets played out, and the more fans will become annoyed of their bickering than enjoying it. Their Road to WrestleMania looks bumpy. |
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