Stars of the Night: Elimination Chamber 2015
Two nights ago, WWE fans saw the return of one of the most brutal structures in WWE history: the Elimination Chamber. The Chamber is a monstrosity: it weighs over 10 tons and has over 2 miles of chains. Some of the greatest WWE superstars in history (such as The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Edge, Chris Jericho, Triple H, John Cena, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, and Big Show) have done battle inside the structure. When the annual Elimination Chamber pay-per-view was replaced with Fastlane, many fans were disappointed. Fortunately for them, the Chamber has returned.
The event as a whole has been touted as a massive success. In fact, it's being touted by many as the second-best PPV of the year (behind only WrestleMania). I don't know if I would agree with that, but the show was definitely a huge hit. There were a number of good matches with some awesome moments. Rather than reviewing each segment of the night, we're going to bring back an old segment: Stars of the Night. I haven't done one since last year's Survivor Series, where the biggest stars of the night were Sting and Dolph Ziggler. Neither of those guys made this list, but there were a lot of stars on the show. Let's get started.
Honorable Mentions:
Seth Rollins- Yes, he did walk away with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but only because of a screwy finish. Besides, we all knew that he was going to retain, as he is taking on Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.
Stardust- The former Cody Rhodes beat Zack Ryder on the pre-show, but that was only done to build Stardust up for his SummerSlam match against actor Stephen Amell. We all know Stardust is going to lose to Amell and then continue to tread water after that.
Neville- Sure, he beat Bo Dallas, but so what? It's not like the win gave him a big rub, it was just to make sure Neville stays relevant and is treated like a real contender for the MITB ladder match.
10. The Ascension- A couple of months ago, I would have scoffed at the idea that these two would ever be stars of a show, but they earned it. They started the Tag Team Elimination Chamber match with Los Matadores and lasted 13.5 minutes while eliminating two teams (the Matadores and the Lucha Dragons). This was by far the best showing of their WWE career. They looked dominant, brutal, and like they belonged in the tag team title scene. This is a dramatic change in pace from where they were a couple months ago. If the WWE keeps booking them correctly, the longest-reigning NXT Tag Team Champions in history may become WWE Tag Team Champions by the end of 2016, (it's a little unrealistic to think they could be champs by the end of this year).
9. The Prime Time Players- As impressive as The Ascension was, the Prime Time Players were even more impressive. They lasted more than 11 minutes, eliminated Cesaro & Tyson Kidd, and were the runner-ups in the match. It's been a while since this duo was treated like a real contender (September of 2013) to be exact, so this is a refreshing change of pace. These two will most likely be the next #1 Contenders for the tag titles, which should be an interesting feud.
8. Money in the Bank- The next PPV is only two weeks away and takes place in Columbus, Ohio. MITB is the biggest non-Big 4 PPV of the year. Think back to 2011, where CM Punk and John Cena put on a five-star classic. The next year, Cena and Dolph Ziggler acquired possession of the treaured briefcases. In 2013, the two MITB ladder matches (won by Randy Orton and Damien Sandow) were both great. Last year's edition saw probably the greatest MITB ladder match in history. The WWE built up some good hype for the event at Elimination Chamber, announcing a Cena/Owens rematch (which will be highly anticipated) and six participants in the ladder match: Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Kofi Kingston, Neville, Dolph Ziggler, and Sheamus. Reigns is the obvious favorite, Orton provides the veteran flavor, Neville gets a nice rookie rub, Ziggler and Sheamus get a good midcard rub, and Kingston will be flying all over the place. This is going to be an absolutely great match.
7. NXT- It was a great showcase for current and former NXT talent. The most obvious one was Kevin Owens, the current NXT Champion who looks completely invincible. Four other former NXT champs also were on the show: Bo Dallas, Neville (who beat Dallas), Big E (one of the winners of the Tag Team Chamber match), and Seth Rollins (who walked in and out of the show as WWE World Heavyweight Champion). Other former NXT talent on the show: Xavier Woods, Kalisto, Darren Young, Dean Ambrose, Titus O'Neil, Naomi, King Barrett, Ryback, Konnor, and Viktor. If that's not a testament to the power of NXT, I don't know what is.
6. Sheamus- The Celtic Warrior may not have won the Intercontinental Championship Elimination Chamber match, but he sure was impressive in it. He eliminated Mark Henry and Dolph Ziggler and was the runner-up in the match. Many saw him as the odds-on favorite, but WWE went with the fan-favorite choice of Ryback. But for the time he spent in the match, Sheamus looked dominant and brutal. The spot he did with the chain and pod door made him look cunning and calculating. The former WWE Champion has been on fire since his heel return, and this should continue for a while. Rumors are flowing that Sheamus will beat Ryback for the IC title at SummerSlam, which will only keep Sheamus on fire.
5. John Cena- The WWE Universe was in absolute shock when Cena was pinned clean by Kevin Owens. An NXT superstar getting the absolute best out of Cena in the build-up to a match and then pining him cleanly in the middle of a ring? If you had asked anyone last year if this would have ever happened, they would have laughed. Yet, it happened. So why does Cena end up in the top 5? He gets credit for putting Owens over and for carrying his weight in a MOTY candidate. Their rematch at MITB should be great.
4. Ryback- The fledgling brute won the IC Chamber match to win the vacant IC title, giving him his first gold in his WWE career (long overdue by the way). He eliminated Sheamus and R-Truth en route to victory. Furthermore, he was put over by Daniel Bryan when we was presented the title. The Big Guy is IC champ, and it should be good.
3. The New Day- Three of the best heels in the company were at the top of their game on Sunday. They curried favor with The Authority, employed heel tactics throughout the Tag Title Chamber match, and walked away with their titles. This group has been on absolute fire since they turned heel, and they should be for months.
2. Dean Ambrose- For a few great moments, the world believed that Dean Ambrose had done the impossible and beaten Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Unfortunately, it was not to be. However, the two still had a very entertaining match and Ambrose showed that he can one day be the top dog in the company. Unfortunately for him, that time will have to come after the Rollins/Lesnar match at SummerSlam.
1. Kevin Owens- Make no mistake about it, Kevin Owens was the star of the night. In his first ever WWE match, he pinned John Cena cleanly. That shows just how much faith WWE management has in him. Furthermore, the match was a great one and definitely the best of the night. Great things lie ahead for Owens throughout the rest of his WWE tenure, including World title reigns and WrestleMania matches.
Many fans were complaining about the weak build-up to this event, but it was definitely a success. Now, we only have to wait two weeks until the next PPV (MITB), which should be a good one. Thanks for reading.
The event as a whole has been touted as a massive success. In fact, it's being touted by many as the second-best PPV of the year (behind only WrestleMania). I don't know if I would agree with that, but the show was definitely a huge hit. There were a number of good matches with some awesome moments. Rather than reviewing each segment of the night, we're going to bring back an old segment: Stars of the Night. I haven't done one since last year's Survivor Series, where the biggest stars of the night were Sting and Dolph Ziggler. Neither of those guys made this list, but there were a lot of stars on the show. Let's get started.
Honorable Mentions:
Seth Rollins- Yes, he did walk away with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but only because of a screwy finish. Besides, we all knew that he was going to retain, as he is taking on Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.
Stardust- The former Cody Rhodes beat Zack Ryder on the pre-show, but that was only done to build Stardust up for his SummerSlam match against actor Stephen Amell. We all know Stardust is going to lose to Amell and then continue to tread water after that.
Neville- Sure, he beat Bo Dallas, but so what? It's not like the win gave him a big rub, it was just to make sure Neville stays relevant and is treated like a real contender for the MITB ladder match.
10. The Ascension- A couple of months ago, I would have scoffed at the idea that these two would ever be stars of a show, but they earned it. They started the Tag Team Elimination Chamber match with Los Matadores and lasted 13.5 minutes while eliminating two teams (the Matadores and the Lucha Dragons). This was by far the best showing of their WWE career. They looked dominant, brutal, and like they belonged in the tag team title scene. This is a dramatic change in pace from where they were a couple months ago. If the WWE keeps booking them correctly, the longest-reigning NXT Tag Team Champions in history may become WWE Tag Team Champions by the end of 2016, (it's a little unrealistic to think they could be champs by the end of this year).
9. The Prime Time Players- As impressive as The Ascension was, the Prime Time Players were even more impressive. They lasted more than 11 minutes, eliminated Cesaro & Tyson Kidd, and were the runner-ups in the match. It's been a while since this duo was treated like a real contender (September of 2013) to be exact, so this is a refreshing change of pace. These two will most likely be the next #1 Contenders for the tag titles, which should be an interesting feud.
8. Money in the Bank- The next PPV is only two weeks away and takes place in Columbus, Ohio. MITB is the biggest non-Big 4 PPV of the year. Think back to 2011, where CM Punk and John Cena put on a five-star classic. The next year, Cena and Dolph Ziggler acquired possession of the treaured briefcases. In 2013, the two MITB ladder matches (won by Randy Orton and Damien Sandow) were both great. Last year's edition saw probably the greatest MITB ladder match in history. The WWE built up some good hype for the event at Elimination Chamber, announcing a Cena/Owens rematch (which will be highly anticipated) and six participants in the ladder match: Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Kofi Kingston, Neville, Dolph Ziggler, and Sheamus. Reigns is the obvious favorite, Orton provides the veteran flavor, Neville gets a nice rookie rub, Ziggler and Sheamus get a good midcard rub, and Kingston will be flying all over the place. This is going to be an absolutely great match.
7. NXT- It was a great showcase for current and former NXT talent. The most obvious one was Kevin Owens, the current NXT Champion who looks completely invincible. Four other former NXT champs also were on the show: Bo Dallas, Neville (who beat Dallas), Big E (one of the winners of the Tag Team Chamber match), and Seth Rollins (who walked in and out of the show as WWE World Heavyweight Champion). Other former NXT talent on the show: Xavier Woods, Kalisto, Darren Young, Dean Ambrose, Titus O'Neil, Naomi, King Barrett, Ryback, Konnor, and Viktor. If that's not a testament to the power of NXT, I don't know what is.
6. Sheamus- The Celtic Warrior may not have won the Intercontinental Championship Elimination Chamber match, but he sure was impressive in it. He eliminated Mark Henry and Dolph Ziggler and was the runner-up in the match. Many saw him as the odds-on favorite, but WWE went with the fan-favorite choice of Ryback. But for the time he spent in the match, Sheamus looked dominant and brutal. The spot he did with the chain and pod door made him look cunning and calculating. The former WWE Champion has been on fire since his heel return, and this should continue for a while. Rumors are flowing that Sheamus will beat Ryback for the IC title at SummerSlam, which will only keep Sheamus on fire.
5. John Cena- The WWE Universe was in absolute shock when Cena was pinned clean by Kevin Owens. An NXT superstar getting the absolute best out of Cena in the build-up to a match and then pining him cleanly in the middle of a ring? If you had asked anyone last year if this would have ever happened, they would have laughed. Yet, it happened. So why does Cena end up in the top 5? He gets credit for putting Owens over and for carrying his weight in a MOTY candidate. Their rematch at MITB should be great.
4. Ryback- The fledgling brute won the IC Chamber match to win the vacant IC title, giving him his first gold in his WWE career (long overdue by the way). He eliminated Sheamus and R-Truth en route to victory. Furthermore, he was put over by Daniel Bryan when we was presented the title. The Big Guy is IC champ, and it should be good.
3. The New Day- Three of the best heels in the company were at the top of their game on Sunday. They curried favor with The Authority, employed heel tactics throughout the Tag Title Chamber match, and walked away with their titles. This group has been on absolute fire since they turned heel, and they should be for months.
2. Dean Ambrose- For a few great moments, the world believed that Dean Ambrose had done the impossible and beaten Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Unfortunately, it was not to be. However, the two still had a very entertaining match and Ambrose showed that he can one day be the top dog in the company. Unfortunately for him, that time will have to come after the Rollins/Lesnar match at SummerSlam.
1. Kevin Owens- Make no mistake about it, Kevin Owens was the star of the night. In his first ever WWE match, he pinned John Cena cleanly. That shows just how much faith WWE management has in him. Furthermore, the match was a great one and definitely the best of the night. Great things lie ahead for Owens throughout the rest of his WWE tenure, including World title reigns and WrestleMania matches.
Many fans were complaining about the weak build-up to this event, but it was definitely a success. Now, we only have to wait two weeks until the next PPV (MITB), which should be a good one. Thanks for reading.
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