Hey Scott. Long time listener, first time caller... or something like that.
I've got an Elimination Chamber question for you. I was just wondering how much practice, if any, the wrestlers get in the actual chamber before the pay-per-view. Do they have that thing set up somewhere in secret, so the guys can test out some of the biggest spots, or do the wrestlers just talk it over before the show and hope everything works out?
I'm thinking about moments like when Rey Mysterio is thrown towards the wall, only to catch himself like Spider-Man and bounce right back at his opponent. That seems like something Rey would want to try out ahead of time, just to make sure he could reliably do it.
But then in a recent interview HHH said something along the lines of "First timers often have plans for big spots, but then early on in the actual match they take a bump over the ropes and onto the steel floor, and they're so shocked by how much it hurts that they end up abandoning some of the crazier ideas they may have had". So he makes it sound like they don't give the wrestlers much of a chance to test out the chamber before they go live.
What made me think of this was that I'm assuming Cesaro has something special planned for his first chamber match, to keep his streak of awesome performances rolling along. Do you think he'll get a chance to try anything out before Sunday?
Thanks!
The chamber itself is shocking expensive to set up and maintain, so I doubt they get much, if any, time to practice in it. They might have mock-ups around the Performance Center or something, but I would tend to think HHH is telling the truth. You hear from a lot of the guys that the steel is surprisingly painful and you also hear of a lot of bumps and bruises taken due to not knowing how to bump on it properly.
This would of course raise the question of WHY they continue using it then.
The why is because HHH came up with the concept, I'm guessing.
ReplyDeleteBecause it's Satan's Prison!
ReplyDeleteIt's a really cool structure and all, but maybe they could gimmick it a little to make it easier to use. Odd this structure is so perilous, yet they won't even let Jerry Lawler use a piledriver. Pretty sure Jerry can throw one safely.
ReplyDeleteThat's kind of a false juxtaposition. The downside of the Chamber is it really, really hurts, but the downside of a piledriver is it can break one's neck or paralyze them.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the rash of neck injuries roughly all around the same time period as when they soft-banned the move- Austin, Benoit, Edge, Angle, I'm sure there was more- it makes sense. Yes, it's a somewhat arbitrary distinction considering the damage done to the neck by spears, diving headbutts and any other number of moves, but then again, maybe they should ban more stuff. I say that because the crowd reaction to Punk busting out a piledriver against Cena on Raw last year was so great: it was a collective gasp from the crowd that's so hard to elicit these days.
I'd imagine that the only time they really get to experience it beforehand is on the day of the show; it's probably constructed, the guys get some time in there, and then it's lifted to the ceiling.
ReplyDeleteI feel like yelling at Roman Reigns every time he does that spear. Edge needs to sit him down and get him to just punch dudes in the face for a finish instead of wrecking his spine on a weekly basis.
ReplyDeleteAre inmates allowed access to the Devil's Playground during rec time?
ReplyDeleteReigns should keep the spear, but only use it occasionally. Superman Punch can be his first finisher. Spear can be the big finisher when people kick out of the Punch.
ReplyDeleteThe Chamber is very impressive looking, and probably draws a buy. HOWEVER, they should NOT have it as a regular PPV every Feb. It was much more awesome when they busted it out once a year or so on a random PPV.
ReplyDeleteSame with Hell in a Cell.
Yeah, but Reigns is built like a tank with a thick neck, while Edge was skinny with mediocre muscle definition by wrestling standards.
ReplyDeleteReigns' spear is also a fundamentally perfect football tackle, befitting someone who was an All-ACC defensive player: he mostly keeps his head up, wraps up and drives through the midsection. Edge's spear was....decidedly not fundamentally sound. And he also did it through tables and to guys dangling 12 feet in the air.
That said, the goal is to make it look awesome with minimal actual pain, so I'd go with the Superman punch as my finish if I were Reigns, too.
Concur. It is kind of the reverse of how it should be... like you have to build the feud around the chamber match... not have a feud that requires a chamber match to settle. Ditto HitC.
ReplyDeleteI assume they use it because it's an impressive visual and really fucking expensive.
ReplyDeleteGoldberg never had that problem. Was rhyno's neck surgery due to the gore? I assume he still uses it, even if that was the issue.
ReplyDeleteSince it first started, I've thought the Chamber was stupid. There's too much going on with the large cage and the pods. I like the idea of a multi-man cage match where participants enter at set intervals, but why not just do it in a regular cage? Too similar to Wargames?
ReplyDeleteWhat gets me every year is how surprised the announcers sound when someone gets thrown through the 'bullet proof' glass.
ReplyDeleteDo they forget it's happened in the majority of matches?
I'd prefer the WWE borrow something from the Memphis playbook and announce the piledrivers are illegal and then have a guy use one once in a blue moon to get a pin when a ref bump occurs. You could really sell the "IT'S TOO DANGEROUS" aspect of the move and get it over as a powerful finisher or to run an injury angle. It's sort of like how the NWA sold going over the top rope as falling off a cliff because doing so was an automatic DQ.
ReplyDeleteI don't know, having a Chamber match to decide the number one contender for the title the Rumble winner wasn't challenging for was a good idea (a lot better than a tournament or something), and having one for the title between Rumble and Mania isn't bad booking either. Plus it's kind of hard to weave a six man angle that has to come to fruition in a Chamber match.
ReplyDeleteBut the Cell I agree with: It's a match that should be used to blow off major feuds, not something you should put people into because it's the PPV where you have a HITC match.
I'd agree with this, but I love when Reigns spears the life out of a smaller guy. It looks like he kills them.
ReplyDeleteThe first time they used it it was a REALLY neat innovation. The metal around the apron looked fucking brutal (and to be fair, Foley had taken a lot of novelty out of the HitC with all of the high spots at that time), and the pods gave guys an obvious way to do some extra ridiculous high spots that you couldn't do in a cage/cell.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone agree with me that they should move the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view on the calendar? Having it follow the Rumble seems to sandwich three interesting concepts (Rumble, EC, and WM) into a three month window and then the rest is death outside of MITB & SummerSlam (since they don't run a lot of multi-man matches at Survivor Series anymore).
ReplyDeleteI'd prefer they move EC to October or something.
I think the purpose is to put over how much strength it takes to put someone through it.
ReplyDeleteI think it was fine, when they used it for the Survivor Series 2002, because it IS actually a kind of "survivor" match if you think about it.
ReplyDeleteAnd if the Steel is too dangerous, they could modifiy a Hell in a Cell Cage with 4 corner cages or so, which could used optinal.
Exactly. Think of how great it would be with this Wyatts-Shield feud if they went back and forth until they mutually decided that the only way to settle the score was 3-on-3 in the chamber. That'd be awesome and I'd argue a possible PPV main event quality match for a non-major PPV.
ReplyDeleteVery true. It's like the EC is the old Survivor Series concept, only for singles stars.
ReplyDeleteIt's probably a combination of size, genetics, and number of dates. Edge used the spear constantly from 2005 - 2012? Goldberg only wrestled from 1997 to 2000, then from 2003 - 2004 I think. WCW had fewer dates, and I would have to assume his WWE dates were less than most others as well.
ReplyDeleteYeah... they could even use it to continue to tease the tension amongst the Shield "What will happen if it comes down to Ambrose and Reigns? Will the Shield continue to work as a unit? It is everyman for himself inside the chamber!" etc...
ReplyDeletePlus, WWE sold that is was a Bischoff creation, which made it even cooler.
ReplyDeleteI think the SummerSlam 2003 match with Goldberg really sold how cool it could be. Goldberg spearing Jericho through a chamber, and then punching/kicking through another one to get to Triple H.
One of my crazy Ideas is that they should bring back the No Way Out PPV, and on it all of the title matches are a different cage match. Like for the Tag Titles you get a regular steel cage, for the Intercontinental Title it's a Cell, and for the WWE Title it's in the Chamber.
ReplyDeleteThe only Chamber match, outside of last years one, that I haven't seen yet.
ReplyDeleteNot a great match, but they used the gimmick well.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think it's a visually impressive thing if used right, and I actually like it being a regularly scheduled thing for the Mania build.
ReplyDelete1. You get to have a title match that sets up the Mania main event without needing to burn someone like Foley/Angle as a placeholder that leaves them with nothing obvious to do at Mania (15-17).
2. It gives you an easy way to call an audible and change your champion heading into Mania if you want.
3. If you book it right, you can use interactions in the chamber match to set up a Mania match or two.
They should move the Elimination Chamber PPV to the garbage
ReplyDeleteInteresting thought, but impossible. The cages are built ahead of time and suspended above the ring. You couldn't have a chamber and a HiaC set up.
ReplyDeletePlus counting is a cheap though fun way to make the audience pop. See: Rumble, Cesaro, Sheamus, etc.
ReplyDeleteWasn't it Rob Van Dam that did the Spiderman spot?
ReplyDeleteI'd actually like to go back to the blue bar steel cage.
ReplyDeleteHence why it's crazy.
ReplyDeleteSeveral times.
ReplyDeleteAnd change the PPV name to Halloween Havoc.
ReplyDeleteAnd change the PPV name to Halloween Havoc..
ReplyDeleteHe was all-acc? checks wiki....yep he was. Thank God JR isn't on commentary anymore. You think they put this guy over now? It just would never end. This was off-topic and random. Apologies to whomever this post may offend.
ReplyDeleteThis is accurate
ReplyDeleteWell there's an interesting thought (putting yours and Bruce's posts together) - he should squash guys occasionally with a spear and not necessarily have to use it as a finish in the big money matches. Just use the same formula from the syndicated days.
ReplyDeleteRecycle bin, dammit
ReplyDeletethis. right now the Chamber feels more like the Rumble to me (= there is no real "backstory" needed for it to happen).
ReplyDeletealso agree on HitC. that one should not be a ppv but the "ultimate" blowoff match that's used whenever a feud asks for it.
that Superman punch looks so awesome.
ReplyDelete