Elimination Chamber (2011)

Elimination Chamber (also known as No Escape in Germany)[3] was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for their Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. It took place on February 20, 2011 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.[4] It was the second annual Elimination Chamber event.

Elimination Chamber
Promotional poster featuring Edge
PromotionWorld Wrestling Entertainment
Brand(s)Raw
SmackDown
DateFebruary 20, 2011 (2011-02-20)
CityOakland, California
VenueOracle Arena
Attendance11,500[1][2]
Buy rate212,000
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
Royal Rumble		 Next →
WrestleMania XXVII
Elimination Chamber chronology
← Previous
2010		 Next →
2012

The concept of the event was that the two main event matches occurred in the Elimination Chamber. The main event was the Raw Elimination Chamber match, in which John Cena defeated CM Punk, John Morrison, R-Truth, Randy Orton, and Sheamus to become the #1 contender for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XXVII. In SmackDown's Elimination Chamber match, Edge retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Big Show, Drew McIntyre, Kane, Rey Mysterio, and Wade Barrett. On the undercard, The Corre defended the WWE Tag Team Championship against Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov, and The Miz defended the WWE Championship against Jerry Lawler.

The event received 212,000 buys, lower than the 287,000 buys that the previous year's event received.

Production

Background

In 2010, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) introduced Elimination Chamber as a gimmick pay-per-view. The concept of the show was that the two main event matches were contested inside the Elimination Chamber, with Raw's WWE Championship and SmackDown's World Heavyweight Championship, respectively, at stake in each.[5] 2011 was the second event under the Elimination Chamber chronology, establishing the event as a recurring pay-per-view and featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brands. It was the last to be held under the first brand split, which ended in August.[4]

The Elimination Chamber name was chosen by a fan poll, however, it was promoted as "No Way Out" in Germany—a former pay-per-view that previously featured the Elimination Chamber match—as it was feared that the name "Elimination Chamber" may remind people of the gas chambers used during the Holocaust. For 2011, it was renamed to "No Escape" for the German broadcast.[3]

Storylines

The professional wrestling matches at Elimination Chamber featured professional wrestlers performing as characters in scripted events pre-determined by the hosting promotion, WWE.[6][7] 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.[8]

After The Miz won the WWE Championship in November 2010, Raw commentator Jerry Lawler was given what was billed as his first WWE Championship match,[9] after criticizing Miz's win by using his Money in the Bank briefcase while former champion Randy Orton was injured. He lost to Miz in a TLC match after his fellow commentator Michael Cole stopped Lawler from climbing the ladder.[10] On the January 31 episode of Raw, the Raw general manager announced a Raw Rumble match, to determine the WWE Championship contender at Elimination Chamber, while the losing participants would be entered into an Elimination Chamber match to determine who will face the WWE Champion at WrestleMania XXVII. The participants were CM Punk, Randy Orton, King Sheamus, John Morrison, John Cena, Jerry Lawler, and R-Truth. Lawler last eliminated Sheamus to win the battle royal to earn himself the title match, while the other six contestants went on to participate in the Raw Elimination Chamber match.

At the Royal Rumble, Alberto Del Rio won the eponymous match to earn himself a World Championship match at WrestleMania. He subsequently announced he would wrestle for the World Heavyweight Championship, held at the time by Edge. Edge was then embroiled in a feud with Dolph Ziggler and his on-screen ex-wife Vickie Guerrero, who was also scripted to be dating Ziggler. The week before the Elimination Chamber Edge and Kelly Kelly defeated Ziggler and LayCool, causing Guerrero to fire Kelly Kelly.[11] At the pay-per-view, Kelly Kelly was rehired by Teddy Long and attacked Vickie, but was stopped by Laycool, who in turn was stopped by Trish Stratus. On the final episode of SmackDown before the pay-per-view, acting general manager Guerrero stripped Edge of the championship and awarded it to Ziggler, only for Theodore Long, the real general manager, to give Edge a return match which he won. After this, Long fictitiously Kayfabe fired Ziggler leaving an open spot in the Elimination Chamber match (which was subsequently filled by Big Show).[12] The other participants were Kane, Rey Mysterio, Wade Barrett and Drew McIntyre. After that event, Edge and Kelly Kelly defeated Drew McIntyre and Vickie Guerrero thus making Theodore Long fire Vickie Guerrero as the official consultant of SmackDown.[9]

Event
Other on-screen personnel
Role: Name:
English commentators Michael Cole
Josh Mathews
Booker T
Spanish commentators Carlos Cabrera
Hugo Savinovich
Interviewers Matt Striker
Todd Grisham
Ring announcers Justin Roberts
Tony Chimel
Referees Mike Chioda
John Cone
Scott Armstrong
Justin King
Chad Patton

Preliminary matches

The event opened with Alberto Del Rio facing Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston. Del Rio forced Kingston to submit to the Cross Armbreaker to win the match.

Next was the Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship involving Edge, Rey Mysterio, Kane, Drew McIntyre, Big Show and Wade Barrett. Edge and Mysterio started the match. Barrett entered at #3, Kane entered at #4, McIntyre entered at #5 and Big Show entered at #6. Barrett was eliminated by Big Show after a KO Punch. Big Show was eliminated by Kane after a Chokeslam. McIntyre was eliminated by Kane after a Chokeslam. Kane was eliminated by Edge after a Spear. Edge executed a Spear on Mysterio for a near-fall. Mysterio executed a 619 and a Slingshot Splash on Edge for a near-fall. Mysterio executed another 619 and leapt off the top rope but Edge performed a Spear on Mysterio in mid-air to eliminate him and retain the title. After the match, Alberto Del Rio attacked Edge but Christian returned and attacked Del Rio, ending the attack with a Killswitch.

After that, Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov defended the WWE Tag Team Championship against The Corre (Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel). Gabriel performed a 450 Splash on Kozlov to win the title.

In the fourth match, The Miz faced Jerry Lawler for the WWE Championship. During the match, Lawler performed a Diving Fist Drop on Miz but Miz placed his foot on the bottom rope to void the pinfall. The Miz performed a Skull Crushing Finale on Lawler to retain the title.

Main event

The main event was an Elimination Chamber match for a WWE Championship match at Wrestlemania XXVII between CM Punk, Randy Orton, King Sheamus, John Morrison, John Cena and R-Truth. Sheamus and Morrison started the match while the other four men were locked inside pods. Orton entered at #3 and Punk entered at #4 but Punk's pod would not open, allowing Orton to attack Punk. Punk was eliminated by Orton after an RKO but the Anonymous Raw General Manager announced that Punk would re-enter the match. Cena entered at #4 and R-Truth entered at #5. R-Truth was eliminated by Sheamus after a Brogue Kick. Punk entered at #6 and eliminated Orton after a GTS. Sheamus was eliminated by Morrison after a Crossbody from the top of the chamber. Morrison was eliminated by Punk after a GTS. Cena eliminated Punk after an Attitude Adjustment onto the chamber floor to win a WWE Championship match at Wrestlemania XXVII.

Aftermath

After becoming #1 Contender to the WWE Championship, John Cena faced The Miz for the title at WrestleMania XXVII. The match ended in a double count-out but The Rock used his power as WrestleMania host to restart the match under no disqualifications and no count-outs. The Miz defeated Cena to retain the WWE Championship after The Rock hit Cena with a Rock Bottom. This would lead both Cena and The Rock to challenge each other to a match at WrestleMania XXVIII, which The Rock won.

After Elimination Chamber, Edge defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio at WrestleMania XXVII where Edge retained. On the April 11 episode of Raw, Edge retired from professional wrestling due to a legit neck injury and relinquished the World Heavyweight Championship on the April 15 episode of SmackDown, thus retiring as World Heavyweight Champion. Edge's best friend Christian would go on to win the vacant title against Del Rio in a ladder match at Extreme Rules.

Results
No. Results Stipulations Times[13]
1D Daniel Bryan (c) defeated Ted DiBiase by submission Singles match for the WWE United States Championship[14] N/A
2 Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez) defeated Kofi Kingston by submission Singles match[15] 10:30
3 Edge (c) defeated Rey Mysterio, Kane, Drew McIntyre, Big Show, and Wade Barrett Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship[16] 31:30
4 The Corre (Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel) (with Ezekiel Jackson) defeated Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov (c) (with Tamina Snuka) Tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship[17] 5:08
5 The Miz (c) (with Alex Riley) defeated Jerry Lawler Singles match for the WWE Championship[18] 12:10
6 John Cena defeated CM Punk, John Morrison, King Sheamus, Randy Orton, and R-Truth Elimination Chamber match for a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania XXVII[19] 33:12
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
  • D – indicates the match was a dark match

Elimination Chamber entrances and eliminations (SmackDown)
Eliminated Wrestler Entered Eliminated by Method[13] Time[13]
1 Wade Barrett 3 Big Show Pinfall 18:48
2 Big Show 6 Kane Pinfall 20:54
3 Drew McIntyre 5 Kane Pinfall 21:09
4 Kane 4 Edge Pinfall 22:50
5 Rey Mysterio 2 Edge Pinfall 31:30
Winner Edge (c) 1

Elimination Chamber entrances and eliminations (Raw)
Eliminated Wrestler Entered Eliminated by Method[13] Time[13]
1 R-Truth 5 King Sheamus Pinfall 17:31
2 Randy Orton 3 CM Punk Pinfall 21:33
3 King Sheamus 1 John Morrison Pinfall 25:16
4 John Morrison 2 CM Punk Pinfall 32:50
5 CM Punk 6 John Cena Pinfall 33:12
Winner John Cena 4

References
  1. "Recent WWE attendance figures (2/20 and 2/21)". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
  2. "Elimination Chamber 2010 results". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
  3. "WWE Germany". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
  4. "Elimination Chamber". Oracle Arena. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  5. "Elimination Chamber Match rules". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2010-02-02.
  6. Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on 2013-11-18. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  7. "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  8. "WWE to make Raw and SmackDown! distinct TV brands" (Press release). WWE. March 27, 2002. Archived from the original on April 17, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  9. Caldwell, James (2011-02-20). "WWE News: Detailed Elimination Chamber PPV preview - match line-up, back-story on top matches, perspective on 2010 title changes". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  10. Plummer, Dale (2010-11-29). "RAW: King of the Ring crowned". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  11. Hillhouse, Dave (February 26, 2011). "Smackdown: Some water is thicker than blood". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved March 1, 2011.
  12. Hillhouse, Dave (2011-02-19). "Smackdown: 600 birthday smacks". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  13. Caldwell, James (2011-02-20). "Caldwell's WWE Elimination Chamber PPV Results 2/20: Complete "virtual time" coverage of live PPV - Miz vs. Lawler, two Chamber matches". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
  14. "WWE News: Chamber PPV dark match result - U.S. champion vs. DiBiase, three announcers revealed for live PPV". Pro Wrestling Torch. February 20, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  15. "Results:Destined for greatness". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  16. "Results:Steel survivor". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  17. "Results:The Corre of Victory". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  18. "Results:Kingbreaker". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  19. "Results:Oakland raider". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
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