Best of WWE 2011 - Elimination Chamber

ADDED: #8

Edge vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Wade Barrett vs. Kane vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Big Show – Elimination Chamber 2/20/2011

I seem to have liked this less than most, but I agree with most of the praise it has received. Rey turned in an amazing performance. Not on par with what he did on the Raw chamber in 09, but not many performances are even close to that. He pinballed around and ate the nastiest things and took lawn dart bumps like it was his job or something. Barrett was fine and had some good stuff; Kane was surprisingly good and threw a bunch of uppercuts. Drew McIntyre had an awesome run when he first came in. Totally murdered Rey and everyone else. Show destroyed Barrett and looked like a beast. I appreciated the booking, which made him look like a giant by having him eat a million finishers before getting eliminated. But the whole thing felt a tad contrived, perhaps because Rey telegraphed it by climbing the pod so early, perhaps because it went on for so long. Granted, it needed that length to give him the giant booking he deserves, but whatever. I also didn't like the decision to give Kane the monster push. He looked fine in getting 2 straight eliminations, but really, why not give that push to McIntyre, who is actually good and has a future? I try to judge matches based on performances rather than booking, but that decision really bothered me, and the match would've been better with more of McIntyre murdering people. His ass-kicking section felt too short. Biggest problems with the match, though, revolved around Edge. He opened the match with Rey and looked fine, except he was a top babyface throwing a long-time friend (Cole even mentioned their friendship later in the match) into the grating and the glass and shoving him under the rope and across the grating into the glass. After that spot, Barrett threw Rey back into the ring rather than torturing him out there, which also didn't make sense. I don't want that to sound like a “babyfaces should play nice” argument, but I had problems with the whole thing. They try to put the chamber over as a career-threatening structure, and then they let one of their good guys-- the top good guy on the show, in fact-- go out there and try to maim an old friend. Throughout Edge's babyface run, he really hasn't spent much time in the moral right and hasn't been a likeable character. Other problem with the match was the finishing run. Folks have praised it, and I'd agree that Rey looked great and made Edge look great, which is no small feat. But it was far too your turn/my turn for my liking, and it went on for quite some time. I dug the drama on the first watch, but on the second, it felt like two guys doing cool stuff for 7 minutes, and whatever to that. So a bit of a mixed bag but more good than bad, and the good was really great.

ADDED: #1

The Miz vs. Jerry Lawler – Elimination Chamber 2/20/2011

Tons of emotion and drama, and great storytelling. Lawler looked amazing. I loved how he went for roll-ups early. He also took a fantastic bump into the ring post. His facial expressions and punches ruled. And Miz more than hold up his end of the bargain, with good facial expressions, bumping, and control stuff. Everything around the ring was great, too, from Riley's interferences to his ejections, to Lawler throwing Miz into Cole, to Booker's reaction to Cole getting smashed, to Cole's reaction to Miz's win. Plus, Lawler hit this great superplex where he turned a bit and made it look like a falcon arrow. And his counter to Miz's first Skull-Crushing Finale attempt ruled. And his fist drop spot was awesome. He dropped the strap before he hit it: amazing. And he forgot to hook the leg, so Miz got the rope, and Lawler's reaction was great. The final near-fall-- a back body drop countered into a sunset flip-- was a truly great moment, and I actually thought Lawler might win. Really dug the finish, too, as it was decisive but allowed us to believe in Lawler, at least for a while. I liked how quickly Miz got up and hit that boot, which looked good. Kinda gave the impression that the younger guy simply out-lasted the veteran: Lawler seemed to be running out of gas at the end, and though he was smart and well-prepared and determined throughout the match, he just didn't have enough to beat a guy half his age.

ADDED: #3

John Morrison vs. Sheamus vs. Randy Orton vs. CM Punk vs. John Cena vs. R-Truth – Elimination Chamber 2/20/2011

Thought this was the better of the two chambers, though I seem to be in the minority. The main criticism has been that the opening stretches were pedestrian, and I'd agree with that. I thought the opening of the SD chamber was offensive, though, and I'd take “pedestrian” over “offensive.” Morrison and Sheamus's exchanges were fine, and the addition of Orton didn't hurt anything. Punk was probably the best guy even in this section of the match, as his faces were truly outstanding. The whole restart business with Punk was amazingly well done. Totally not something I'd expect to work, but they did it really well. I was gutted and pissed after the quick elimination, and then the GM alert made me smile. Sheamus jumping Cena before Cena could get going was really great. Sheamus rocked throughout here. Didn't deliver a compact and perfect ass-kicking segment like McIntyre, but he got more time and did more and looked great throughout, and he took some great stuff on the steel, including an awesome hip toss from Truth. Truth didn't need to be there, and I think they knew that and got him out quickly. His dodging of Sheamus was cool, and his flurry looked fine, and he allowed Sheamus to hit a nasty nasty brogue kick. Awesome. Punk then came in and his elimination of Orton was great. He also mocked Orton. Duh, that rocked. Like, a lot. Also liked Cena eating on RKO on the steel. I'm not a fan of dudes fading out of these types of matches for a long time, but if you have to do it, use a spot like that. I thought the pod spot with Morrison/Sheamus was good. I would've liked the payoff to deliver more impact, but it was plenty dramatic and dangerous. The finishing three stuff was amazing. Punk ruled, thoroughly, and Morrison proved that it was a perfect scenario for him to bust out cool stuff. He busted up his own knee taking chances and then sold his ass off. Cena didn't do anything great but looked good enough. I was hoping for a bigger Cena/Punk showdown at the end, but they kept Morrison around and he looked great, so it worked out.

ADDED: #12

John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Edge, R-Truth, Randy Orton, & John Morrison vs. Sheamus, CM Punk, Kane, Wade Barrett, Drew McIntyre, & Dolph Ziggler – Smackdown 2/18/2011

Big tag match to build toward the two elimination chamber matches. Should've been mostly forgettable: opening stuff was fine and Morrison worked a solid FIP spell, but nothing spectacular. But Punk and Rey were both so amazing here. Punk's role wasn't huge, but when he was in, he looked like an ass-kicker, and his exchanges with Rey were stellar, and he mocked guys. Punk mocking guys might be the best thing in pro wrestling right now. Acting like he was crying at Morrison after spraying Morrison in the eyes with mace a couple weeks earlier: brilliant. And Rey had a really good FIP segment, bumping around and taking his face-first slide to the outside and onto Punk's knee. Finishing stretch was typical WWE finisher-fest stuff, but I always have fun with those things, and this had two standout moments with Truth taking a dramatic bump off a Barrett black hole slam and Ziggler taking a preposterous bump off an Edge spear. Bunch of fun.

Best of WWE: 2011: THE LIST