411’s Instant Access 02.20.11: WWE Elimination Chamber 2011

Hey kids, I’m Scott, and this is 411’s Instant Access: WWE Elimination Chamber 2011. 411’s Instant Access is the companion piece to 411 Live Pay-Per-View Coverage and features immediate reaction to wrestling pay-per-views. The focus in Instant Access is on first thoughts and initial reactions instead of play-by-play with the goal of providing you with instant access to one TWO writers’ thoughts on the show. Here’s the team for Elimination Chamber:

• Scott Slimmer, author of Don’t Think Twice.
• Jeremy Thomas, editor of Wrestling’s 4R’s and author of The Hush-Hush News Report.

Okay kids, enough with the explanations. Let’s get to the wrestling.

Non-Title Match
Kofi Kingston (Intercontinental Champion) vs. Alberto Del Rio
Match Result: Alberto Del Rio defeats Kofi Kingston with the flying armbar.
Match Length: 10:27
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: This was a fine, competently wrestled match. It got the crowd into the show, and it gave Kofi and Del Rio something to do tonight. However, I had two major problems with the match. First, like so many Smackdown pay-per-view matches over the course of the last year, this match didn’t feel like anything more than we see every Friday night on free television. Pay-per-view matches need to deliver something special, but this match was just another in a long line of passable but unmemorable encounters. The more fundamental problem with this match is that there was no way in hell that Kofi was going to pick up the win. He’s treading water as the Intercontinental Champion, but Alberto Del Rio is headed to one of the main event matches at WrestleMania. It would have been pointless and senseless for Del Rio to be defeated tonight, and that meant this match lacked a great deal of drama. In the end this was a decent match plagued by a few underlying issues. Anyway, Del Rio is now headed to WrestleMania to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship, but I’ll discuss that match a bit later. As for Kofi, I suppose there’s a chance that he’ll defend the Intercontinental Championship at Mania, but I would guess there’s a better chance that he’ll be one of the competitors in the Money on the Bank Ladder Match. Kofi shines in that setting, and there’s no real reason to deny him the chance to highlight his skills at the biggest show of the year.
Thomas: Man, does Kofi dread February or what? Every Elimination Chamber, the question is who he’s going to job out to, assuming he even makes it to the match. (Hi Edge!) Facing the guy heading to the main event at WrestleMania, you know that there was no chance of him coming out with a win. To the ‘E’s credit, I think they booked this one really well. Kofi definitely looked like a threat to Del Rio and this is one of those times where the face gets elevated by virtue of looking strong in a loss. Kofi’s been a bit lost for a while now, and this is the kind of showing that starts a new push for people sometimes. We can only hope that happens with Kofi.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: **¼
Thomas: **¾
Average Match Rating: **½

Smackdown Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Championship
Edge (Champion) vs. Rey Mysterio vs. The Big Show vs. Wade Barrett vs. Kane vs. Drew McIntyre
Match Result: Edge defeats Rey Mysterio with the Spear.
Match Length: 31:32
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: This match definitely lived up to expectations, and in many cases it exceeded them. I’ll admit that I was hoping the mysterious sixth competitor would be Sting, but that’s really just because I’m delusional and like to set myself up for disappointment. The Big Show was a fine choice to replace our dearly departed Dolph Ziggler, even if his inclusion in an Elimination Chamber Match did give me some wicked flashbacks to the WORST… PPV… EVER. Edge and Mysterio were the two big stars of the match, and it made sense to have them together at the end. They have always had great chemistry in the ring, and the final few minutes of the match were tremendous. The other real star of the match in my mind was Wade Barrett. He showcased a bevy of dominant offensive maneuvers, but he also took some absolutely horrendous damage. In the end Edge was able to retain his championship, and that of course brought out Alberto Del Rio for the ambush. Del Rio’s attack may have been a bit predictable, but I was certainly surprised by Christian making the save. Right now it looks like Del Rio will challenge Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship at Mania, but my guess is that Christian will continue to insert himself into their rivalry and we’ll actually get a Triple Threat Match for the Big Gold Belt. Christian has history with Del Rio and a TON of history with Edge, so adding him to the match makes the potential storylines far more intriguing.
Thomas: This was a very fun Elimination Chamber. I wasn’t very enthused about the reveal of Big Show as the mystery sixth man, but he worked just fine within the confines of the match and everyone involved did some very good work. Of course Rey Rey was a workhorse in this match and provided a lot of great moments, and I loved the way he worked with Edge in the match. But for me, the breakout star was Drew, who looked incredibly strong here. It was nice to see Kane have a strong showing and while this wasn’t the best Chamber match we’ve seen, it was certainly a lot of fun and well-put together. Leaving it down to Edge and Rey left some suspense too, because either of them could have faced Del Rio. Smartly laid-out for a good match. And Christian’s appearance at the end was a great mark-out moment.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ****
Thomas: ****¼
Average Match Rating: ****¼

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov (Champions) vs. Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater
Match Result: Justin Gabriel defeats Vladimir Kozlov with the 450° Splash.
Match Length: 5:05
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: Sure, this match was a bit of an afterthought that was only announced on WWE.com, but at least there is history between these two teams. The match itself was certainly nothing special, but it did serve to move the belts from Santino & Kozlov to Gabriel & Slater. I’ll admit that Santino & Kozlov actually had started to grow on me, but I was just never comfortable with the WWE Tag Team Championships being held by a mismatched joke tag team (even if the tag titles themselves are a bit of joke these days). I love watching Gabriel wrestle, and Slater is definitely the best choice to be Gabriel’s partner, so I’m more than happy to see them wearing the gold once again. Their title victory also builds the Corre’s credibility, and at this point one could argue that the Corre is a more formidable stable than the New Nexus. It really wouldn’t take much to turn Gabriel & Slater face (or at least tweener-face), so I’d like to see them defend their titles against Otunga & McGillicutty at WrestleMania. Alternatively, I’d be happy with a Six-Man Tag Team Match with Gabriel, Slater, & Ezekiel Jackson vs. Otunga, McGillicutty, & Mason Ryan. That would allow the soldiers in the Corre and the New Nexus to do battle while CM Punk faces Randy Orton and Wade Barrett takes on the Big Show.
Thomas: Nice to see Gabriel and Slater get the belts back and give the Corre a little boost here. I think these guys tried to make this work, and it did about as well as it could have. The problem is that from an in-ring capacity the work rate just wasn’t there. Gabriel’s great, Slater’s good, and Koz and Santino are pure comedy. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s not going to draw me in. This wasn’t horrible, but it was the piss-break match of the show.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: *½
Thomas: **¼
Average Match Rating: **

WWE Championship Match
The Miz (Champion) vs. Jerry “The King” Lawler
Match Result: The Miz defeats Jerry “The King” Lawler with the Skull Crushing Finale.
Match Length: 12:09
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: We all knew that Jerry Lawler wasn’t going to win. We knew it. WWE couldn’t afford to undercut their youth movement by having Jerry Lawler carry the WWE Championship into WrestleMania. We knew it. But damn, there were a few moments when all good sense went right out the window and I truly did believe that Lawler was about to win the big one. Of course, I also truly believed that Tom Watson was going to win the 2009 Open Championship. Like I said earlier, I may be a bit delusional. Having the Miz win the match was the right decision, and letting him go toe-to-toe with Jerry Lawler on pay-per-view will do nothing but make him a better professional wrestler. The Miz will now carry the WWE Championship to WrestleMania, but I have a hunch that Jerry Lawler’s hopes of wrestling at Mania haven’t been completely squashed. He won’t be a part of the WWE Championship Match, but the entire story of the rebirth of his in-ring career seems perfectly suited to culminate in a match at WrestleMania. My guess is that we’ll see Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole in a match where Cole FINALLY gets what’s been coming to him for months now. It won’t be a technical masterpiece, but it will almost certainly be better than Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon. And hey, if WWE gives Lawler just a little bit of latitude, I’m sure he could deliver something along the lines of Beulah McGillicutty vs. Bill Alfonso from ECW. Sometimes a match isn’t about technical skill or blistering workrate, but rather simply giving the fans the cathartic emotional release that’s been building for months.
Thomas: This was as good of a match as we possibly could have expected from these two. Lawler can go for a man of his age, and that’s not in dispute. Still, I had concerns about his ability to carry his weight in a match like this. He proved those concerns unfounded. I’m not saying he was Shawn Michaels or anything but he handled the physicality very well and made Miz look like the star that he is. At the same time the match was booked in such a way as to maximum the King’s use. Some people are going to gripe that a 60 year old announcer should not be looking like a threat to the World Champion. These same guys, I believe, call for TNA to give Hogan the belt. Irony is delicious, especially with a bit of peanut butter. Anyway this worked out exactly how it needed to, Lawler was used well, Miz wins cleanly and the Lawler/Cole feud continues. Good stuff.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ***
Thomas: ***½
Average Match Rating: ***¼

Raw Elimination Chamber Match to determine the Number One Contender for the WWE Championship
John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. John Morrison vs. R-Truth vs. CM Punk vs. Sheamus
Match Result: John Cena defeats CM Punk with the Attitude Adjustment.
Match Length: 33:12
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: Much like the WWE Championship Match that preceded it, this outcome of this match was never really in question. After the Rock called out both the Miz and John Cena on Monday night, it seemed clear that the three of them would be entwined in the WWE Championship picture as we head toward WrestleMania. However, the fact that the outcome of the match was a foregone conclusion didn’t stop the competitors from putting on a great show anyway. John Morrison was the start of the match, and his dazzling display of acrobatic maneuvers once again exceeded all expectations. CM Punk had a great storyline with which to work, and he once again proved why he is currently the most devious heel in the industry. Cena’s victory means that he’ll challenge Miz for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, and at this point I assume that the Rock with be the special guest referee. CM Punk and Randy Orton seem destined to meet in a one-on-one match, and I have to believe that John Morrison is the favorite to win the Money in the Bank Ladder Match.
Thomas: Like the other Chamber match, this was a hell of a lot of fun. Sure, there were weird moments. Was the Chamber error a legit one or a work? I’m sure there are people who are positive on both sides, and we’ll find out, but I don’t know for sure; I think it was a work. Either way, I think it was hilarious and worked to Punk’s favor while building the Orton/Punk heat nicely. Morrison came out of this an absolute star once again, and if this man doesn’t have a rocket strapped to his ass there’s something very wrong. The whole thing worked very well; I have to say I almost believe Morrison might win at points, but of course it was Cena. Cena made the most sense to face Miz after Rock referred to them both. Anyway, I think this match was the better one by just a hair, due to Morrison spider antics, but both were great.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ****
Thomas: ****½
Average Match Rating: ****¼

Final Thoughts

Match of the Night:
Slimmer: The Raw Elimination Chamber Match (****)
The two Elimination Chamber Matches were unquestionably the highlight of the show, but I give the edge to the Raw Match thanks to Morrison’s continued wizardry and Punks ongoing mastery of devious and dastardly trickery. The final result may have never been in question, but the thirty-three minutes leading up to it were a ton of fun.
Thomas: Raw Elimination Chamber (****½)
It’s very close as I said, but this one just had a bit more fun with Punk’s antics and more high spots thanks to Morrison. People worked together just a little bit better, and it was the match of the night by a smidge.

Trash of the Night:
Slimmer: None
Sure, the WWE Tag Team Championship match may have been an afterthought, but at least the titles are no longer on a joke tag team. I love Justin Gabriel and I can tolerate Heath Slater, so I just can’t bring myself to call their match Trash of the Night.
Thomas: Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov vs. Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater (**¼)
Not a bad match, but nowhere near the quality of the other ones. Nice to see the Corre get the tag straps back though, so there is that.

Final Analysis:
Slimmer: This was essentially a two-match show, and both of those matches delivered. Edge and Mysterio looked amazing as they vanquished the monsters around them, and Morrison and Punk stole the show in the main event. The other three matches on the card all played their role well, and I have to give a ton of credit to Jerry Lawler for actually making me believe that one of the most improbable results in WWE history might actually be possible. The bottom line is that I’m happy to have paid to see this show, and that’s always the sign of a good show in my book. It certainly wasn’t a classic show, but it was a solid link in the chain between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania.
Thomas: I thought that the Rumble was very strong, and I think the Chamber improved on that. None of the matches truly sucked and some were way better than they had any right to be. This did everything it needed to in laying in stone all the ‘Mania feuds and providing good, exciting action along the way. The Chamber is always good for a fun time, and this was no different.

Verdict:
Slimmer: ***¼
Thomas: ****
Average Verdict: ***¾