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The outcome of Elimination Chamber 2012 has thrown up a lot of points for discussion, mainly because of the fact that it was one of those bizarre nights with plenty of drama throughout. In the past, there has been at least one title change in every Elimination Chamber event. But this year, there were none which has left many stumped. Here are the top 10 talking points of the event.
1. The Raw elimination chamber match being the opening match of the night was a strange way to start off the show. I’m not saying that it was wrong. It was just unusual. WWE Championship matches are usually reserved for later on in the show. But they have tried something different this year. I’m not sure if it was the right way to go, considering the ending of the match.
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2. CM Punk walking out of the Chamber, still the WWE champion was a good way to book this match. All six men involved in this match got ample time to showcase their skills inside the Elimination Chamber. In fact, this match lasted nearly an hour and there was never a dull moment throughout. Starting off this match with CM Punk and Kofi Kingston was a nice touch. R-Truth was the first to be eliminated and soon, Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston followed suit. The Miz was the last to be eliminated after Chris Jericho was taken out due to injury. Overall, it was a good match with plenty of good spots.
CM Punk emerged as the winner in the Raw Elimination chamber match
3. Chris Jericho’s injury during the Raw elimination chamber match held up the proceedings for a few minutes. I’m still unsure whether his injury is legitimate or ‘kayfabe’. It seemed like he really hurt himself while falling out of the chamber. With Punk winning the match without beating Jericho, it gives ample amount of reasons for Jericho to ask for a match at Wrestlemania 28 for the WWE Championship.
4. Beth Phoenix made quick work of Tamina Snuka in the Divas Championship match. But, Tamina did not go down without a fight. However, it wasn’t enough to defeat the Glamazon. Courtesy of this victory, Beth Phoenix continues to dominate the Divas division of the WWE. Who can stop Beth Phoenix? Kharma. Watch out for Kharma’s return before Wrestlemania.
Beth Phoenix defeated Tamina Snuka
5. John Laurinaitis teased us with a big announcement. He revealed that he wanted to be the General manager of both Raw and Smackdown. Christian, Alberto Del Rio and Mark Henry – All of them who were unhappy with the way Teddy Long had been treating them, came out and expressed their stance with regards to Mr.Laurinaitis’ proposal. It seems like Teddy Long’s long reign as Smackdown GM is finally coming to an end. This storyline will play out in the coming weeks and may eventually lead to a battle of power between Teddy Long and John Laurinaitis.
John Laurinaitis with Del Rio, Christian, Mark Henry and David Otunga
6. The short vignettes of Santino Marella gearing up for his match in Rocky style were cheesy. He capped it with an impressive showing in the Elimination chamber match during which he eliminated the intercontinental champion – Cody Rhodes. He is being pushed and it remains to be seen whether it is just for the time being or whether it will last longer.
7. Daniel Bryan emerging as the winner in the Smackdown Elimination Chamber match was an expected result. But not many would have thought that he would win the match in a genuine fashion. He did exactly that and as Michael Cole put it, Daniel Bryan keeps on winning no matter in what fashion he does. Khali got eliminated very quickly without having much to offer in the match. Big Show dominated Bryan and even broke his pod to attack him before he got released from it. His elimination by Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes might have brought cheers for Daniel Bryan. But he still had to overcome Wade Barrett and Santino Marella to win the match. The final few minutes of the match involving Bryan and Santino were awesome. Much to the disappointment of the crowd, Santino fell prey to Bryan’s La-Belle lock. Though it was glitch free, the smackdown elimination chamber match was a pale shadow of the Raw match. Putting Khali and Big Show in this match may be the reason.
Sheamus attacked Daniel Bryan after his victory
8. Sheamus came out after the Smackdown Elimination Chamber match to make his intentions clear about his plans for Wrestlemania 28. His attack on Daniel Bryan signifies that he is going after the World Heavyweight Championship. This was an expected move, but it would have been better if Barrett had won the chamber match, so that Sheamus would’ve challenge Barrett. But Bryan vs Sheamus will be a good match at Miami on April 1.
9. An impromptu United States Championship match between the reigning champion Jack Swagger and the ‘Capetown Werewolf’ Justin Gabriel was made by Teddy Long. Jack Swagger successfully retained his title at the end of the match. This match was nothing but a time filler and lacked proper build. The match itself wasn’t that good and did not belong in a pay-per-view.
Jack Swagger defeated Justin Gabriel in the US Championship match
10. As expected, John Cena defeated Kane in the Ambulance match to gain a much needed momentum to face the Rock at Wrestlemania 28 in less than 42 days. It has to be said that the build up to this match was much more interesting than the match itself. I guess it had something to do with the Ambulance match stipulation. It was not a great match, to be honest. What does this defeat imply with regards to Kane’s character? John Cena will move on to his feud with the Rock and the impending Wrestlemania match. But what about Kane? Will he return to feud with Zack Ryder? That seems likely, but Kane deserves much better. His character has a lot more to offer.
John Cena hitting his Attitiude Adjustment on Kane from the top of the Ambulance
Overall, Elimination Chamber was entertaining but not memorable. It had its share of boring segments and poor booking spoiled the fun on most occasions. The aftermath of Elimination chamber on the upcoming Raw and Smackdown shows should be interesting.
