5 best Elimination Chamber matches in WWE history

#1 Triple H(c) vs Booker T vs RVD vs Chris Jericho vs Kane vs Shawn Michaels for the World Heavyweight Title (Survivor Series 2002)

The move that earned Michaels his last World Title.

Shawn Michaels' return to the WWE ring in 2002 after a career-threatening match was nothing short of a fairy tale. Having been out of the ring for 4 years, his return feud against former best friend Triple H was nothing short of phenomenal, which gave us a tremendous unsanctioned match at Summerslam. With Triple H being the World Heavyweight Champion and simultaneously feuding with Kane and RVD, the scene was perfectly ripe for a multi-man match at Survivor Series in Madison Square Garden. When Eric Bischoff announced the first ever Elimination Chamber match featuring Raw's 6 top superstars - HHH, Michaels, RVD, Kane, Booker T and Chris Jericho - no one in the world knew that these superstars were about to write history inside the chamber.

The Champ started the proceedings with RVD, producing a fun but brutal first 5 minutes. RVD hurled HHH into the steel walls, busting the champ open, and then hit a monkey flip and a rolling thunder on the steel floor. With RVD climbing to the top of a pod, Jericho pulled his leg inside the pod but he fought back with a senton on HHH outside the ring. Jericho soon entered the match, but RVD sent him outside the ring with a clothesline and then hit a spider-like cross body onto him on the steel floor. Jericho and HHH started doubling teaming on RVD, hitting him with kicks and jabs and hurling him into the steel. Entering at number 4, Booker T took down both Y2J and HHH before facing off with RVD. In the first memorable moment of the chamber, RVD climbed to the top of the pod and hit a 5-star frog splash on HHH, legitimately hurting his larynx, but a missile dropkick from Booker T ended his stay in the chamber.

Kane entered the match and gained control of the match by sending Jericho first into the chains and then through the glass pod, busting him open. A chokeslam from Kane followed by a Lionsault from Jericho eliminated Booker T from the match. Kane controlled the next portion of the match but was knocked down by a dropkick from Jericho. Shawn Michaels entered and tried to capitalize on the situation, but Kane retaliated with a trifecta of Chokeslams on the other three participants. His tombstone attempts ended with him eating a superkick, a pedigree, and a lionsault, leading to his elimination.

Michaels got busted open after HHH and Y2J started double teaming him. Michaels tried to retaliate but was backdropped on the steel floor by Y2J. Jericho continued to dismantle Michaels and tried to pin him, but HHH pulled him away. The two came to blows and Jericho locked HHH into the Walls of Jericho, but Michaels eliminated Jericho with a Sweet Chin Music to leave only him and HHH. With both draped in their own blood, the two former best friends, Michaels hurled HHH into the steel, who recovered by Catapulting Michaels into the glass pod.

The two were involved in a memorable sequence, which ended with Michaels hitting an elbow drop from the top of the chamber. Michaels tried to hit a superkick, but HHH reversed it into a pedigree for a close call. HHH went for another Pedigree, but Michaels backdropped him. A sweet chin music to the chin of HHH and Michaels pinned him to win the first-ever Elimination Chamber and the World Heavyweight Championship. Even after 15 years, the image of Michaels waving his hand with the title on his shoulders remains an iconic image. The match is still the best Chamber match in WWE history.

---

Send us news tips at [email protected]