WWE Elimination Chamber 2012 Results: Why Daniel Bryan Deserved the Victory

The Elimination Chamber is now closed off until next year, and emerging victorious as World Heavyweight Champion was Daniel Bryan. The reigning champion fended off the advances of five other men and even avoided trouble before his pod officially opened.

In the end, every other challenger was defeated and Bryan was left standing with the big gold belt. Bryan is now poised to defend his World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, likely against Sheamus, the Royal Rumble winner this year.

As we close the book on yet another week of Bryan escaping with his world championship, the question remains of how much Bryan deserved to retain his championship. Bryan becomes just the fifth world champion, as well as the second of the night, to retain his world championship inside Satan's Structure.

More importantly, Bryan stands alone as the first and only man to defend the title in his Elimination Chamber debut.

History will show speculation of Bryan's defense feeling legitimate. There were issues with fielding an entire group for the match, going so far as to fill the final spot on the last Smackdown before the pay-per-view. Bryan saw former champion Mark Henry get suspended and replaced with The Great Khali.

Bryan is also held responsible for serving a concussion to Randy Orton, who was replaced by Santino Marella. It's no mistake that Khali and Marella were not seen as being the same type of threat that Henry and Orton were, but none of that really matters.

When the chips are on the table, the only thing that matters is the result of a victory inside the chamber. Suspensions and injuries aside, Bryan was the most deserving to leave Milwaukee as world champion. His feud with Sheamus and likely WrestleMania match with The Great White is suited better for Bryan than any of the other participants in the chamber.

Wade Barrett will be paying attention to the evaluation of Randy Orton's tests following his concussion last week. If Orton is not ready to go in a few weeks, it is anyone's guess what Barrett will be doing for WrestleMania.

As for Cody Rhodes, his Intercontinental Championship may have a new challenger in Santino Marella. Marella shocked Rhodes will a pinfall inside the chamber and, being a former champion with a lot of momentum, could pose a threat in the coming weeks.

Then, there were the two gigantic men that were in the chamber match as well. When it comes to The Great Khali and Big Show, who knows if the massive former world champions and their combined 3-9 WrestleMania records will even make a big impact on the show.

Daniel Bryan was challenging Sheamus for the United States Championship at this time last year. That match, originally on the card, was pushed to the dark match, unable to be seen by most of the world. One year later, it will be a main event match, with Bryan being the champion this time around.

Three months ago, not only was this match unlikely, but it seemed to be possible only in video games. Now Bryan and Sheamus stand at the eve of a defining feud in both of their careers.

Does Daniel Bryan deserve to be world champion still? Absolutely. Even if his chamber opponents were about as bad as anything ECW could have rolled out, he won with the thin Smackdown roster put in front of him, made it a compelling match and won in the end despite taking a great beating.

What underhanded tactics can you argue against Bryan this time around? This time, Bryan was victorious when the odds and the history books said he wouldn't. For any champion, especially a crafty one like Bryan, to survive the chamber with their title reign still intact is impressive enough for me.

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