WWE Elimination Chamber 2012 Results: Why Both Chamber Matches Were Perfect

It's not too often that the WWE gets something exactly right, so it was surprising to see the creative team hit two home runs at Elimination Chamber on Sunday night. The WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship matches were both executed to perfection.

Although some fans were probably hoping for at least one title change, it just didn't make sense to do it at a second-tier PPV while on the Road to WrestleMania. CM Punk and Daniel Bryan both deserved to hold their belts until the year's biggest event.

Let's start with the WWE title match. Punk retained by pinning The Miz after being forced to be one of the two wrestlers who started the match.

This was a perfect way to give him another boost, as things really begin to get serious starting tonight on RAW. These next six weeks are crucial, so making the company's top name look as strong as possible was key.

There was also a brief confrontation between Punk and Chris Jericho. It was just enough to give fans a brief glimpse of what to expect over the next few months without giving too much away, which has been a problem in past marquee feuds.

The most brilliant move of all was eliminating Jericho without forcing him to tap out or be pinned. By doing so he continues to look like a formidable foe for Punk moving forward, and his case for a title match at WrestleMania becomes obvious: since he was never eliminated he deserves another shot.

None of the other RAW participants will be damaged by being eliminated since they were all fringe main event talents anyway. Just by taking part in the match they get a little push.

As for the World Heavyweight battle, Bryan maintained control of the belt by getting fan favorite Santino Marella to tap out after an entertaining back and forth.

Santino received an amazing amount of crowd support, which helped Bryan generate more heat after he secured the victory. Audience reaction has really been the only thing lacking during Bryan's reign, but it's starting to get better, and last night will help.

Everybody expected Bryan to walk out of Elimination Chamber as the champion, which led me to believe a swerve might be coming, but the WWE was smart to avoid that trap.

The other four superstars in the match were also placed exactly right. The Great Khali was out first because he never should have been in the chamber anyway, and Big Show was eliminated next because his run atop the card is coming to an end.

Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett both had good showings to keep them relevant on the blue brand for the next six weeks until WrestleMania.

Sheamus coming out to send a message to Bryan after the match was like the cherry on top of a sundae.

It's always necessary to give credit where it's due. The Internet wrestling community spends a lot of time criticizing Vince McMahon and the creative team, but this is one instance where they got it right, so they deserve some props.

Hopefully the next few months are handled just as well.