WWE Elimination Chamber 2013: Looking Back at the History of February PPVs

For the WWE, February is among the most pivotal months in the company’s entire pay-per-view calendar.

Sandwiched between two of the biggest and most historic events in professional wrestling, the February PPV comes right in the middle of the road to WrestleMania, and thus can have a huge impact on the Showcase of the Immortals.

Though it can occasionally be somewhat dwarfed by the Royal Rumble and ‘Mania, more often than not the month of February succeeds in adding to the hype during arguably the most entertaining time of the year for wrestling fans.

To commemorate the month’s importance, this article takes a look back at the history of February PPVs in the WWE.

1996-99: In Your House

Back in the early days of PPV saturation, the WWE made the financially astute decision to broadcast events in each of the months that did not feature one of the “Big Four” shows.

These events became known as In Your House, and each one had a different theme.

In total, there were four In Your House shows during the month of February.

The first, In Your House 6: Rage in the Cage, appropriately featured Bret Hart vs. Diesel in a Steel Cage match for the WWE Title, while the following year also featured the Hitman in the main event; this time defeating Vader, The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin to acquire the vacant strap.

In Your House filled the 1998 slot and provided some foreshadowing of the month’s future alias. The event itself was also a fairly unique spectacle. The card included a rare NWA North American Title match, a “War of Attrition” match and for the main event, a “Non-Sanctioned Eight-Man Tag” match.

Of all of February’s In Your House PPVs, the 1999 installment was arguably the most impactful.

Over 19,000 fans in Memphis witnessed The Rock and Mankind battle to a draw in a "Last Man Standing" match for the WWE Championship, while the main event pitted Stone Cold Steve Austin against Vince McMahon inside a steel cage.

The match is remembered for both Austin’s bizarre win as well as the debut of the Big Show after the giant ripped through the canvas to emerge from beneath the ring.

Incidentally, the show remains the only WWE PPV to have fallen on St. Valentine's Day.

2000-09: No Way Out

The majority of February PPVs have been hosted under the No Way Out moniker–a name that is still utilized by the WWE to this day.

Though the PPV now takes place in June of each year, between 2000 and 2009 it was a recurring fixture in February.

The show debuted in the most dramatic of fashion, bringing us Triple H vs. Cactus Jack inside "Hell in a Cell." For me, this one was a fantastic feud, producing some great promos and proving that The Game was very much capable of becoming the company’s top heel.

And the matches were pretty entertaining.

Other highlights of No Way Out included Triple H vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin in a grueling "Three Stages of Hell" match in 2001, as well as the late, great Eddie Guerrero’s monumental victory over Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship.

But in keeping with the company’s emerging PG rating, the frequency of such violent encounters began to dwindle at No Way Out–until 2008 and 2009 when the PPV staged "Elimination Chamber" matches–a logical progression given the event’s name.

However such was the emphasis on this stipulation, WWE eventually chose to give the "Elimination Chamber" its own themed-PPV slot.

2010-Present: Elimination Chamber

And that "Elimination Chamber" gimmick-themed event is the name adopted at present.

Since 2010, the PPV has hosted two "Elimination Chamber" matches, usually for both of the world titles.

The first event saw a surprising three title changes, with John Cena winning the WWE Championship only to lose it minutes later in an impromptu match with Batista.

More shocking, Chris Jericho won the World Heavyweight title in the main event after Shawn Michaels emerged to cost the Undertaker the belt, thus setting up their epic WrestleMania XXVI encounter.

2011’s showing saw Edge retain his World Heavyweight title, while John Cena won a shot at WrestleMania against the Miz after the Awesome One rather predictably defeated Jerry Lawler.

There were no title changes again at last year’s spectacle, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan both surviving with their titles in hand; despite the latter coming within moments from losing to Santino Marella of all people.

Interestingly, it was the only Elimination Chamber PPV not to feature a Chamber match in the main event; rather we witnessed Cena defeat a newly-returned masked Kane in an "Ambulance" match.

It signalled the end of a rather up-and-down feud, enabling Cena to focus on his upcoming WrestleMania showdown with the Rock.

Though neither World Championship will be defended inside the structure this year, don’t expect that to detract from the PPV.

Solid mid-card matches, the world title No. 1 contender’s match and a highly anticipated main event should make the PPV one of the best under the Elimination Chamber name.

But which PPV moments from history were your favourite in the month of February?

Comment below with your thoughts as well as any opinions you may have on the article itself.