Dream-Booking an All-Time Elimination Chamber Match

The brilliantly sadistic invention that is the Elimination Chamber match came long after some of WWE's greats hung up their boots. The steel battlefield missed out on hosting the squared circle's biggest attraction and some of WWE's biggest stars.

Stripping away limitations of time and space allows one to explore what could have been—what the ultimate Elimination Chamber match would have looked like.

Pluck two wrestlers brimming with star power from the '80s. Welcome a pair of Hall of Famers from the Attitude Era. Grab the best high-flyer and a beast to fill out the last two spots.

That's how to make the bout electric before it even begins. The ideal Elimination Chamber field has a mix of old rivals and never-before-seen combinations. It has mic workers who can promote the contest and performers who can produce a classic.

The key to achieving Elimination Chamber perfection is to deliver memorable spots, create compelling subplots and end with a dream match within the dream match.

Who Steps Inside

• Andre the Giant
• Brock Lesnar
• Shawn Michaels
• Randy Savage
• Rey Mysterio
• Steve Austin

The Elimination Chamber is at its best when it mixes athletic dynamos with monsters. That allows there to be a variety of big moments, for high-flying to merge with smashmouth offense.

Lesnar and Andre serve as the match's powerhouses. Michaels and Mysterio balance out the match with speed and agility.

And there's no better place to turn for aerial wrestling than Mysterio at his peak. This would not be the Mysterio who walked into the Elimination Chamber after a succession of knee injuries; this would be the inhuman-looking athlete who wowed fans years ago.

The Heartbreak Kid's penchant for being a part of all-time classics gets him his spot here. He helped make the first Elimination Chamber match nearly perfect and surely improves the quality of this one. 

There are better overall performers to choose over Andre, but he has them all beat in terms of drawing power. For so many years, Andre was a phenomenon, a larger-than-life character one simply had to see.

Adding him to this mix raises the profile of the match. The same goes for Lesnar, the intimidating, enthralling man-beast that he is.

Top-notch ring workers Savage and Austin both promise to make the match a thriller. In addition, they would make the buildup must-see as well. Both men spent much of their careers nailing it on the mic.

Early Battles

The battle begins with Austin and Savage trading right hands. The other foe combatants wait inside the pods.

This fresh meeting is a dream match of its own. Both men had that rare combo of massive charisma and in-ring excellence. 

Austin gets the edge early. Savage pokes "Stone Cold" in the eye to turn things around. They collide in the ring, not yet using the structure as a weapon.

Michaels enters next. With him in the fold, fans get to see an old rivalry reconvene and a new one begin. Austin and Michaels never got to fully engage in a feud, as back injuries forced Mr. WrestleMania out of action during Austin's peak. A WrestleMania XIV rematch ensues here.

When Austin is down at one point, Michaels and Savage lock up, trading dropkicks and clotheslines before the action spills out onto the steel grating.

The Giant Cometh

Andre's pod is the next to open. He cleans house, flinging Austin against the chamber wall and slamming Michaels to the mat.

Soon, it's 1988 all over again.

The Macho Man ties Andre in the ring ropes and pounds his brow with closed fists. While Austin stomps on Michaels in the corner, Andre manages to slip out and goes to work on his old rival, elbowing the breath out of him. A double-underhook suplex from the big man nets Savage a surprise early exit.

Credit: WWE.com

Andre moves on to Michaels and Austin, looking unstoppable as he pushes both men against one of the pods.

It's Rey Mysterio who emerges from containment next. He, The Heartbreak Kid and Austin quickly realize that they have to form an alliance to oust the giant. And they sure as hell don't want to be in the ring with both Lesnar and Andre. 

Michaels hits Andre with Sweet Chin Music; Austin follows up with a Stunner. Mysterio climbs to the center of the cage and slashes down on the mammoth man. That's enough to get a three-count and trim the field.

The match thus has its first major highlight. It's soon to have its most dangerous predator.

The Beast Released

Saving Lesnar for last creates anticipation. Inside the pod, he pounds on the Plexiglas and sneers at the men in the ring. When he finally charges out, it feels like an amplified version of Goldberg's exit from the pod from SummerSlam 2003.

The Beast Incarnate then goes on a rampage.

He suplexes Mysterio through a pod. He hits Michaels with an F-5 on the steel grating. He grinds Austin's face on the cage wall.

The eliminations come at a rapid pace at this point. Lesnar manhandles a limp Mysterio, whipping him around the ring before pinning him. Michaels puts up a hell of a fight, even stunning the big man with a superkick.

Lesnar withstands the assault, though, and breaks Michaels' arm with the Kimura lock. He sits in the center of the ring, grinning, awaiting his next victim.

Down to Two

In the end, fans get the match that could have happened had Austin not left WWE in frustration back in 2002. The trajectory of these two titans never linked up in a full-fledged match afterward. It does here in this Elimination Chamber showdown.

Lesnar dominates Austin early on. He hits a flurry of German suplexes and cracks Austin across the face. It looks as if The Texas Rattlesnake is set to follow Michaels and Mysterio out of the match.

The Beast Incarnate props Austin up against a pod. He charges at him, looking to spear him straight into the local medical facility. Austin dodges, leaving Lesnar to crash through the splintering Plexiglas.

With shards at the two men's feet and both men wobbly, a slugfest unfolds.

A fiery Austin rattles Lesnar with punches after a Thesz press. Lesnar fights him off, issuing a series of power moves. Austin refuses to stay down, though.

He kicks out of several suplexes. A frustrated Lesnar picks up his weary opponent, looking for an F-5. Instead, he gets a boot to the gut and a Stunner. Austin crawls onto him for the three-count.

The hero vanquishes the monster, as seen in so many stories, in-ring or otherwise.

The Elimination Chamber matches WWE puts on in 2015 and beyond will deliver plenty of thrills. They will unfortunately not be able to pull from different eras, line up colossal collisions of all-time greats and match up WWE's best at their respective peaks.

That's the job of the imagination, the kind of battle that plays out in the dreamscape of fans.