WWE Elimination Chamber 2017: Power Ranking Every Chamber Match in WWE History

The Elimination Chamber is one of WWE's signature gimmick matches—a contest that takes place inside an intimidating steel structure unbiased and unprejudiced to whom it inflicts harm.

Championships have been won and legacies secured, but there has been one consistency in all 19 chamber matches to date: pain and suffering.

On Feb. 12, the top stars of SmackDown will endure the punishment of the Elimination Chamber as they compete for the WWE Championship and a spot in the main event of WrestleMania 33. With a talent pool consisting of AJ Styles, John Cena, Bray Wyatt, The Miz, Dean Ambrose and Baron Corbin, one would expect a thrilling bout that ranks among the best in match history.

As previous incarnations of the Elimination Chamber have taught us, though, a great match is no guarantee.

As extraordinary as some of the bouts have been, there have also been those disappointing contests that leave fans unimpressed by the layout, individual performances or booking decisions within.

In preparation of what many hope will be another extraordinary bout, enjoy this look back at the rich history of the Elimination Chamber via countdown from worst to best.

19. ECW Championship Match (2006)

The Extreme Elimination Chamber match from ECW December to Dismember was the worst in WWE history.

A miserably laid-out match that proved just how tone-deaf WWE was in regard to the reborn ECW product, it was everything fans feared it would be.

For starters, management booked an angle where Sabu was taken out backstage and then proceeded to replace him with Bob Holly. If that downgrade in star power was not enough, Rob Van Dam and CM Punk were both eliminated fairly early despite being the most over stars in the match.

Test, who was in the midst of a sizable push at the time, was impressive enough but was never considered a favorite to win.

Instead, the match was a showcase for Bobby Lashley, the athletic heavyweight handpicked by Vince McMahon to be the face of the brand—one that had zero tolerance for generic, jacked-up babyfaces with zero personality.

The bout was booed, Paul Heyman was visibly shaken by the mess that had unfolded on a show touting the name of a promotion he devoted his life to and the result was the most harrowing example of the Elimination Chamber gone bad.

18. Intercontinental Championship Match (2015)

The Intercontinental Championship Elimination Chamber match from 2015 should thank its lucky stars that the Extreme Elimination Chamber match from 2006 exists because, if it did not, this would rank at the bottom.

When a spot midway through the match saw Mark Henry break his pod door and enter earlier than expected, the Superstars involved literally stood around looking at each other, unable to ad-lib and come up with something to disguise the botch.

It exposed the match, which was surprising, given the veterans involved.

What should have been a strong match that helped re-establish the Intercontinental Championship as one of the most prestigious titles in the industry instead reaffirmed why management only selected main event stars for the Elimination Chamber matches.

A sloppy, ugly match that hurt all involved rather than helping them, it was won by Ryback, who outlasted Henry, Dolph Ziggler, Wade Barrett, Sheamus and R-Truth to win his first title in WWE.

Hardly the match one would want to win such a prize.

17. WWE Tag Team Championship Match (2015)

For the first time ever, six tag teams took to the Elimination Chamber in 2015, as The New Day defended its titles against The Ascension, The Prime Time Players, The Lucha Dragons, Los Matadores and Tyson Kidd and Cesaro.

For whatever reason, Kofi Kingston, Big E and Xavier Woods were all allowed to represent the champions, much to the dismay of logic and rules.

As fans found out relatively quickly, the format of the match is not necessarily conducive to tag teams. There were too many guys doing nothing, too many spots disjointed by the sheer mass of humanity in the ring and too many booking decisions that proved meaningless.

Case in point—The Ascension was given a strong run by management, bowling over both The Lucha Dragons and Los Matadores. Rather than building on the dominance exhibited early, the faction was unceremoniously and nonsensically eliminated when Darren Young pinned Viktor.

It made little sense. Then again, neither did most of the match, so it was at least consistent in that sense.

The New Day won, executing a three-on-one beatdown of O'Neil and concluding a mess of a match.

16. WWE Championship Match (2006)

John Cena was by far the most polarizing star in wrestling. The backlash against the face of WWE had settled in, and the result was an impassioned chorus of boos that only Roman Reigns can possibly understand.

That the 2006 Elimination Chamber match, the main event of New Year's Revolution, was structured in a way that necessitated him overcoming the odds again despite more interesting and beloved Superstars in the same ring only intensified the disdain fans felt for the franchise player.

Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle were two legitimate threats to the title but were eliminated early, much to the chagrin of anyone expecting a great match. Kane was an afterthought, leaving the unproven Chris Masters and Carlito against Cena by the close of the match.

Cena fended both of the Superstars off and retained his title. A bloody and beaten Superstar, he then found himself on the receiving end of a cash-in by Money in the Bank winner Edge, who made his way to the ring and immediately relieved the champion of his title.

A disappointing match with a curious layout, there is a reason it ranks low on this countdown.

15. World Heavyweight Championship Match (2003)

One year after the first Elimination Chamber captivated fans, the Raw brand once again returned to the steel hell of the Elimination Chamber, as Triple H found himself defending the World Heavyweight Championship for the second consecutive time against five top contenders.

Goldberg, Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Chris Jericho and Randy Orton rounded out the SummerSlam 2003 main event. Most fans had expected Goldberg to emerge victorious and begin a run with the title that would firmly establish him as the top babyface on the flagship show.

It was not to be.

Despite the fact that Triple H had suffered a groin injury ahead of the match, the decision was made for him to successfully retain—a booking decision that not only caused many to scratch their heads in confusion, but it also pointed to the inflated ego and expert political maneuvering he excelled at behind the scenes.

The match was wildly chaotic but lacked the character of the original. The subpar finish, which made Golberg look like a goof when he should have been a world-beater, only further devalued the match, dragging it into mediocrity.

14. WWE Championship Match (2012)

CM Punk had been WWE champion since November—the biggest breakout star the company had touted since the infancy of John Cena's main event push. He was the most popular Superstar on the roster and was fixing to compete in his highest-profile WrestleMania bout to date.

To ensure he arrived in Miami as the titleholder, he would have to get past a talented crop of young stars and a grizzled veteran hellbent on proving he still belonged in wrestling's most storied promotion.

It was not easy.

Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggler impressed, bumping around the structure and throwing caution to the wind while doing so. For what felt like the umpteenth time in his career, R-Truth was chamber fodder. The Miz was the former WWE champion whose descent down the card was alarming.

And then there was Chris Jericho, the favorite to leave with the gold if WWE did intend to take the belt off Punk. Instead of presenting him like a man determined to regain the title he had held previously, Jericho was dismissed in questionable fashion, kicked through the door of the chamber by Punk and then deemed unable to compete by officials.

He was neither defeated nor sensibly written out of the match. Instead, he was thrown away like garbage, leaving Punk to pin The Miz following a GTS and retain his title.

While Kingston and Ziggler ensured the action continued at a breakneck pace earlier in the bout, there was too much inactivity between those jaw-dropping, frankly dangerous spots to warrant this match ranking too high.

The lack of star power also hurt it, as once again, it felt like WWE management was purposely undermining Punk's run with the title.

13. WWE Championship (Raw, 2010)

Raw's Elimination Chamber match in 2010 for the WWE Championship should have been so much better than it was.

It had industry icons like Triple H, John Cena and Randy Orton. There were young guns like Kofi Kingston and Ted DiBiase and an unproven champion in Sheamus, still riding the high of winning the title two months earlier at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs.

With WrestleMania right around the corner, most had hoped the top stories would flesh themselves out inside the structure. Instead, fans were greeted with a so-so match that relieved The Celtic Warrior of his title and featured the same tired outcome fans had been revolting against for years.

John Cena tapped out Triple H to win the title, ensuring that none of the fresh faces in the match would get the rub from having competed in the match. It was a wasted opportunity, as not even Sheamus was allowed to last through to the end.

While other matches on this countdown benefited from earlier departures of champions, this one smarted of backstage political plays and an admission by management that Sheamus was not ready for the position he was put in.

A disappointing entry in the Elimination Chamber annals.

12. World Heavyweight Championship Match (2012)

The internet was abuzz as Elimination Chamber 2012 arrived.

Daniel Bryan, its darling, was world heavyweight champion and gaining both confidence and popularity with every passing week. A heel whose cocky confidence saw him develop an over-the-top celebration complete with "Yes!" chants, he was connecting with the WWE Universe in ways management never could have imagined.

It would only grow stronger at the February event.

A field of challengers that included Big Show, Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, The Great Khali and Santino Marella was hardly enough to inspire excitement from fans—and rightfully so. None of the competitors outside of Big Show were real threats to unseat Bryan as champion, and the first half of the bout was a disaster.

A lack of crowd heat and high spots doomed the match to a boring start. Once Bryan entered and began thoroughly getting his ass handed to him by Big Show, the match picked up. When Rhodes suddenly and surprisingly pinned the giant, the crowd once again became deflated.

Thankfully, consummate underdog and comedic genius Marella was there to help things out.

So established was he as the lovable loser that the idea that he may upset Bryan captivated the audience. It popped for every near-fall and came unglued when he unleashed the Cobra for a strong near-fall.

In the end, the LeBell Lock spelled the end for Marella, and Bryan retained. Still, the closing moments of the match and the incredible manner in which Bryan and his underdog opponent manipulated the crowd helped this one get over a miserable start.

11. No. 1 Contender's Match (2013)

A shot at the World Heavyweight Championship was up for grabs in 2013 as six Superstars battled for the right to challenge Alberto Del Rio at WrestleMania 29 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The newly rejuvenated Jack Swagger, Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, Kane and Randy Orton made for a strong field, but it was Mark Henry who stole the spotlight and had fans rooting for The World's Strongest Man to head to The Showcase of the Immortals.

Henry was an unstoppable force, eliminating both Bryan and Kane. Unfortunately, a series of finishers from the remaining competitors proved his downfall, and the big man was eliminated via RKO. Unsatisfied with his departure, Henry re-entered the cage and beat the ever-living hell out of every remaining competitor, laying waste to them with World's Strongest Slams.

After recovering, Orton ended Jericho's night with an RKO, only to have Swagger seize an opening and score a roll-up for three and a shot at Del Rio's title on wrestling's biggest night.

The match was more story than extraordinary action, even if the sequences put together by the performers were fun. Henry's explosion was outstanding, but Swagger was easily the least exciting possibility. Even with a new character, fans could not erase from their memories his putrid first reign as champion, which proved detrimental to his credibility.

10. World Heavyweight Championship Match (Raw, 2009)

The World Heavyweight Championship match at No Way Out started slowly, but as he has a penchant for doing, John Cena injected the contest with much-needed energy and brought the crowd to its feet.

In a shocking bit of booking that played off SmackDown's bout earlier in the night, the champion was unceremoniously eliminated early, shocking the audience and leaving it guessing as to who would emerge with Raw's most prestigious title.

The answer? Edge, who attacked Kofi Kingston and stole his place in the match.

Just hours after being stunned by Jeff Hardy and losing the WWE Championship, Edge speared Cena and eliminated him and then did the same to Rey Mysterio to once again reign over the company as its champion.

Could management have gotten more out of Mike Knox and Kane, the two big men involved in the bout? Sure. Was Chris Jericho underutilized, given his wealth of knowledge and experience? Absolutely.

Edge's surprising entry and victory may not have made up for all of the match's deficiencies, but it did heighten the quality of the bout, even if just slightly.

9. No. 1 Contender's Match (SmackDown, 2008)

The SmackDown brand's contribution to the No Way Out 2008 pay-per-view was a nice surprise, given the talent involved.

While there was no denying the skills of Batista, Undertaker, Finlay or MVP, the presences of both The Great Khali and Big Daddy V had fans fearing that the brand's Elimination Chamber match to determine the top contender to Edge's World Heavyweight Championship would be another woefully bad match.

Instead, it was a well-structured bout that allowed the talented workers to shine while subsequently booking the oversized villains as the unstoppable forces they were.

In the end, the match came down to Undertaker and Batista, as expected, and the big men wowed the audience with another exchange that built on their previous bouts. The Phenom won the surprisingly great match and cashed his ticket to WrestleMania XXVIII, where he would defeat The Rated R Superstar to once again reign over WWE.

8. World Heavyweight Championship Match (SmackDown, 2011)

For months, Edge, Rey Mysterio and Kane had been embroiled in a rivalry over SmackDown's World Heavyweight Championship. They had waged war in singles matches, multiman bouts and even Tables, Ladders & Chairs matches as they sought to determine the true, undisputed champion.

At Elimination Chamber in February 2010, they would meet again, this time inside the unforgiving steel structure affectionately referred to as Satan's Prison. The Rated R Superstar was the champion, looking to successfully defend his title and cash his ticket to another WrestleMania defense.

To do so, he would have to overcome his familiar foes, as well as the challenge of Big Show, Drew McIntyre and The Corre's Wade Barrett.

The young McIntyre turned in a strong performance in his first and only Chamber bout but, like Barrett, fell victim to a chokeslam that ended his night. Big Show suffered the same fate at the hands of Kane, who was a destructive force throughout the bout.

Yet no matter how punishing The Big Red Monster was, it did not save him from elimination, as the match came down to Edge and Mysterio, both of whom suffered chokeslams from Kane on his way out.

Hurt, battered and bruised, the former tag team partners-turned-competitive rivals wowed the audience with another entry into their storied feud. Just as was the case a year earlier in the same Elimination Chamber, Edge caught Mysterio with a spear to secure the win.

This one took time to get moving; there is no denying that. Big Show was a questionable inclusion, and Barrett's contributions were minimal, to say the least. But McIntyre was highly motivated, and the exchange between Edge and Mysterio was fantastic.

Taking into consideration the sluggish start, one cannot advocate for the match being too high on the list but, instead, can only wonder how great it would have been if it could have been as consistently hot throughout as it was at its conclusion.

7. No. 1 Contender's Match (Raw, 2008)

The shortest of the Elimination Chamber matches to date, the Raw contribution to No Way Out 2008 featured rapid-fire eliminations involving some of the most prominent names in WWE history. Shawn Michaels, John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Umaga, Triple H, Jeff Hardy and Chris Jericho battled for the opportunity to head to WrestleMania and challenge Randy Orton for the WWE Championship.

All but Hardy and Triple H were eliminated rapidly, without much time for fans to process the fact that they were gone. Had the finish turned out the same way, the placement of this match on this list would be different.

Instead, Hardy and Triple H wrestled a superb exchange for the remainder of the bout, creating drama and leaving fans guessing as to which Superstar would earn the honor.

After 25 minutes of action, The Game picked up the victory by way of a Pedigree on a steel chair, adding to his impressive legacy.

6. World Heavyweight Championship Match (2005)

Touting the most talented lineup to date, the 2005 Elimination Chamber was also the best to that point.

Taking place in Puerto Rico in front of a rabid fanbase chomping at the bit for a WWE pay-per-view, the New Year's Revolution main event saw Triple H once again enter the steel structure with the vacant World Heavyweight Championship in his sights.

To regain the title that had come to define him, he would have to fend off the challenges of Batista, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton and Edge, not to mention special referee Shawn Michaels.

The Heartbreak Kid would make his presence felt, as he was responsible for the elimination of Edge, but that would be about it. Benoit and Jericho brought the work rate while fans had their eyes on Batista.

The big man had become the biggest babyface on Raw despite his partnership with mentor Triple H, but he had begun exhibiting signs that suggested he was finally seeing The Game for the self-absorbed egotist that he was.

While some wanted to see him capture the title and stick it to The Cerebral Assassin, it was Raw's lead villain who regained the title after The Animal made the sacrifice.

A strong match with many moving pieces, it was the first to truly recognize the storytelling possibilities that existed within the contest.

5. WWE Championship Match (SmackDown, 2009)

Rarely is a champion the first Superstar eliminated from a match where his title is up for grabs.

In February 2009, that is exactly what happened.

Edge entered the unforgiving steel structure with the World Heavyweight Championship but was stunned just minutes into the match when Jeff Hardy caught him with a small package for three. The dejected, shocked, stunned Rated R Superstar walked away from the squared circle, leaving Undertaker, Vladimir Kozlov, Triple H, Big Show and Hardy to battle for his title.

In the end, The Game and The Phenom would give fans a taste of the epic encounters they would deliver at future WrestleManias, working a highly dramatic closing segment that captivated fans.

Playing on their WrestleMania X-Seven classic, Undertaker appeared to have the match won when he grabbed his opponent out of the corner for a Last Ride attempt. Having fallen victim to the move once before, The Game slipped out, delivered a Pedigree and scored the victory.

The match—from the clever way it started to the exceptional finish—helped it achieve a quality unseen in Elimination Chamber bouts to that point.

4. World Heavyweight Championship (SmackDown, 2010)

Credit: WWE.com

Any match with Undertaker, Chris Jericho, CM Punk and Rey Mysterio involved is almost always going to be a critical hit. Add in the underrated John Morrison and the fun R-Truth, and SmackDown had a World Heavyweight Championship match on its hands that had every opportunity to steal the show in 2010.

Did it ever.

The spots involving Morrison were inventive and fun, though that should have been no great surprise, given how fantastic the former Tough Enough winner had been for the better part of a year to that point. He was the star of the middle portion of the match, seizing the opportunity in front of him and making fans sit up and take notice.

The exchange between Jericho and Mysterio, two longtime rivals who captivated fans on SmackDown the previous summer, held together early portions of the match, and the elimination of Punk so early in the contest was a good surprise that planted the seeds for his upcoming program with The Master of the 619.

Some will point to Shawn Michaels' interference late in the match as detrimental to the overall quality of the bout, but it put in motion the events that would lead to his iconic showdown with Undertaker at WrestleMania and allowed Jericho one last run with the world title at the peak of his heel run.

An example of wrestling as fine art, this was another strong outing from the SmackDown brand, whose creative team always seemed to understand how to get the best out of the Chamber.

3. World Heavyweight Championship Match (2002)

The historic debut of the Elimination Chamber.

An emotional return to glory for one of the sport's most celebrated competitors.

A gutsy performance from a champion hellbent on finishing the match.

The inaugural Elimination Chamber had three elements to it that have helped it remain the most memorable of its kind. Taking place at Survivor Series 2002 inside the historic Madison Square Garden, the contest pitted world heavyweight champion Triple H against Booker T, Kane, Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam and Shawn Michaels.

The Game had faced them all throughout his memorable 2002 run and was then forced to face them all at once in the barbaric new gimmick bout. Making things even more impressive than his 40-plus-minute performance was the fact that he wrestled the majority of it with a crushed larynx, suffered after a Five-Star Frog Splash from Van Dam went wrong.

From his courageous effort to Michaels' victory against all odds, the match had something to keep every fan invested, making it the template for every one of the Elimination Chamber bouts that followed.

2. No. 1 Contender's Match (Raw, 2011)

Who would head to WrestleMania XXVII to challenge the improbable WWE champion The Miz?

That was the question the stars of Raw were looking to answer as they took to the squared circle for the main event of Elimination Chamber 2011.

Just one year after wowing audiences with his magnificent performance inside the chamber, John Morrison returned to the structure, more over than ever and a dark-horse candidate to win the guaranteed title match. To do so, he would have to battle the likes of Randy Orton, CM Punk, John Cena, Sheamus and R-Truth, four of whom were former world champions themselves.

He did not let that deter him.

In one of the greatest performances of his career, Morrison stole the spotlight and ensured that no one would forget what he accomplished on that February night.

He pinned Sheamus following a huge forearm and maneuvered around the cage like a spider monkey throughout. His night would come to an end courtesy of a GTS from Punk, but given the level of performance he brought to the match, he was the night's biggest winner.

Punk would also eliminate Orton, intensifying the rivalry between the two that would come to a head at WrestleMania. The Straight Edge Savior was on fire, turning in some of the best work of his WWE career to that point, and made it to the final two, where he would square off with Cena in a sign of things to come later in the year.

Their chemistry undeniable, the Superstars had fans guessing which would emerge victorious, even if the outcome appeared to be a foregone conclusion.

Cena won the match and earned his way to WrestleMania, but the story of the contest was the performances of the fringe competitors Morrison and Punk, who emerged from the match bigger and hotter Superstars than they had been previously.

1. WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match (2014)

Daniel Bryan was the hottest commodity in professional wrestling by the time the 2014 Elimination Chamber pay-per-view rolled around—to the point where fans were hijacking episodes of Raw and SmackDown with chants of "Yes!" and exploding into choruses of boos anytime they suspected he was being done dirty by management.

His story was beginning to come into focus by the time the event arrived. He was the underdog who was continuously screwed over by authority figures because he was not the face the company wanted for itself. He was too small—a B-plus player in a world where only A-plus players succeeded at the top of the card.

No matter how hard he worked, he would never be allowed to achieve greatness via the WWE Championship.

More on him in a moment.

Cesaro's continued growth as a performer was on display early as he tore through John Cena and Randy Orton, only to be eliminated by the former via STF. Christian and Sheamus continued their rivalry, with Captain Charisma getting the better of The Celtic Warrior following a Frog Splash.

With Christian gone following a running knee from Bryan, all eyes turned to Cena, whose elimination came following a beatdown by The Wyatt Family. The enigmatic faction saw to the dismissal of Cena and drew huge "thank you" chants from the fans.

Interference from Director of Operations Kane continued The Authority's quest to screw Bryan out of his title late in the match. The resilient babyface fought through as much as he could, but a cheap shot from Kane gave way to an RKO, and Randy Orton, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon's handpicked champion, successfully retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.