Elimination Chambers Rock - but the storylines don't...

The show opened with the first of 2 elimination chamber matches.  While Undertaker, Triple H, Vladimir Kozlov and Big Show were put in the holding cells, Jeff Hardy and Edge started the match.  I won't go through the whole match blow for blow since you'll see it all on the shows this upcoming week.  One of the best things to happen was that Edge was eliminated by Jeff Hardy quickly, before anyone else was released from the cells.  So we knew there would be a new champion.  This match lasted forever as these guys entered and slowly got eliminated.  In the end it Undertaker vs Triple H for the title.  Now, I like Triple H, I really do, but he has the title a lot of the time and frankly, it's boring.  He's got great charisma and the fans back him up and he's hilarious but he still has the title way too much and way too often.  Triple H gains the title for the 95th time (it seems that way anyway).  As a fan and critic, you could make a case that any of the other entrants (except Edge) would have made for a more interesting storyline as the winner of this match.  Nobody even got bloody which kind of defeats the mystique of this type of match to begin with.  Like I said, I like Triple H, but we would be better served with someone else holding the title.  Edge losing quickly sets up another storyline which we'll investigate later.

No Holds Barred Match - Shane McMahon Vs. Randy Orton

This one was exceptionally fun to watch.  SHane used everything he could find in and around the ring.  He even opened up Randy's head pretty good.  There was the ususal intereference by Legacy and Shane fought through it, giving a Coast to Coast to Cody "How did I get so Lucky" Rhodes.  Randy eventually tells Ted to get Cody out of there and after a bit of back and forth, Randy hits an RKO to win.  This was a thouroughly enjoyable match.

ECW Championship Match - Finlay vs. Jack Swagger

Yawn.  I love ECW - the OLD ECW.  There wasn't anything terribly stirring about this match.  Even Hornswoggle and the Shilelagh were little used and in the end, Jack Swagger retains his title.  I have to admit, this is a title he should not have.  This guy looks like a good wrestler, he looks like a great athlete, he really does - but let's be honest, he hasn't been around long enough to warrant a title run.  Maybe the powers that be know this and plan a good storyline with Christian.  Let's hope so anyway.  As he has no history with anyone and little pull with the crowd, good or bad, this was the match everyone took a break during..

All or Nothing Match - Shawn Michaels vs. JBL

This match went along pretty smoothly and was back and forth several times.  I have to say that HBK's wife is absolutely stunning.  She was worth seeing even if you didn't care about the match - since they showed her a couple of times.  While this story idea was somewhat original, I hope it ends here.  To me, it seems they keep pushing JBL in storylines that nobody seems to really care about - even when the story includes someone like Shawn Michaels.  Nobody ever seemed into this and while it provided a few interestng twists, I think they should leave it behind.  It does not help that the storyline is based on events that actually do affect mny people in real life.  Losing your financial future do the awful economy is something we CAN all relate to - but in this case probably don't WANT to.  Wrestling is supposed to be entertainment - if I wanted real life storylines, I'd simply turn on the news.

Second Elimination Chamber Match - Another Old Hat Match

During entrances, Kofi Kingston is attacked and knocked out by Edge who then proceeds to take his place in the fight.  At this point in time, any talk about the match previously is completely irrelevant.  There are only two things initially that could happen - either the earlier storyline holds and Edge is eliminated quickly or Edge will win this match and thus the title.  I feel the same way about Edge as I do about Triple H.  They are two great performers, among the best the WWE has, but enough titles already.  This match was great, as Kane, Mike Knox (???), John Cena and Chris Jericho were eliminated.  However, Edge remained and you could tell what the outcome would be.  By the way, Mike Knox?  How on earth did he get in this match?  At any rate, the end came down to Rey Mysterio vs Edge and they put on a really good show.  In front of my TV, there were 10 guests all rooting for Rey.  I will admit though that I am the only one among those people who is a die-hard Rey fan.  Everyone else just didn't want to see Edge win because we've seen it happen way too many times before.  If Rey had won this match, it would have been spectacular and he really deserved it, pulling off several high-flying moves that were the highlights of the match.

Does this seem awfully familiar to you - Triple H has title and Edge has a title and oh yeah, Jack Swagger has a title.  Sorry creative, these Elimination Chamber matches are cool but having the same winners time after time is not. And no blood in either Elimination Chamber match - I'm sorry but the whole point is that this is a punishing match because of all the legal steel the wrestlers have access to.  These two matches didn't need the chambers as nobody really used it except Rey. 

Well I hope you enjoyed the recap.  Just reminding you all that I have declared February Wrestling Card Month in my store and now have over 500 cards listed.  Feel free to take a look around and I will continue to list more cards probably all the way through Wrestlemania - that's right Wrestling Card Month is really about two months long so take a look through the store and have fun seeing cards you haven't seen in awhile, along with all of your current favorites.

David Blyn
Kolius Collectibles