The Undertaker vs. Rey Mysterio vs. John Morrison vs. CM Punk (w/ the Straight Edge Society) vs. Chris Jericho vs. R-Truth in an Elimination Chamber for the World Heavyweight Championship
We come into the month of February and we are hot and heavy on the Road to WrestleMania, and the top dogs of Smackdown come here inside the Elimination Chamber to determine who will head into Glendale as the World Champion with the possibility of facing the Royal Rumble winner Edge. It was going to be interesting to see if Taker was going to head into WM as champion since it seems like he’s on a collision with Shawn Michaels, and the other big question was Punk as would he maybe go into WM as champion and him and Edge would make some sense given Punk won his first World Title from Edge when he cashed in the Money in the Bank on him. Jericho also seemed like a good favorite given the issues between him and Edge as did Mysterio, and Morrison and Truth were there to fill out the match though you knew with the talent involved that this had potential to be a great match.
On the 2/5 Smackdown, we had the qualifying matches as Morrison defeated Drew McIntyre and Kane in a Triple Threat, Truth defeated Mike Knox, Mysterio defeated Dolph Ziggler, Punk defeated Batista, and Jericho defeated Matt Hardy to qualify. That same night, Edge had Taker on the Cutting Edge only for Jericho to interrupt and say he deserved to win the Rumble and not Edge, and the Straight Edge Society also came out as Punk vowed to win the Chamber until Taker came out and helped Edge clear the SES and Jericho from the ring only for the two to have a staredown. On the 2/12 Smackdown, Mysterio defeated Punk in a match only for the SES to beat him down, and Truth would defeat Morrison while Jericho defeated Taker in a non-title match after Edge got involved and Taker would be the last one standing tall. On the 2/19 Smackdown, Jericho and Mysterio cut promos on the Chamber while the SES defeated Morrison and Truth in a tag match, and at the end of the night Jericho would attack Edge after his match with Batista as Taker came out and the two had a staredown. The build was pretty interesting as it was focused a lot on Taker and Jericho while it seemed like Punk and Mysterio were being paired together and Morrison and Truth were on the outside looking in, but all that mattered is how the match would play out.
Taker, Mysterio, Morrison, and Truth all get big pops from the crowd while Jericho and Punk were red hot as heels, but disaster almost struck as Taker got burned by his pyro during his entrance and he is clearly in pain using water to try and cool the burns down. Truth and Punk start off the match as Punk cuts a promo saying the other men in their pods were locked in with their own addictions until Truth interrupts him, and they lock up with Truth hooking a headlock and he knocks Punk down only for Punk to hit a dropkick. He hits a back suplex on Truth for a two count and pounds on him as he whips Truth into the corner and Truth leaps over him, and he does a backflip and a split to avoid a clothesline as he hits a dropkick on Punk for a two count. He clotheslines Punk over the top onto the steel and goes outside himself as Punk gets a kick in and looks for a piledriver, but Truth trips him up and slingshots him into the chains as he rams him into Mysterio’s pod and goes up top before hitting a somersault senton onto Punk. He whips Punk into the chains and pounds on him as he whips him into the chains two more times with Punk falling back into the ring, and Truth gets in the ring and hits an inverted Russian legsweep on Punk only to miss the scissors kick. Punk hoists him onto his shoulders only for Truth to slide off and he ducks a kick only to miss the flying spinning forearm, and Punk kicks Truth in the head and again hoists him onto his shoulders as hits the Go 2 Sleep which gets the three and Truth is eliminated. Serena hands Punk the mike through the chains and he says that Taker better pray his pod opens last because he will make him tap again. He then turns to Morrison as he says that he will prove that Morrison’s rock life will get him nowhere, and he says that he will prove straight edge means he’s better than everyone and he tells the fans at home to put their hands on the screen and let his power flow through them. He says that no one can stop him as Mysterio is the first released and he pounds on Punk before hitting a springboard seated senton, and he ducks a shot and hits a springboard crossbody on Punk for a two count as Punk gets a kick in and attempts a sunset flip though Mysterio rolls through. He kicks Punk in the head for a two count and Punk reverses a whip into the corner only for Mysterio to catch him with a boot to the face, and he slides under Punk and hits a drop toehold with Punk landing on the middle rope only for Punk to catch him in a powerslam for a two count. He hoists Punk onto his shoulders only for Mysterio to counter the GTS with a hurricanrana for a two count as he kicks at his legs, and he knocks Punk onto the steel and flips onto his shoulders only for Punk to block a hurricanrana as he swings him into the chains twice. He pulls Mysterio back into the ring for a two count and he hits the running knee in the corner as he taunts Jericho, and he sends Mysterio face first into the pod for a two count and puts him on the top rope before going up himself. Mysterio blocks a superplex as he pounds on Punk and hits a headbutt before knocking him off the top to the mat, and he climbs to the top of the pod though Punk quickly climbs back up top as he grabs Mysterio and puts him on his shoulders. Mysterio slides off and pounds on Punk as he crotches him on the top rope and goes up top again, and he hits a hurricanrana off the top onto the steel and Punk rolls back into the ring as Mysterio hits a springboard splash which gets the three and Punk is eliminated. Jericho is released next and Mysterio leaps over him before hitting a monkey flip as he pounds on Jericho, and Jericho reverses a whip and Mysterio attempts a wheelbarrow bulldog before escaping a back suplex attempt. Jericho hits a clothesline on Mysterio for a two count and kicks at him as he hits a flapjack on Mysterio, and he lands on his feet on a Lionsault attempt as Mysterio hits a drop toehold with Jericho landing on the middle rope. Mysterio hits the 619 on Jericho who rolls onto the steel and Mysterio attempts a springboard that Jericho avoids and Mysterio lands on the chains, and Jericho pulls Mysterio off the chains onto the steel and he rams Mysterio into the chains twice before shoving him back into the ring. He hits a slingshot splash on Mysterio for a two count and chokes him on the middle rope as Mysterio gets a few kicks in, but Jericho pounds on him and hits a snapmare as he hooks a submission on with Mysterio fighting to his feet. Jericho gets a knee in and Mysterio ducks a shot as he hits a springboard moonsault on Jericho for a two count, and Jericho reverses a whip into the corner and Mysterio leaps over him as Jericho tries to block a headscissors only for Mysterio to hook a dragon sleeper on. Jericho escapes by ramming Mysterio into the corner twice as he trips him up and hooks the Walls of Jericho on, and Morrison enters next and fires up on Jericho who reverses a whip as Morrison slides under him and hits a dropkick. He hits a dropkick on Mysterio and sends Jericho over the top onto the steel as he pounds on Mysterio who catches him ducking with a kick, and Morrison backdrops Mysterio over the top with Mysterio landing on his feet and he gets a shoulder in. Morrison catches him with a kick to the head and pounds on Jericho who hooks a rollup for a two count, and he pounds on Morrison and slaps him in the face in the corner as he whips him into the other corner and Morrison catches him with a boot to the face. He leaps up top only for Mysterio to go up himself as he sends Morrison into the pod and he hits a springboard hurricanrana on Jericho, and Jericho backdrops Mysterio over the top onto the steel and goes outside himself as he rams Mysterio into the steel and Morrison hits a slingshot clothesline on both men. He kicks at Jericho and hits a standing shooting star press on Mysterio for a two count as Mysterio holds the ropes on a whip, and he catches Morrison with a back elbow and leaps onto his shoulders as he hits a hurricanrana that sends Morrison into the middle rope. Jericho gets in the ring and hoists Mysterio onto his shoulders as he hits a modified backbreaker for a two count, and he kicks at Morrison and stomps on Mysterio in the corner before whipping him into the other corner as Mysterio catches him with a boot to the face. Jericho blocks a wheelbarrow attempt as Morrison hits a springboard kick on Jericho and Mysterio hits a headscissors that sends Morrison into the corner, and he puts Morrison on the top rope and goes up himself though Morrison blocks a hurricanrana as Mysterio lands on the mat. Morrison then hits Starship Pain which gets the three and Mysterio is eliminated as he pounds and kicks at Jericho, and Jericho blocks a kick attempt and trips Morrison up as he hooks the Walls of Jericho on and Taker comes in last. He fires up on Jericho and whips him into the corner as he splashes him and he hoists him up before hitting Snake Eyes, and he hits a big boot on Jericho and clotheslines Morrison over the top onto the steel as he hits a legdrop on Jericho for a two count. He grabs Jericho by the throat as Morrison gets in the ring only for Taker to grab him by the throat as well, but they kick at Taker and hit a double suplex before hitting a double clothesline that sends Taker over the top onto the steel. Morrison avoids a standing enzurgiri and hooks a rollup on Jericho for a two count as Jericho rolls outside, and he gets a shoulder in and backdrops Morrison over the top onto the steel as we see Jericho is bleeding from the cheek. He stomps on Taker and slaps the back of his head repeatedly as he pounds on him though Taker no-sells it, and he chases Jericho into one of the pods and pounds on him as he stomps on him repeatedly and returns to the ring. He splashes Morrison in the corner twice and hoists him onto his shoulder as he hits Snake Eyes only for Morrison to hit a springboard kick, but Morrison appears to have injured his knee as he attempts Starship Pain only for Taker to get his knees up. Jericho gets out of the pod as Taker sits up and Jericho retreats back into the pod as Taker sends Morrison over the top onto the steel, and he pounds on Morrison and rams him into the pod Jericho is in as he taunts Jericho and kicks at Morrison. He looks for the Last Ride as Morrison grabs the chains to block it and Jericho rams Taker into the chains twice, and he pounds on Taker who gets a shot in only for Jericho to avoid a charge as he sends Taker into the pod. Morrison leaps off the chains with a crossbody onto Jericho as both men roll back into the ring and Morrison hits a running knee for a two count, and he looks for a springboard only for Taker to grab him by the throat as he hits a chokeslam onto the steel. He pulls Morrison back into the ring and gets the three as Morrison is eliminated and Jericho stalls before returning to the ring, and Taker pounds on Jericho and rams him into the buckle as he pounds on him in the corner. He hits a running knee on Jericho in the corner only for Jericho to avoid a second one as Taker crotches himself on the top rope, and Jericho pounds on Taker and goes up himself as he hits a superplex on Taker for a two count. He drops a knee on Taker and pounds on him on the mat as he stomps on him until Taker grabs him by the throat, but Jericho counters a chokeslam with a rollup as he looks for the walls of Jericho though Taker also attempts Hell’s Gate. Jericho blocks it and hooks the Walls on though Taker manages to escape and he hooks Hell’s Gate on, and Jericho uses the ropes to escape the hold as he rolls onto the steel and Taker sits up as he hoists Jericho back into the ring. Jericho slides off his shoulders and hits the Codebreaker for a two count as he pounds on Taker and sends him into the corner, and he rams the shoulder into Taker and pounds on him only for Taker to catch him in the Last Ride and he sets up for the Tombstone. Just then, Shawn Michaels comes out from under the grate of the Chamber and gets in the ring as he hits Sweet Chin Music on Taker, and he stands over him as Jericho gets the three and we have a new champion.
The match itself was great as all six men worked hard and put on a really fun Chamber match. These six guys all had really good chemistry and got plenty of shine aside from Truth who didn’t even last 4 minutes in the match, and I thought Morrison looked really good here as it was cool seeing him mix it up with Taker for the time they had. Speaking of Taker, kudos to him for going through the match knowing he was probably in a lot of pain from the burns he got, and Punk also got some good shine as he got to eliminate Truth though he probably could’ve lasted a little longer before getting eliminated. Obviously, the big story here was Michaels costing Taker the title to set up what was coming for them, and Jericho winning made the most sense as it was clear they were setting up him and Edge while it looks like Mysterio and Punk will be headed towards a WM feud as well. The crowd was into the match and all the faces, but they are left stunned by Michaels costing Taker the title and are also not happy when Jericho win. Jericho survives the Chamber and is the new World Champion as Punk’s issues with Mysterio are not over yet.
Final Grade: ****
