The 15 Best WWE Elimination Chamber Matches

Participants - Edge (c), Big Show, Drew McIntyre, Wade Barrett, Rey Mysterio & Kane

When watching all the Elimination Chamber matches back to write this list, I found this match to be under-appreciated. It was during a weird period for the company where I wasn’t watching as loyally so I didn’t really remember this match. I also am not the biggest fan of Edge as a babyface but he was the World Champion. This was during the time the company was trying to keep the tradition of both World Championships being at stake at the Elimination Chamber PPV.

Although Drew McIntyre and Wade Barrett were fresher on the scene, the other three men were seasoned veterans. The match started with Edge and Rey Mysterio which is always a solid matchup. From the moment Big Show entered the match, the pace picked up and never slowed down. The fans were invested the entire time. It came down to Edge and Rey Mysterio at the end filled with near falls but ultimately the Rated R Superstar was able to retain his championship. Royal Rumble winner Alberto Del Rio made his presence felt after the match by attacking Edge only for Christian to return. It’s a good watch.

Participants - Daniel Bryan (c), AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Kofi Kingston, Randy Orton & Samoa Joe

The target on the "The Planet's Champion" Daniel Bryan's back was getting bigger and bigger. Although he had Rowen watching his back it wasn't enough to save him and his new hemp and wood WWE Championship. Triple H would book Bryan in an Elimination Chamber match against AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy, Samoa Joe, and Mustafa Ali. Prior to the match Ali was legitimately injured and replaced by Kofi Kingston. I don't think anyone expected it to change the course of Wrestlemania but it really was the birth of "Kofimania."

Kingston had never gotten a shot at the WWE Championship throughout his 12 years with the company. The match was stacked with talent that you could consider to win the match but Kofi had to be the ultimate underdog here. It was shocking when he eliminated Orton with a Trouble in Paradise to be in the final two with Daniel Bryan. Although he didn't pick up the victory, the fans were now behind Kofi Kingston. It was ironic that it was against Daniel Bryan who was in a similar position five years prior at the peak of the "Yes!" Movement.

Participants - Triple H (c), Goldberg, Randy Orton, Kevin Nash, Chris Jericho & Shawn Michaels

It was just eight months after the first-ever Elimination Chamber match at Survivor Series and the WWE wanted to bring it back for Summerslam. The landscape had changed a lot since then. Shawn Michaels had lost the championship back to Triple H. Triple H had been on a reign of terror forming Evolution and overcoming all of his foes by any means necessary. Kevin Nash had returned to the WWE after being sidelined in 2002 and Goldberg made his debut in the WWE after Wrestlemania.

Triple H was initially scheduled to wrestle Goldberg in a singles match but it eventually got changed into an Elimination Chamber match by Co-General Manager "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Although, this match was really a means to an end since Triple H was injured in reality and this would protect him from having to work as much as he would in a singles match. Everyone knew this match was about Goldberg and Triple H so it wasn't shocking that Goldberg would dominate the match as soon as he entered eliminating three men leaving it down to just Triple H and himself. The only underwhelming part of this match was Triple H still won when this should have been Goldberg's moment.

Participants - Edge (c), Jeff Hardy, Vladimir Kozlov, Big Show, Triple H & Undertaker

At the Royal Rumble 2009 event, it was announced that there would be two Elimination Chamber matches at No Way Out where both world championship titles would be defended. Edge defeated Jeff Hardy at the Rumble so this would also be Hardy's rematch for the belt. Vladimir Kozlov, Big Show, Undertaker, and Triple H would also qualify as participants. Jeff Hardy would eliminate Edge in the opening moments of the match which meant there would be a new champion crowned by the end of the match.

It was the first time I remember the champion being the first elimination and it just elevated the excitement for the match even more. With names like Jeff Hardy, Triple H, Big Show, and Undertaker in the match, it really could end multiple different ways. The final two were Undertaker and Triple H who put on a great fight against each other with a few suspenseful near falls. It took a few Pedigree's, but Triple H would eventually be able to overcome The Phenom.

Participants - Alexa Bliss (c), Bayley, Sasha Banks, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville & Mickie James

Although this may not have been the greatest Elimination Chamber, it was a first. For the first time ever the women competitors entered Satan's Structure a whole 16 years after it was introduced to fans of sports entertainment. It was bound to happen as we had the first-ever women's Royal Rumble, Hell in a Cell, Money in the Bank, and other matches in the few years leading up to this match.

Alexa Bliss walked in as the Raw Women's Champion defending it against former champions such as Mickie James, Sasha Banks, and Bayley as well as motivated contenders such as Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose. Deville and Rose worked together against Bayley until Banks entered to even the odds leading to eliminating Rose. James was eliminated before Bliss even entered but was able to eliminate Deville before her departure. The final three were Alexa, Sasha, and Bayley. On paper, it seemed unlikely that Bliss would be able to escape with her championship against the Boss N' Hug Connection. The beginning of the end was when Sasha would turn on Bayley. This would eventually lead to Alexa retaining. The promo after the match from Bliss was great too. Overall, the women proved they could hang in the chamber.

Participants - John Cena (c), Carlito, Chris Masters, Kurt Angle, Kane & Shawn Michaels

In the attempt to start a new tradition, New Year's Revolution 2006 was headlined by an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship. John Cena would be forced to defend his championship against seasoned veterans like Shawn Michaels, Kane, and Kurt Angle and hungry young stars like Carlito and Chris Masters. John Cena was on his first championship reign where he had won the title at Wrestlemania in April and been champion for 280 days.

It really started to feel like nobody was going to be able to dethrone the leader of the chain gang. This was the hardest obstacle he would have to overcome. Angle and Kane were fired up. Michaels was one step ahead of everybody until he wasn't. The odds seemed to be stacked against Cena especially when Carlito and Masters started working together before that fell apart leading to Cena's victory. This match is mostly remembered for what took place right after which was the first-ever Money in the Bank cash-in by Edge but the build-up to that moment was great too.

Participants - Boss N Hug Connection, Carmella and Naomi, Nia Jax and Tamina, Fire N' Desire, The Riott Squad & The IIconics

On the Christmas episode of Raw in 2018, Vince McMahon announced that they would finally be introducing Women's Tag Team Titles. There was an influx of women in the division by this time and many working as teammates in tag team matches without anything to really pursue. At the time this made complete sense and felt really long overdue, even though the booking of the division has kind of flopped in recent years.

It was a great idea to crown the first-ever women's tag champions along with another first-ever situation. This match was the first time the women would have a chamber match featuring tag teams. Although Carmella and Naomi & Jax and Tamina came off as tag teams thrown together at the last minute, the rest of the teams in this match had been established over the past year. The IIconics and Fire N' Desire both looked very strong in this match. They allowed Tamina and Jax to dominate briefly before Jax went through a glass pod. The right team won in the end with Sasha Banks and Bayley winning this historic match with historic implications by becoming the first-ever women's tag champions.

Participants - John Cena (c), Edge, Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho, Mike Knox & Kane

Both Elimination Chamber matches in 2009 were stellar. This one was a little bit better because there was no way to predict the way this match played out based on the build-up and the way it was promoted. Earlier in the night Edge lost his WWE Championship in the Smackdown Chamber match but found a way to enter the Raw Elimination Chamber match by taking out Kofi Kingston during his entrance. If that wasn't already unpredictable, then John Cena got eliminated after a Codebreaker, 619, and Spear which meant there was definitely going to be a new champion. The match would come down to Edge and Rey Mysterio where Edge would pick up the victory after a spear to become the new World Champion. This match was fast-paced and full of surprises.

Participants - Randy Orton (c), Cesaro, Christian, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus & John Cena

The Elimination Chamber in 2014 was stacked. It was all former World Champions and Cesaro who was the dark horse favorite in this match. This was the peak of the "Yes Movement" and the fans were heavily behind Daniel Bryan. Everyone thought this would be the way he would find himself in the Wrestlemania main event. Randy Orton walked in the WWE World Heavyweight Champion after defeating John Cena at TLC but we never rule out Cena picking up a surprise victory.

There was an inference from The Wyatt Family here that stopped that from happening which nobody expected though. This set up the Wyatt and Cena feud. They teased the idea that Daniel Bryan could potentially win but when Corporate Kane would come out to help get the Wyatt's out of the chamber, he laid out Bryan with a Chokeslam. This allowed Orton to easily pick up the scraps. This chamber had the fans invested and the Wyatt appearance was an unexpected surprise.

Participants - Triple H (c), Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Booker T, Rob Van Dam & Kane

This specific chamber match holds a lot of significance because it was the first-ever Elimination Chamber match. The fans went into the match with a ton of speculation and curiosity about the structure that was being hyped up for weeks. This was also Shawn Michaels's second match since returning to wrestling after his five-year hiatus. This Elimination Chamber match was stacked with the type of talent that were believable potential champions.

None of them had ever worked a match such as this one and they didn't have any to go back & study. Also, everyone outside of Rob Van Dam (who was a fan favorite) were former World Champions at this point. Triple H got his larynx crushed by Rob Van Dam by accident but still wrestled till he was in the final two. This match also took place in Madison Square Garden in front of a rowdy New York crowd. Every other Chamber match can be great but it will never be first. This chamber match set the bar. It was also really awesome seeing Shawn Michaels win the Big Gold Belt which was something I thought I would never see.