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87-488: While similar in profile and nature to WWE's original large scale steel-structured match Hell in a Cell , the Elimination Chamber match is a multiple participant match wherein two participants begin the match in the ring as the remaining four are held within each inner enclosure and are released into the match at five-minute intervals (in the event of a seven-person Chamber match, three participants begin, and in

174-418: A WWF Championship match which Shawn Michaels was assigned to referee. Michaels had deliberately interjected himself in the match and cost The Undertaker a win which resulted in a match between the two at In Your House: Ground Zero . That match was ruled a no-contest due to the two bypassing and attacking the officials. As a climactic end to the feud, their following bout was originally scheduled to be held as

261-464: A steel cage match . However, a larger roofed structure was constructed instead of a normal cage enclosing only the ring, enclosing not only the ring but also the surrounding ringside area. The wider space between the ring apron and the cell walls allowed for entering and exiting the ring and for cameras to be situated at ringside. At Badd Blood, Michaels defeated The Undertaker (with interference from The Undertaker's debuting half-brother Kane ), becoming

348-542: A Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE ). It features a large cell structure, a four-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link fencing which encloses the ring and ringside area. Unlike the steel cage match , the only way to get out of the Hell in a Cell without damaging

435-591: A Cell . In 2016, Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks became the first women to step inside the Hell in a Cell match at Hell in a Cell in October 2016 when Banks defended the Raw Women's Championship against Flair, who won the match. Ahead of Hell in a Cell in September 2018, the structure went through a significant overhaul. The fully crimson-red structure is smaller, with the wires being less pliable, making

522-602: A Cell match was not televised, the match took place on the September 26 episode of Raw in 2011 as a dark match where John Cena retained the WWE Championship in a five-way match against Alberto Del Rio , Jack Swagger , Dolph Ziggler , and CM Punk in a match that lasted only 5 minutes, making it the shortest Hell in a Cell match. Hell in a Cell matches have appeared at WWF/WWE's flagship event WrestleMania four times ( XV , XXVIII , 32 , and 39 ). In 2009, WWE debuted its first pay-per-view event to be named Hell in

609-440: A Hell in a Cell match billed as the first under Falls Count Anywhere rules (despite the Hell in a Cell previously having this stipulation in its rules by default). In October 2020, Roman Reigns and Jey Uso competed in the first-ever Hell in a Cell match contested under an "I quit" stupulation The first Hell in a Cell match in 1997 between Undertaker and Shawn Michaels was highly acclaimed, with Dave Meltzer giving it 5 stars,

696-426: A feat that no other Hell in a Cell match would accomplish until 2022 with Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes & 2024 with CM Punk and Drew McIntyre . Some critics claimed that the Hell in a Cell has been watered down during the later years, particularly during the 2010s, most notably the main event between Seth Rollins and "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt in 2019 . Former WWE producer Arn Anderson said that WWE overused

783-736: A new brand extension was introduced on July 19, 2016. SmackDown drafted the WWE Champion and the Intercontinental Champion. As SmackDown was lacking a tag team championship and a women's championship , Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan introduced the SmackDown Tag Team Championship and SmackDown Women's Championship . In the 2017 Superstar Shake-Up , the Intercontinental Championship was moved to Raw and in exchange,

870-406: A result of the brand extension, an annual " draft lottery " was instituted to exchange members of each roster and generally refresh the lineups. SmackDown! was the home brand for many top WWE stars including Eddie Guerrero , Batista , Big Show , John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL), Kurt Angle , Edge , The Undertaker , Rey Mysterio , John Cena , and Torrie Wilson . Guerrero would go on to become

957-457: A ringside doctor and was given bottles of water throughout the match to douse himself with to alleviate the discomfort. Acknowledging the concern, WWE now had padded the steel floor of the chamber. The Elimination Chamber match is a variation of elimination-based matches which draws elements from steel cage and Hell in a Cell matches in that the wrestling ring is surrounded by a large steel-fenced cage supported by girders . Originally, its design

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1044-649: A talent exchange agreement, which meant that SmackDown talent could appear on ECW and vice versa. This allowed the United States Championship and WWE Tag Team Championship to be shared between the two brands. In July 2008, the Divas Championship was created for SmackDown, allowing the SmackDown Divas to compete for a title. With the brand extension ending in 2011, all Raw and SmackDown titles were merged . After five years,

1131-537: A top on the cage). On an October 2015 video podcast, Vince Russo said Cornette probably did come up with the concept, but the name Hell in a Cell came from him. WWE credits the match as being based on the Last Battle of Atlanta . The 1998 Hell in a Cell match between The Undertaker and Mankind remains one of the most iconic matches of all time, with its level of extreme violence and dangerous spots, which led to Mankind getting legitimately knocked unconscious at

1218-459: A total of 16 short tons (15,000 kg), 10 of which consists of steel. Each inner chamber consists of three large steel framed sheets of plexiglass , costing US$ 225 per sheet. The chains that surround the chamber stretch 2 mi (3.2 km) long and weigh 6 short tons (5,400 kg). A 50 ft (15 m) flatbed truck is needed to transport the chamber. Assembly in the arena takes eight hours to complete and eight motors are used to suspend

1305-570: A total of 53 Hell in a Cell matches have since occurred. The match type spawned its own pay-per-view event in 2009, WWE Hell in a Cell , after which the event was held annually in October, although once in September and twice in June. This event generally featured one to three Hell in a Cell matches on the same card, with the main event always contested as a Hell in a Cell match. Following Triple H's appointment as WWE Chief Content Officer in August 2022,

1392-400: A weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestlers assigned to SmackDown primarily appear on the brand's weekly television program, Friday Night SmackDown , also referred to simply as SmackDown . It is one of WWE's two main brands, along with Raw , collectively referred to as WWE's main roster. The brand extension was discontinued between August 2011 and July 2016. In addition to

1479-577: Is now 26 ft (7.9 m) tall is a large cutout of the WWE logo. The steel grates between the ring and the cage were also replaced with padding. LED lights also line the corners of the structure. The redesign was for practical purposes due to certain venues only being able to house the previous structure, allowing most venues to host the Chamber. The fifth match, held by the ECW brand at December to Dismember ,

1566-612: The 2009 WWE draft in April, then WWE Champion Triple H was drafted to Raw while the World Heavyweight Championship also moved to the Raw brand after Edge lost the title to Cena at WrestleMania 25 , once again leaving SmackDown without a world title. SmackDown regained the World Heavyweight Championship at Backlash when Edge invoked his WrestleMania rematch clause and defeated Cena in a Last Man Standing match to win

1653-571: The 2010 Elimination Chamber . The European release of the DVD is titled Iron Will , primarily over the name change of the structure, match type and pay-per-view in Germany to avoid a brand blunder with the Elimination Chamber name as it may create imagery of gas chambers during The Holocaust (the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, structure and match are called No Escape in Germany). Hell in

1740-653: The Elimination Chamber for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in February 2014, The Wyatt Family interfered by attacking John Cena , leading to his eventual elimination by Randy Orton. Kane would then come out to help escort The Wyatt Family out of the chamber, but would then interfere to cost Daniel Bryan the match to Orton. At the Elimination Chamber event in February 2023, Logan Paul interfered by sneaking into

1827-530: The SmackDown! taping on January 10, 2006, that aired January 13, Batista had to forfeit the World Heavyweight Championship because of a legitimate triceps injury suffered at the hands of Mark Henry the previous week. Long decreed a battle royal for the vacant title, which was won by Kurt Angle, who was on the Raw brand, but switched to the SmackDown! brand for the duration of his reign as champion. On

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1914-458: The WWE Network and would also mark the first time the Chamber was used for a match that was not for a world championship or a future world championship match (although it would include the first ever tag team Elimination Chamber match). The Elimination Chamber in February 2018 featured the first seven-man Elimination Chamber match as well as the first Elimination Chamber match for women with

2001-504: The WWE Network . After the second brand extension in 2016, it was announced that the brands would return to having separate events. In late 2016, it was announced that Elimination Chamber would return as a SmackDown -exclusive event in February 2017, but it switched to being Raw -exclusive in February 2018, which was the last brand-exclusive Elimination Chamber event, as following WrestleMania 34 that year, brand-exclusive pay-per-views were discontinued. Triple H suffered an injury during

2088-724: The WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship . The 2018 Elimination Chamber featured the first seven-man chamber match. Due to the extra person, three competitors started the match instead of two. The 2018 event also featured the first women's chamber match, but there were no variations in the rules. Despite the structure, interference has become common inside the Elimination Chamber. At New Year's Revolution in January 2005, Ric Flair distracted guest referee Shawn Michaels allowing Batista (who had been eliminated) to attack Randy Orton so Triple H could win

2175-577: The WWE Tag Team Championship and they revived the United States Championship. Over the course of the first brand extension, these championships switched between brands, usually due to the result of the annual draft. However, the Cruiserweight title was the only championship to never switch brands, staying on SmackDown from 2002 until the championship's retirement on September 28, 2007. In October 2007, SmackDown and ECW began

2262-476: The " brand extension ", a process in which WWF divided itself into two branches with separate rosters, storylines and authority figures . The two divisions, hosted by and named after Raw and SmackDown! , would compete against each other. The split resulted from WWF purchasing its two biggest competitors, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW); and the subsequent doubling of its roster and championships . The brand extension

2349-617: The 2002 Survivor Series match with swelling on the inside of his throat which put pressure on his esophagus and trachea . This was caused after Rob Van Dam performed the Five Star Frog Splash off the top of one of the chambers. Triple H also expressed concern that he might have broken his wrist and noted anything could have caused it. Sheamus reportedly suffered a concussion during the Raw Elimination Chamber match in 2010. Also in 2010, The Undertaker

2436-546: The April 7 episode of SmackDown! (which was taped on April 4), Long revived the King of the Ring tournament after a four-year hiatus as a SmackDown! exclusive tournament. The tournament ended at Judgment Day with Booker T as the winner, defeating Bobby Lashley in the final. On October 16, 2007, the SmackDown! and ECW brands began a talent exchange, allowing their respective talent to appear and compete on either brand, as ECW

2523-602: The Bank contract to become World Heavyweight Champion, bringing the World Heavyweight Championship back to Raw for the first time since 2005. Also that year, for the first time in the brand's history a women's exclusive championship was introduced, the Divas Championship , a counterpart to the Women's Championship that had been the only active championship competed for by Divas , but which was exclusive to Raw, meaning that

2610-526: The Cell's structure is through its door—but this door is locked by thick chains and a padlock. Only an in-ring pinfall or submission will ordinarily result in a win (although Triple H pinned Chris Jericho atop the cell to win the Hell in a Cell match at Judgment Day in May 2002) and there are no disqualifications. The gimmick was strongly associated with The Undertaker during his career with WWF/WWE, including

2697-608: The Chamber match itself. The Elimination Chamber match has been contested only in indoor arenas in the United States and once each in Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, and Canada, with the 2024 event in Australia being the first to be held in an outdoor venue. From 2008 to 2014, the match had been featured in February pay-per-view events only. An Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event took place on May 31, 2015, exclusively on

Elimination Chamber - Misplaced Pages Continue

2784-453: The Divas on SmackDown had no championship to compete for. Michelle McCool became the inaugural champion by defeating Natalya on July 20 at The Great American Bash . On February 15, 2009, at No Way Out , Edge won the World Heavyweight Championship in Raw's Elimination Chamber match, thus making it a SmackDown exclusive title and giving SmackDown two top tier championships. As a result of

2871-583: The Hell in a Cell annual event was discontinued alongside other gimmick PPVs except for WWE Money in the Bank , Royal Rumble , Survivor Series , and WWE Elimination Chamber . The Hell in a Cell match was first introduced at Badd Blood on Sunday October 5, 1997, at the Kiel Center, now known as Enterprise Center , in St. Louis, Missouri . The background to the inaugural match was built on The Undertaker 's loss to Bret Hart two months prior at SummerSlam in

2958-420: The Hell in a Cell was a taller roofed version that surrounded the ring and ringside area on the ground rather than the apron. In 2002, WWE announced the creation of the Elimination Chamber, a match that combined elements of WWE's Hell in a Cell matches , Royal Rumble match , Survivor Series match , and World Championship Wrestling 's (WCW) WarGames matches , such as the countdown timer and time intervals from

3045-399: The June 30 episode of SmackDown! , JBL won the match, but Long appeared afterward and stated that even though he had won the match SmackDown! did not need a championship anymore, instead revealing that JBL was the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship, at which point Batista , then World Heavyweight Champion, entered the ring as SmackDown!'s final draft lottery pick. At

3132-514: The November 7, 2017, episode of SmackDown , AJ Styles defeated Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship. On April 10, 2018, SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon announced that Daniel Bryan was back as a full-time WWE Superstar for the roster after his in-ring return at WrestleMania 34 , therefore "graciously accepted Daniel's resignation as SmackDown General Manager". McMahon then named Paige , who had retired from in-ring competition due to injury

3219-531: The Raw Women's Championship contested. The Elimination Chamber in February 2019 featured a tag team Elimination Chamber match, the second overall tag team chamber match, but this time for women to determine the inaugural holders of the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship . In July 2010, WWE released Satan's Prison: The Anthology of the Elimination Chamber , a DVD featuring every Elimination Chamber match as of

3306-694: The Royal Rumble and War Games matches, the large enclosed cage format of both Hell in a Cell and WarGames and the elimination process from the Survivor Series contest and the Royal Rumble. To exploit additional on-screen talent after buying World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in March 2001, the following year WWE began a brand extension that divided the roster between the two brands of WWE, namely Raw and SmackDown . Former WCW President and then Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff formally announced

3393-543: The United States Championship moved back to SmackDown. The following year during the 2018 Superstar Shake-Up , the United States Championship was moved to Raw, but returned to SmackDown the next night. At Crown Jewel on October 31, 2019, SmackDown wrestler "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt won the Universal Championship , thus bringing the title to SmackDown. On the next night's episode of SmackDown , WWE Champion Brock Lesnar quit SmackDown and went to Raw, taking

3480-458: The WWE Champion as part of the show, thus becoming the main feature of SmackDown! throughout 2004 and the most popular wrestler of that year. The biggest star of the next decade, John Cena, started his WWE career on this brand and rose to stardom as "Doctor of Thuganomics" on the show, eventually winning his first WWE Championship during his tenure on the brand. On June 6, then WWE Champion John Cena switched brands from SmackDown! to Raw as part of

3567-571: The WWF Championship against Cactus Jack . The first title change inside Hell in a Cell was in October 2009, when The Undertaker won the World Heavyweight Championship from CM Punk . The longest Hell in a Cell match was held at Bad Blood in June 2004 between Triple H and Shawn Michaels at over 47 minutes. The Undertaker has been involved in the most Hell in a Cell matches, having competed in fourteen and having

Elimination Chamber - Misplaced Pages Continue

3654-523: The air. On the August 24 episode of Raw Is War , Mankind fought Kane (his tag team partner at the time) in a Hell in a Cell match. This match went to a no-contest after Austin interfered and assaulted Kane. On the June 18, 2021, episode of Friday Night SmackDown , the first televised title match contested inside the structure took place between Roman Reigns and Rey Mysterio for the WWE Universal Championship which saw Reigns retain

3741-420: The annual Elimination Chamber event. In 2017, the Elimination Chamber event returned (2017's event was SmackDown-exclusive while 2018's was Raw-exclusive). In addition, the chamber structure was redesigned, becoming square instead of circular. The pods were also changed from circular to square and feature sliding doors that referees slide open from outside the chamber. At the top of the chamber at its center which

3828-578: The brand the champion was a part of. When the brand extension began, SmackDown became the exclusive home for the World Tag Team Championship and the original Cruiserweight Championship . In September 2002, the Undisputed Championship became the WWE Championship again and was moved to SmackDown, prompting Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff to create the World Heavyweight Championship for Raw. SmackDown created

3915-466: The cage and cell while trying to avoid guard dogs that were placed between the ring and cell door. Snow, the first competitor to escape the steel cage and the cell, was declared the winner. The third time was on September 28, 2009, episode of Raw during a gauntlet match with John Cena against Chris Jericho , Big Show and Randy Orton . The cell was lowered after Cena defeated Jericho and Big Show by disqualification when Orton's turn came. Cena ordered

4002-509: The cell to be lowered and then brawled Orton on top of the structure. The match was declared a no-contest. The fourth time was on October 20, 2014, episode of Raw when the Hell in a Cell structure was lowered on orders from Kane during a handicap street fight involving Kane, Orton, and Seth Rollins against Cena and Dean Ambrose which Kane, Orton, and Rollins won. At Hell in a Cell in October 2017, Shane McMahon and Kevin Owens competed in

4089-544: The chamber and attacking Seth "Freakin" Rollins , which subsequently allowed Austin Theory to retain the WWE United States Championship . The Elimination Chamber debuted at WWE's event Survivor Series at Madison Square Garden in November 2002. Since the inaugural match, there have been 33 other matches (34 overall) as of Elimination Chamber in February 2024. The Raw brand has been featured

4176-635: The championship back. In addition, Raw and SmackDown exchanged both women-exclusive championships with Raw gaining the Divas Championship and SmackDown gaining the Women's Championship. This marked the first time in history that the Women's Championship had ever been exclusive to SmackDown. Raw and SmackDown also exchanged the United States Championship (which became exclusive to Raw) and the Intercontinental Championship (subsequently exclusive to SmackDown) for

4263-408: The championship match occurred immediately after the elimination chamber match). Before the introduction of the Elimination Chamber match, WWE only promoted two matches in a caged environment, namely the steel cage and Hell in a Cell matches. The steel cage was the first type of cage-based match in professional wrestling and consisted of four fenced walls of steel surrounding the ring apron while

4350-458: The concept, as not many rivalries justified a match of that caliber. Answering Anderson, Mick Foley said he did not think the Hell in a Cell had been overused. SmackDown (WWE brand) SmackDown is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE 's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on

4437-516: The creation of the chamber during the October 21 episode of Raw and scheduled the match to feature participants from the Raw brand roster at the Survivor Series in November 2002. The match was exclusive to the Raw brand for the first four matches and at joint-branded pay-per-view events , but upon the creation of the ECW brand in 2006 the match was instead promoted for the newly created brand at December to Dismember . Beginning in 2008,

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4524-443: The end of the match and suffering multiple injuries towards the end of the match. Despite the match's popularity, it remains controversial due to the wrestler's lack of safety. In 2011, this incident was named the number one " OMG !" incident in WWE history. Journalist Michael Landsberg called it "maybe the most famous match ever." The first title defense in Hell in a Cell was at No Way Out in February 2000 with Triple H defending

4611-406: The establishment of the yearly Elimination Chamber pay-per-view (PPV) in 2010, the match was contested at other PPV events. There have been 34 Elimination Chamber matches in WWE since the concept's inception in November 2002. Every Elimination chamber match has had a stipulation that the winner would win a championship or a future match for a championship (usually at WrestleMania , though one time

4698-577: The event of a tag team Chamber match, two teams begin for a total of four participants starting). The objective is to eliminate each opponent from the match via pinfall or submission . The winner is the last remaining participant (or team) after all others have been eliminated. As in the Hell in a Cell match, disqualifications do not apply. The original structure was 16 ft (4.9 m) high, 36 ft (11 m) in diameter , weighed over 10 short tons (9,100 kg) and comprised 2 mi (3.2 km) and 6 short tons (5,400 kg) of chain . Before

4785-416: The first time since August 25, 2002 . On the August 29, 2011, episode of Raw , it was announced that performers from Raw and SmackDown were no longer exclusive to their respective brand. Subsequently, championships previously exclusive to one show or the other were available for wrestlers from any show to compete for—this would mark the end of the brand extension as all programming and live events featured

4872-456: The full WWE roster. In a 2013 interview with Advertising Age , Stephanie McMahon explained that WWE's decision to end the brand extension was due to wanting their content to flow across television and online platforms. On May 25, 2016, it was revealed that the brand split would return in July. The 2016 WWE draft took place on the live premiere episode of SmackDown on July 19 to determine

4959-473: The inaugural match with Shawn Michaels and a brutal encounter with Mick Foley in his Mankind persona. Both matches featured spectacular falls from the top of the cage which has since become a signature of the match. The original Cell was 16 ft (4.9 m) high and weighed over two tons, but has since been replaced by a more robust version of 20 ft (6.1 m) and five tons. The first match took place at Bad Blood In Your House in October 1997 and

5046-478: The interbrand Mixed Match Challenge , Worlds Collide , and annual Tribute to the Troops events. In its conception, according to Bruce Prichard in his Something to Wrestle podcast released in October 2018, the then World Wrestling Federation (WWF) originally planned to make SmackDown! an all-women's brand but ultimately decided against it because of the lack of talent. In March 2002, WWF underwent

5133-501: The match became exclusive to the No Way Out event and two Elimination Chamber matches were featured annually for two years among the three brands. In 2010, WWE replaced their No Way Out event with the self-titled Elimination Chamber , a new event which continued the tradition of its predecessor. From 2008 to 2014, the match had been featured in February events only. An Elimination Chamber event took place on May 31, 2015 exclusively on

5220-438: The match for the WWE Championship. Later in the night, Shawn Michaels broke into the chamber to cost The Undertaker his World Heavyweight Championship to Chris Jericho . At the Elimination Chamber event in February 2013, Mark Henry took out the remaining participants in the chamber for a World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania 29 after being eliminated until SmackDown General Manager Booker T broke it up. At

5307-453: The match is to eliminate each opponent from the match by scoring a pinfall or a submission . These can occur in the ring or on the chamber's elevated floor, but starting with the 2010 event all pinfalls and submissions must take place within the ring. Disqualifications and count-outs do not apply in the process of elimination. The winner of the match is the last remaining participant after all others have been eliminated (or after all members of

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5394-451: The match, namely the tag team chamber match. Both team members were inside of their respective pods, for a total of six tag teams in the match. Two teams, totaling four individual participants, started the match. This match was for the WWE Tag Team Championship . This variation was repeated in 2019, but for women and to determine the inaugural holders of the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship . Another tag team chamber match happened in 2020 for

5481-472: The match. At No Way Out in February 2009, Edge attacked Kofi Kingston during his entrance and locked himself in one of the pods becoming a participant in the match for the World Heavyweight Championship after losing the WWE Championship earlier in the night. At Elimination Chamber in February 2010, Cody Rhodes passed Ted DiBiase Jr. a metal pipe which he used to eliminate Randy Orton in

5568-431: The month-long 2005 draft lottery . This effectively left SmackDown! without a world title . On the June 23 episode of SmackDown! , SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long scheduled a six-man elimination match between Booker T , Chris Benoit , Christian (replacing Big Show, who was picked by Raw in the lottery), John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Muhammad Hassan and The Undertaker to crown the first SmackDown! Champion. On

5655-498: The most victories at eight. All Hell in a Cell matches have been broadcast live on pay-per-view except for five matches, three of which were televised on Raw Is War , later Monday Night Raw , with two in 1998 and one in 2021 and one on Friday Night SmackDown also in 2021. The Hell in a Cell match on the June 15 episode of Raw Is War showcasing Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker against Kane and Mankind , ended with Austin and Undertaker winning after Raw Is War went off

5742-432: The most victories with 4. Randy Orton holds the distinction of being involved in the most Elimination Chamber matches to date with 9. Chris Jericho has eliminated the most wrestlers with 10. Braun Strowman and Shayna Baszler have the most eliminations in a single Elimination Chamber match (5); Baszler is also the only winner to eliminate all other opponents in a single match (Strowman's five eliminations occurred during

5829-446: The most with 19 matches, including four joint-branded matches with SmackDown . ECW has been featured in two matches, including its joint-branded match with SmackDown. The SmackDown brand has been featured in 12 matches, including the joint-branded matches with both ECW and Raw. The Elimination Chamber event has featured more Elimination Chamber matches than any other WWE pay-per-view event , with 25 matches being held. Triple H has

5916-613: The night before on Raw, as the new SmackDown General Manager. When SmackDown moved to FOX beginning with the October 4, 2019, episode, it eventually replaced Raw as the "A" Show. As a result, SmackDown became the home for the WWE's top stars such as Roman Reigns , Brock Lesnar , Drew McIntyre and the Usos . Initially, the Undisputed WWE Championship and the original WWE Women's Championship were available to both brands. The other championships were exclusive to

6003-572: The number-one contender to the WWF Championship. The original concept for the Hell in a Cell structure was created by Jim Cornette . He described his concept as a combination of a cage surrounding the majority of the ringside area (the design, he stated, was popular in Memphis wrestling promotions) and the cage used in both the National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling for their WarGames matches (which had

6090-409: The opposing tag team are eliminated in either the tag team matches or the twelve-on-twelve tornado tag team elimination matches). The same rules apply when the match involves six tag teams, where two teams start in the ring and a new team leaves the pod and enters the ring at regular intervals. According to a WWE Magazine article in 2009 by WWE's production designer Jason Robinson, who co-designed

6177-448: The ring, while the other four are held within each inner chamber. The Elimination Chamber in February 2018 featured a seven-man chamber match in which three participants began. At regular intervals, one of the four participants within an inner chamber enters the match. This continues until all four have been released. The entrance intervals are typically five minutes, though four and three minute gaps have also been used. The objective of

6264-398: The rosters between both brands. On the July 11 episode of Raw , Vince McMahon named Shane McMahon the commissioner of SmackDown . Then next week on Raw , Daniel Bryan was revealed as the new SmackDown General Manager. Due to Raw being a three-hour show and SmackDown being a two-hour show, Raw received three picks each round and SmackDown received two. WWE Champion Dean Ambrose

6351-816: The seven-man Chamber match). The majority of matches have been contested for a top-tier championship with the WWE Championship (once as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship) being contested for the most in nine matches. The original World Heavyweight Championship was contested the second-most in seven matches, while the ECW World Championship , WWE Tag Team Championship , SmackDown Tag Team Championship , Intercontinental Championship , Raw Women's Championship , and United States Championship were contested in one match each. Ten matches (two in 2008, one in 2011, 2013, 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2023, and two in 2024) have awarded

6438-459: The structure over the ring before each event. When not in use, the structure is stored at a dock in Newark, New Jersey . Unlike standard steel cage matches and Hell in a Cell matches, Elimination Chamber matches cannot be held at several arenas due to the structure's massive size and weight, similar to how WarGames matches could only be held at certain arenas. This would play a factor in WWE dropping

6525-414: The structure stronger, yet lighter. Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy faced off against each other in the first crimson cell, a match which Orton won. The crimson cell would be swapped out for the standard gray one come WrestleMania 39 in 2023. The structure itself has made four additional appearances, although WWE does not consider them to be Hell in a Cell matches. During the first-ever First Blood match which

6612-519: The structure, several designs for the Elimination Chamber were considered. The structure was manufactured in Colorado Springs, Colorado and took six to eight weeks to make from design blueprints. It cost US$ 250,000 to construct. The structure is made of black-painted steel with an outer structure of 16 frames, each weighing 300 pounds (140 kg). The chamber is 16 ft (4.9 m) high and 36 ft (11 m) in diameter and weighs

6699-424: The television program, SmackDown wrestlers also perform on the branded and co-branded pay-per-view and livestreaming events . During the first brand split (2002–2011), SmackDown wrestlers also competed on an exclusive supplementary show, Velocity , and on ECW under a talent exchange program with the former ECW brand, while during the second brand split (2016–present), the brand's wrestlers have appeared in

6786-471: The title on Raw , in effect causing his title to become exclusive to SmackDown! . The following week on Raw , Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff awarded a newly instated World Heavyweight Championship to Raw's designated number one contender Triple H . Accordingly, Lesnar's championship was no longer deemed "undisputed". Following this, the WWE Women's Championship soon became a Raw exclusive as well. As

6873-494: The title via submission. Three days later on the June 21, 2021, episode of Monday Night Raw , WWE Champion Bobby Lashley faced Xavier Woods in a non-title Hell in a Cell match which saw Lashley win via submission. These matches, along with the two matches at the Hell in a Cell event , were held in a span of 4 days, with Lashley being the only wrestler to have competed in Hell in a Cell matches on back-to-back days. Only one Hell in

6960-524: The winners the number-one contendership for the WWE Championship, original World Heavyweight Championship, WWE Universal Championship , Raw Women's Championship, current World Heavyweight Championship , and Women's World Championship , respectively, at those years' WrestleMania ; in 2021, SmackDown's Chamber match awarded the winner the number-one contendership for the Universal Championship that same night, which happened immediately after

7047-448: Was SmackDown's first pick. After the return of the brand split, most pay-per-views became exclusive to one brand, (with SmackDown producing Backlash ( 2016 and 2017 ), No Mercy (2016) , TLC (2016) , Elimination Chamber (2017) , Money in the Bank (2017) , Battleground (2017) , Hell in a Cell (2017) , Clash of Champions (2017) and Fastlane (2018) ). From WrestleMania 34 onwards, all pay-per-views became dual-branded again. On

7134-443: Was a circular-like chain-linked structure, but since 2017 it is now square and encloses the ring. Its floor is platformed over the ringside area around the ring which elevates and levels it with the ring mat. Within the Elimination Chamber, four enclosures, referred to as inner chambers or pods, are encased in plexiglass and face the outside of each ring post. The match is contested by six or seven participants: two or three starting in

7221-534: Was a slight variation called the Extreme Elimination Chamber. In this variation, each chamber had one of four weapons for the competitors locked inside to hold on to. When each competitor's chamber opened, their weapon entered the match with them. The four weapons used in the match were a crowbar , a table , a steel folding chair , and a barbed wire -wrapped baseball bat . The 2015 Elimination Chamber event saw another slight variation of

7308-482: Was between Kane and Stone Cold Steve Austin at King of the Ring in May 1998, the cell used earlier in the night was lowered. The second featured Big Boss Man challenging Al Snow for the WWF Hardcore Championship in a Kennel from Hell match at Unforgiven in September 1999. The match consisted of a standard steel cage with the cell placed atop it and the object was to escape from both

7395-517: Was broadcast live from the same arena where SmackDown! was taped. During the 2008 WWE draft , WWE Champion Triple H was drafted to SmackDown, resulting in two world championships appearing on the brand – Edge was the World Heavyweight Champion at the time – and leaving Raw without a world title. However, Edge was attacked by Batista on the June 30 episode of Raw and immediately afterwards CM Punk cashed in his Money in

7482-408: Was involved in a pyrotechnics accident during his ring entrance. He was temporarily engulfed in flames on three occasions when the pyrotechnics were mistimed and his jacket briefly caught on fire. He suffered first and second-degree burns to his neck and chest and according to a WWE spokesperson the injury "looked like a bad sunburn". He was only allowed to participate in the match after being cleared by

7569-555: Was made public during a telecast of Raw on March 18, initiated with the first draft a week later on the March 25 episode of Raw and became official on the April 1 episode of Raw . Wrestlers began to wrestle exclusively for their specific show. At the time, this excluded the WWF Undisputed Championship and WWF Women's Championship as those titles would be defended on both shows. In August 2002, then WWE Undisputed Champion, Brock Lesnar , refused to defend

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