Elimination Chamber match, WWE 1/9/2005
Feb 16, 2023 20:07:08 GMT -5
Post by tetsujin on Feb 16, 2023 20:07:08 GMT -5
Ok let's see how people here react to this. This one deserves a thread.
Triple H vs Randy Orton vs Batista vs Chris Benoit vs Edge vs Chris Jericho (World Heavyweight Title, Elimination Chamber match, WWE New Year's Revolution 2005):
Shawn Michaels is the special referee for some reason.
Haven't seen this since I was a child, and OH BOY, this might be the best Chamber ever. I really like the 2014 one, but this one has a more brutal aspect to it, because of the pre-PG context, and it really helps a match like this to stand out. An EC match should feel brutal above all else. And it's not like there's a lot of over the top spots or ultraviolence or anything, it's just the way these guys hit each other and how well they sell the pain of the steel + the bladejobs. Because almost everyone fucking bleeds by the end of this match.
Benoit and Jericho start things off, as they should considering they were the two best workers of the match, and they have such a strong opening five minutes that I even forgot Shawn was the referee. Some of those chops were NASTY. Then Triple H came in, and I said this before and probably will say it again, but Triple H is so good when it comes to being the glue of a long, multiman match. Always has, even during his reign of terror. Here he feeds both Benoit and Jericho really well, and later on he will have strong dynamics with the Evolution guys as well (gotta love Orton's early beatdown with the crowd going nuts). He might be the mvp of the match, but it's hard to say, as everyone has a strong performance this time. Even Edge, the first guy eliminated and the one that spent less time in the Chamber, gets to shine, and he didn't felt like "the inferior guy" of the match until the HBK spot that set up their rivalry or whatever (I don't remember what happened between the two after this, but the accidental Spear here surprised the shit out of me, very well done spot).
Batista's role in this match is crucial. You can feel he's already becoming a star, and the suspense leading up to this match in regards of him maybe turning on Trips paid off really well in a lot of ways. He earned the right to be the last guy to enter the match, so Triple H had to manage to survive until his turn, and there's this brilliant spot of the Walls of Jericho + Clipper Crossface at the same fucking time on him, while Batista's clock was running, and it was hella tense. Batista's urgency to save his master was contagious, even if Triple H was the heel. You, and the crowd, feel conflicted. Then Batista beats the shit out of Benoit and Jericho, who were here since the very beginning and are a bloody mess. And now it's time for the Evolution drama, and it's really well done, with Orton selling the beatdown wonderfully (Randy's overal selling is SO underrated!) and earning a nice comeback before disaster. I LOVE Triple H's body language during the Batista elimination, because you can clearly tell he could have saved him but chose not to, it wasn't just him not knowing where he was at because of the blood loss or anything. But it is subtle enough. The ending is hilarious, with Flair trying to interfere and Michaels stomping the living shit out of him for no other reason, and Triple H pulls Orton's tights so much that we end up looking at his whole butt. Nice.
This was so much fun, guys. There's even a funny cameraman ref bump that you watch it from his cam's POV, so it looked like when they kill you in a bad shooter game or something, and the production team started to replay it. I could see, as clear as day, Vince and Kevin Dunn laughing their asses of while ordering the crew to replay it again and again. But seriously, everyone brings their A game here, I love the respect they give to the gimmick of the match and how can it make a bloody pulp out of you at any moment, and the different storylines on display here collide wonderfully: Benoit-Jericho, Jericho-HHH, Benoit-HHH, Edge-HBK, Benoit-Orton, the Evolution stuff... It all flows organically and there's always something interesting going on, with the crowd totally on board with it. Yeah, no doubt my favourite Chamber match, and surprisingly really close to make my GME list. Give it some love!
****1/4
Shawn Michaels is the special referee for some reason.
Haven't seen this since I was a child, and OH BOY, this might be the best Chamber ever. I really like the 2014 one, but this one has a more brutal aspect to it, because of the pre-PG context, and it really helps a match like this to stand out. An EC match should feel brutal above all else. And it's not like there's a lot of over the top spots or ultraviolence or anything, it's just the way these guys hit each other and how well they sell the pain of the steel + the bladejobs. Because almost everyone fucking bleeds by the end of this match.
Benoit and Jericho start things off, as they should considering they were the two best workers of the match, and they have such a strong opening five minutes that I even forgot Shawn was the referee. Some of those chops were NASTY. Then Triple H came in, and I said this before and probably will say it again, but Triple H is so good when it comes to being the glue of a long, multiman match. Always has, even during his reign of terror. Here he feeds both Benoit and Jericho really well, and later on he will have strong dynamics with the Evolution guys as well (gotta love Orton's early beatdown with the crowd going nuts). He might be the mvp of the match, but it's hard to say, as everyone has a strong performance this time. Even Edge, the first guy eliminated and the one that spent less time in the Chamber, gets to shine, and he didn't felt like "the inferior guy" of the match until the HBK spot that set up their rivalry or whatever (I don't remember what happened between the two after this, but the accidental Spear here surprised the shit out of me, very well done spot).
Batista's role in this match is crucial. You can feel he's already becoming a star, and the suspense leading up to this match in regards of him maybe turning on Trips paid off really well in a lot of ways. He earned the right to be the last guy to enter the match, so Triple H had to manage to survive until his turn, and there's this brilliant spot of the Walls of Jericho + Clipper Crossface at the same fucking time on him, while Batista's clock was running, and it was hella tense. Batista's urgency to save his master was contagious, even if Triple H was the heel. You, and the crowd, feel conflicted. Then Batista beats the shit out of Benoit and Jericho, who were here since the very beginning and are a bloody mess. And now it's time for the Evolution drama, and it's really well done, with Orton selling the beatdown wonderfully (Randy's overal selling is SO underrated!) and earning a nice comeback before disaster. I LOVE Triple H's body language during the Batista elimination, because you can clearly tell he could have saved him but chose not to, it wasn't just him not knowing where he was at because of the blood loss or anything. But it is subtle enough. The ending is hilarious, with Flair trying to interfere and Michaels stomping the living shit out of him for no other reason, and Triple H pulls Orton's tights so much that we end up looking at his whole butt. Nice.
This was so much fun, guys. There's even a funny cameraman ref bump that you watch it from his cam's POV, so it looked like when they kill you in a bad shooter game or something, and the production team started to replay it. I could see, as clear as day, Vince and Kevin Dunn laughing their asses of while ordering the crew to replay it again and again. But seriously, everyone brings their A game here, I love the respect they give to the gimmick of the match and how can it make a bloody pulp out of you at any moment, and the different storylines on display here collide wonderfully: Benoit-Jericho, Jericho-HHH, Benoit-HHH, Edge-HBK, Benoit-Orton, the Evolution stuff... It all flows organically and there's always something interesting going on, with the crowd totally on board with it. Yeah, no doubt my favourite Chamber match, and surprisingly really close to make my GME list. Give it some love!
****1/4
