By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

KELLER'S WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER PPV BLOG
FEBRUARY 19, 2012
MILWAUKEE, WISC.
AIRED LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW

(NOTE: For super-detailed results, check out James Caldwell's report on the Main Listing and the PPV Reports section. For Pat McNeill's live blog, check the Main Listing and McNeill's Take section.)

1 -- C.M. PUNK won the RAW ELIMINATION CHAMBER MATCH FOR THE WWE TITLE in 32:28. (***1/2)

-The Raw Elimination Chamber match felt like the main event of this PPV to me, so I'm surprised to see it go on first.

-They did a nice job building the anticipation of C.M. Punk and Chris Jericho locking up. The match felt like it was always going to be about them before it started, and it played out that way.

-I like the amount of history they interject into the commentary regarding the Chamber matches, noting statistics and big moments in the Chamber in the past.

-When Cole said the winner of the match goes on to headline WrestleMania, that's crowded company since John Cena vs. The Rock and Triple H vs. Undertaker will have a claim to "headlining WrestleMania" too.

-Some good psychology to the booking. Jericho has a claim that he didn't lose fair and square, and that Punk delivered a kick that led to him hitting equipment at ringside. The heel has something to gripe about, even though fans will recognize it was his fault for throwing Kofi Kingston out of the cage unnecessarily.

-The Miz-Punk action was good, but if this is where they were going with the match, they should have done more to build up Miz as a credible potential winner in the weeks leading up to the match so that this part of the match felt more dramatic, as it just wasn't believable if you've been watching TV lately that Miz had a chance to win.

-Miz did a great job selling his dismay when Punk kicked out after his Skull Crushing Finale.

-I could see John Laurinaitis giving a title shot to Jericho on Raw in coming weeks based on how he was eliminated from this match. It would be one path to determining that Jericho is the no. 1 contender. Jericho could then win, setting up Punk getting his rematch at WrestleMania.

-Overall, the wrestlers outperformed the build-up. Not everything was smoothly executed, but overall it added up to a strong match that would have been considerably better had there been any sense that once Jericho was eliminated (and understand the rationale for the way he was ousted from the match) that Punk wasn't destinted to win.

-Another John Cena video package aired. I'm not sure how patient PPV viewers are going to be with these video packages during these events. It just felt like a commercial for their top star, not something really you'd consider paying for. The video was the latest in the line of "John Cena is a Great Guy" series, stressing that he loves the military. There's still time for him to enlist in active duty Army. He has until age 42 for that. He turns 35 in April, so he's running out of time to join the active duty Navy (34 is max age). This whole campaign seems to be trying to draw a contrast because what a humble, approachable, pro-wrestling-loving guy Cena is, with the implication being that The Rock's let his fame go to his head. This showed Cena training with WWE Developmental wrestlers (who got some time to talk, including Seth Rollins) whom he is cool enough to let train at his gym in Boston, just a short drive from FCW down in Florida. It included a clip of Rock training alone and Cena, of all people, mocking the idea that Rock will be all ripped and veiny at WrestleMania. I liked the final line, noting that in the end what matters is how Rock looks when that second bell rings (at the end of the match).

-They showed Santino drinking raw eggs backstage, then turning around to puke them up.

2 -- BETH PHOENIX pinned TAMINA SNUKA to retain the DIVAS CHAMPIONSHIP in 7:00. (*1/4)

-Quotebook - Ever the gentleman, Jerry Lawler says: "All women are head-headed."

-Basic, watchable match. Nothing wrong with it, but pretty forgettable, too. Phoenix avoided a Tamina Superfly Splash and got a tapout less than a minute later.

-Santino was training by punching a huge piece of meat shaped like a punching bag.

-John Laurinaitis came to the ring to complaint about Teddy Long's decisions and then campaigned to become G.M. of both Raw and Smackdown. Then Alberto Del Rio came out and agreed. Then Mark Henry came out and agreed, talking very deliberately as he made his points. Then Christian made a surprise return and echoed all of their complaints about Long. Then David Otunga took a picture of all of them together, which was kind of funny. What wasn't funny is that on a PPV this basically replaced an actual match. Yes, Christian's return made it newsworthy since he's been off TV for a while, but I don't know how it'll go over with PPV buyers. This seemingly answers several big WrestleMania questions: Where do Christian, Del Rio, Henry, and Orton fit in? It looks like Christian & Del Rio & Henry (w/Laurinaitis) vs. Orton & two Smackdown babyfaces (Mason Ryan & Ezekiel Jackson? Or maybe Brodus Clay & Justin Gabriel? Of those two paids, I'd take the latter. Or maybe Big Show if he doesn't end up working something with Shaq.)

-Santino trained by running up a flight of stairs and then celebrating.

-Josh Mathews interviewed The Big Show backstage before the match. He said he is one of the most successful competitors ever, holding every major title there is and having over 4,000 matches, but he's been lousy at WrestleMania, so this is his chance to change that. Good stage-setting promo. It would have been nice to have promos from others involved in the match, though, sprinkled throughout the event.

3 -- DANIEL BRYAN won the SMACKDOWN ELIMINATION CHAMBER MATCH in 34:00. (****)

-I can see why they saved this for the semi-final and put the Raw Chamber on first. On paper, this looked like a fun story to tell with good people to tell it. And they pulled it off really, really well.

-Some highpoints in the body of the match included a high-low by Cody and Barrett against Show, and also a suplex on the grates outside the ring on show by the same duo.

-The spot with Big Show breaking the chains over the Chamber pods and then climbing into the pod to beat up Bryan will be remember for years. Bryan's arrogant confident demeanor before Show found a way to get at him made it all the more satisfying when he did get to him.

-It was smart to get Great Khali out of there quickly. He would have dragged the match down.

-It became apparent as the match progressed that it would come down to Bryan and Santino, because it'd give Bryan a way to brag about winning, yet he would have done it by beating Santino of all people which is hardly something to brag about. The look Bryan had on his face when it came down to he and Santino was great.

-Earlier, Cody was great in selling his roll up pin on Big Show. It was in the same range of spot-on emoting as Miz selling Punk earlier kicking out of his finisher. It made it all the most satisfying that seconds later Santino rolled up and pinned Cody. The crowd loved that the cocky heel got embarrassed.

-This started slow, but Cody and Barrett did a credible job beating on Big Show. Khali's stint was brief, which was a smart decision. What made this match stand out to me were the closing minutes with Bryan vs. Santino, which showed why Bryan is such a ring general. That was the highlight of Santino's career to date and not something WWE can probably repeat. Santino wasn't cheered out of charity; while he stayed in character, most impressively he kept with Bryan. The crowd was totally engaged and popping for the prospect of Santino upsetting a cocky Bryan in the same way Santino cut off Cody's celebration a few minutes earlier. Just really effective, well-thought-out booking that really clicked, thanks to good plans and equally good execution. This scenario would have been easy to botch, but it came together really well.

-Bryan doing the Benoit headbutt off the top rope (you know, the move Harley Race warned Benoit not to do after his neck surgery because it would make his life miserable, but nobody in WWE stopped him from doing it) followed by the Labell Lock (a variation of the Crippler Crossface) was a sequence I'm surprised WWE doesn't outlaw. It had to remind others of Benoit, especially since Bryan is kind of Benoit's replacement in terms of being the world class undersized unlikely main eventer, although obviously Bryan has a much more versatile personality.

-Backstage we got to see Hornswoggle wearing a cheesehead hat, then Natalya "cutting the cheese" with sound effects and everything. Then Jack Swagger and Justin Gabriel got into it, leading to Long booking them in an impromptu U.S. Title match. I guess the show was running a little short as this clearly wouldn't have happened if the show was running longer than expected.

4 -- JACK SWAGGER pinned JUSTIN GABRIEL to retain the U.S. Title in 3:00.

-This helped give the crowd a breather before the main event brawl. That's all it was there for, although giving Swagger any kind of win on PPV isn't a bad thing.

5 -- JOHN CENA defeated KANE in an ambulance match. (**3/4)

-The crowd alternated with "Let's Go Cena! / Cena sucks!" chants. Lawler stood up for Cena saying those fans who say he sucks should try to go to the gym and lift the weights he lifts. Yep, that's a good way to get Cena haters to see him differently. Make them feel like the quality of your personality is defined on being a gym rat who can lift heavy pieces of metal while surrounded by military banners representing institutions you didn't join but are still eligible to join if he loves and respects them so much. WWE is trying way too hard as if there's even a chance the Miami crowd cheers Cena.

-Cena lobbied mid-match for Booker T to add him to his Fave Five, and Booker said he is now part of his Fave Five.

-Cena rolled Kane on a wheelchair into a table and some equipment.

-Deep into the match Cena set up the ring steps next to the Spanish announce table and lifted Kane into position for an Attitude Adjustment, but Kane slippped free and gave Cena a chokeslam onto the table instead.

-Cena gave Kane an Attitude Adjustment off the top of the ambulance into a hidden area of the stage. Kane was fine as Cena retreived him shortly thereafter and threw him into the ambulance for the win. This seems to end the Kane-Cena feud so he can move on to hyping The Rock full time after a strong win, while Zack Ryder presumably will engage further with Kane in coming weeks. I wouldn't be surprised to see a TV match or two with Kane and Cena, though, just to fill some TV time, although if I were WWE, and there'd be some risk here, I'd consider having Cena not wrestle on TV until WrestleMania as a way to make the match even more special by April 1. They'll deem Cena's value to TV ratings to vital to do that, though.

-The match itself was just okay, about what you'd imagine if you closed your eyes and played out roughly 15 minutes of stand-up brawling, a few big spots, some in-ring exchanges, more brawling in the aisle, and the big spot off the ambulance in the end.

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