10 Biggest Disappointments In WWE Elimination Chamber History

10. Santino Comes Up Short

In the World Heavyweight Championship match from Elimination Chamber 2012, an ordinary line-up produced an ordinary match that looked all set to plodder to its ordinary conclusion. That is, until Santino Marella decided to step things up a notch.

After he eliminated Wade Barrett to reach the final two, the fans began to rally. Suddenly they believed that Marella just might be able to upset the odds, defeat the defending champion Daniel Bryan, and go on to WrestleMania with the gold in tow.

A manic few minutes saw the challenger hang on in there, before a missed diving headbutt from Bryan allowed Marella to strike with the Cobra. We all envisioned the headlines - Santino Marella Headlines WrestleMania! - but after Bryan managed to get the shoulder up, seconds later he’d apply the Lebell Lock and, after a bit of a struggle, force the submission.

In the heat of the moment, it was a massive let-down to see Marella come up short but in hindsight, it’s probably a good thing that a comedy character, whose finishing move involved jabbing folk with a pretend snake, didn’t go on to defend the World Title at the biggest event of the year.