10 Classic Wrestling Matches You Didn't Know Bombed

7. World Heavyweight Championship Elimination Chamber Match - WWE Survivor Series 2002

Elimination Chamber Triple H
WWE.com

The Elimination Chamber match is an enduring and cherished WWE staple because it's a violent spectacle, is a platform to thread together several plots in the course of a single attraction, and almost always guarantees a damn good match.

It was, until 2017, flawed.

The tiny gap between the pod and the roof robbed the high spot of its full majesty. The solid metal flooring beyond the ring enforced these crumpled, tentative bumps that always looked too painful and too real to pop for. You could see the talent working noticeably hard to protect themselves, and you couldn't blame them.

The flaws have since been eradicated, and the first pay-per-view audience obviously didn't know to expect them when deliberating over the purchase. 2002 was a down period for business, but the field was fairly stacked, the novelty glowing, the promise of violence hardly empty, looking at WWE's product from 1997 onwards - but Survivor Series drew just 340,000 buys. That is six full figures short of 2001 (450,000) and 2003 (450,000 again), both of which were sold on the classic concept elevated with game-changing stakes. Just 20,000 more punters bought it than that year's King Of The Ring.

Was the concept too unfamiliar, convoluted, for fans to take the risk?

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!