Ranking EVERY WWE Elimination Chamber Match From Worst To Best

2. 2005

Edge Elimination Chamber
WWE.com

A key chapter in WrestleMania 21's phenomenal lead storyline, the 2005 Elimination Chamber is a magnificently booked war, stage-managing the over-arching slow burn of Batista's eventual exit from Evolution.

After laying dormant in 2004, the Chamber was dusted off at January's 'New Year's Revolution' to determine a new World Heavyweight Champion following a disputed finish in a December title match featuring Triple H, Chris Benoit and Edge, the Chamber.

Alongside the original triple threat combatants, Chris Jericho would also gain a place, and Randy Orton was finally allowed back into the title picture after being frozen out of a title shot during Triple H's previous reign. Most intriguingly, Dave Batista would be entered alongside his malevolent leader 'The Game', as more subtle hints were dropped that 'The Animal' was there to attain his own title glory, not just play second fiddle to 'The King of Kings'.

During the bloodbath itself, after bailing Triple H out of certain peril trapped in a Walls of Jericho/Crippler Crossface combo, but with tension building between the stablemates, Batista succumbed to an RKO after 'The Game' appeared to neglect bothering to make a save.

As the eventual winner with more help from 'The Animal', Triple H had used and abused his enormous enforcer, only adding fuel to Dave's eventual shift away from his control.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett