WWE Legend Says Original Elimination Chamber 'Wasn't Safe'

This WWE icon didn't want anything to do with the first Elimination Chamber match.

Booker T Elimination Chamber Survivor Series 2002
WWE.com

Booker T has admitted that he "did not want to be in" the first ever Elimination Chamber match back in 2002.

The WWE Hall Of Famer told listeners tuning into his podcast that the original structure was "nuts". Before working the bout at Survivor Series 2002, Book said he told some peers backstage that "somebody [is] going to get hurt", because the Chamber was slippy and a "monstrosity".

Booker isn't ashamed to admit that he was "scared" to work the match, but he's glad that WWE later tweaked the structure over the years to make it less punishing on bodies - even so, the Chamber still reportedly hurts like a bitch today.

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It was worse back then.

The multi-time World Champion told fans that he "never really lobbied to be in those kinds of matches". Booker was happier when he was working straight-up wrestling bouts rather than flying into steel cages or landing on unforgiving metal grates.

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It might not be a shocker to learn that Book only worked one Chamber match before calling it quits. He went out of his way to avoid the gimmick after Survivor Series '02.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.