WWE presents Elimination Chamber on Sunday and has a more intriguing than usual card on deck. The event's signature match will be the focal point, with all eyes on the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and whether or not the WWE might pull a swerve and change up the rumored WrestleMania plans that have, thus far, underwhelmed in creating substantial buzz on the internet. The main-event this weekend should surely be a great edition of the gimmick, no matter the outcome. It is full of elite workers; arguably as impressive a line-up of in-ring ability as we have seen since the stipulation debuted in November 2002. Where will the 2014 Chamber rank amongst its peers? Time will tell. Before we get to Sunday's event, though, let us look back at the Elimination Chamber, match by match, and see what Cesaro, Daniel Bryan, John Cena, Christian, Sheamus, and Randy Orton are up against, historically.
16. The Extreme Elimination Chamber (December to Dismember 2006)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxdyYXZPBeM The first several months of the ECW Reboot were actually quite good. Rob Van Dam was on fire with a series of Hardcore matches against the likes of two of his Extreme Chamber opponents, Bob Holly and Test. The envelope-pushing ECW in-ring style was maintained during that time, aiding in the careers of Attitude Era holdovers who needed the gimmicks and the garbage (and the Paul Heyman booking) to stay relevant and have entertaining matches. Big Show thrived in that environment, as well. As ECW Champion, he previewed the better part of his career that largely came about after he returned from hiatus that he actually began after December to Dismember concluded. Sabu was given a new lease on life and became a surprise hit of 2006. Then, of course, CM Punk made a splash in what was unquestionably the most significant debut in the brand return's four year history. The five aforementioned stars, along with Bobby Lashley seemingly the WWE's answer to Brock Lesnar's departure what with his similar build and amateur background combined for what is largely regarded as a lousy Elimination Chamber match. On paper, it seemed pretty intriguing. Take a popular gimmick match and add weapons to each pod? Sounded good. Unfortunately, the execution was lacking. The most popular star in the match, CM Punk, was eliminated early in a situation reminiscent of the current WWE predicament involving Daniel Bryan failing to get the push that the people want in favor of someone more "WWE friendly."