Serious injuries, staggering price and fireworks gone wrong – Five incredible facts about WWE’s Elimination Chamber

The WWE continues its road to WrestleMania this weekend with pay-per-view event Elimination Chamber coming live Down Under.

Australia will host the annual bonanza, which represents the last big stop on the jaunt towards WWE’s flagship event WrestleMania in Philadelphia in April.

Fans are in store for a big night at the Optus Stadium, with Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley returning to her homeland to defend against challenger Nia Jax.

Meanwhile British stars Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate, now wrestling as the New Catch Connection, attempt to snare Tag Team gold from The Judgement Day. 

As ever, though, the key focus of Elimination Chamber: Perth will be on the two matches that give the event its name. 

A men’s Elimination Chamber match takes place to determine Seth Rollins’ title challenger at Mania as Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, LA Knight, Kevin Owens, Bobby Lashley and Logan Paul square off.

In the women’s match, either Ripley or Jax will defend their belt against the victor of Bianca Belair, Racquel Rodriguez, Naomi, Tiffy Stratton and Liv Morgan. 

They’ll all be battling inside the punishing structure, which has been an asset in WWE’s gimmick match arsenal since 2002. 

Ahead of the latest instalment, here are five things you may not know about the Elimination Chamber.

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Staggering price to build

The Elimination Chamber is arguably the most physically impressive structure of its kind in WWE.

Production designer Jason Robinson said in a 2009 interview that it took an eight-week process to build the original Chamber, which consists of a steel structure and, in total, weighs over ten tons. 

Combatants in Chamber matches are regularly known to throw their opponents into the plexiglass sheets that surround the inner chamber pods in which they stand at the beginning of the contest – those fetching around £200 apiece. 

The chain that wraps around the entire Chamber structure stretches to an impressive two miles on its own.

Incredibly, the whole Elimination Chamber is believed to have cost $250,000 [£200k] to put together.

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Serious injuries

In 2002, Triple H suffered a serious throat injury after Rob Van Dam landed awkwardly on him which ‘closed down’ his airway.

Discussing the incident, The Game remarked: “His knee went across my throat. It caused swelling on the inside of my throat, which closed my airway down. 

“I don’t know the percentage, but they (the medical staff) said your throat’s normally at two, and it was at less than one.

“They needed to keep me overnight because they were afraid that if it swelled anymore, my airway would close off, and before I would be able to tell anybody, I wouldn’t be able to breathe and I could die.”

Sheamus is also said to have suffered a concussion in his 2010 Chamber match, missing match time as a result.

While on the same show, a freak accident with pyrotechnics saw The Undertaker momentarily engulfed in flames which were used as part of his entrance routine.

His trademark black coat caught fire, which resulted in the WWE legend suffering first and second degree burns, before proceeding to compete in his match.

Discussing the scary moment, the 58-year-old said : “I knew I had to sit in that pod for 20 minutes and then I had to work another 20 minutes after getting in.

“And I’m trying to assess where I’m at physically with the burns. Because all I could smell was my burnt hair and flesh.

“Every time I look down, my skin is bubbling up more and more. I’m trying my hardest to stay focused and I’m also thinking in my head, ‘I am about to kill this pyro guy.'”

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Key stars often miss out

While Triple H and John Cena have impressive records inside the Elimination Chamber, some big names have barely graced the structure at all. 

Brock Lesnar, for instance, has featured just once – as has Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns. 

Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have all also only entered the Chamber on one occasion.

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It’s most successful star now wrestles for AEW

Scores of wrestlers have competed in Elimination Chamber matches since the first one of its kind in 2002. 

Arguably its most successful combatant, though, still holds impressive records despite having long since left WWE.

Chris Jericho has wrestled for All Elite Wrestling since its launch in 2019, but remains the ‘top’ performer inside the Chamber. 

No wrestler has accumulated more than his eight appearances in the bout – though Randy Orton will finally eclipse him at Saturday’s showdown as he reaches nine outings.

In terms of eliminations, Jericho also tops the list with ten – Orton once again the nearest active competitor to him with six – and Shayna Baszler next with five.

In terms of most matches won, legend Triple H tops that list with four Chamber match victories, with nobody close to topping that. 

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Event was previously scrapped

From its original design and structure, the Elimination Chamber has undergone changes overtime – such as the inclusion of a padded area between the ring and outer cage, in place of a steel flooring.

The huge size of the Chamber posed logistical issues for WWE, who made the call to pull the event altogether from its calendar in 2016.

Stephanie McMahon noted at the time that hanging the cumbersome structure at some areas with large scoreboards proving to be problematic. 

A more practical version of the Chamber was reintroduced in 2017, and it has remained an annual PPV event ever since.