Written By: Mark Armstrong
Running Time: 166 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Clear Vision Ltd/Silver Vision
Released: June 4 2012
Elimination Chamber is usually often one of the better PPVs of the year due to the Chamber matches generally being of a high quality. Unfortunately, EC 2012 is actually one of the weaker Chamber supercards to date.
The opening Chamber bout for the WWE Championship is well-worked, but it just feels second-rate and, as a result, it lasts too long. Only Chris Jericho had a realistic chance at taking CM Punk’s WWE Title reign here, and Y2J is eliminated after receiving a “medical check” in unconvincing fashion, further harming the match.
Beth Phoenix vs. Tamina Snuka is okay but nothing memorable, and it’s followed by a segment which starts off in such a manner that you think something major is about to occur. Ultimately, though, it’s just another angle to set up John Laurinaitis and Teddy Long assembling teams for a match at WrestleMania XXVIII (that said, David Otunga’s expressions are priceless during a moment when Johnny and pals are taking photographs).
The World Championship Chamber match is a slow starter but has a surprisingly exciting finale, as Santino Marella comes incredibly close to shocking the world and dethroning Daniel Bryan for the gold. We then get an abruptly-announced Jack Swagger vs. Justin Gabriel for the United States Championship, which is instantly forgettable.
The main event is an Ambulance match between John Cena and Kane. It’s a typical WWE brawl with some big spots, though the result is never in doubt, given that Cena is about to face The Rock at WM 28: yes, Super-Cena wins! It’s not a bad match – there have been far worse PPV main events – but at the same time, it feels like just another match.
That sentiment sums up Elimination Chamber 2012 as a whole, really. It’s not poor from an in-ring standpoint, for the three major matches anyway. But if you chose to skip it/not watch it, you’re not really missing anything.
Overall Rating: 6/10 – Reasonable
