Why Elimination Chamber Should Be The Next Gimmick WWE PPV To Get Canceled

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Over the last year or so, WWE’s PPV calendar has been experiencing some changes for the first time in a long time. For over a decade, the calendar had been dominated by gimmick PPVs, including the likes of Extreme Rules, Hell in a Cell, TLC, Money in the Bank, and more. However, over time these events lost their spark. This has prompted some change, with a few PPVs being canceled and removed from the PPV schedule. When looking ahead, WWE shouldn’t stop there, and should continue to alter the schedule by getting rid of the Elimination Chamber PPV, which is entering its thirteenth year of existence in 2023.

WWE’s Gimmick PPVs Are Mostly Disliked By Fans

In 2009 and 2010, WWE brought in several gimmick PPVs to the schedule, and to begin with, it was quite fun. Seeing shows with TLC, Hell in a Cell, Ladder matches, and so much more added some great excitement to events. However, due to there often being multiple of these on each show, with them also feeling very shoehorned in, the special attraction nature of these gimmicks began to completely degrade.

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Hell in a Cell was often a feared stipulation which hosted only the most vicious of rivalries, but over the last few years it has felt like nothing more like a prop, with undeserving matches taking place inside the structure - a clear example of this is the fact that CM Punk vs Ryback happened inside the Cell TWICE! The same can be said for TLC too, and this all led into the fact that both these events have been indefinitely put to an end. According to WrestleVotes via GiveMeSport, Triple H’s love for the Cell match had led to him wanting to try and salvage it by putting a stop to the PPV.

This was a welcomed decision from WWE fans, who had been campaigning for several years for these PPVs to be removed and for a return to more conventional events, where rivalries can develop naturally and lead to big conclusions where a Cell match can take place. Another gimmick match which has had some poor showings recently is the Elimination Chamber, and much of that is down to it having a yearly PPV event.

The Elimination Chamber Is Very Predictable

Back during its first few editions, the Elimination Chamber felt like a special structure. Coming at random points during the year, the Chamber put several huge names in the ring together in an unpredictable contest where it truly felt like anyone could win. In 2008, WWE began hosting the Chamber between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, to the point where it became its very own event, becoming a yearly fixture on the Road to WrestleMania.

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A big reason for its lack of excitement over the years is due to the WrestleMania card always being quite predictable from around the Royal Rumble, meaning that the Chamber has often been one of the most bland shows and matches each year due to fans already knowing full well who is going to win. In fact, it has been five whole years since a title actually changed hands inside the structure, but even then, Bray Wyatt’s WWE Title win was the obvious choice due to Randy Orton’s Royal Rumble victory, with the two on a collision course. Prior to that, it was seven years since the last title change took place. For a match with so many variables, with the champion often being billed as having the odds stacked against them, the champions usually win.

Having The Elimination Chamber As A Special Attraction Is The Right Decision

Even the non-title Chamber matches with championship shots on the line are always easy to predict, as the title matches for WrestleMania are often set in stone. If WWE were to end the Chamber PPV, it would allow the storylines ahead of WrestleMania to flow more naturally, and to not force in the needless Chamber matches which have little interest in them anyway.

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If say, ahead of SummerSlam or another PPV around those months, there were several big names all vying for World Title gold, then it would feel special if Adam Pearce came out to announce an Elimination Chamber match, instead of having to force six competitors inside the structure just because it's February. Doing it the other way around would feel more natural, and it would add much needed anticipation for the match. WrestleMania season is often quite predictable due to the card needing to take shape early, but for the rest of the year, things are often up in the air, so the Chamber would fit in perfectly for periods in which fans don’t know the direction of things. It could become a match which creates stars, with shock upsets and title changes, rather than a boring checkpoint ahead of WrestleMania.

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