4 little known facts about The Elimination Chamber

The Elimination Chamber is an annual marquee match in WWE, which takes place inside an enormous chain-linked, steel structure which encircles the ring. It was introduced in 2002 when Eric Bischoff was the onscreen GM of Monday Night Raw, and till date, there have been 20 elimination chamber matches.

This year, WWE is set to create history by having the first ever Women's Elimination Chamber match as well as the first ever 7-man Elimination Chamber match. This year the PPV is set to take place at the T-Mobil arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 25th.

While we wait for the PPV, let's take a look at a few little-known facts about the Elimination Chamber.

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#4 It is the brainchild of HHH

The Game created this monstrous structure

While in kayfabe it was Eric Bischoff, then onscreen GM of Raw, who invented the concept of the Chamber, it is, in fact, a creation of The Cerebral Assassin. HHH has admitted that it was his idea, where he envisioned a square cage with four wrestlers in one corner each, with two wrestlers starting the match and the others joining them at intervals.

However, HHH also revealed that 'in typical WWE form', when the EC became a reality, it was twice as big and twice as elaborate than what he had in mind.

This was The Game's reaction when he first saw the Elimination Chamber-

"..we don't do anything small, so I should have known better. When I stood in it for the first time, I thought, 'Jeez. Please don't tell anybody this was my idea!'"

#3 16/20 Elimination Chamber matches have been Title Matches

Bray Wyatt won the WWE Championship inside the EC last year

There have been 20 elimination chamber matches till date and 16 out of those 20 matches have been contested for a title. This year's Men's Elimination Chamber match will only be the 5th Chamber match where a title will not be defended.

Previously, the two 2008 Elimination Chamber matches were both for a title shot at WrestleMania, since the 2008 Royal Rumble winner John Cena chose to have his title shot at No Way Out, rather than wait till WrestleMania. The other two instances are the 2011 and the 2013 Elimination Chamber matches, which were won by John Cena and Jack Swagger respectively.

Also, the Intercontinental Championship was defended inside the Chamber once in 2015, and in the same year, the Tag Team titles were also defended inside the Chamber.

#2 The design was changed last year

The Elimination Chamber used in 2017 differed from the ones used earlier

The first thing the fans noticed in the Elimination Chamber 2017 was the somewhat drastic change in the design of the structure.

The structure as a whole was more of a square with sharp edges, instead of the usual rounded, circular design. The huge WWE Logo on top of the cage and the LEDs lighting up the pods were an aesthetic addition and looked great! However, the other main talking point was the very apparent padding on the floor of the Chamber, just outside the ring. After all, the Elimination Chamber is promoted as a brutal and 'career-altering' matchup and many fans felt that it took away the menacing feel of the structure.

Personally, I feel the safety of wrestlers must be primary, but the WWE could have done a better job hiding the padded floors.

#1 No 'Elimination Chamber' in Germany

The German poster for last year's PPV

In Germany, the Elimination Chamber PPV is called by a different name. Previously when the match used to take place at the No Way Out PPV, it had the same name. However, starting in 2013, the PPV is known as 'No Escape' in Germany.

The reason for this change is to avoid any reminder of the terrible gas chambers used to execute Jews during The Holocaust in World War II. The WWE have done well to make this change as any reminder of The Holocaust is a black mark in the history of the world and an especially sensitive subject in today's Germany.