WINC Watchlist: Best WWE Elimination Chamber Matches

Whenever there's a big show coming up, like WWE Elimination Chamber this weekend, it can be instructive (not to mention fun) to go back and watch some older, related matches in the lead-up to the event. There are as many different ways to watch wrestling as there are individual wrestling fans, but here at Wrestling Inc., we love to cut up and rearrange wrestling history in interesting and unique ways, selecting a variety of matches with some sort of through-line connecting them and placing them side-by-side. This time around, it's time to look at the match that gave this weekend's event its name — the Elimination Chamber!

Originating back at Survivor Series 2002, there have been 36 Elimination Chamber matches so far in history, with this Saturday featuring the 37th and 38th. We're taking a look at what we see as the best five to ever occur, a list that spans the entire range of the match's existence. From the original bloody six-man spectacles to a new era that features less blood and more women, these are our favorite instances of the match with the pods and the chains to get you ready for Elimination Chamber 2026. Don't agree with us? Tell us your favorites in the comments!

The first-ever Elimination Chamber came long before there was an eponymous event for it, with Triple H defending a relatively fresh World Heavyweight Championship inside the structure against Rob Van Dam, Kane, Chris Jericho, Booker T, and best friend-turned-rival Shawn Michaels.

The World Heavyweight title had been introduced by "WWE Raw" General Manager Eric Bischoff after Brock Lesnar took himself and the WWE Championship exclusively to "WWE SmackDown." But when he opted to hand the title for "The Game" he aggrieved the rest of the main event picture, namely the five different challengers in this match. Thus ensued months of inter-personal dynamics between the names in the match, titles matches, screwjobs, and the like.

Until, Bischoff had yet another invention up his sleeve: Elimination Chamber. It was the first of its kind and ultimately the beginning of a long-running, effectively annual staple. The bout at Survivor Series saw six World Championship wrestlers vying for one title, each with their own justification for walking out with the win on the night.

Ultimately, when all was said and done, it was widely agreed that the right man won on the night. Michaels celebrated vengeance against his nemesis, taking the title from him despite the odds being stacked against that happening.

The Michaels and Triple H feud had much put behind it and was, at the time, perhaps the main story going on Monday nights. To have that intermingled with dynamics from the other five competitors helped deliver a sense of claustrophobia for someone looking to see Michaels get his dues.

And, most importantly, the match itself was pure chaos and was just a fun watch. Then. Now. Forever.

Written by Max Everett

WWE New Year's Revolution 2005 is the dictionary definition of a one-match show. No, that match isn't Muhammad Hassan vs. Jerry Lawler, or Kane vs. Snitsky, or Shelton Benjamin vs. Maven (which happened twice because who can't get enough of Maven in 2005?), it's the main event — the third-ever Elimination Chamber match to determine a new World Heavyweight Champion after the title was vacated in December 2004.

This match really is an all-star line-up for the Ruthless Aggression era. To start, you have Shawn Michaels in the role of the special guest referee as he was just coming back from a torn meniscus, but that wouldn't stop him from getting physical if provoked. Then you have Triple H, Randy Orton, Batista, Edge, Chris Jericho, and Chris Benoit all putting their bodies through unimaginable pain to get their hands on the big gold belt. Obviously, due to Benoit's involvement in the match, the 2005 Elimination Chamber bout isn't talked about, which really is a shame because it is still one of the best Chamber matches to ever take place.

Easily the bloodiest Chamber match of all time, everyone apart from Batista and Edge gets color in this one, but the blood is just one of the reasons why this match rules so much. To start the match, you get another short chapter in the Jericho/Benoit feud that rarely missed. Then Triple H enters and the real story begins as this was in the formative stages of what would become the WrestleMania storyline between Triple H and Batista. "The Game" was going to stay in the match until Batista was released from his pod, "The Animal" would wreck shop, and Evolution would stay on top of "WWE Raw" with Triple H as champion. Simple enough, but there are so many great moments spread throughout.

You have Edge's elimination coming after he dares to get in "The Heartbreak Kid's" face, Benoit doing a diving headbutt from the top of a pod, Triple H desperately trying to hang on for Batista to enter the match while he's trapped in the Crossface and Walls of Jericho simultaneously. There is no wasted motion throughout the first three quarters of this match. Once it gets down to Triple H, Batista, and Orton, it does slow down a lot which is a shame, but you do get the shock of Orton eliminating Batista via an RKO which Triple H could have absolutely broken up but didn't. Batista helps Triple H to victory in the end, but this would all be part of a bigger story that would pay off on the road to WrestleMania. Don't sleep on this one, it really is a hidden classic.

Written by Sam Palmer

The story of Bray Wyatt's WWE career is one full of unanswered questions, immense creation, and potential unfulfilled. But while that is true, in this writer's opinion, there were also some highs and moments that cemented him within the core timeline of the company.

He had been on the scene for a bit and suffered some significant set-backs before the Elimination Chamber in 2017, but it was here that he got his first real moment, pinning AJ Styles last to win the WWE Championship that had been held by John Cena, whom Wyatt also eliminated en route to winning.

Now, Cena had been one of the more significant set-backs in Wyatt's career beforehand, beating him at WrestleMania 30 then proceeding to win the feud entirely. This was Wyatt's crowning moment, and it came during a time of heightened intrigue over the arcs of Randy Orton and Luke Harper [Brodie Lee], who comprised the Wyatt Family at the time.

Now personally, not everything went the way they should have done. Orton did eventually take the title from Wyatt at WrestleMania, and he wouldn't win another world title until he had been repackaged as "The Fiend." But, for the moment this was and the fact that, whichever way it's cut, Wyatt was added to a pantheon of legends in the industry, it just elicits emotion.

That may be posthumous in its nature, it may be in the absence of better moments. But it still stands out as one of the most compelling Chamber matches in the history of Chamber matches.

Written by Max Everett

The 2019 Elimination Chamber is one of the best (and highest rated) matches in the structure in WWE history, cracking the top ten, or even top five, of many fans' lists when it comes to the Chamber. The 2019 bout was contested for Daniel Bryan's WWE Championship, rather than a spot at WrestleMania, which is part of what makes it special. While still contested at the PLE of the same name, it didn't feel like it was just another box for WWE to tick off.

In addition to Bryan, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Kofi Kingston, and Jeff Hardy were in the match. Bryan would go the distance in and retain his championship, but not before all the men had a banger of a match. Bryan and Joe kicked things off, and had themselves an excellent singles bout before the pod opened to bring in Kingston.

Kingston was the highlight of the match, as "Kofi-Mania" was well underway. He had an impressive showing in a gauntlet match on the episode of "SmackDown" prior to the Chamber, and fans were getting desperate to see him win the big one. His incredible performance here would only incense fans more, leading to his ongoing story with Bryan and Vince McMahon that eventually led him to WrestleMania 35.

Styles also had a great showing, coming out hot as the second man out of the pod. He took it to Bryan, who he lost the title to in the months prior, and hit a Phenomenal Forearm to eliminate Joe. Hardy had a brief, but good, showing, but risked it all with a Swanton bomb to Styles' back, getting eliminated by Bryan for his troubles. Styles' impressive match ended with an RKO as he was caught by Orton while attempting a Phenomenal Forearm. With Orton out following a Trouble in Paradise, the match came to a height as Kingston and Danielson fought one-on-one for the WWE Championship in one hell of a singles battle.

Kingston nearly had Bryan with the SOS, but the match would continue on, with the "New" Daniel Bryan berating Kingston every second of it. Kingston fought hard and refused to give up, including to the Lebell Lock, but missed a splash from the top of a pod as Bryan rolled out of the way. Bryan hit the Busaiku Knee for the win.

The 2019 Elimination Chamber is a must-see, especially for fans wanting to re-live a piece of "Kofi-Mania," as well as Bryan fans, as his "Planet's Champion" character was certainly something different for "The American Dragon." The fact the title was on the line during the match added extra excitement, something that's not seen too often in Chamber matches anymore.

Written by Daisy Ruth

One of the biggest stories of the 2025 Women's Elimination Chamber match, which featured Alexa Bliss, Naomi, Roxanne Perez, Bayley, Liv Morgan, and Bianca Belair, was Jade Cargill returning to take out Naomi as a horrified Belair looked on from her pod. Naomi and Belair had been teaming, with Cargill out of action due to an attack, and Cargill had figured out her assailant was Naomi.

Naomi was supposed to kick off the match against Morgan, and when Cargill stormed down to the ring just before the cage closed, fans thought it was Morgan who attacked "The Storm." However, Cargill beat down Naomi, leaving her unable to compete, and she was taken out of the Chamber. The best part of the entire opening was Belair's visceral reaction inside her pod, unable to do anything.

Still getting her wits about her, Belair was the first woman out of the pod, and Morgan took advantage, going on the attack. The pair battled until Perez, who had a great showing in the match, was released from her pod. The two-time NXT Women's Champion held her own against the two megastars, and she went right after Bayley after her pod opened third.

Bliss finally entered the match to a pop from the crowd, having just returned to WWE a few months prior in the Rumble, and all competitors were then in the ring. Bayley was the first woman to be eliminated, outside of Naomi, off an Oblivion by Morgan. Belair then set her sights on Morgan, and they battled on top of a pod. Belair hit Morgan with a nasty whip from her braid and stomped on her hand to send her falling to the bottom of the cage. She followed the spot with a big cross body off the top of the pod to take out the rest of the field below.

The women pulled off a tower of doom spot, almost required in any multi-woman match in WWE by now, which started off another sequence of offense that led to Perez's elimination by Bliss. Morgan eliminated Bliss with a sneaky jackknife pin after Bliss hit the Sister Abigail to Belair.

Belair and Morgan had a fantastic end to the match, after Morgan got her knees up for a Belair's 450 Splash, and countered the KOD into a Codebreaker. Belair countered the Oblivion into a KOD for the victory.

All five women held it down in the 2025 Chamber and had a great match after the initial shock beat down, but Cargill's return didn't overshadow the incredible in-ring action. It felt like anyone between the final three women, Morgan, Bliss, or Belair, could have won the match, making for an exciting women's Chamber.

Written by Daisy Ruth