Elimination Chamber Returns

Elimination Chamber will be returning in a few weeks. It will be exclusively on the WWE Network. I would consider this more of a special event than a real pay-per-view. This is the kind of thing they should have done since last year more often. They had title defenses here and there to hype the WWE Network, but nothing big ever really happened. You could make the argument that subscribers are getting two big events in one month for just $9.99. The WWE seems to be giving away too much for free. They are trying to draw in more subscribers.

Another item of note is that the Intercontinental Championship and the Tag Team Championship will be decided in Elimination Chamber matches. That has never happened before. This type of match has always been a main-event type of match. In general, I like doing it this way. It makes these titles feel even more important. The WWE had done a pretty good job with the Intercontinental Championship recently, despite Daniel Bryan's recent misfortune. The tag titles need the help more. A lot of these teams are made up of lower-midcarders or midcarders randomly put together. You can't treat someone or a team mediocrely, or possibly worse, for a while, then just start pushing them and think everyone will be excited for them. Yes, certain fans will get excited for Kidd and Cesaro getting a push, but that does not mean those guys have that great connection with the wider audience. And the feud and storyline development in the tag division has been poor. It is like the WWE just tosses a gimmick on some guys and gets lazy after that. Having special matches like this can help things.

Just one issue you might bring up. Think about Hell in a Cell. Such an iconic, legendary match type. So many great moments. Heated feuds would culminate there. What does the WWE do? They make a PPV devoted to it. Feuds that shouldn't necessarily be put inside the cell are put in there. You have a lot of matches in recent years that have been disappointing. The match type has lost its mystique. Will that happen to the Elimination Chamber? Will it lose value now that midcard matters are being decided there? Have to wait and see how the matches play out. Regardless of what happens to the image of this match type, the midcard and tag division stand to benefit.