WWE Elimination Chamber 2012 came live from Milwaukee, Wisconson. You can check Elio Cannella's recap for the run down.

The name sake match of the pay-per-view is eponymous steel structure that weighs in at a bit over 16 tons. Both the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship were defended inside that steel machination of hell

In addition, Divas Champion Beth Phoenix defended her belt against a rising Tamina Snuka. John Cena, the WWE's resident Boy Scout, took on Kane in an Ambulance match. Let's get to it.

Raw Elimination Chamber Match - CM Punk(c) vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz vs. R-Truth vs. Dolph Ziggler

It felt odd they opened the pay-per-view with this match given the (relative) star power involved in it. I liked Kofi and Punk starting off the match given their shared history. Kofi had a nice spot with the leap frog of the top rope. Both men had a few nice reversals, including the sling shot attempt by Kofi which was reversed by Punk into Kofi being slings shot into the glass. Good pacing as well in the opening moments.

Ziggler was the first one out of the pod and had a nice spot with the stomach crunches off the wall. Kofi and Punk had a cool mid air clothesline on each other as Dolph rolled out of the way. Truth came out next amd took Ziggler to task, including a nice dump to the outside on the Show Off. The crowd was into the match nicely at this point. Truth was the first elimnated. The match quickened after that, which was nice. Kofi had a nice spot with the DDT on Ziggler after coming off the wall.

Miz was released and caused some destruction on Kofi and Ziggler. The pacing slowed a bit with Miz in control, which wasn't good. Punk and Miz exchanging reversals was nice a touch at that point though. Jericho was the last one in per the stipulation of the Six Pack Challenge a few weeks ago. Punk and Jericho had a few nice exchanges and picked the pace back up. Ziggler ate a Codebreaker from Jericho to be eliminated. Jericho and Punk resumed their vis-à-vis after the interruption.

There was some good use of the structure as a weapon and storytelling device as Jericho put himself back in the pod too lure Punk into a trap.

Kofi hit a nice SOS on the ouside to Jericho and got a beautiful crossbody from the top of the pod. Kofi payed for it though after Jericho locked in the Walls of Jericho and was eliminated. Kofi's beat down after the fact was appropriate to build some heat for Y2J. Nice booking to save Jericho vs. Punk for WrestleMania 28.

Miz and Punk brought the match home. Beautiful drama as Miz caught Punk off the springboard and reversed it into a Skull Crushing Finale. The finish was appropriate, though I think it could have been better served with Ziggler. Match of the night. **1/2

Random Thoughts

I'd vote for an R-Truth/Little Jimmy ticket as President.

Ziggler sells as well as anyone in the WWE.

"Holy sh_t! Holy sh_t!' Love this crowd.

"Get up! Come on!" Everybody talks too much...

It's a trap! It's another trap!

The Camera Man gets the award for sell of the night.

Divas Championship - Beth Phoenix(c) vs. Tamina Snuka

Tamina opened up the match on the offense after being taunted by Beth. The gals going outside was kind of nice to see. The action was kind of dull after they got back into the ring. The use of the rest holds slowed the action down more then it should have.

The Superplex as a nice treat to see as the gals don't break it out often. The match switched gears after that. Good tease after Tamina (finally) hit the Splash after they've built it up for weeks as a devastating move. The ending was correct to setup Beth vs. Kharma at WrestleMania 28. *1/2

Random Thoughts

Tamina jobs so much that she doesn't get the benefit of an actual "island."

"What's the matter Coconut Head?" Fantastic rascism?

Beth wigging out is much more believable (and better) then Kelly Kelly wigging out.

Tamina has the slowest finishing move in terms of execution in the WWE.

Laurinaitis Promo

Del Rio coming in was a nice touch. I like the plot hook for SmackDown as it usually doesn't get one, and it's in line with Laurinaitis' character to try and grab power over both shows. The crowd was absolutely dead when Henry came out. Christian got a nice pop for his return. Overall though, it didn't really belong on a pay-per-view. Actually, it pretty much was a waste of time for a program I paid $45.00 to see.

SmackDown Elimination Chamber Match - Daniel Bryan(c) vs. Wade Barrett vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Great Khali vs. Big Show vs. Santino

Barrett and Big Show started off things with the usual Big Man match formula and didn't have much of spark. Rhodes came out next and tried to pick up the pace a bit. He also had a nice looking spot after being thrown into the cage by Show. Barrett going after Show's left leg was some nice savvy in the ring.

After Show took a breather, the match picked up the pace as Barrett and Rhodes exchanged blows. The crowd remained dead though. Santino came out next and got a bit of a flurry before Big Show interceded and put the Miracle of Milan down. Rhodes looked a bit more motivated then others thus far in the match.

Big Show taking the suplex from Rhodes and Barrett on the outside was a nice spot. Rhodes had a gorgeous moonsault on Barrett as well. Santino got some dark horse treatment as Rhodes took him to task. Khali was next out of the gate, dominated for a minute, ate the spear from Big Show and was eliminated. So much for credibility.

Show continueing to stare down Bryan indicated some sort of interesitng finish, but they wasted too much time with it. Show tearing off the chains(!) to Bryan's chamber in a nice spot. Bryan's turn to come out was obvious but being thrown through the glass of the opposite pot was another nice spot.

The match finally switched gears after Barrett took Show to task and Santino rolled up Wade. Rhodes and Barrett abusing Show with Rhodes getting the pin on the big man was nice. Santino eliminated Rhodes via roll up was also a nice spot.

Santino getting massive random chants from the crowd was very telling of the storytelling in the match. Bryan had an uncharactistic botch attempting a top turnbuckle backflip. Barrett powerbombing Bryan into the chains looked brutal, as did Bryan getting his head slamed by the pod door.

Barrett looked impressive while on offense in dominating Bryan and Santino before Santino rolled out of the way of Barrett and Bryan nailed a flying headbutt on Wade, causing him to be eliminated. Bryan and Santino getting the go home segment of the match was interesting, particularly given Santino's massive babyface appeal at the moment.

Bryan and Santino told a nice story in their ending segment with Bryan disrespecting Santino before Santino showed him up. Both men had nice teases to build drama before Santino had to tap out. **1/4

Random Thoughts

I swore they were to swerve Santino out of the match. Guess I can't get them all right.

Barrett's theme makes kittens cry. And puppies. Or any cute animal for that matter.

"Bor-ing! Bor-ing!" Good crowd tonight.

Rhodes has the prettiest moonsault in the WWE.

Khali's involvement being kept mercifully short was a nice compensation for him being in the match in the first place. Wait, no it wasn't.

Big Show being eliminated was a like a massive weight off the shoulders of Rhodes and Barrett.

Okay, I admit it. I was marking for Santino.

United States Championship - Jack Swagger(c) vs. Justin Gabriel

Pity this match didn't receive any prior announcement with being, you know, a title match. Swagger looked crisp in the opening moments of the match. The Capetown Werewolf had a nice spot with the flying forearm off the top turnbuckle. Aside from that, nothing to write home about. Purely an enhancement affair for Swagger. 1/2*

Random Thoughts

Why was this on a pay-per-view again?

Ambulance Match - Kane vs. John Cena

The "Cena Sucks" chant that followed the opening felt canned. Getting immediately to the ambulance got the obvious out of the way before they got back to the ring. The pacing of the match was a little slower then I would have liked in the first half.

Cena's dropkick counter to Kane's top rope clothesline was nicely done. Aside from that, both men went through their usual motions in the ring. The match picked up once they went back towards the ambulance.

The standard No Disqualification spots took over after that, including the crowd spots. Cena jaw jacking while abusing Kane at ringside was a nice touch. The pacing was still a bit slower then I would have liked at this point. The Attitude Adjustment from the top of the ambulance was cool to see, but felt anti-climatic as well. *3/4

Random Thoughts

I smell "Super Cena" booking.

Kane breaking out the wheelchair had me hearing the "Jackass" theme song in my head. With good reason as it turned out.

Cena winning was about as obvious as rain as wet. But that couldn't be helped.

Production Values

The pyro was the usual fair for a WWE pay-per-view. I didn't really care for the John Cena segment much. Truth be told, I'd rather they save those packages for TV. The announcers didn't really feel out of place, but it could be due to the fact I've spent months learning to tuning out Michael Cole.

The Santino segments were a nice bit of continuity and not without comedic merit. Natalya continueing to pass gas is without merit. The booking was as little weird because, more or less, both the World Titles were less important then Cena's match.

Overall Grade: B-

The booking for this was all wrong. One of the Chamber matches should have been the main event as both were superior in quality and scope then the main event match. Cena couldn't take a loss on this pay-per-view and be credible for the WrestleMania 28. I get that Cena is going to main event the big one in Miami, but the ending otherwise fell flat.

As far as the overall matches, both Elimination Chamber matches were fine by themselves. Had Big Show and Khali both not been in the SmackDown match, it could have surpassed Raw's. That said, both were very good pieces of work.

The Divas Title match was a bit longer then I was expecting and the Ambulance Match was alright by itself. The Swagger vs. Gabriel match didn't belong on the pay-per-view. Laurinaitis' annoucement was a let down as well and would have been better served on Raw a plothook for SmackDown.