A Look Back: New Year's Revolution 2005's Elimination Chamber Match

If there was ever an underrated regular pay-per-view, it was New Year's Revolution. I immensely remember WWE adding that PPV to their collection of events, and while I never read why it was added, I do have my theories. For one, New Year's Revolution made the wait for the Royal Rumble easier, as the gap between the December PPV (Armageddon) and the Rumble was very large--about six weeks! Secondly, Raw's last solo PPV was October's Taboo Tuesday, and their last participation in one was the dual-branded Survivor Series. So Raw needed another solo show on the road to WrestleMania, and that's where New Year's Revolution came in. The event only lasted three years, but the first one, taking place on January 9, 2005, gave us a very epic main event. But first, the backstory.

The Origin: The 2004 Survivor Series saw Triple H, Gene Snitsky, Edge, and Batista against Randy Orton, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and Maven, and while it ended up with Orton alone against Triple H and Edge, Orton would eliminate both to get the victory for his team. Per the stipulation set by Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff, Team Orton would run Raw for four consecutive weeks, and in Maven's go around, he went after Triple H's World Heavyweight Championship, but came up short. Benoit planned to fight for the title inside a steel cage, but he ended up facing and defeating Edge after Triple H was found beaten down (apparently) by Batista.

As it turned out, the Evolution mates staged the fight to help Triple H avoid Benoit, but former member Orton emerged and announced that a company-wide battle royal would take place for the World Heavyweight Championship. Vince McMahon changed it to a #1 Contender's Battle Royal, which came down to Edge and Benoit, who eliminated each other at the same time. As a result, Orton decided that Triple H would defend the title against both men in a Triple Threat Match, which saw Orton eject Batista and Ric Flair from ringside, and later snatch a steel chair from Triple H's hands and level him with it. The two challengers fought it out in the ring, with Benoit placing Edge in the Crippler Crossface, only for Edge to turn it into a pinning combination. Benoit's shoulders were counted down while Edge tapped out, and it led to two referees arguing over which challenger won the World Heavyweight Championship. Despite this, there was one certainty: Triple H lost his title.

The Announcements: When Jericho took his turn, he hosted the Highlight Reel and had Vince McMahon as his guest, looking for answers to the World Title situation. After seeing the video, Vince stated that the three count was made at the same time Edge tapped, meaning that there was a tie between them, and it was at that moment that Triple H emerged and was expected to have the title returned to him. However, once The Game was about to take the title, Vince pulled back, reminding him that he did not name Triple H as the World Champion...and wouldn't do so. Vince announced that he would leave the final decision to Eric Bischoff and officially declare the title vacant, meaning that Triple H was no longer the World Heavyweight Champion.

Vince's announcement infuriated The Game, and on the following week (December 13, 2004), each of the three combatants approached Bischoff regarding the title. Edge wanted to be awarded the title, feeling that he won the Triple Threat Match. Benoit wanted a rematch to determine who the champion truly is, and Triple H demanded, and begged, that the title returned to him. Bischoff promised a grand announcement, and with the three combatants, along with Batista and Flair, in the ring, he delivered. Bischoff announced that the title would remain vacant until the newly added New Year's Revolution event, where the main event would feature Triple H, Benoit, Edge, Jericho, Batista, and Orton--all facing each other for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship...in the Elimination Chamber!

Trivia: The Elimination Chamber was new to me (before 2004, my viewing of wrestling was sporadic), but I did learn that it was the brain child of Eric Bischoff back in 2002. Before the first New Year's Revolution, there were two Elimination Chamber matches; the first taking place at the 2002 Survivor Series, and the second occurring at the 2003 SummerSlam. The rules for the Elimination Chamber were as follows. Four of the six combatants are locked in separate plexiglas pods; the other two are placed in the ring, and the match begins there. Every five minutes, a combatant would be released from their pod until all of them have entered the match. Eliminations occur via pinfall and submission, and the last one left wins.

Usually, the six combatants competed in "Beat the Clock" challenges to determine who would have the luxury of being the last to enter the match--similar to being the #30 entrant. The buildup to New Year's Revolution was no different, as each of the six combatants competed in separate matches, with Batista winning the challenge by defeating his opponent in the fastest time, much to Triple H's slight dismay.

The Referee: Before the event, Eric Bischoff made another announcement: the special guest referee for the Elimination Chamber match would be none other than Shawn Michaels, who participated in both of the previous two Chamber matches, and won the inaugural one in 2002. I recall that Michaels was promoted to be a bit of a wild card, as he had history (mostly bad) with all of the combatants involved, especially Triple H. The main combatant who wasn't happy with Michaels being the referee: none other than Edge.

It was all the way back at Taboo Tuesday that Edge became immensely bitter over not being chosen to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship (at the time, Edge hadn't held a World Title); and even worse, Michaels won most of the fan vote. Edge cost Michaels the title, and he had maintained his belief that Michaels "screwed" him over. With "The Heartbreak Kid" as referee, Edge feared that he would be on the receiving end of biased officiating--so much so that he actually offered his spot in the Chamber match to Christian.

The Match: The event actually took place in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and regarding the main event, Triple H, Edge, Randy Orton, and Batista were all placed in their pods, while the two Chrises--Benoit and Jericho--kicked off the match. The pair fought to a stalemate for the entire interval, but it would be interrupted by the first one to exit his pod: Triple H. The Game wasted no time going after Benoit and Jericho, and after five minutes, Edge entered. Orton would enter and add to the chaos, which would later see Edge's attempt at a Spear result in Michaels being on the receiving end. While Edge would later hit his intended target, he wouldn't get an elimination due to Michaels being out. His attempt to revive Michaels saw him on the receiving end of Sweet Chin Music, after which Edge ended up eliminated by Jericho.

With Triple H in trouble, Batista left his pod and took down Benoit, Jericho, and Orton, before staring down mentor Triple H in a very interesting scene. Whatever would possibly go down between them would have to wait, as Benoit and Jericho would fight against the Evolution co-members. Batista would later eliminate both Chrises--first Benoit, then Jericho--bringing it down to Batista, Orton, and Triple H. However, this was no Evolution reunion, as The Game and The Animal teamed up to beat down Orton, but just as Batista was about to finish off Orton, he would be on the receiving end of a low blow and an RKO, and with Batista gone, it was down to Orton and Triple H, just like at Survivor Series. But this time was different, as both Ric Flair and Batista got involved and took down Orton, allowing Triple H to deliver the Pedigree, get the three-count, and capture the vacant World Heavyweight Championship.

Aftermath: So with that, Triple H won his tenth World Championship overall, and before I continue, I have to make an omission. Prior to the events of November 29, 2004, Orton was forbidden from challenging for the World Title as long as Triple H was champion, due to his loss to Ric Flair on Raw (thanks to Triple H). Orton was in the Chamber match for the title because with the title having no holder, the stipulation was null and void. It remained null and void after the event, as Orton demanded a shot at the title, with Eric Bischoff agreeing that Orton should be back in the title picture. On that evening, January 10, 2005, Orton defeated Batista to become the #1 Contender, only to fall short at the Royal Rumble event.

As for Edge and Shawn Michaels, they ended up facing each other at the Royal Rumble as a result of what went down inside the Chamber, with Edge winning. Both of them later competed in the Royal Rumble Match, which was won by Batista. I loved this match for many reasons; for one, it was the final chapter in the aftermath of Survivor Series 2004, as the Elimination Chamber was the ultimate result of everything that occurred at Survivor Series and beyond, with the conflict between Triple H and Orton actually going back as far as the day after SummerSlam 2004. I also love the Chamber as a whole, so much chaos happens in those matches, and I really loved that the match seemed to really set up angles for that year's WrestleMania.

Click the heart if you like this story; click "subscribe" if you want more stories like this one. Tips and pledges are welcomed and will be appreciated, but only if you want to!