Based solely on the Elimination Chamber main event announced (featuring Chris Benoit, Edge, Randy Orton, Batista, Chris Jericho & Triple H fighting for the World Championship)...
WILL YOU BUY THE SHOW.
I don't care about the other announced matches. Face it, odds are the undercard will be kinda spotty. It seems that the WWE is putting all their eggs in one basket with this main event. It's their desperate grope to get us to buy the show.
DID IT WORK??
I'm leaning towards it. I've never seen the Elimination Chamber before, and the match does have Benoit & Jericho to bring the workrate, Big Dave has been great, and the fact that there's SIX GUYS in there can hide the working flaws of the competitors.
"Illusions, Michael. A trick is something a whore does for money...or candy!" - G.O.B. Bluth, Arrested Development
What will be really interesting is whether they can build up five or six undercard feuds between now and then, given that they have their top six guys in one match and only two live Raws with which to build the event. We probably get Shelton vs. Maven and Regal/Eugene vs. Christian/Tomko in title matches, but beyond that, who knows. Will Kane or Michaels be back by then? This show could either be a real breath of fresh air or a total gong show.
To answer your question, I will buy it, out of habit if nothing else.
On one hand, the previous two EC matches headlined co-brand cards, so the Smackdown headliners were there to fill the void.
On the other hand, storyline-wise this upcoming EC match is already the most well-promoted. SSlam 03 was a last minute addition due to Hunter's injury and included at least one guy who did not belong there. SurSer 02 may have sold on the novelty alone, but was in the middle of a horrible period, creatively, for RAW.
This time around, you have a very nice storyline that connects all six guys (and not just linearly). The storyline will sell this match. To answer your question, if I still had roommates to split the cost, I would buy it (without knowing the rest of the card).
In principle, I would. I've bitten the bullet for the Elimination Chamber twice before - and like Mr. Shh says, this one has been built up and promoted better than either of the previous two incarnations. (And unlike last time, it won't have Goldberg or Kevin Nash in it.)
That said, the bastards had to schedule it two weeks before one of the only three Absolute Must Buy PPVs each calender year - no matter what's going on, I always pick up Wrestlemania, Summerslam and the Royal Rumble. And there's no way my cheap ass is buying *two* shows in the same month, especially during the post-Christmas no-money-left month.
"If two groups are locked in argument, one maintaining that 2+2=4, and the other claiming that 2+2=6, sure enough, someone will walk in and settle on 2+2=5, denouncing both groups as extremists." -----Dr. Madsen Pirie
I got rid of my digital cable, so I'll have to call or go to Comcast to get the box, so I don't know if I want to put that much effort into a PPV HHH walks away with the belt again. So, probably not, but like olFuzzyBastard, the Rumble is a must see event. I'm going to my friends for the Rumble and Mania, so there really is no point in my waisting money to do this. I saw the first elemination chamber live and I really wasn't impressed then even if it did almost kill HHH. It could be the match itself was lackluster, but to me I just don't see the big deal about the Elemination Chamber, if it was War Games or Six Man Hell in a Cell, then yeah, I'm there with money in hand.
"All faith reguires is giving into the possibility of hope."
If I had the ability to buy it, I would... but I cannot stand their live internet feed, and I don't have digital cable. If a bar was showing it here, I'd go see it, but none are.
Alas, that's life.
"It takes lots of drunk daddies missing a lot of dance recitals before you decide to blow a goat on the internet for $50, and if that disappears, where does that leave me on a Friday night with my new high speed connection?" -Lazyboy, Underwear Goes Inside the Pants
I probably won't buy it due to the Rumble being in the same month, and two ppv's on one cable bill is more than enough for me. An Elimination Chamber match doesn't really sell an entire show for me.
Actually, I'd buy the ppv just to see what a WWE event in Puerto Rico is like. They have some of the hottest crowds anywhere in PR.
No. It's basically a 1 match card, which isn't worth my $35 (not that I buy any of the PPV's to begin with, but if I did, I wouldn't for this particular PPV). If the show somehow turns out to be good, I'll pick up the DVD for 1/2 the price of the PPV.
I've only seriously considered buying a PPV solely for 1 match once, and that was WMXX provided there was a Benoit/Lesnar match. Obviously that didn't happen, so I skipped the PPV in favor of picking up the DVD.
I buy all the shows anyways, but if I didn't, I feel the elimination chamber would probably sway me. The WWE's done a great job of limiting it's use, thus not burning the fans out on the match and keeping it's special feeling. If they continue to use this thing about once a year, then I feel it could be a great tool to utilize to get fans interested in plucking down 35 bucks for a show.
The answer to WWE's financial problems...
Never 'Wiener of the Day', and is actually quite bitter about it.
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When We Were Marks Montreal Hits and Myths I never understood why WWE worked so hard to not hire wrestling announcers and now I do. WWE announcers are storytellers and professional announcers need to be taught storytelling.