Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

WWE Elimination Chamber 2011 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 29, 2015

They say that the Elimination chamber -- a hellish construct made of 16 tons of steel and two miles of chain, measuring 36 feet wide and 16 feet high, and housing the traditional wrestling ring around which is a hard steel floor and several corner-set pods from which wrestlers randomly emerge on a timer -- is the most brutal and unforgiving landscape in which a sports entertainer must perform. But with great danger comes great personal satisfaction and enduring respect from peers and the broader WWE universe with a win, and with a loss comes a lengthy recovery time in which the losers lick their wounds and pray they never see action in it again. Born on February 21, 2010 and replacing "No Way Out" on the WWE Pay-Per-View schedule, the fan-favorite gimmick was a staple of the early year schedule until 2015 when it was called upon as the nearly impromptu setting in which the vacant Intercontinental title would be awarded. 2011's Elimination Chamber, following up on the debut event, packed in matches with various titles on the line, with the SmackDown brand vying for the World Heavyweight Championship and the RAW brand battling for the WWE Championship.

The king enters the ring.

2011's Elimination Chamber, from Oracle Arena in Oakland, California and in front of a loud and involved but intimate crowd of 11,500 fans, began with a "dark match" between Daniel Bryan and Ted DiBiase with the United States Championship on the line; unfortunately, it's nowhere to be found on this Blu-ray. The broadcast portion of the event kicks off with showman Alberto Del Rio, already booked for WrestleMania XXVII, arriving in trademark fashion for a match against the flamboyant Intercontinental champion, Kofi Kingston. Next is one of two Chamber matches, this first one dominated by the storyline surrounding Edge's sudden loss of the World Heavyweight Championship in a spat with Vicky Guerrero. A tag team title match featuring the usual tag shenanigans follows. In the evening's penultimate match, former superstar and now-commentator Jerry Lawler wrestles The Miz (and the audience must endure Michael Cole's incessant Lawler-bashing) for the WWE Championship. Last, but hardly least, is a star-studded Elimination Chamber match, the winner of which would be booked to wrestle The Miz at WrestleMania XXVII. Booker T, Josh Matthews, and Michael Cole have the call.

Even considering the pre-determined nature of it all -- the wrestlers are putting on a show, not deciding the results in the ring -- there's no denying the true inherent danger to wrestling inside the Chamber, even with all of the unseen pre-match practice that goes on inside of it, the intimate knowledge the wrestlers possess of its most alarming dangers, the "real risks and unimaginable pain," to quote WWE CYA legal-speak, that the wrestlers take and endure, respectively, when they battle inside the Chamber, even in light of all the precautions taken to ensure maximum safety while providing maximum entertainment value and maximum believability that it's just as brutal, if not more so, as advertised. The chamber matches are, of course, the entertainment highlight of the night considering the fracases the arena promotes. Add in the "randomness" of selection, the inability to truly escape from its clutches, and the sheer star power on display in both matches, and it's easy to see why many fans find the chamber one of the most purely entertaining settings for a WWE match. Match of the night, however, has to go to the Lawler-Miz match, if for no other reason than the sentimentality of it, seeing the aging fan favorite Lawler lay it all on the line at a time of great personal upheaval for a chance to shine in the spotlight he so rightly deserves.

The following matches comprise 2011's Elimination Chamber card:

• Singles Match: Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio.
• Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Edge vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Big Show vs. Kane vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Wade Barrett.
• WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov vs. Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater.
• WWE Championship Match: The Miz vs. Jerry "The King" Lawler.
• Elimination Chamber Match to Determine the #1 Contender at WrestleMania XXVII: John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. John Morrison vs. R-Truth vs. CM Punk vs. King Sheamus.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2011 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Elimination Chamber 2011's 1080i, 1.78:1-framed transfer shares the same basic qualities found on most early WWE Home Video Blu-ray releases. The image suffers from some serious macroblocking. Backgrounds are littered with the artifact but usually not to the detriment of the overall image. It's the darker corners that suffer most. Up-front, in-ring shots are borderline gorgeous. Details are sharp and revealing, with wrestler skin textures, tattoos, and sweat all appearing to a nearly tactile level. Basic image sharpness is consistent, and the high definition muscle allows for even distant shots of handmade signs and audience faces to appear easily read and identifiable, respectively. Colors are bold and effortlessly so. Handmade and digital signs around the arena, wrestler attire, and accents around the ring and the arena present easily and accurately. Black levels show some crush back into the shadowy distance but skin tones offer no perceptible trouble.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2011 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Elimination Chamber 2011 features an active and entertaining Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Music is aggressive and energetic, spilling through every channel at its disposal and doing so with good basic clarity and hard-edge muscle. Both overlaid program music and in-arena wrestler intro tunes are deep and satisfying, with the latter particularly potent and enveloping. Crowd noise is likewise dominant throughout and effortlessly immersive, but never at the expense of the clearly delivered ringside play-by-play and color commentary. Crashes and slams and other action effects tend to sound a little over-amplified but make for a nice celebration of wrestling excess. A few backstage interviews tend towards sounding a little more shallow than is ideal, but otherwise basic dialogue outside of the ringside commentary is fine.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2011 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Elimination Chamber 2011 includes highlights from the Monday Night RAW preceding the event as well a clip from the RAW to come after. All extras are presented in 1080i high definition. A DVD copy of the event is included inside the Blu-ray case.

• RAW Moment: "There Must Be a Winner." John Cena vs. CM Punk. RAW -- February 14, 2011.
• RAW Match: Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz. RAW -- February 14, 2011.
• RAW Match: John Morrison & R-Truth vs. David Otunga & Michael McGillicutty. RAW -- February 14, 2011.
• RAW Match: Randy Orton vs. Sheamus. RAW -- February 14, 2011.
• RAW Moment: WrestleMania XXVII Guest Host Revealed. RAW -- February 14, 2011.
• RAW Moment: John Cena has some words for The Rock. RAW -- February 21, 2011.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2011 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Though its results and the consequences thereof are far removed from the current WWE landscape, Elimination Chamber 2011 remains an infinitely watchable trip down recent memory lane. The star power on display is impressive, the action is tight and hard-hitting, and the pure entertainment value remains high. While not the first PPV that comes to mind as a "classic," it's a solid example of what the Chamber has to offer and the event presents a nice cross-section of the company's top talent from 2011. WWE Home Video's Blu-ray release of Elimination Chamber 2011 features fair video and audio. A few bonuses are included. Recommended.