Is The Elimination Chamber Still A Necessary PPV?

Each year the Royal Rumble marks the official start to the “Road to WrestleMania”. It’s usually around the time of year that storylines and feuds manifest that conclude on WWE’s biggest night of the year. Is it still necessary for them to stage a PPV event in between?

Although the WWE is not known for its long term booking routines (recently), the company usually plans its top WrestleMania matches months in advance. This in turns makes the Elimination Chamber PPV appear to be a throwaway event since most fans will already know who will win and lose.

For this year’s Elimination Chamber PPV, the main event is The Rock vs. CM Punk in a Royal Rumble rematch for the WWE Title. The person that awaits them is John Cena, who just won the actual Royal Rumble match itself this year.

Fans can already predict that Rock will beat Punk and retain his title. It’s highly unlikely we’ll see Punk vs Cena at WrestleMania 29 because these two have faced six times or more in the span of just 18 months. Will fans want to order a PPV event that has a very predictable outcome?

The other thing that is odd about this PPV is the Elimination Chamber itself. The contraption is six tons of steel and also features bulletproof glass. It’s a hazardous match that is a recipe for multiple injuries to occur. Surprisingly, nobody has been severely injured thus far.

Still, why would WWE stage a match like this just six weeks before WrestleMania each year? One of these days, a top wrestler is sure to get injured and will miss the biggest PPV of the year.