You kind of had to expect that they weren't going to come out guns blazing tonight. Elimination Chamber (sigh) isn't really so much as a draw-PPV (although like I said earlier today, it has the potential to be must-buy) as much as it's sort of the climax in the build to WrestleMania, the spot where the feuds really come together and sort of congeal for lack of a better word.
Still, I hoped that they wouldn't be so predictable running out of the gate. The Edge promo was great, although I don't think everyone buys him as a face yet, and his confrontation with Sheamus was good. I don't know if this is a smokescreen or whether they're trying to swerve the Internet again by teasing one obvious matchup and going with another one, but whatever.
As for the other builds, well... err... It seemed like the only matches for the Elimination Chamber qualifying that were in question were Big Show/Kofi and Orton/HBK. It's one thing to complain that Triple H shouldn't be running roughshod over a guy like Jack Swagger, but what do you expect? Trips is Trips and Swagger has been an afterthought at best since his feud with Miz over Eve Torres was inexplicably dropped. My problem is with booking a match with such a foregone conclusion. At least Trips has put over the guys in Legacy in some form.
And it wasn't like the wrestling was all that great either. Rhodes/Cena was okay, but I felt like it ended too abruptly. Orton/HBK had a GREAT finish with Orton getting the rollup right out of the kip-up, but it was preceded by a match that was so dull. Swagger and Trips probably had the best match of the night, but even there it felt like Trips was going through the motions. DiBiase and Henry was okay I suppose, but nothing really special.
THen there's the awful case of Big Show vs. Kofi. I don't know who's dropped the ball on Kofi more since Survivor Series, the bookers or himself. He's had an awful string of performances in the new year so far, botching moves and flubbing lines... where's the Kofi that destroyed Orton's stockcar and sounded like a charismatic badass doing it? Where's the Kofi that hopped up onto the top rope a million times before but botched it horribly tonight? The writers are doing him no favors, mind you, and the way they followed his AMAZING Survivor Series performance going into TLC was atrocious, but aside from his Rumble eliminations and spots, he's done himself no favors. They also tried to be too cute with the finish. I get it, it's a creative finish, but it's a finish that you do with a babyface, not a heel like Big Show. Accidental ref bumps causing DQs are supposed to be for sneaky heels to capitalize on. I really don't care if Big Show did it by accident, because as a fan, I'm conditioned to hate him (speaking from the generic wrestling fan POV here for a second, bear with me). So now, Kofi gets into the EC looking like a bumbling idiot, partially his fault, partially theirs. Ugh.
What saved the show was the confrontation between Bret Hart and Vince McMahon at the end. The promo back-and-forth was fantastic, and it really got the live crowd stoked for the Hitman for the first time since they teased him coming back. I can't believe Vince believes everything he said, but in the back of my mind, I think part of Bret was shooting on Vince there. And the ending was perfect. Bret got some of his vindication, but not all of it, and we're finally introducing the elements that will make a potential Hitman/VKM match at WM work. Batista as McMahon's enforcer is gold. Now, the only question is, will it be Cena or will it be Rey Mysterio as Bret's second?
Thinking about it though, it's kinda sad that the only real feud that got jump-started outside of the potential Edge/Sheamus one (which again could be a smokescreen) was one between a 50-something stroke survivor and a 60-something guy with bad legs. Very TNA-esque. Still, I don't think we're going to see things kick into gear until EC. At least that's what I keep telling myself.
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