Oakland, Calif. – At WWE Elimination Chamber, WorldHeavyweight Champion Edge outlasted Big Show,Rey Mysterio, Kane, Wade Barrett and Drew McIntyre to emerge victorious from the mind-altering abyss that is the Elimination Chamber Match for the second time in his career. It was the first time in more than five years that the sitting champion had retained his title in such a match. Afterward, when Alberto Del Rio laid siege on the 11-time World Champion, it was Christian who carried out a surprise rescue.

Edge and Rey Mysterio began their barbaric match of mayhem, knowing that their four additional foes were waiting to be released into the insanity one-at-a-time from their respective pods, every five minutes in random order. The only way for any of the SmackDown elite to win the World Title was for all of his opponents to be eliminated by pinfall or submission.

As The Rated-R Superstar battled The Ultimate Underdog amidst the twisted steel, Wade Barrett entered No. 3. All three Superstars survived long enough to see the monstrous Kane entered No. 4. As the treacherous carnage continued, Drew McIntyre emerged No. 5. Big Show was the last to enter, sending Superstars flying in every direction.

The World’s Largest Athlete eliminated Barrett first, blasting him with the knockout punch. Kane then went down second after Mysterio hit him with the 619, Edge hit the Spear and Kane finished him off with the chokeslam. McIntyre was defeated moments later with a second chokeslam by The Devil’s Favorite Demon. Then, as Mysterio was upside-down – hanging from Kane with amazing athleticism – Edge Speared both of them, leading to The Ultimate Opportunist to The Big Red Monster.

After an extremely intense final showdown between the same two Superstars that started the match, Edge finally reigned supreme, hitting the Spear on Mysterio in mid-air.

Moments after Edge defended his title in epic fashion, his WrestleMania opponent, Alberto Del Rio, attacked the war-torn champion. But, his onslaught fell short when an irate Christian – making his return from an injury he suffered at the hands of Del Rio last September – charged to the ring to save his former tag team partner, bringing the ecstatic WWE Universe to its feet.

The groundwork of the sadistic showdown was set on the Feb. 4 edition of SmackDown. While Edge automatically was granted access as the reigning WorldHeavyweight Champion, Mysterio, McIntyre and Barrett all captured their place in a series of Elimination Chamber Qualifying Matches. Although then-“acting” SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero also inserted her boyfriend, Dolph Ziggler, into the fray, the true GM Theodore Long returned to fire the bleach-blond Superstar on Feb. 18. Teddy made the earth-shattering announcement that Big Show would replace him just moments before Sunday’s match began.

Edge’s triumph in the Elimination Chamber solidified his main event match with No. 1 contender Del Rio on The Grandest Stage of Them All. After the assault by his No. 1 contender, The Master Manipulator will definitely be looking to Spear apart his aristocratic adversary’s moment of “destiny” in the weeks to come. 

OAKLAND, Calif. – Representing The Corre, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater won the WWE Tag Team Championship for the second time at WWE EliminationChamber by defeating Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov with an assist from fellow Corre member Ezekiel Jackson.

Santino and Kozlov have been known to bring a bit of comic relief to the ring along with their championship abilities. However, with the massive Ezekiel Jacksonescorting his fellow Corre-mates to the ring, the comedic-duo knew they had to put their game faces on and prove why they are champions. But they were also forced to keep their focus on the match as well as the other members of The Corre.

Gabriel and Slater have been through quite a bit since losing the titles to Santino and Kozlov last year. In fact, Gabriel and Slater’s first title reign was scrutinized because of the fashion in which they won the championship. At the time, then-Nexus leader Wade Barrett forced David Otunga to lie down for Gabriel and Slater in order to strip then-Nexus member John Cenaof the title, which hurt the credibility of the new champions.

However, following Wade Barrett to SmackDown to form The Corre reinvigorated the duo and it did not take long for the tandem to zero in on reclaiming what they believed belonged to them. Just two weeks after joining the blue brand, The Corre’s resident tag team declared their intentions by quickly defeating Santino and Kozlov in a non-title match that highlighted the chemistry between the WWE NXT season one alums.

The tag team rivals met again on the final SmackDown heading into WWE Elimination Chamber, however, interference from Wade Barrett resulted in an inadvertent disqualification for The Corre. This resulted in a rematch being scheduled for the pay-per-view, as announced via WWE.com.

Inside The Oracle Arena, both teams displayed excellent chemistry and proved why either could reign supreme at the top of WWE’s tag team division. The match displayed the competitiveness of each Superstar as individuals and as a team. However, the unity and collective attitude of The Corre is what ultimately led to Santino and Kozlov’s demise. Slater tagged himself into the match unbeknownest to Kozlov, while Jackson pulled Gabriel from the ring. Arguing with the official, Kozlov was hit from behind by Slater who set up The Moscow Mauler for a 450 splash from Gabriel, allowing The Corre to capture the coveted WWE Tag Team Championships.

The victory solidified The Corre’s unity and also put the Superstars of both Raw and SmackDown on notice.

OAKLAND, Calif. – The arrogant Alberto Del Rio believes that it is his destiny to win the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXVII. Tonight, the Mexican aristocrat took another step toward making this vision a reality by defeating Intercontinental ChampionKofi Kingston in the opening bout of WWE Elimination Chamber. (PHOTOS)

Although Kingston’s title was not on the line in this contest, Del Rio’s victory is proof that the privileged Superstar has what it takes to defeat a skilled champion on a major stage. It was a huge win for the 2011 Royal Rumble winner, but his triumph was nothing if not tainted.

From the opening bell, the underhanded competitor shamelessly avoided Kingston’s blistering offense, slipping out of the ring and running behind his personal ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez at every turn. Only when the official was distracted would Del Rio strike with his typical illegal maneuvers, including grabbing handfuls of hair and slamming Kofi into the ring post. But in the end, the confident competitor stopped the Intercontinental Champion with his dangerous cross armbreaker and showed the WWE Universe that he belongs in the main event at WrestleMania.

Tonight’s loss was a disappointing one for Kingston. In the weeks leading up to this bout, the Intercontinental Champion had been antagonized by Del Rio time and again. The last straw came on Friday night when the Mexican aristocrat’s distraction caused Kingston to lose to The Miz. The explosive Superstar was primed to put Del Rio in his place tonight and came close on multiple occasions, but his opponent’s underhanded tactics were simply too much for him to overcome.

This anything-to-win mentality that Del Rio has displayed since his WWE debut in August of 2010 has made him a very dangerous — and successful — contender. But will it be enough for him to capture the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXVII on Sunday, April 3? Win or lose, it will definitely be a match to remember — but you already knew that.

OAKLAND, Calif. – Despite an incredible offense honed by decades of in-ring competition, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler was unable to unseat reigning WWE Champion The Miz at WWE Elimination Chamber, much to the chagrin of a raucous crowd at Oakland’s Oracle Arena.

Emotionally reeling just one week following the passing of his mother, Lawler was intent on silencing The Awesome One in this anticipated WWE Title collision. But ultimately, The King’s dreams of decimating The Miz and taking the WWE Championship to WrestleManiaXXVII were shattered with a Skull-Crushing Finale. Backing up his boasts, The Miz will indeed defend his title on The Grandest Stage of Them All when he strides into Atlanta’s Georgia Dome on April 3.

However, The Miz’s latest title defense against Lawler was hardly the cakewalk he expected it to be, with the veteran putting the cocky young champion through his paces in a hard-fought bout. The battle became all the more difficult for the WWE Champion after his intervening apprentice, Alex Riley, was ejected from the arena by the referee. With Riley out of the picture, The Miz was forced to hold his own against Lawler, who at one point sent The Awesome One careening into his Miz-supporting Raw broadcast partner Michael Cole at ringside.

Lawler seemed primed for a victory as he signaled for a piledriver on The Miz, but the WWE Champion managed to narrowly escape the maneuver. Seizing control of the match, The Awesome One administered a devastating Skull-Crushing Finale on The King before scoring a pinfall.

Attaining more than 140 championships throughout his illustrious grappling career, The King has never captured the WWE Title – a fact that The Miz has taken great pleasure in pointing out at every opportunity. But The Cleveland Screamer nevertheless found himself in a rare state of speechlessness during his first title defense last November, when he nearly lost the WWE Championship to the Memphis, Tenn.-born monarch in a high-risk Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match. If not for Cole’s interference on The Miz’s behalf, The King’s very first WWE Title opportunity – on his birthday of all days – would have been a victorious one. Alas, the WWE Title remained in the possession of the most “must-see” WWE Champion in history.

In the weeks that followed, Lawler and The Miz continued to clash both verbally and physically, colliding in a series of non-title bouts that proved The King remained a viable contender to the WWE Championship. After earning impressive victories over The Awesome One, Lawler went on to defeat six of Raw’s top Superstars in an explosive Raw Rumble Match to earn the opportunity to battle The Miz at WWE Elimination Chamber. The King’s momentous first WWE Championship was finally in sight – as was his first WrestleMania moment. Unfortunately for Lawler, The Miz found a way to cling his title yet again.

Although the dust has settled following The Miz and Lawler’s latest encounter, their animosity toward one another remains as palpable as ever. Keep up with all of the action on Raw, Mondays at 9/8 CT, as the WWE Universe continues down the Road to WrestleMania.

OAKLAND, Calif. – Vickie Guerrero came before the WWE Universe at WWE Elimination Chamber, hoping to help her boyfriend, Dolph Ziggler, get his job back. But Guerrero’s apology and explanation about why Ziggler attacked SmackDown General Manager Theodore Longfell on deaf ears, and even prompted the re-hire of Kelly Kelly!

Guerrero explained that when Ziggler attacked Long several weeks ago on SmackDown, he and his cougar of a girlfriend were experiencing tumultuous times in their relationship, causing him to lash out.

“All he was doing was showing me how much he loves me but instead he committed a crime of passion,” Guerrero said in desperation, demanding some compassion and love from the WWE Universe.

Despite her desperate begging, pleading and kissing up, Long refused to listen to Guerrero’s request to rehire him after firing him on the latest SmackDown.

“Vickie, lucky for you, I am in a hiring mood,” Long revealed.

But it wasn’t Ziggler who’d be returning at WWE Elimination Chamber. Suddenly, Kelly Kelly appeared at the Oracle Center, and made a bee-line for the ring, attacking Guerrero.

It’s wasn’t before long that Kelly Kelly’s retribution-seeking return erupted into mayhem, as Michelle McCool and Layla ran to the ring to attack the blonde bombshell. It was two against one in Lay-Cool’s favor until Trish Stratus emerged! The soon-to-be WWE Tough Enough trainer came to Kelly Kelly’s aid, but Lay-Cool fought back against the seven-time Women’s Champion. However, it was Trish who prevailed, hitting both Michelle and Layla simultaneously with Strausfaction.

With Kelly Kelly’s return, and Ziggler’s continued unemployment, what’s next for the SmackDown roster? Tune in to Friday Night SmackDown at 8/7 CT only on Syfy.

OAKLAND, Calif. – Trish Stratus, one the most beloved Divas of all time, will return to WWE as one of the trainers on WWE Tough Enough. The seven-time Women’s Champion will join SmackDown commentator Booker T and WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin when the non-scripted show debuts April 4 – the night after WrestleMania XXVII – on USA Network at 11/10 CT. (PHOTOS)

The WWE Universe in the Oracle Arena gave Trish a warm welcome during WWE Elimination Chamber. The Diva alum said she’s excited to be a trainer on WWE Tough Enough, and to help look for WWE’s next WWE Superstar or Diva.