Ryback def. Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth, Mark Henry, Sheamus and King Barrett in an Intercontinental Championship Elimination Chamber Match

 

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — There may not be a cage in existence that can contain the man they call Ryback.

That became readily apparent as Ryback, making his Elimination Chamber Match debut on Sunday, muscled past five opponents to win the battle for the vacant Intercontinental Title at American Bank Arena in Corpus Christi. The Big Guy came up huge in the end by leaving Sheamus Shell Shocked, ensuring a title-clinching win for the insatiable Superstar from Las Vegas.

Intercontinental Championship Elimination Chamber Match photos

Ryback’s victory at Elimination Chamber 2015 ends the uncertainty surrounding the Intercontinental Championship that was created by the title’s previous owner. Nearly three weeks ago on Raw, Daniel Bryan officially vacated the Intercontinental Title as a result of an injury he sustained after his own championship victory at WrestleMania 31. Bryan’s abrupt exit led to an official announcement by The Authority, confirming the next Intercontinental Champion would be determined from a field of six Superstars competing in the vaunted Elimination Chamber Match.

 

Another injury also unsettled matters at Elimination Chamber just hours before the bell rang in the historic bout. Renee Young revealed exclusively on Periscope that Rusev was not cleared to compete due to injury, fueling rampant speculation about the identity of a last-minute replacement. The guesses only grew after Booker T clarified during the Elimination Chamber Kickoff that the substitute was “a former world champion,” but even that hint didn’t stifle the shock experienced by the WWE Universe when they learned that Rusev would be replaced by Mark Henry.

Henry gleefully entered the Elimination Chamber Match first, opening the parade of competitors making their way into a bout that has an innate ability to expose its combatants’ every emotion. While Henry smiled, Sheamus remained steadfast. R-Truth elected a serious demeanor over singing his own entrance theme, while Ryback rattled the cage door and King Barrett used his scepter to clink the chain.

Watch Elimination Chamber 2015 on WWE Network

The 2015 King of the Ring winner opened the contest against the final Superstar to reach the ring, Dolph Ziggler. Barrett applied a slow and deliberate pace against the high energy of The Showoff, who tried to end his longtime rival’s night with a quick pinfall in the match’s first minute. The British brawler, making his third Elimination Chamber Match appearance, used his past experience to take control by using his steel-enclosed environment and Ryback’s glass pod to mercilessly damage Ziggler.

 

Barrett’s knowledge of eccentricities of the Elimination Chamber Match came in handy when R-Truth’s pod was the first to open. Rather than wait for the rapping Superstar to join the contest, Barrett charged inside R-Truth’s pod as soon as it opened and thoroughly attacked the inhabitant of the glass container. With nowhere to run, R-Truth endured a savage attack, and the 2015 King of the Ring remained in control.

Unfortunately for Barrett, his extensive use of the intimidating steel structure would ultimately prove to be his undoing. While standing on the steel grating on the east side of the ring, Barrett whipped R-Truth into Henry’s pod and knocked the glass out of place. The opening was recognized by the referee, who officially acknowledged the moment as Henry’s entry into the match even though it didn’t occur at one of the four-minute intervals where Elimination Chamber Match combatants usually enter the fray.

Henry entered one minute prior to the interval, and Ryback followed him when the buzzer actually sounded. Barrett, now heavily outnumbered, suffered a trio of maneuvers by Ziggler, Ryback and R-Truth that sealed the royal grappler’s fate.

 

Though the four eligible Superstars in the match continued the fight, the last grappler to enter, Sheamus, experienced some trouble with his entry. When the buzzer sounded 12 minutes into the clash, the pod containing Sheamus refused to open, leaving The Celtic Warrior panicked at being trapped in his claustrophobic confines any longer than absolutely necessary. He watched as the battle continued, including the match’s second elimination featuring a combined effort by Ryback and Ziggler that officially ended R-Truth’s night.

The remaining three combatants started to show signs of wear, which allowed Sheamus to capitalize with a shocking revelation. The Celtic Warrior, seeing his competition running on fumes, took a knee and tore his cross out of the pod door, a tactic he used to buy himself some extra time. Fully energized, Sheamus laid into Henry and Ziggler, eliminating them shortly thereafter.

 

Sheamus, in his fourth Elimination Chamber Match appearance, seized the moment, pummeling Ryback and pointing at the Intercontinental Title that he intended to claim in just a few moments. He then borrowed a page out of Barrett’s playbook by using the caged environment against his inexperienced opponent, which included a cruel execution of White Noise and a rolling fireman’s carry slam into the structure’s steel grating. Yet the barbarous assault wasn’t enough, as Ryback found one last opening to make his move.

Ryback regained his footing on the steel grating just in time to respond to the only entrant still standing. The Big Guy hurled Sheamus back into the ring, and then seized his moment by stepping forward and finally, at long last, leaving The Celtic Warrior Shell Shocked. One pinfall later, and the identity of the new Intercontinental Champion was revealed.

 

The former titleholder, Daniel Bryan, entered the ring after the match and eagerly congratulated his successor.

"I think a congratulations is in order for the Ryback," Bryan said. "I think he deserves it."

Ryback, reveling in the realization of winning his first championship of any kind in WWE and his first Elimination Chamber Match, expressed his gratitude for Bryan’s contributions. Then, he proceeded to plea the three words he’s offered to anyone who dares to step into the ring with him: "Feed me more."

With the victory, The Big Guy also joins some elite company in Elimination Chamber Match history. He is now the seventh Superstar to win an Elimination Chamber Match in his first appearance and only the fourth to claim a championship under those conditions. In addition, Ryback now stands alone as the first Superstar to become Intercontinental Champion by winning an Elimination Chamber Match.

ORDER OF ENTRY

1. Dolph Ziggler (eliminated fourth by Sheamus)
2. King Barrett (eliminated first by R-Truth)
3. R-Truth (eliminated second by Ryback)
4. Mark Henry (eliminated third by Sheamus)
5. Ryback (WINNER)
6. Sheamus (eliminated fifth by Ryback)