The 2014 Elimination Chamber (known as No Escape in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

) was the fifth

Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program g ...

(PPV)

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of ev ...

produced by

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...

. The event took place on February 23, 2014, at the

Target Center Target Center is a multi-purpose arena located in Minneapolis that opened in 1990. It hosts major family shows, concerts, sporting events, graduations and private events. Target Corporation, founded and headquartered in Minneapolis since 1902, ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

. It was WWE's final PPV to air before the launch of their online streaming service, the

WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American entertainment company WWE. It primarily distributes original professional wrestling events, films, television an ...

, on February 24; following its launch, these events became available on both PPV and the WWE Network. Eight matches, including one on the Kickoff pre-show, took place at the event. In the main event,

Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and actor who is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand but is currently out of action due to a back injury. He is widely regarded as one of the grea ...

retained the

WWE World Heavyweight Championship The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDown's ...

in an

match, defeating

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied ...

, Daniel Bryan,

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

, Cesaro, and

Sheamus Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sheamus. Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on the European in ...

. The event had 183,000 buys, down from previous year's 213,000 buys.

Production

Background

is a

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...

, produced every February by

since 2010. The concept of the show is that one or two main event matches are contested inside the

, either with championships or future opportunities at championships at stake. The 2014 event was the fifth event under the Elimination Chamber chronology and was scheduled to be held on February 23, 2014, at the

. In 2011 and since 2013, the show has been promoted as "No Escape" in

as it was feared that the name "Elimination Chamber" may remind people of the

gas chamber A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or other animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide. Histor ...

s used during the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

Storylines

The card consisted of eight matches, including one on the Kickoff pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

villains A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character ...

, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by WWE's writers. Storylines between the characters played out on WWE's primary television programs, '' Raw'' and ''

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes si ...

''. The main event was the

match, where

defended the

against five wrestlers after retaining it at the

Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle r ...

from

. The night after the Rumble on ''Raw'', Daniel Bryan confronted The Authority for keeping him out of the Rumble match.

Stephanie McMahon Stephanie McMahon Levesque (born Stephanie Marie McMahon; ; September 24, 1976) is an American businesswoman and retired professional wrestler. She is the current chairwoman and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the world's largest prof ...

claimed they didn't want to overwork him with two matches in a night, but Bryan concluded they disliked him due to his popularity. He demanded

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as ...

put him in the Elimination Chamber title match. Triple H sent in

The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt pol ...

to attack Bryan, but Cena and

saved him. This set up an Elimination Chamber qualifying match between those three and The Shield. During the match,

The Wyatt Family The Wyatt Family was an American professional wrestling stable in WWE originally composed of Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan, and Luke Harper. The Wyatt Family debuted in WWE's then developmental branch NXT in November 2012, with Harper and Rowan ...

attacked Cena, giving his team a disqualification win, meaning Cena, Sheamus, and Bryan all qualified for the Chamber match. On the January 31 ''SmackDown'', Cesaro defeated

Dolph Ziggler Nicholas Theodore Nemeth (born July 27, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and stand-up comedian. He is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Dolph Ziggler, where he performs on the Raw brand. After a prolific career in amateu ...

to qualify, and his partner

Jack Swagger Donald Jacob Hager Jr. (born March 24, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Jake Hager, where he is a member of the Jericho Appreciation Society s ...

lost his qualifier to a returning

. On the February 3 edition of ''Raw'', Stephanie McMahon would mandate Randy Orton to compete in a ''Elimination Chamber Gauntlet'' where he must face each of his Chamber opponents in single matches. He was defeated by Daniel Bryan that same night, but secured a win by defeating Christian on the February 7 edition of ''SmackDown''. He then was defeated by Cena on the February 10 edition of ''Raw'' and by Cesaro on the February 14 episode of ''SmackDown''. His last opponent, Sheamus won by disqualification, as The Shield and The Wyatt Family got involved on the February 17 episode of ''Raw''. On the January 31 episode of ''SmackDown'', The Shield refused Triple H's request for the group to drop the matter of The Wyatt Family disqualifying them from the Chamber match, so a six-man tag team match between the factions was set up for the pay-per-view. After

Batista Batista is a Spanish or Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player * Dave Bautista, American actor and professional wrestler, also known as Batista * Edina Alves Batis ...

's WWE return was announced in December,

Alberto Del Rio José Alberto Rodríguez Chucuan (born 25 May 1977) is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter, sports commentator, and mixed martial artist, currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as a c ...

began saying fans should talk about him instead and vowed to eliminate Batista from the Royal Rumble match. On the January 20 episode of ''Raw'', following a victory over

Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pro ...

, Del Rio was attacked by Batista and hit with his finishing move the Batista Bomb. Del Rio entered the Rumble at number 27 and lasted just under three minutes before Batista, who was the next entrant, eliminated him. On the February 3 episode of ''Raw'', Batista was interrupted and briefly assaulted by Del Rio, however the latter quickly escaped the ring. On the next ''Raw'', after Del Rio defeated

, Batista came out and delivered a Batista Bomb to Del Rio through the announce table. Triple H then announced the two would wrestle at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. On the February 13 episode of ''SmackDown'', Jack Swagger defeated

Mark Henry Mark Jerrold Henry (born June 12, 1971) is an American former powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator/analyst, coach, and talent scout. He is b ...

, and

Kofi Kingston Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah (born August 14, 1981) is a Ghanaian-born American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Kofi Kingston. He appeared on WWE's NXT brand as one- ...

in a Fatal Four-Way match to become the number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship, and would wrestle champion

Big E Big E may refer to: * Capital letter "E" People * Big E (wrestler) (born 1986), American professional wrestler, born Ettore Ewen, formerly known as "Big E Langston" * Elvin Hayes (born 1945; nicknamed "Big E"), American basketball player and r ...

for the title at the pay-per-view. On WWE.com, it was announced

The Usos The Usos (born August 22, 1985) are an American professional wrestling tag team composed of twin brothers Joshua Samuel Fatu and Jonathan Solofa Fatu, who are known professionally by their respective ring names Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. They ar ...

(Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) would face

WWE Tag Team Champions WWE (formerly the WWF, the WWWF, and Capitol Wrestling) has maintained at least one primary tag team championship for its male performers since 1958 (except for a two year interim between 1967 and 1969). During periods of brand division, separate ...

The New Age Outlaws The New Age Outlaws were an American professional wrestling tag team in World Wrestling Federation (WWF) made up of "Road Dogg" Jesse James and "Badd Ass" Billy Gunn. The duo became popular in the late 1990s as members of the second incarnation ...

(

Road Dogg Brian Girard James (born May 20, 1969) is an American professional wrestler currently signed with the WWE where he serves as the Senior Vice President of Live Events. James was best known for his initial tenure with World Wrestling Federation ( ...

and

Billy Gunn Monty Kip Sopp (born November 1, 1963), better known by his ring name Billy Gunn, although he is currently finding renewed popularity under the ring name Daddy Ass, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite W ...

) for the titles at the pay-per-view. This was made when The Usos asked the Outlaws to fight for the championship for the following weeks. Then, they accepted the challenge. Former

Prime Time Players The Prime Time Players were an American professional wrestling tag team performing in the WWE, composed of Darren Young and Titus O'Neil. The two initially competed on '' WWE NXT'', debuting as a team in January 2012 and were later promoted t ...

tag team members

Titus O'Neil Thaddeus Michael Bullard Sr. (born April 29, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and former arena football player. He is the Global Ambassador of WWE and also performs for the promotion as a wrestler under the ring name Titus O'Neil. De ...

and

Darren Young Frederick Douglas Rosser III (born November 2, 1983) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the current Strong Openweight Champion in his first reign. He is best known for his ...

would wrestle at the pay-per-view. The feud began on the January 31 episode of ''SmackDown'' when O'Neil attacked Young after a tag team loss by the Prime Time Players, with O'Neil claiming that Young was "dead weight" and "holding him back". The ''Elimination Chamber Kickoff Show'' saw

Cody Rhodes and Goldust Cody and Dustin Rhodes (also known as Cody Rhodes and Goldust, The Brotherhood, The Rhodes Brothers, and Gold and Stardust) were an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Cody Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes. They are also known for th ...

squaring off against RybAxel (

Ryback Ryback Allen Reeves (né Ryan; born November 10, 1981) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE where he performed under the ring name Ryback. One of the eight finalists on WWE's '' Tough Enough 4'', Reeves ...

and

Curtis Axel Joseph Curtis Hennig (born October 1, 1979) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Curtis Axel. Hennig signed with WWE in 2007 and wrestled at their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) and wa ...

Event

Pre-show

During the Elimination Chamber Kickoff pre-show,

faced RybAxel (

and

). Rhodes executed Cross Rhodes on Axel to win the match.

Preliminary matches

The actual pay-per-view opened with

defending the Intercontinental Championship against

. In the end, Swagger applied a Patriot Lock on Big E but Big E performed an Enziguiri on Swagger to break the hold and executed a Big Ending on Swagger to retain the title. Next,

(

and

) defended the

WWE Tag Team Championship WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, an ...

against

(Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso). The ending saw Jimmy perform a Superkick on Road Dogg, causing him to fall off the apron. Gunn pinned Jimmy with a roll-up to retain the title. After that,

faced

. O'Neil executed a Clash of the Titus on Young to win the match. In the fourth match,

( United States Champion

Dean Ambrose Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro-Wres ...

Seth Rollins Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Seth Rollins (often referred to as Seth "Freakin" Rollins). Prior to signin ...

and

Roman Reigns Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoa'i (born May 25, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and former football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Roman Reigns. He is the leader of The ...

) faced

(

Bray Wyatt Windham Lawrence Rotunda (born May 23, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Bray Wyatt. Rotunda is a third-generation professional wrestler, fo ...

Luke Harper Jonathan Huber (December 16, 1979 – December 26, 2020) was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Luke Harper (later simply Harper) from 2012 to 2019, and in All E ...

and

Erick Rowan Joseph Ruud (born November 28, 1981) is an American professional wrestler performing as Erick Redbeard. Having previously wrestled in Japan, where he trained and performed for Pro Wrestling Noah, Ruud signed a contract with WWE in 2011. He was s ...

). During the match, Ambrose fought with Wyatt into the arena stands, taking Ambrose out of the match. Harper and Rowan executed a double Chokeslam through a broadcast table on Rollins. In the climax, Reigns attempted a Spear on Wyatt but Harper stood in the way and received a Spear from Reigns. Wyatt executed Sister Abigail on Reigns to win the match. Next,

AJ Lee April Jeanette Mendez (born March 19, 1987) is an American author and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE under the ring name AJ Lee. She is currently an executive producer and color commentator for WOW – Wo ...

defended the

WWE Divas Championship The WWE Divas Championship was a women's professional wrestling championship in WWE. The championship was created by WWE in 2008, and was introduced as part of the WWE brand extension via a storyline by then SmackDown General Manager Vickie G ...

against

Cameron Cameron may refer to: People * Clan Cameron, a Scottish clan * Cameron (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Cameron (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) ;Mononym * Cam'ron (born 1 ...

. Cameron won by disqualification after

Tamina Snuka Sarona Moana Marie Reiher Snuka-Polamalu (born January 10, 1978) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Tamina. She is a one-time WWE Women's Tag Team Cha ...

attacked her with a Clothesline, meaning AJ retained the title. In the penultimate match,

faced

. The match ended when Del Rio attempted to apply the Cross Armbreaker on Batista but Batista pushed Del Rio into an exposed turnbuckle and executed a Batista Bomb on Del Rio to win the match.

Main event

The main event was the

Elimination Chamber match The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was founded by Chris Jericho , created and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular stee ...

for the

. Cesaro entered at #1 whilst

entered at #2. Daniel Bryan entered at #3,

entered at #4,

entered at #5 and

entered at #6. Orton locked himself in his pod but Sheamus executed a Brogue Kick into the plexi-glass, breaking the Chamber Pod. Sheamus was eliminated by Christian after a Frog Splash off the top of a chamber pod. Christian was eliminated by Bryan after a Running Knee. Cesaro was eliminated by Cena after submitting to the STF.

interfered in the match, attacking Bryan and Cena. After

performed Sister Abigail on Cena, Orton pinned Cena to eliminate him. In the end, Kane, who had assisted with removing The Wyatt Family from the chamber, attacked Bryan and Orton executed an RKO to eliminate Bryan and retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Aftermath

and

faced each other in a rematch with Del Rio prevailing due to

distracting Batista. Orton then mentioned the boisterous negative reaction since Batista's return. Batista responded by saying that the WWE Universe has their own voice. Later on, however, Batista addressed the crowd, telling them he did not return to the company to be liked, only to win the championship. Daniel Bryan confronted

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the ch