The 2015 Elimination Chamber (known as No Escape in Germany) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was the sixth annual Elimination Chamber event and took place on May 31, 2015, at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. The event centered on the men's Elimination Chamber match, a type of roofed steel cage that surrounds the ring and ringside area with no disqualifications; the objective is to eliminate all other opponents either by pinfall or submission with championship implications at stake.
Seven matches were contested at the event, including one on the Kickoff pre-show. In the main event, Dean Ambrose defeated WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins by disqualification but did not win the title as titles do not change hands by disqualification unless stipulated. There were two Elimination Chamber matches on the undercard; one saw Ryback defeat Dolph Ziggler, King Barrett, Mark Henry, R-Truth, and Sheamus to win the vacant WWE Intercontinental Championship, while in the other, which was the opening bout, The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods) defeated The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor), The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara), Los Matadores (Diego and Fernando), The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil), and Tyson Kidd and Cesaro to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship. Also on the card, NXT Champion Kevin Owens defeated WWE United States Champion John Cena in a non-title match, which was Owens's main roster debut match.
This was the only Elimination Chamber event to be held in May; previous and future incarnations have taken place in February (except 2020 and 2025, which both took place in March). The event aired exclusively on the WWE Network in the United States, marking the first Elimination Chamber to be broadcast on the service, and it was available on PPV in various territories outside the country. It was also the first event to include a tag team Elimination Chamber match, and it was the first event in WWE history where the Chamber did not play host to a match for a world championship or future world championship match. An Elimination Chamber event was not held in 2016, but it returned in 2017; in turn, it was the last Elimination Chamber event to be held before the reintroduction of the brand extension in July 2016 and the last event to feature the original circular Elimination Chamber structure that was used since 2002 as it became square and slightly smaller upon its return in 2017.
Production Background
Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event originally produced every February by WWE since 2010. The concept of the event is that one or two main event matches are contested inside the Elimination Chamber, either with championships or future opportunities at championships at stake.
The sixth Elimination Chamber event was originally scheduled to be a house show, a wrestling show that is not televised, but it was announced during the May 11, 2015, episode of Raw that Elimination Chamber would return on May 31, 2015, and be held at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. The event was initially replaced in February by Fastlane because many arenas were not able to physically support the Elimination Chamber structure, thus making it easier to book the February event without the structure. WWE's other originally scheduled live event for May 31 in Greenville, South Carolina was canceled in order to bring the entire WWE roster to Corpus Christi, with Greenville later getting an episode of Raw on November 16. The day after the 2014 event, WWE launched their online streaming service, the WWE Network, and it was announced that the 2015 Elimination Chamber would livestream exclusively on the Network in the United States. Outside the U.S., it was made available on traditional pay-per-view (PPV), including in Bahrain, Egypt, and Germany.
The Elimination Chamber match is an elimination-based match contested in a type of large roofed steel cage that surrounds the wrestling ring with an elevated platform around the ring. Within the Chamber are four inner pods, one behind each ring post. The match is contested by six participants. Two wrestlers start the match, while the other four are held within each inner pod with one selected randomly to enter the match at regular intervals, which continues until all four have been released. The objective is to eliminate all other opponents by pinfall or submission, and there are no disqualifications or count-outs. With the scheduling of the first-ever tag team Elimination Chamber match at the 2015 event, the rules remained mostly the same, except two teams (four wrestlers) started the match, both members of a team were released from their pod at the same time, and only one person from a team had to be eliminated to eliminate both members of that team.
In 2011 and since 2013, the show has been promoted as "No Escape" in Germany as it was feared that the name "Elimination Chamber" may remind people of the gas chambers used during the Holocaust; it was promoted as "No Way Out" in 2010 and 2012.
Storylines The event comprised eight matches, including one on the Kickoff pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Raw and SmackDown.
On May 17, an Elimination Chamber match for the vacant Intercontinental Championship was scheduled for the event. On the May 18 episode of Raw, R-Truth, Sheamus, King Barrett, Ryback, Dolph Ziggler, and Rusev were added to the match. On May 31, Rusev was declared unable to compete because of an injury sustained three nights prior on SmackDown. Rusev was replaced by Mark Henry.
At Payback, The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston, accompanied by Xavier Woods) defeated Tyson Kidd and Cesaro to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship in a two out of three falls tag team match. Later in the event, The New Day were scheduled to defend the title in the first-ever tag team Elimination Chamber match at the event. On the May 18 episode of Raw, Kidd and Cesaro, Los Matadores (Diego and Fernando) (with El Torito), The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor), The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara), and The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) were revealed as challengers.
On the May 18 episode of Raw, NXT Champion Kevin Owens answered United States Champion John Cena's weekly United States Championship Open Challenge. However, instead of fighting Cena, Owens attacked him, saying they would fight on his "own terms". Later in the night, Owens was granted a match to face Cena at the event.
On the May 18 episode of Raw, Dean Ambrose challenged WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins to a title match but Rollins refused. Later in the night, Ambrose attacked Rollins until The Authority granted Ambrose a title match against Rollins at Elimination Chamber. On the last Raw before the event, The Authority tried to avoid the match by having Ambrose taken away from the arena in a police van before the official contract signing. However, Ambrose drove the van back into the arena and signed the contract for the match.
At Payback, Naomi and Tamina defeated The Bella Twins (Nikki Bella and Brie Bella). After Nikki defeated Naomi by disqualification in a Divas Championship match on the May 18 episode of Raw, Paige returned from injury and attacked both contestants. On the May 21 episode of SmackDown, Naomi and Tamina attacked Paige before Nikki attacked Naomi, Tamina, and Paige. Nikki was then scheduled to defend the title against Paige and Naomi in a triple threat match at the event with Tamina banned from ringside.
On the May 18 episode of Raw, Bo Dallas confronted Neville during an interview and later, after Neville had lost a match to King Barrett, attacked Neville. On the May 25 episode of Raw, after Neville defeated Stardust, Dallas attacked Neville again. A match between the two was scheduled for the event.
Event + Other on-screen personnelRole:Name:English commentatorsMichael ColeJerry LawlerJohn "Bradshaw" LayfieldSpanish commentatorsCarlos CabreraMarcelo RodriguezBackstage interviewerTom PhillipsRing announcersLilian GarciaRefereesCharles RobinsonMike ChiodaRyan TranDarrick MooreDan EnglerMatt BennettChad PattonPre-show panelRenee YoungBooker TCorey GravesByron Saxton
Pre-show During the Elimination Chamber Kickoff pre-show, Stardust faced Zack Ryder. Stardust pinned Ryder after "The Queen's Crossbow" to win the match.
The Miz hosted an edition of "Miz TV", with Daniel Bryan as his guest. The Miz began to take credit for Bryan's accomplishments, which led to Bryan calling out The Meta Powers (Curtis Axel and Macho Mandow). The Meta Powers attacked The Miz to end the segment.
Preliminary matches The actual pay-per-view opened with the Elimination Chamber tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship. The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) entered the chamber at #1. Los Matadores (Primo and Epico) entered at #2, along with their mascot El Torito. Tyson Kidd and Cesaro entered at #3. The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods) entered at #4. The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) entered at #5 whilst The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) entered at #6 starting the match. Los Matadores were eliminated by The Acension when Diego was pinned by Konnor after the "Fall of Man". The Lucha Dragons were eliminated by The Ascension when Kalisto was pinned by Konnor after the "Fall of Man". The Prime Time Players eliminated The Ascension when Young pinned Viktor after a "Gut Check". Cesaro and Kidd were eliminated by The Prime Time Players when Young pinned Cesaro with a schoolboy. The Prime Time Players were eliminated when O'Neil was pinned by Kingston after a "Trouble in Paradise", resulting in The New Day retaining the WWE Tag Team Championship.
Next, Nikki Bella defended the WWE Divas Championship against Paige and Naomi in a triple threat match. Near the end of the match, Naomi performed an inverted frankensteiner on Paige for a near-fall and then attempted an enzuigiri on Nikki. Nikki countered into a "Rack Attack" to retain the title.
After that, NXT Champion Kevin Owens faced WWE United States Champion John Cena. Owens executed a pop-up powerbomb on Cena for a near-fall. Cena performed an "Attitude Adjustment" on Owens for a near-fall. Owens taunted and mocked Cena's "you can't see me" gesture, but Cena applied the STF, only for Owens to escape. Owens executed an "Attitude Adjustment" on Cena for a near-fall. Cena performed a clothesline on Owens and attempted another one, but Owens executed a second pop-up powerbomb on Cena to win the match. After the match, Owens gave a promo telling Cena to leave while Owens's time was now.
In the fourth match, Neville faced Bo Dallas. At the end of the match, as Dallas attempted a "Bo-Dog", Neville countered into an enzuigiri on Dallas. Neville executed a "Red Arrow" on Dallas to win the match.