Former WWE official Nick Patrick has detailed the fall of The Undertaker through the Elimination Chamber at No Way Out 2008 and how the spot was a mishap.
In a change to the usual officiating structure of the bout, it was decided that two referee’s would be place inside the chamber to contain the mass of humanity on display. Unfortunatley, those referee’s were two of the most experienced with the assembly in Nick Patrick and Jimmy Korderas which left an official unfamiliar with how the mechanisms of the bout stationed on the arena floor.
During rehearsals for the bout, it became clear that the name outside the ring was having trouble with closing the chamber door with the problem carrying over to the live broadcast which caused one of the most painful looking issues of the year.
Stepping into the Elimination Chamber for an opportunity at the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 24 alongside Batista, The Great Khali, Finlay, MVP and Big Daddy V, The Undertaker found himself hurled into the chamber door which wasn’t closed properly and instead of colliding with the unforgiving steel he awkwardly tumble from the cage and landed hard on the arena floor.
Now, Nick Patrick has joined Sportskeeda’s Inside Skoop to talk about the match and how John Laurinaitis blamed both officials inside the chamber for The Undertaker’s tumble:
“The whole cage deal, that was not at all supposed to happen. Any time something happens, especially with The Undertaker or somebody big, heads were gonna roll. They were gonna try to roll the wrong heads, in my opinion. There was nothing Jimmy Korderas or I could have done from inside that ring to the latch, so how’s that gonna be my responsibility?”
The animosity between Nick Patrick and the much more powerful Laurinaitis boiled over several months later with the referee choosing to leave the company.
As for the match, The Undertaker prevailed eliminating Khali, Finlay and Batista en route to victory and a World Heavyweight Championship Match with Edge which would be just one of the gems in the crown of an excellent event.
Credit for the interview and transcription: Sportskeeda’s Inside Skoop