No Way Out Recap

WWE held their second pay-per-view of 2008 and had high expectations that I believe most will agree they met. Here's a quick recap of the show.

1. CM Punk vs. Chavo Guerrero
This was possibly their best match and had a nice flow to it. They gave them about the time I expected, but I definitely didn't anticipate them doing a clean Chavo victory. Perhaps Punk is in the doghouse, but I still don't like that he got pinned so easily. Chavo retains his title via pinfall.

Unofficial Rating: 2.75 (out of 5)

2. SmackDown Elimination Chamber
I was surprised this was so early on the card, but I really liked that they spread out the Chambers. This one had some dead weight in it (Big Daddy V and Great Khali), but made up for that with some memorable spots. I would have like to have seen MVP look a little better, but I can't really complain. This had a great final sequence seeing the Undertaker getting the pin over Batista.

Unofficial Rating: 3.5 (out of 5)

3. Ric Flair vs. Mr. Kennedy
This was another match that was about the length I predicted and was pretty solid. Flair seemed to be more on than he was at the Rumble and it made for a pretty fun match. Flair got another figure four victory.

Unofficial Rating: 2 (out of 5)

4. Rey Mysterio vs. Edge
I'm amazed that Mysterio was able to last 5 minutes and I give him a lot of credit for gutting it out. The match was fine given the circumstances, but the angle afterwords was classic. Edge wins via pinfall.

Unofficial Rating: 1.75 (out of 5)

The Big Show returned after taking over a year off and definitely made a big impact. The entire angle with Mayweather was just awesome. He took a few shots to the face and it made for a great visual. If they can keep this angle at least half as intense, we could get another treat come WrestleMania.

5. John Cena vs. Randy Orton
I originally thought they would do a cheap finish, but changed my mind and figured they'd just go HHH/Cena at WrestleMania. When they put this on before the Elimination Chamber, I was back to thinking that they were doing a cheap finish. Then both Orton and Cena were teasing countouts, so I was looking for a clean finish. Then of course came the DQ ending that some I'm sure hated, but in the story, it actually worked quite well. This was not as good as their SummerSlam matchup, but it was definitely a fun contest that saw Cena win by DQ and then go crazy on Orton.

Unofficial Rating: 3.5 (out of 5)

6. Raw Elimination Chamber
This is most definitely the first flat out match of the year contender. This match was non-stop action and did a good job making all 6 guys look strong. I have to say that Umaga put on a great show and played his role brilliantly. I also was glad to see Hardy kick out of a pedigree, giving most of us that one last hope that he could maybe pull it off. Of course, Triple H was the victor, but most really couldn't complain about the quality of this matchup.

Unofficial Rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

Overall, another great show that had another big surprise. I have to say that this was one of the best non-Big 4 shows in the past few years. This was a huge upgrade over last years No Way Out and it really seems that the WWE is making a strong effort to make their pay-per-view's memorable and worth our hard earned money. Awesome show.

Overall Rating: 91%

No Way Out Rankings
No Way Out 2008
No Way Out 2006
No Way Out 2000
No Way Out 2007

Match Of The Year Tracker
No Way Out - Raw Elimination Chamber (4.5)
Royal Rumble 2008 (4)
Raw March - Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho (3.75)
Royal Rumble - Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton (3.5)
Raw February - Chris Jericho vs. Jeff Hardy (3.5)
ECW March - John Morrison + Miz vs. Tommy Dreamer + Colin Delaney (3.5)
Raw March - John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels
No Way Out - SmackDown Elimination Chamber (3.5)
Royal Rumble - Edge vs. Rey Mysterio (3.5)
Raw January - Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga Cage Match (3.5)
No Way Out - Randy Orton vs. John Cena (3.5)

Pay-Per-View Scores
No Way Out (91%)
Royal Rumble (88%)