No Way Out 2008 Review

Chavo Guerrero vs. CM Punk for the ECW Championship:
This was pretty back and forth the whole time and I think this would’ve gotten a much better rating if given at least 7 more minutes. The match was fine but just far too short to be memorable. I think the main reason why these two weren’t on point here is because they were crunched for time. Chavo shockingly won totally clean.
Rating: **1/4

Batista vs. Big Daddy V vs. Finlay vs. MVP vs. The Great Khali vs. The Undertaker in an Elimination Chamber Match to decide the #1 Contender to the World Heavyweight Championship:
I remember leading up to this match back in 08 having no doubt The Undertaker was winning and well, I was right. This match was filled with brawlers and doesn’t look all that spectacular on paper, but in execution it was surprisingly very fun and pretty great. Khali and Big Daddy V both don’t last long and while I was fine with it because it added to the story of the match, it made both men look pretty weak and I actually like Big Daddy V. Undertaker Chokeslamming MVP off the top of the pod is a sight to see and made me cringe just watching it. Finlay has a good showing after Hornswoggle pops his head up through the chamber and hands Finlay the shillelagh, but Taker Chokeslams Finlay on the steel grate to eliminate him. The last 5 minutes between Taker and Batista was very well done and I actually very much enjoyed it. They outlasted everyone in the match and went from the first 2 to the final 2. Nice story there.
Rating: ***1/2

Ric Flair vs. Mr. Kennedy in a Career Threatening Match:
Mr. Kennedy did really well here. It’s too bad Kennedy wasn’t bigger in WWE. He was an excellent heel but also a good face too, even with his brash attitude. Kennedy worked the knee of Flair in this match. Kennedy even steals some of Flair’s signatures, even using his Figure 4. A little more back and forth near the end until Flair locks in the Figure 4 and Kennedy taps. Generic match, nothing special but not bad at all. Slightly below the opener in terms of quality but I still enjoyed it.
Rating: **

Edge vs. Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship:
Rey is wrestling this match with a legit torn bicep so I didn’t expect much from this and I remember it being short. These two have phenomenal chemistry but when you have one guy in the match wrestling with a legit injury, it isn’t going to be as top notch as it can be. This ended up being pretty fun though for a 5 minute match and how limited Rey was. The mid-air Spear to end the match was a cool spot but very brutal. Good for what it was but it was only 5 minutes and Rey was hurt so they couldn’t do much.
Rating: **

Randy Orton vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship:
I remember not having much interest in this going in because back in 07 these two had wrestled many times and this was just another added to the list. Pretty dull action to say the least. Not bad but it was a waste of time because it was the longest one on one match of the night and it ended in a DQ. Plus the story behind this was so lame as Cena had used his shot at the title he earned from winning the Royal Rumble at this show rather than Mania (he still ended up being in the Mania match but just because of the finish here). This was probably the weakest Orton/Cena PPV match. This was about as good as Kennedy/Flair but I enjoyed the opener better.
Rating: **

Chris Jericho vs. Jeff Hardy vs. JBL vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H vs. Umaga in an Elimination Chamber Match to decide the #1 Contender to the WWE Championship:
This was a very enjoyable Chamber match that I remember being pretty unpredictable at the time and I was rooting hard for Hardy. Good opening to the match with HBK and Jericho going at it. JBL is the first out and that made me upset. Not because JBL was eliminated but because I think the match could’ve benefited from no one being eliminated until everyone had entered the match. JBL brings a chair into play after being eliminated. The next 3 eliminations are back to back to back which was annoying. The ending between Hardy and Hunter was fun but I wish it was longer. My main complaint is the quick eliminations near the end but other than that I really enjoyed this Chamber match and this was the better Chamber of the night and easily match of the night.
Rating: ****

The only memorable and must-watch things from this show are the Chamber matches. Not the best watch but I’m glad I got to rewatch those Chamber matches again. Decent show but it isn’t a good thing when the undercard matches are better than the World title matches.

Overall Rating: 5/10