WWE: No Way Out (DVD)

By Daniel Needham

Dan reviews WWE: No Way Out.

For anyone wanting to make a big impact on the road to Wrestlemania, then this is their last opportunity, as February’s No Way Out is a dress rehearsal of sorts to the granddaddy of them all. With a packed out arena in Las Vegas anticipating a huge night, No Way Out certainly didn’t disappoint, as in traditional fashion it holds its own in terms of pay per view quality against the other ‘big 4’ events on the WWE calendar.

As is the case in this time of year, much of the audience’s gaze was focused on the two main titles, the WWE Championship, and the World Heavyweight Championship, and the likely combatants heading in to the dual main-events at Wrestlemania.

Both title matches were epic encounters, pitting two relative underdogs against cocky favourites, intent on stamping their mark as the men to beat at Wrestlemania. While the SmackDown title match was one-way fare, its Raw counterpart swayed back and forth right up until its rather controversial finish. But with clear winners announced both champions were left to rest up and watch the competition fight it out in wars of attrition to see who their next opponent on wrestling’s biggest stage would be.

And nothing defines a number one contender quite like an Elimination chamber match, with history being made on this night with both Raw and SmackDown having this particular match type to see who will go on to fight for their respective titles.

While both were of a very good standard, the Raw chamber bout stole the limelight and was match of the night. Sufficiently brutal by Elimination Chamber standards, this also included technical wrestling, hardcore elements, all blended in with fast paced action, without becoming one big cluster of bodies.

The SmackDown match tried a more methodical formula, pulled it off less effectively, but still resulted in a good match. The action, which was sporadically paced around the bout, was well structured, and did enough to draw out the inevitable showdown between the final two, which was well worth waiting for.

Elsewhere on the card a former World Champion makes a return to the ring, only to meet Floyd “Money” Mayweather’s fist! Bringing in arguably today’s greatest pound-for-pound boxer was sure to create fireworks, but what went down is almost worth the DVD itself.

But while one career is resuming another seems closer to its end as Ric Flair tries to starve off retirement in his bout with the arrogant, egotistical and brilliant superstar Mister Kennedy. ECW also makes an appearance and puts on a crisp opener to the show, with CM Punk trying to de-throne his arch nemesis Chavo Guerrero, in another high quality match to add to their extensive battles.

While No Way Out could be easily lost in the blend of “the road to Wrestlemania” it again stands out from the crowd and puts on a show well worthy of pay per view status, and would rate in the top ten events of the last few years in the WWE. With this being said lets bring on Wrestlemania!

The Extra Features

DVDs outside of WWE’s documentaries and Wrestlemania coverage tend to be below par in terms of extra features, and unfortunately the trend continues here, with only slight tidbits of a backstage confrontation and dual language support.

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