Thumbs in the Middle
Best Match: Punk vs. Kane vs. Bryan
Worst Match: Tuxedo Match
This was the first WWE ppv I have bought since 2007. I was looking for Sunday entertainment as Game of Thrones and Mad Men ended their seasons recently.
The live pre-game was not shown on the TV broadcast which is annoying. They showed a taped studio show with Scott Standford. I ended up watching the live pre-game on WWE.com via my smart phone.
I give this show In the Middle because there was nothing really good or really bad here overall. It was a standard WWE show that everyone has come to expect. Same people go over. No new main eventer. We're left with the same old and boring question of "who will be in charge now?"
What does it say about CM Punk when the WWE Champ isn't even a main eventer and who knows when he will be again at this rate.
I hope this isn't going to be a bad omen for Bryan because he literally was forgotten in the last few minutes of that match and in the Kane/AJ segment like he wasn't even there!
Jake Koch
I watched No Way Out, and I just was not really into the show much.
I give the show Thumbs in the Middle
Best Match: Triple Threat for the WWE Title: Punk vs D. Bryan vs Kane
Worst Match: That silly Tuxedo Match between Santino Morella vs Ricardo
I think the Triple Threat was the best worked match, considering Kane was in the match. You can't do a lot with him, but Punk and Bryan did a good job. AJ didn't play as big a role as I thought, even though most of her work tonight was in the backstage segments. I love her character. She plays it well. I will say one thing. The chicks dig Kane for some reason, judging from that long kiss Kan gave her. From the way she looked at Punk when Kane brought her to the back, it does look like she is going to be Punk's downfall.
Why on earth were we subjected to that silly Tuxedo match? WHY? Awful match. I guess we had to have some sort of comedy match, but really. "Boring" chants could be heard as well.
The rest of the card was hit or miss:
I enjoyed the Intercontinental match. Christian and Cody had a pretty solid match with Christian retaining with his friend and WWE Hall of Famer Edge's spear. It was good that Edge got a mention also by one of the commentators. It was not one of the best IC matches, but it was a very good, solid match.
The Diva's Title match was pretty good. Once again, Layla retained over Beth Phoenix. I think the storyline is that Layla has Beth's number. What I thought was really good was that the two women played to the crowd. Unfortunately, there was a "boring" chant going in some areas. Of course, what do you expect when on Raw/Smackdown, the women only get one or two minutes. They inserted some comedy where Layla took Beth's crown, and taunted Beth with it, and ran off with it. Anyway, I liked the match. Solid.
The opener, the World Title match between Ziggler and Sheamus was very good. Sheamus retained, but Ziggler really did a great job. I just hope that Ziggler continues to get more opportunities to contest for the top belts. I really enjoy his work, and there were portions of the crowd who got behind Ziggler.
Ryback squashed two jobbers. Ho Hum. Nothing special there.
Sin Cara beat Hunico in a decent match.
The Four Way Tag Team Match to determine the number one contender for Kofi and R Truth's belts between The Usos vs Epico and Primo vs Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel vs Titus O’Neil and Darren Young had a lot of spots. However, it was just decent. Darren Young and Titus O'Neil won, and that AW manager dude turned on his former clients, the Usos, and went with Young/O'Neil. It was not all that great to me.
Triple H came out and called out Brock Lesnar saying that they should drop the lawsuits, and that his arm is almost 100% (he did not have the brace on ), and they should fight at Summerslam. Good promo.
The main event between Big Show and John Cena was a long match, and was boring. I was so bored. It just dragged on. I don't know if it was me, but till the very end when all the interference and stuff happened, I didn't pick up a lot of heat from the audience. I could be wrong though. Once Cena starting making his comeback and all, then the crowd got into it, but from the start of the match till then.....barely any heat.
Of course, the stipulations were if Show won, Cena was fired, and if Cena won, John Laurinitis would be fired by Vince, who was at ringside, but had a slight concussion. Of course, both Laurinitis and Vince would be knocked out, and interference from Brodus and others would come through. Cena eventually escapes the cage by going over the top, and the Big Show crawled out, but it was too late. Vince fires Johnny Ace, and Cena FUs him over onto the Spanish announce table. How predictable.
I just thought the Main Event was just boring. Overall, the PPV was just OK. Even the good matches were just good. I have seen better versions of No Way Out.
Terri Bey
No Way Out 2012
Best match Ziggler vs Sheamus
Worst Match tuxedo match between Ricardo and Santino
A thumbs in the middle ppv.
This was a two match show and the two matches impressed. Ziggler and Sheamus was great. While botchy at times they more than made up for it with intensity and constantly making it look like Ziggler would win.
I thought the opening sequence recalling Wrestlemania was clever and hopefully this is marks a step-up in the attention Ziggler gets on tv thus far.
The three way was the next best match. Kane worked harder here than he has in year. D. Bryan showed great intensity kicking both opponents and when he missed punk in the head the first time he made sure to strike him later in the match. A well-planned match.
While it was inevitable A.J would affect the ending I’m glad it was limited and the ending protected Bryan. I hope he gets a shot on ppv down the line.
As for the rest of the matches they were pretty forgettable. I thought the Prime Time Players win was really good. The show was hurt by match placement. Having that pitiful tuxedo match early killed the crowd for later and Ryback and Sin Cara were crowd killers as well.
The main event was overbooked and I’m just glad it’s over. I want the main event picture to move on from focusing on non-wrestlers.
Here’s hoping Money in the Bank is better and that Dolph Ziggler gets the push he sorely deserves.
Rob Cammarata
Mississauga,Ontario, Canada
Thumbs in the middle
Worst match: Ricardo vs Santino
Best match: Triple Threat match
I give it thumbs in the middle, there was really some AWFUL stuff and some good matches (not a classic or anything) this night. Santino and Ricardo has my vote right now for being the worst match of the year, I thought Brodus vs Otunga was bad, but that was made look like a good match compared to the tuxedo match. Layla and Beth IMO don’t have that chemistry in the ring, and I felt bad for them, both girls got 0 reaction, Beth has been somewhat overused and Layla has been a victim since her return since we all were expecting Kharma (by the way I really want her to come back already). Ziggler vs Sheamus even though the sloppiness, I thought it was good, and I now hope WWE gives the Money in the Bank to Dolph, people want to see him pushed so bad now and I think he deserves it. Christian vs Cody was solid, and the triple threat IMO had very good storytelling and it was well done by the 4 people involved in it. Cena and Show was okay for what it was, didn’t had any problem about it and the ending at least was fun.
| Hi Dave, Best match: Sheamus vs Ziggler Worst Match Tuxedo Match Watched this show with a few people. I am not going to go into the matches much because they all felt like they were just there. Nothing was very good and there was some very bad. Most of it was just there, it was probably the television which lead me to have zero interest in this show as anything more than a chance to hang with friends. The opener was okay, the three way match was okay, the tag 4 way match was okay but not really good while the main event was so-so, the divas match was bad, the tuxedo match was naturally bad, Cody vs christian was bad too. Squash was what it was, same with Sin Cara Match. I just don't care enough about this show to get into details. Show was just there, thumbs slightly down. Keep up the great work, -Ryan McDeed Thumbs down - Very average show from start to finish. Some decent stuff , but not enough of it. Best Match - Three way Worst Match - Santino vs. Ricardo
World Heavyweight Championship Sheamus (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler Crowd well behind Ziggler, Lawler looked like a fucking idiot for saying the loud and obvious "Let's go Ziggler" chants were for Sheamus. Why must they peddle their shit constantly and ram their way down everyone's throats. Someone else was over, just go with it! Imagine if they reacted like that with Austin in 96/97 when he started getting cheered as a heel. Ziggler should have gone over here, throw a swerve in there with him getting the shot so late, and throw someone new right into the top line mix. Ziggler is one of the top three workers in the company (along with Punk and Bryan) and he is just incredible to watch. His current status is criminal; he should be a megastar, especially with their incredibly shallow talent pool. Good match this anyway, hurt slightly by the odd botched spot, but it was exciting and the crowd helped. The result was sadly never in doubt. Final Rating: ***
Tuxedo Match Santino Marella vs. Ricardo Rodriguez Shite. What a complete joke this was. I like both these guys but this had no place on a PPV. Christ, it had no place on Superstars twenty years ago for that matter. Final Rating: DUD
WWE Intercontinental Championship Christian (c) vs. Cody Rhodes Christian is boring. Cody has been in this same spot for too long. If you are going to elevate him, now is the time. I struggled to maintain much interest for this one. It is just same old, same old. Final Rating: **
Four Way Tag Nice to see a new team given the chance and a mini push, and also pleasing to see tag wrestling given an opportunity. I guess this is one of Triple-H's incentives, because I heard he was high on making the division hot again. Fingers crossed, but breath not held. Hell, it was not exactly the Brainbusters or the Bulldogs out there, but at least it was real teams in matching gear, with a reason to be teaming. That is enough for me in 2012. Some cool spots, and they didn't let the uninterested crowd bother them. Fun enough, and there was some promising talent in there. Final Rating: **1/4
WWE Divas Title Layla (c) vs. Beth Phoenix Yeah, fucking around with the tiara didn’t get over. It's because you are balls love. Watching Layla thinking about her next spot, because she lacks any natural ability or ring awareness, is at least good for a giggle. They just do stuff. Nothing really flows or tells a story, like nearly all Divas matches, it is just moves for the sake of moves. You could hear a cricket fart during this. Should any champion winning ever be considered an upset? Final Rating: 1/4*
Hunico vs. Sin Cara The dimmed lighting really annoys me. The "we want Ryder" chants during this tell you everything you need to know. Other than that, the aforementioned cricket is still flatulent, and we all know about it. I have never seen a cruiserweight guy work as boring a style as Hunico. It is like watching the Barbarian. I wanted Sin Cara to work in WWE, but the experiment has been a disaster. Poor match, despite the odd athletic spot. Final Rating: *
WWE Championship CM Punk (c) vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane Shame they ruined this by adding Kane. I can only assume they did it to upset the people who would want to see the singles between Bryan and Punk again. The AJ stuff leading up to it had actually been pretty good. Tasty little crumpet as well isn't she? They are over these former ROH guys who "don't know how to work" aren't they? You would think WWE might cotton on and bring more proven workers from elsewhere in. I'm sure I am not alone in thinking Kane looks like he is wearing his singlet inside out. Bryan is the best thing they have in the company. The exchanges between him and Punk were as good as you would expect them to be, just superb chemistry. Kane, not so much. Actually this was his best match in ages, and he looked good in there carried by two superior workers. AJ involved in the finish was expected, and thankfully she didn’t get too involved to ruin the match, it was just at the end. Good little 3-way. Final Rating: ***1/2
Ryberg vs. Jobbers I still don’t get why you would have a body like that and then cover it with a singlet. He looks impressive, I enjoyed his squashes. Those Goldberg chants won't go away though. You can tell it is pissing him off too, because he was trying to make them chant "Ryback" at the start. Bless him. If they brought back TV squash guys, maybe more of their roster would get over. It would increase the number of fresh matches on PPV's ten-fold as well. Final Rating: SQUASH (But a fun one)
Cage Match John Cena vs. The Big Show It's like we have regressed, having to suffer Show in main events. Give it a month or two and this push will be dead and buried. Again. Like it always has been over the last 13 years. This is the FIFTH show in a row that Cena has main evented and the WWF title has not. They sure do know how to elevate things. At least Cena doesn't joke around when he looks into the camera tonight, unlike his usual suspension of disbelief destroying nod, wink and nudge, and acknowledgement that it is all just a bit of fun. Michael Cole said: "WWE fans". I guess it is because Vince is at ringside and not feeding him lines. If they released comp tapes like they used to in the 80's and 90's, would they have to change Fan Favourites to Universe Favourites? I bet they would too. This was like a cage match dot-to-dot puzzle, it was so basic and generic for the bulk, not to mention boring. Final Rating: * James Dixon Dave and Bryan:Thumbs in the middle. Best Match: Tie between Christian vs. Cody Rhodes and C.M. Punk vs. American Dragon vs. Kane. Worst Match: Three-way tie between tuxedo Match, Divas match and two indy jobbers vs. the illegitimate love child of Goldberg and Rob Van Dam. The epitome of a 'B' pay per view was not terribly offensive but there wasn't anything that left the viewer feeling they got a show that was worth their money outside of HHH's promo challenging Lesnar to a fight. That is a fundamental issue that must be corrected. No Way Out was just another show in just another arena on just another day. There was nothing that separated it from Raw or Smackdown or Money In The Bank or Summerslam. Incidentally, WWE's hubris in its commercial boasting Raw was the biggest program in the history of Monday nights was hilarious. Raw is not and never will be bigger than Monday Night Football. A pro-wrestling crowd loved the Sheamus-Dolph Ziggler opener, the triple-threat match and the main event run-ins. But their reaction to two good mid-card matches (Christian-Rhodes; four-way tag) were muted because of the abject sports-entertainment messes that were the tuxedo match, Layla dancing like a clown and the bland Sin Cara-Hunico match. WWE brags about how it was 'color' compared to WCW's 'black-and-white' during the Monday Night Wars. Without competition on Monday nights, WWE has long since grown stale. Dennis Gorman |
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