By Jared Silberkleit  -  The WWE’s downward spiral in quality over the last 2 months continued with No Way Out. This was one of the worst WWE PPVs I’ve had to sit through over the last several years. It wasn’t one of the worst shows of all time or even the worst show of 2012, but it was certainly a bad show and very, very difficult to watch. Just look at this PPV card and you can tell the WWE really had to scrape the bottom of the barrel just to find enough talent to fill this 3-hour timeslot. Aside from a couple good matches here and there, the majority of this show was a real chore to sit through with a tremendous amount of filler material. This was one of the most unpleasant viewing experiences I’ve ever had watching a WWE PPV due to the sheer boredom of it all. Steer clear of this one.

 

• World Heavyweight Championship Match: Sheamus(c) vs. Dolph Ziggler

 

Why was this the opener? Whatever. The beginning was interesting, as Dolph got kissed by Vickie and they teased him getting instantly Brogue kicked by Sheamus like Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania, but Dolph rolled out of the way. The action was fine but very slow for the first 10 minutes. Sheamus had Dolph in a fireman’s carry but Dolph countered into a nasty looking DDT. Story was Dolph repeatedly going for the sleeper throughout. Once Sheamus made his comeback the match got a little ugly. They tried some counter/reversal sequences that were very sloppy and they just didn’t appear to be on the same page throughout the entire match. The crowd was chanting for Dolph throughout and really wanted to see him win. Dolph scored a great near fall with a super X Factor off the top rope but appeared to hurt his knee on the landing. Ending saw Sheamus counter the sleeper hold into White Noise before hitting the Brogue Kick for the win. Pretty good world title match that would have been better without the botches. Ziggler is certainly one of the most underutilized talents on the roster. Match Time: 15:00     Star Rating: **3/4

 

• Tuxedo Match: Santino Marella vs. Ricardo Rodriguez

 

This was completely stupid on so many levels. Santino took off Ricardo’s jacket early and played El Matador with him, waving the jacket in his face. Santino got Ricardo shirtless before Ricardo raked the eyes and ripped Santino’s pants off. Ricardo took away the cobra sleeve and tossed it outside, but Santino had another one on his foot. Santino kicked Ricardo in the face and took off his pants for the win. Ricardo was wearing underwear with Del Rio’s face on it. Crowd was chanting boring at the 2 minute mark here. Not funny and a waste of time. Match Time: 4:25     Star Rating: DUD

 

• Intercontinental Championship Match: Christian(c) vs. Cody Rhodes

 

They got more time than last month and were able to improve on that match. These guys have developed some really nice chemistry together. Christian hit a sweet baseball slide at the start before Cody took control and worked the shoulder. Christian made a comeback and the match suddenly got really good. Cody rolled through a tope rope cross body for a near fall and hit an Alabama slam for 2. Christian hit the Killswitch for 2 and went up top, but Cody got his knees up to block the frog splash. We then got a great finishing sequence with both guys going back and forth with counters and reversals. Christian dodged a pair of Disaster kicks before getting the win with a spear. This was a very good, competitive match that did a lot for both guys. They kicked out of more than you’d expect considering the match’s spot on the card, but it really worked even though the crowd was slow to warm up to it. Impressive showing from both men. Match Time: 11:33     Star Rating: ***1/4

 

• Fatal 4 Way #1 Contender’s Match: Primo and Epico vs. Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd vs. Darren Young and Titus O’Neill vs. The Usos

 

This was announced on the pre-show, with the winner getting a future tag team title shot. Definitely went a good 5 minutes too long. Absolutely nothing interesting happening until Kidd got a tag midway through and hit a springboard missile dropkick and a top rope blockbuster. Primo blocked a springboard elbow drop and hit a back stabber for 2. Everyone wound up outside of the ring and Kidd hit a crazy hurricanrana to Primo off the top rope onto the pile. A.W. then turned on Primo and Epico by tossing Primo into the ring where Darren Young hit a double knee gutbuster for the win. After the match, Young, O’Neill, and A.W. beat down Primo and Epico. No one cares. The match was completely dull and forgettable aside from the crazy hurricanrana spot. Tyson Kidd is awesome. Match Time: 9:30     Star Rating: **

 

Triple H then came out for his “announcement” where he addressed the Brock Lesnar situation. He mentioned that his arm should heal soon and he should be in “fighting shape” over the summer, so he proposes him vs. Brock at SummerSlam. Since Triple H actually laid down the challenge for the match, I suppose this was actually somewhat of a useful segment even though these promos usually have no place on PPV.

• Divas Championship Match: Layla(c) vs. Beth Phoenix

 

Even by Divas standards this sucked. We got some awful comedy at the beginning as Layla took Beth’s tiara and was mocking her by prancing around like an idiot. Crowd was dead all the way through. They tried a spot where Layla was supposed to counter the Glam Slam by kicking off the ropes to swing the momentum, but she took FOREVER to do it and it looked terrible. Layla countered a press slam into a DDT before getting the win with her neckbreaker. Total nothing match. Match Time: 6:56     Star Rating: *

 

• Hunico vs. Sin Cara

 

Another unadvertised match. Hunico worked over Sin Cara forever and the crowd was again completely flat. He got a couple near falls and applied a few holds before Cara made a quick comeback. Cara hit a hurricanrana off the top and got the win with La Mistica. Another nothing match that felt like it belonged on an episode of Smackdown. Work was fine but not much to get excited about. Match Time: 5:48     Star Rating: *1/2

• Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship: CM Punk(c) vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane

 

The crowd finally showed signs of life as they popped big for Bryan and Punk’s entrances. Punk and Bryan briefly work together at the start before trading shots. Bryan hits a suicide dive to Kane on the floor and Punk follows with a springboard dive onto both men. Kane works over Punk for a bit before Bryan comes off the top with a double missile dropkick to both guys. Bryan then does his kicks to the chest to both men before Punk rolls him up for 2. Punk hits the Savage elbow drop for 2 and Bryan scores with a diving head butt for a near fall. Punk and Bryan go back and forth for a bit, with Bryan applying the Yes lock and Punk leaning back into the cover just like at Over the Limit. Punk hits the Go to Sleep but Kane breaks the cover and Bryan rolls to the floor. Punk counters a chokeslam into a DDT for 2 and hits a Savage elbow drop for another near fall. Kane hits a chokeslam for 2 and tries for a Tombstone, but Punk escapes and shoves Kane into AJ who hops up on the apron. Kane is distracted and Punk hits a kick to the head followed by the GTS for the win. Kane carried AJ to the back afterwards. The finish came off a little flat since the crowd didn’t really care for Kane but at least Bryan didn’t have to eat the pin here so he can possibly have another singles match with Punk at the next PPV. This was much better than expected as they kept things moving at a good pace and had a nice dynamic with Punk and Bryan using Kane to try and one up each other. They did a lot of good near falls and overall this was very good despite the weird storyline going in. Match Time: 18:16     Star Rating: ***1/2

• 2 on 1 Handicap Match: Dan Delaney and Rob Grymes vs. Ryback

 

You know the drill here. Jobbers actually sang before the match about how they were going to Wrestlemania next year. Ryback killed both of them and finished them off with the double Samoan drop. This shtick is getting old really fast and this type of match has no place on a PPV. Match Time: 1:37     Star Rating: N/A

 

• Steel Cage Match: The Big Show vs. John Cena

 

Both John Laurinaitis and Vince McMahon were at ringside. Stipulation was that if Show won, Cena would be fired, and if Cena won, Laurinaitis would be fired. First 10 minutes are super slow with Show in control. Show tosses Cena into the cage a couple times before Cena gets a hope spot and tries to climb out, only for Show to stop him. They do a struggle spot near the door with both guys trying to crawl out before Show runs into the cage and Cena hits a shoulder block. Cena calls for the door to open and Laurinaitis shuts it, only for Vince to push him and re-open the door. Laurinaitis shoves Vince into the door, which then hits Cena in the face, allowing Show to chokeslam Cena for a near fall. Show misses with the WMD punch and hits the ref before delivering one to Cena, but there’s no one to count. Show goes to escape but Brodus Clay appears on the floor with a chair, so Show is trapped. Alex Riley, Santino, and Zack Ryder then run down to scale the cage but Show easily knocks them to the ground. Show starts to climb but Kofi Kingston runs down, scales the cage, and knocks Show back into the ring. Cena hits the AA but the ref is still down. Both guys go to escape, with Cena going over the top and Show heading for the door. Laurinaitis tries to stop Cena but Clay holds him back and Cena gets to the floor first to win. The ref was still down so I have no idea who called for the bell here. Vince then fires Laurinaitis and Cena gives Johnny the AA through the Spanish announce table. Well this turned into a mess. The match was boring for the first 10-15 minutes, then the overbooking kicked in and it turned into a giant cluster***k. It just got ridiculous with all of the run ins and interference no matter if whether or not it tied into the storyline. Another preposterous John Cena main event with a bunch of bells and whistles and overbooking as the world titles are again shoved aside. The usual tedious Cena/Show affair before all the funny business at the end. Match Time: 19:23     Star Rating: *1/2

 

Overall PPV Rating: 5/10

Tagged with: Bottom Of The Barrel, Daniel Bryan, Ddt, Downward Spiral, Entire Match, Filler Material, Fireman, Last Several Years, Ppv Card, Sheer Boredom, Sleeper Hold, Timeslot, Top Rope, Vickie, White Noise, World Heavyweight Championship, World Heavyweight Championship Match, Wrestlemania, Wwe Ppvs, X Factor

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