Chavo Guerrero Vs CM Punk
It's not really his fault, but Chavo Guerrero has to be the worst ECW champion since the brand's rebirth in 2006. Things on the C-Show were really knocked for a loop after Chris Benoit's death and I think no one took the brunt of that worse than CM Punk. Where he was once going to be feuding with an undisputed legend he found himself instead jobbing to John Morrison for most of the year, and where I'm certain he would have turned heel he instead became a very stale face. When he finally won the belt he'd been chasing for so long nobody cared and soon he was here, jobbing to Chavo Guerrero in an effort to establish the less talented member of the Guerrero family as a semi-world champion. It doesn't help that Chavo is pulling double duty at this time as a toady to Edge and La Familia, so despite his fair in-ring abilities he just isn't a credible person to hold what should be a major championship. Tonight they put on a decent match, well performed and engaging, but it felt more like a match for a cruiserweight or mid-card title, a breezy seven minutes of athletic tumbling and trips to the outside. The finish was well booked and I'm glad Chavo didn't need to cheat in some way to win as I'd have expected. Still, this just isn't what we should be seeing for the ECW Championship.
Rating: 3 Stars
Main-Event of WrestleMania XXIV - Elimination Chamber
The Undertaker Vs Batista Vs Finlay Vs MVP Vs The Great Khali Vs Big Daddy V
For the first time in the stipulation's history, SmackDown stars enter the Elimination Chamber. Unfortunately main-event talent is a bit thin on the ground right now so there are really only two viable winners; Batista and The Undertaker. For the rest. this is the one and only time any of them will step into the chamber to date, and none of them manage to accomplish much during their brief stay. This one was really the ending to the epic feud between Batista and Taker that began at WrestleMania 23, with both men starting and finishing the match together. That means that the rest of the field is just fodder, there to be eliminated at regular intervals until we finally get down to a one-on-one situation.
Big Daddy V is looking quite good at first, and it seems like perhaps his feud with The Undertaker will escalate here, but it's not in the cards for him and he's eliminated with ease. Khali's contribution is his usual brand of slow clumsy strikes and lumbering between exchanges. His highlight was tapping out to Hell's Gate, a nice way to put over the new submission of Taker's as he prepares to challenge for the championship. Finlay and MVP get a bit more to work with, with Finlay especially holding his own against The Animal and The Phenom. MVP takes a big bump off the top of a pod, but it's set up is contrived and it doesn't really mean much. It all comes down to Batista and Taker as expected, leading into a really well performed sequence where the Dead Man counters being driven into the chain by flipping Batista over the top rope into a Tombstone for the win. There's fun to be had in this match, but there's way too much wasted space with people who were never going to win and not enough drama until literally the final moments. As a conclusion to one of the season's best feuds it's solid, but not as focused as an important match like this one ought to be.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Career Threatening
Ric Flair Vs Mr. Kennedy
When the rumours began of Ric Flair's impending retirement there were a lot of names suggested who could conceivably be The Nature Boy's final opponent. Some thought the honour should go to another legend, others insisted it ought to be a young upstart heel who could really be made from the rub. Last month Flair took on the first of the two most popular choices in that regard, MVP, and managed to walk out with the victory. Now he takes on the true favourite, Mr. Kennedy, but the placement of the match so close to WrestleMania pretty much gives the result away. That said, being chosen as one of Flair's final feuds is a huge honour and Kennedy more than deserves it. This match could have been really special had it been given more time, but unfortunately the end result feels like only the first third of something great. The story is tried and true; Flair's knee is injured and Kennedy wants to take him out with his own finisher; the Figure-Four Leg Lock. While it might not be inspired, the journey is well performed and manages to create one or two spots of genuine doubt to the finish. My only gripe is the short length, but also the victim of that which is Kennedy, who taps out quickly to Flair after taking almost no offence to his own legs. Had the hold been held in for an age, or had there been a fair return of precision offence, then this would have been okay, but as it is it just feels rushed and makes Kennedy look a bit weak.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
World Heavyweight Championship
Edge Vs Rey Mysterio
Well if you thought the last match was predictable you've seen nothing yet. I have a few rules in my life, and one of them is this: The man who walks into the fight with the bright red arm bandage is going to lose. It's not a suggestion, it really is the rule and it never fails. Rey sadly injured himself at a house show earlier in the week and suffered a torn bicep, an injury that should have kept him off the card completely but he guts through the pain to deliver the match as advertised. While I appreciate the effort I think the damage he did by working for just five minutes here cost him further weeks down the line, and as a big Mysterio fan it's not a fair trade. Edge brings some really good aggression and I have respect for Rey who doesn't shy away from his trademark spots, but this just isn't capable of anything more than it delivers and should have been cancelled.
But if it was, who could have taken Rey's place in the main-event? Well my choice for that role walks right out just as Rey is being helped to the back, non other than The Big Show who makes a shocking return after just over a year away from the company. He cuts a great face promo and the crowd are glad to see him, but then out of nowhere he jumps out of the ring and grabs the vulnerable Rey Mysterio. Well it just so happens that a friend of Rey's is sitting ringside tonight, a fellow by the name of UNDEFEATED BOXING SUPERSTAR FLOYD 'MONEY' MAYWEATHER JR, a name that manages to be less of a mouthful than the one he gives Big Show with a flurry of punches to the face. He legitimately breaks Show's nose, causing a river of blood to flow down as he escapes with his posse. Since it involves no one in the match I wasn't going to figure this segment in the final rating, but it's arguably part of the whole experience and manages to set up a huge WrestleMania match that no-one predicted both quickly and effectively, so it's worth an extra star.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
WWE Championship
John Cena Vs Randy Orton
Whenever you get matches like this you're always looking for the swerve. I mean, they wouldn't just have the main-event of WrestleMania a month early right? As this starts off that's what the world is thinking and it's a potent atmosphere of anticipation. Orton and Cena have had many battles over the years and their quality has been extremely mixed. They've had some classics and they've have some stinkers, but this one falls somewhere in the middle. The good news is we get a proper, fifteen minute match rather than some quick cop out. The bad news is that match is very much Orton led, which translates as “methodical”, “tentative” and “reluctant”. We get lots of stalling, rest-holds and several near count-outs before the typical DQ finish.
That said, the crowd are completely hooked from the get go and their responsiveness gives every tiny movement some lifesaving drama. Their “ooh!”s and “ahh!”s, their “boo!”s and “yay!”s do a lot to save this match from pure mediocrity. There was some speculation that Cena would be winning to set up the intended main-event from WrestleMania 23, Cena Vs Triple H. I'm glad they didn't though, as despite his flaws Orton has done some great work this season and deserves to walk into WrestleMania with the championship. The King and J.R. sell the result as the end of Cena's WrestleMania dreams, but we all know he'll make his way into the main-event somehow before we get to Orlando.
Rating: 3 Stars
Main-Event of WrestleMania XXIV - Elimination Chamber
Triple H Vs Jeff Hardy Vs Shawn Michaels Vs Chris Jericho Vs Umaga Vs JBL
I'll admit that going in I was prejudiced against this match. I wasn't sure I'd be happy to sit through two Elimination Chambers on one card, and I assumed that after the buzz of the first one whichever one came second would fall flat. Thankfully I was completely wrong, as this is just a total contrast with the first and I think without the comparison that wouldn't be as obvious. We begin with Michaels and Jericho, always a good start, squaring off on PPV for the first time in five years. This is just a teaser for the amazing feud they'll be having throughout 2008 but for now it's the perfect package of pure wrestling and quick-fire action. Soon my favourite modern big man Umaga or; “Oo-Manga”, (Thank you William Regal!) joins in and adds a welcome change in style without removing an ounce of quality. He immediately hits a “JUMP-OUTTA-YER-SEAT-BECAUSE-GOOD-GAWD-ALMIGHTY!” Double Samoan Drop on both HBK and Y2J at the SAME TIME, which frankly just makes my soul happy. This is the kind of thing Umaga did that made him stand out amongst the Big Daddy V's and Great Khali's of World Wrestling Entertainment, and makes him sorely missed by this wrestling fan. He fails to capitalise however and soon is caught in a double submission from Michaels and Jericho, but refuses to tap as JBL joins the fray.
Things split off into pairs until Triple H arrives and beats down everybody in sight. Then there's a nice sequence where JBL prevents a Pedigree to Jericho only to get hit with a Codebreaker which earns the first elimination. JBL won't go quietly however, stepping out and introducing some steel chairs to Jericho, Michaels and Umaga who come to know them intimately. Jeff Hardy now enters at the most opportune moment and flies around the ring delivering his unique offence to anyone foolish enough to get up. He's put down fast by Umaga, who now takes control with his raw power, hurling Michaels up into a Flair Flip over Triple H as he's caught in the Tree of Woe. Just as it looks as if no one can stop him, all four remaining superstars team up and hit him with an ultimate finishing combo – Sweet Chin Music into a Codebreaker into a Pedigree before finally a Swanton Bomb off the top of a pod to take the Samoan Bulldozer out for good. He's quickly joined by Jericho who walks right into another rendition of Sweet Chin Music and is eliminated by Hardy. Before anyone can catch their breath, Michaels suffers a Twist of Fate followed by a Pedigree and suddenly we've gone from five to two.
The extended finish is fantastic, an urgent battle with a really strong near-fall that put Hardy over huge before he finally succumbs to a Pedigree on a chair. Triple H wins as expected, but not without some serious drama and doubt along the way. This was an awesome match, a real team effort and an easy contender for the very best there has ever been inside the Chamber. A redemption for what had been a mediocre show.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
WWE No Way Out 2008 Final Score: 4 Stars
Thanks to the stellar main-event, No Way Out makes good out of a promising card. Had the other matches lived up to their potential this show could have been legendary, but unfortunately everything manages to fall just too short of what might have been. There is however nothing bad to deal with, which is a refreshing rarity, and a main-event that was more than worth the price of admission. Most of our WrestleMania attractions are now in place with Edge Vs The Undertaker, Big Show Vs Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Randy Orton Vs Triple H all set up nicely. With the final match of Ric Flair's career as well as Money in the Bank also pencilled in, WrestleMania XXIV is shaping up to be one of the best shows in recent history.
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