2/15 WWE No Way Out PPV Reax

Eric Gall of Bridgeport, Conn. (6.0): High Point: Edge's surprise entry into Raw Chamber match. Low Point: A needless thirteenth title reign. I don't know why the Smackdown chamber match has been getting so many rave reviews; I didn't think it was anything special. I suppose that most of my enjoyment of the match was robbed by the start of yet another Triple H title reign. I can't believe people are saying that Trips regaining the belt is "what should have happened." It totally cements my decision to not buy any WWE PPV, arena ticket or media merchandise, and I don't see myself changing my stance on that any time soon. Shane vs. Orton wasn't bad, and I didn't have that much of a problem with the amount of offense Shane dished out. Swagger-Finlay didn't do much for me, except get me pissed off when Hornswoggle appeared; he really needs to be either repackaged or future endeavored. JBL-Michaels was good, but I was surprised that it seemingly ended the angle. I suspect Rebecca will somehow play a continued role in this feud all the way to WrestleMania, with her having to work for JBL or possibly turning on Shawn. Edge made the show; his taking out Kofi injected a dose of watchability (is that a word?) to the match that it otherwise wouldn't have had. His smile right after Cena was eliminated was golden; nobody else plays the opportunistic scumbag as well as Edge. I watch WWE PPVs at a restaurant and miss a lot of the audio; perhaps this is a reason I didn't find the show as entertaining as apparently many others did.

Alex Roberts in the U.K. (6.5): Best Match: Raw Chamber. Worst Match: Orton vs. McMahon. In general terms I'm not a fan of the Elimination Chamber gimmick given how average at best they've been to date, but some progress was made at No Way Out. I still can't label either Chamber match as excellent but a combination of insane bumps and unexpected booking at least made them both more enjoyable and exciting than previous years. I also want to single Rey Mysterio out for praise. He put on a one-man show in the Raw Chamber match and highlighted just how badly he's been wasted in recent times. Having said that, as good as booking relatively early eliminations of both Champions was in each match, the way Edge was shoehorned into the Raw Chamber was mind-numbingly bad. He beat up Kofi and just gets his slot? WWE better have a good explanation up their sleeve for this and it better not be a non-explanation of "moving" Edge and the World Title to Smackdown and Triple H and the WWE Title to Raw. For all the talk of the product being shaken up as a result of this show, I don't see it. Triple H is Champion (again) and heading to a WrestleMania main event (again) and Edge is Champion (again) and heading toward a WrestleMania main event (again). What's fresh about that? The entire booking situation at the top of the card is as stale as it was going into No Way Out. It just looks a little different now. Outside of the Chamber matches, I was really disappointed by No Way Out. I had hoped Finlay and Swagger would mesh more than they did in the ring but they didn't and the way Shane McMahon was booked in his match with Orton was just ridiculous. Seriously Vince McMahon gets punted in the head to put Orton over and then they book him to get beaten up by Shane? It just doesn't make any sense at all. Shane did however bring his trademark bumps and did at least lose the match, but the damage has unfortunately been done to Orton's momentum and credibility. Orton needed to destroy Shane last night. Michaels-JBL wasn't as bad as I would have predicted a few months ago but still brought an end to Michaels's run of excellent matches. JBL needs to give serious consideration to stepping out of the ring again and finding another use for himself. All in all, a mixed bag of a show with some aspects exceeding expectations and others disappointing.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "WWE PPV Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on the PPV, click here.

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