Customer Reviews

WWE No Way Out 2006

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

FOREWORD
---My review is a bit outdated, because it was typed the night of PPV. The only thing I've changed is my final comments at the end of the review. Hope you like - Enjoy!

ORIGINAL REVIEW
The "No Way Out" PPVs are given the unenviable task of hyping of "WrestleMania", and often not given much of a chance to strut their stuff. I can now say that this is the best "No Way Out" PPV since the spectacular 2001 edition. But is that saying anything?

1) Cruiserweight Championship
Gregory Helms (champion) vs. Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Paul London
vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Super Crazy vs. Psicosis vs. Nunzio vs. Kid Kash vs. Funaki
---I was very surprised when I learned that this wasn't a Gauntlet match, where there would be one-on-one matches until the final fall declared the winner. However, this is a match that continues the rejuvenation of the Cruiserweight divison. Every wrestler gets enough spots and showcase time to prove their worth as a Cruiserweight champion. Even wrestlers that I don't usually care for, like Nunzio or Scotty 2 Hotty, give good athletic performances in this crowd-pleasing opener. Long two-counts, high-risk moves, energetic crowd...what more do we want in an opener? It's not the best light-heavyweight action I've ever seen, but it's the best this year.
"7.5 out of 10"

2) Bobby Lashley vs. JBL
---Fit Finlay actually comes out first, brawling with Lashley. When JBL finally enters, he puts on a decent performance as he tries to keep up with the dominant rookie. Lashley has been on a roll since his debut, and his career looks brighter after this one. There's nothing really "must-see" about this, but it's way better than I thought it would be.
"5.0 out of 10"

3) MNM (WWE Tag Team champions) vs. Matt Hardy & Tatanka
---Yes...sadly Jeff Hardy is not the mystery parnter...but Tatanka is a more-than-worthy secondary pick. Every one of these guys gives a good show here. Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro are continuing to prove themselves as one of the best Tag Teams around today. Tatanka is impressive, and can still keep up with the young guys. Matt Hardy, as always, is a solid wrestler, and this match proves that Tatanka and he deserve the "SmackDown" spotlight. I don't know why this wasn't for MNM's tag titles, but stay tuned, because MNM are about to face some serious contenders.
"8.0 out of 10"

4) U.S. Championship
Chris Benoit vs. Booker T (champion)
---Booker T and Sharmell almost pulled the jip of the decade when Booker first announced he was going to forfeit the title. He had me convinced, but thankfully it was just a cheap ploy to sucker-punch the Rabid Wolverine...and off we go. The positives pretty much speak for themselves, as Booker T and Benoit always know how to wrestle each other. They have great in-ring psychology, and they show some neat counters to each other's holds. But to be honest, there really wasn't much I haven't seen before. If you've missed out on most of these two athletes' previous matches against each other (they've had TWO Best-of-Seven Series), then you'll like this one a lot. For me, a longtime fan, this wasn't very original. This match has "final act" written all over it, and I can't say I'm upset about that. But I overstate the negatives too much; these two work hard and put on a good match. What more do we need?
"7.0 out of 10"

5) Winner Goes To "WrestleMania 22"
Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio
---First off, I was one of those fans who didn't care for the Eddie Guerrero backstory. I loved Eddie as a wrestler, and admire the human being that everybody has claimed him to be. But Orton is a gifted enough athlete who didn't need that kind of heat. He's a cocky jackass who's got the moves to back it up. Rey Mysterio didn't need the storyline either, because he's one of the best superstars in today's business. But enough of the storyline, because the match is all that counts --- for me, it doesn't meet its potential. Both men take some hard bumps and deliver some vicious strikes and maneuvers. But those jaw-dropping spots happen too infrequently, as half of the match consists of Orton beating up Mysterio. This match could've been a fast-paced, high-risk extravaganza...but instead it's too slow-paced (in a bad way). I like how the match ends with a shocking conclusion, but while this isn't a bad contest, I won't watch it again.
"6.0 out of 10"

6) World Championship
Kurt Angle (champion) vs. The Undertaker
---Even though this rivalry came out of nowhere, it developed into a strong main event. The Undertaker and Kurt Angle are both hard strikers, smart grapplers, agile, strong, and tough. These two have matched up before, but this is their best match ever. I have to admit that they play off the count-out rules a little too much, as often either wrestler keeps restarting the 10-count to prolong the match. But Angle and Taker are always doing something new, so it's not unbearable. In other words, when they restart those 10-counts, they don't just stomp away or punch, they lock on a new submission hold, or get countered by the opponent. This match is not repetitive because Taker and Angle have a huge arsenal of maneuvers, and know how to use them. The Undertaker's limit as a submission-resistant competitor is put to the ultimate test. Angle's resiliancy is pushed harder than ever before, even when compared to Shawn Michaels or Big Show or Brock Lesnar, or anybody for that matter. Will Taker tap? Can Angle survive? Even if you know the ending of this match, the closing minutes are breathtaking! There's something --- that indescribable "something" --- missing to make it a classic. But please, don't pass this match up!
"8.5 out of 10"

OVERALL
I liked this PPV a lot more than I thought I would. It's a wrestling PPV, with very little time wasted on backstage segments or promos. "No Way Out 2006" has 6 matches, each with enough time to tell its own story. I ordered this on PPV, and it holds up incredibly well on DVD --- a rarity, for sure. Sadly, I don't SmackDown had a very good showing at "WrestleMania 22". After watching this event, you'd never guess that the Friday Night team were going to drop the ball.

I said this on my Armageddon review but usually, SmackDown PPV's are just really bad for various reasons but this one was the second one in a row that it was something I would actually watch again. Again, it's not perfect but it's still good.

Crusierweight Champion Gregory Helms vs. Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Paul London vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Super Crazy vs. Psicosis vs. Nunzio vs. Kid Kash vs. Funaki - Well, the yearly cruiserweight push is in full effect here. It's a great opening match for everyone to go ahead & get their spots in. Crusierweights will always get a PPV off to a great start.

Bobby Lashley vs. JBL - One of JBL's best performance I've seen from him because he doesn't just to his usual "slow brawling while I bleed" formula and also doesn't make Lashley look "green." The story with Finlay in the beginning was also a nice twist to not make Lashley look weak in defeat.

MNM vs. Matt Hardy & Tatanka - This was was suprizing good as MNM are the best tag team in WWE today (hey, they even carred ou of shape Animal & Heidenrich to decent matches), Matt Hardy is a great wrestler when he's allowed to be, and even Tatanka kept up with everyone else eventhough he's been out of the WWE for almost a decade. A great tag team match.

U.S. Champion Booker T vs. Chris Benoit - Honestly, these two don't have a bad match but after seeing them face each other so many times (best of 7 in WCW, best of 4 in WWE, along with other matches here & there setting up these series) that there was nothing new here & the match just seemed repetative.

Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio - I won't waste space about the Eddie Guerrero storyline going into this except for the fact that I didn't like it PERIOD! As for the match, it wasn't horrible but it wasn't anything memorable. You would think they would have the whole "Mysterio's gonna kill him" mentality but no, Mysterio had no emotion in this match & just "walked through" his performance while Orton just DOMINATED the whole match and got a cheap pin at the end.

World Champion Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker - This match was worth the money alone. With the exception of their Fully Loaded 2000 match, these two have NEVER had a bad match and always tore the house down. This is a step below their SmackDown match (on Undertaker's DVD) but still great. Mat wrestling & their typical spots...it's just something great to watch and the ending is something that just came out of nowhere.

Also somewhere on here, Batista makes a special appearence to which got one of the loudest pop of the night just to thank the fans & say a few words.

DVD extras include Mark Henry confronting Batista backstage, Booker T & Sharmell being scared off by Boogeyman, and Kurt Angle's post-match interview being interrupted by Randy Orton.

Overall, I would get this because I was pleased overall after I watched this.

In my opinion, this was my personal favorite no way out, until '09, as this event presented the angle/taker classic. I highly recommend this to any fan. Thanks for reading!

WWE Crusierweight Championship
Psicosis vs. Super Crazy vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Paul London vs. Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Funaki vs. Kid Kash vs. Nunzio vs. Gregory Helms
What a great match to open this show! As i've stated before, one of the few strengths of SmackDown at this time was its crusierweight division. And looking over the rest of the card, there are a couple of matches that could've been eliminated to expand the length of this match. All the participants put on high energy, high-flying spot filled match that could've been a lot longer.
4/5

Bobby Lashley vs. JBL
This is one of those matches that really should have been saved for smackdown. Lashley went into this match with an undefeated streak (at the time) in singles matches appearances. Thanks to a clothesline from hell from JBL and Finlay's shillelagh, it stops here. Not that much of a fan of JBL's, sure he's been good in some matches and he does some good heel promos, but I wouldn't find myself sitting in front of the TV anxiously awaiting his match. I really don't know that much about Lashley to care either way. He's a big guy, and he does have a couple of moves, but I found myself counting the minutes until the next match.
3/5

Matt Hardy and Tatanka vs. MNM
Sadly the mystery partner wasn't jeff hardy, but tatanka wasn't a bad choice either. This was one of the better tag team matches that smackdown put on and it showed here. Tatanka proved that he can still hang around with the young superstars and matt hardy maintained his solid wrestler status. Some quick moves by mnm as always make this match fairly exciting as well. In the end, hardy and tatanka pull out the win in a superb tag team bout.
4/5

United States Championship
Booker T vs. Chris Benoit
This was their last match i believe in their best of 7 series. This wasn't as good as their other encounters, but it wasn't bad either, the match is just to similar to their others. Some good technical wrestling spots in this one, but all i can really say to sum this up is, it wasn't bad, but had nothing new.
3.75/5

Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton
As most of you already know, this was for rey's wrestlemania 22 championship shot. I really expected more from these two here. Insted of the highflying, you really see ground moves, with orton dominating and beating on mysterio, with the occasional comeback from rey. A couple of standout spots to benefit this match, including the hard swing to the ringpost on rey and a mid-air countering dropkick from orton. In the end, orton got a cheap rollup pin to win, but at the wm 22 event, it was made a triple threat with rey, orton, and angle and you all know what happens there. A good match, but they could have done much better.
3.5/5

World Heavyweight Championship
Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker
Match of the night without question as this was just phenominal. With two great wrestlers like angle and taker, i knew this was going to be a classic from the start and it was. Each man used counters like i had never seen before, including angle reversing undertaker's leg drop into an ankle lock on the outside. The match had tons of physicallity and intensity. Each men were going all out, but still at the same time using calculating risk, by breaking all the 10 counts to keep the fans on the edge of their seats and anlge playing possum to give taker a huge angle slam through the announce table. Angle really worked on the leg of taker throughout, using the ankle lock in many different ways, with taker eventually fighting back, using submissions like the triangle choke. This is a near 30 minute main event that never gets boring and presents you with an exciting finish, what more could you want?
5/5

Overall, this was a very impressive no way out ppv put on by smackdown, that i recommend alone for the undertaker/angle match.
No Way Out is now called: *Elimination Chamber*.

This event continued the streak of successful PPVs from SmackDown as I have not actually enjoyed many of them in the past year but this one was clearly the best one to date as there was nothing horrible on this card with one classic match standing above the rest (and unless you have been living under a rock, you know what I am talking about).

Cruiserweight Champion Gregory Helms vs Kid Kash vs Psicosis vs Super Crazy vs Paul London vs Nunzio vs Brian Kendrick vs Scotty 2 Hotty vs Funaki. This was a great way to start the show as the cruiserweights always put on a show when given the chance & that was the case here as this was a great opener with non-stop action & everyone getting a chance to shine in this match with the story being Helms trying to be desperate to retain his title.

J.B.L. vs Lashley. This was one of both men's best performances in their careers as J.B.L. showed more effort here than I have previously seen from him while Lashley held his own here in what was a good clash with Finlay playing a factor in the end.

Right around here, Batista made his return to the ring to thank the fans & recieved a loud pop for his efforts.

M.N.M. vs Matt Hardy & Tatanka. Well unfortunately for die-hard fans, Jeff Hardy was not the mystery partner but this was actually a great tag team match as Tatanka didn't show any ring rust & held his own with the younger guys while we all know what Matt Hardy is capable of doing when he is given an opportuninty & the fact that M.N.M. were the best tag team in the WWE at the time.

United States Champion Booker T vs Chris Benoit. Before the match, there was a nice twist added to the match that actually added some more tension to the match. These two have never had a bad match but this was just the exact pattern that both men established in their previous matches with the difference being that Booker relied more on his heel tactics here while Benoit just would not be denied this time.

Winner Goes To WrestleMania: Rey Mysterio vs Randy Orton. First of all, the storyline leading into this match was tasteless since it revolved around the recently deceased Eddie Guerrero but past that, this match was mostly dominated by Orton with Rey getting some offense here in there before being cheated out of his title opportunity.

World Champion Kurt Angle vs The Undertaker. This match is worth the price of admission as we all know to expect a quality match between these two. Both men took a different approach than their previous encounter as they mat-wrestled with Angle targeting Taker's leg at various times that lead to some exciting sequences from both men countering their submission holds & even exchanges from both men's finisher holds. This was my favorite match of the year as Taker & Angle didn't disappoint in what was a classic encounter & probably their best match together.

DVD extras include an interview with Kurt Angle after the match along with the confrontation with Randy Orton & Booker T with his wife, Sharmell being scared by the Boogeyman.

Overall, this event is worth getting your hands on as again, there wasn't a bad match on the card while the main event is worth the price of the DVD alone.

1. 9-Man Cruiserweight Match for the Cruiserweight Championship
Gregory Helms (c) vs Kid Kash vs Brian Kendrick vs Paul London
vs Funaki vs Scotty 2 Hotty vs Psicosis vs Super Crazy vs
Nunzio

Good way to open up the show and a great Crusierwight Match.
Winner: Gregory Helms
Match Rating: 8/10

2. Bobby Lashley vs JBL

I expected alot from this match but all I got was a boring match with the wrong winner.
Winner: JBL
Match Rating: 5/10

3. Non Title Match
Matt Hardy and Tatanka vs MNM

Alot of people were saying that this match should have been for the WWE Tag Team Championship. I agree and disagree. I agree because Matt Hardy and Tatanka put on a hell of a show, and I disagree because there already was a Cruiserweight Championship match, and the US Title was going to be on the line, as well as the World Heavyweight Title. Anyway, this match was good none the less.
Winners: Matt Hardy and Tatanka
Match Rating: 7/10

4. United States Championship
Booker T vs Chris Benoit
Great match in Benoit and Booker's rivalry. And finally Benoit wins the title back!
Winner: Chris Benoit
Match Rating: 8/10

5. No. 1 Contenders Match for the World Heavyweight Championship
Rey Mysterio vs Randy Orton
A match that had a lot of potential to be a great match turned out cool at first and then just got boring and then the ending really pissed me off.
Winner: Randy Orton
Match Rating: 6/10


6. World Heavyweight Championship
Kurt Angle vs Undertaker
Absolutley PERFECT! You really couldn't ask for more in a match like this! A lot of back and fourth action! "Will Undertaker submit!" "Can Undertaker win the World Heavyweight Championship!?" "Will Angle Survive the Deadman!?"
Winner: Kurt Angle
Match Rating: 10/10

Cruiserweight Championship: Gregory Helms vs. Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Funaki vs. Nunzio vs. Super Crazy vs. Psichosis vs. Paul London vs. Brain Kendricks vs. Kid Kash (8/10). This was a great way to start the paperview with non-stop action all the way through and a lot of high flying moves.

Bobby Lashley vs. JBL (7.5/10). This was a pretty good big mans match but i just think JBL just brought this match down with his slowness and his lately flabbery out of shape body. Decent match anyway.

Nitro and Mercury vs. Tatanka and Matt Hardy (8/10). This was a really good tag team match but it was just weird because the titles werent on the line and hardy and tatanka are a weird team. But, it was a well done tag team match.

Match 7 of the Best of 7 Series for the United States Championship: Chris Benoit vs. Booker T (9/10). I just love how these two mix and they are both good wrestlers expecially benoit.

Winner gets World Title Shot @ Wrestlemania: Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio (8/10). This was a good match but i thought this had potential to be much better but it was still decent.

World Heavyweight Championship: Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker (10/10). This definitly has to be match of the year. It was just great. These two put on a great wrestling match with submissions, counters, near falls make this match great. This reminded me of austin vs. undertaker back in the days it was purely great.

1). Cruiserweight Championship
Gregory Helms vs. Scottie 2 Hotty vs. Nunzio vs. Kid Kash vs. Paul London vs. Brian Kendricks vs. Psychosis vs. Super Crazy vs. Funaki
Awesome match. It's very fast paced and everyone gets a good chance to show their true talents. I was pulling for Kid Kash, but oh well. He still did some awesome moves.
9 out of 10... yea, it's a great match

2). Bobby Lashley vs. JBL
I've never been a JBL fan. All he does to me is close line and makes a scared face. I've become a quick Bobby Lashley fan, but this match did nothing for me at all.
5 out of 10

3). MNM vs. Matt Hardy and Tatanka
Much better then I thought it would be. MNM work great in the ring, seems like they've done it forever. Matt Hardy always does great and even Tatanka shined. All four men worked this match into some better then usual.
7 out of 10

4). United States Championship
Chris Benoit vs. Booker T
Great match. These men always put on something fantastic and this was no exception. Benoits intensity always brings the best out of his opponents.
8 out of 10

5). WM 22 World Heavyweight title #1 Contendership
Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton
Disapointment. The match was too slow and had a bad ending. These men are still fun to watch.
7 out of 10.

6). World Heavyweight Championship
Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker
Storyline was bad going in, but the match itself was great. I thought at the beginning there was no way Taker would win it, but by the end I had no idea who would take it. This match kept my interest all the way through!
9 out of 10

1). Cruiserweight Championship
Gregory Helms vs. Scottie 2 Hotty vs. Nunzio vs. Kid Kash vs. Paul London vs. Brian Kendricks vs. Psychosis vs. Super Crazy vs. Funaki 8.5/10. Great way to start off the show. There were a lot of top rope moves and fast action. Every cruiserweight got their chance to come close to winning but Helms took this one.

2). Bobby Lashley vs. JBL 7.5/10. This was a pretty good match. Jbl did good and so did Lashley.

3). MNM vs. Matt Hardy and Tatanka 8/10. This was a good tag team match. The titles werent on the line so it was a little messed up. The ending was great when hardy hit the twist of fate the same time tatanka hit a sumoan drop and tatanka got the pin.

4). United States Championship
Chris Benoit vs. Booker T 8/10. Good solid match. Some slow points only because the match was long but good near falls and counters.

5). WM 22 World Heavyweight title #1 Contendership
Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton 7/10. This match had so much potential but it was just to slow and orton dominated most of it.

6). World Heavyweight Championship
Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker 10/10! Great step up by these 2 after the disappointing match before. These guys worked to gether real good. There was some fighting on the outside as well which was good. This match was 10/10 because of the submissions. Angle musta had the ankle lock on 5 different times, and undertaker used submissions countering the anckle lock into a triangle choke a couple times. Awesome match with counters and both men put in a great match for about 25-30 minutes. I think this might be match of the year candidate.
Overall, a very good show and no real fillers.

Cruiserweight Open
Good match that was fast paced. A bit short though.
RATING: 80/100

JBL vs. Lashley
Much better than I expected. It was probably one of JBL's better matches and definitely Lashley's most competitive. I would have preferred a clean ending but that didn't harm things too much.
RATING: 78/100

Hardy & Tatanka vs. MNM
A was very disappointed to see Tatanka as the mystery tag partner, I mean why make such a big deal of the partner if its only going to be him?! Average to good tag match that had some good wrestling by MNM and Hardy.
RATING: 70/100

Booker T vs. Benoit
Another match in their feud! Quite a good one though that I feel was the second best of the night and probably their second best this feud. Good job!
RATING: 86/100

Orton vs. Mysterio
I was expecting a little bit more out of this one, but it was still very good. I would have definitely preferred another 5 -10 minutes that ends after a RKO to conclude a gruelling classic. But no real problems as it definitely was of sufficient quality
RATING: 85/100

Undertaker vs. Kurt Angle
Wow! What a setup this match had! It really did deliver for me. I feel that the only thing missing here was some high risk moves (perhaps an Angle moonsault) and maybe a few of each other's finishers thrown into the mix. A phenomenal match that has to be appreciated. Well done to my 2 favourites!
RATING: 94/100

82% - This was an outstanding PPV and without a doubt, one of the best I have seen. No terrible matches and and a few really good ones. Seldom has the WWE produced this! Excellent!

No Way Out 2006 continued the rivalry of Chris Benoit and Booker T for the USA Title as both men showed another great technical battle, Randy Orton got the chance to main event his very first WM, and Kurt Angle and the Undertaker put on a great match that went back to their old WWE days.....

Crusierweight Championship
Gregory Helms [Champion] vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Paul London vs. The Mexicools vs. Funaki vs. Scottie Two Hottie vs. Kid Kash vs. Nunzio:
Don't blink, or you will miss something in this high flying match. I love it when the crusierweights get more than 5 minutes to show their high flying ability, and this is one of the best CW matches in quite some time. Highlights include Gregory Helms staying out of the way while the other CWs continued to pummel one another. Watch Psichosis dive over the tope ropes onto three or four guys in an exciting moment. Gregory Helms still kept the title after pinning Psichosis. 8/10

JBL vs. Bobby Lashley:
Strength and Power met Strength and power. Fit Finaly actually distracted Lashley in the beginning as JBL tried to gain the upper hand, but Lashley would fight back and give three Belly to Belley Overhead suplexes to JBL, even busting him open. Fit Finlay comes back into the ring and distracts Lashley again to allow JBL to hit the clothesline from hell for the win. 7/10

Open Challenge Match
MNM vs. Matt Hardy and Tatanka:
This was an okay match, but I hope Matt Hardy and Tatanka do not win the belts in the coming weeks. No offense to anyone, but MNM deserve to hold the belts untill they face a legit tag team like the Mexicools or London and Kendrick. The match was back and forth and Hardy and Tatanka win after a Samoan Drop and a Twist of Fate on Mercury get the pin. 8/10

USA Championship
Booker T [Champion] vs. Chris Benoit:
As much as I like seeing these two wrestle each other, I think it's time we saw others challenge for the title. The match was very back and forth and very hard hitting. Watch a huge superplex by Benoit onto Booker T in the middle of the match. Sharmell tries to distract the ref but Benoit knocks her off the apron and applies both the sharpshooter and the Crossface for Booker T to tap out. 8/10 [Good match but just like the previous ones.]

Winner Faces Champion at WM 22
Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton:
I don't see why after all the hype, plus the fact Rey now holds the record for in ring time in a RR back in January, Rey losses his chance to face the champion at WM. [There is a rumor that it will be a triple threat match] Anyway the match was very fast paced and the crowd was really into giving Randy a hard time. All through the match Randy worked on Rey's arm, including whacking it against steel steps, but Rey fought back and even cut Randy above the eye as he gave a big senton drop off the ropes onto Orton on the outside. The end comes when Rey misses a 619 and Randy scoops him up with the help of the ring ropes for the win. 8/10

World Heavyweight Championship
Kurt Angle [champion] vs. The Undertaker:
The last time we saw these two fight for a title was in September of 2003, but unfortunately Brock Lesnar beat up both men causing a DQ and ending the match. that was 2 and a half years ago and now these two fought once again, and this time there was no interference.

The match was long and very methodical. Both men used submission holds, the ankle lock and the triangle choke, and both men used a lot of brawling. Highlights include Angle and Taker being sent into steel steps and then Angle hitting the Angle Slam onto Taker through an announce table! Both men reverse submission holds until Angle rolls up Taker for the surprise pinfall, retaining his title. 9/10

I would reccomend this ppv for the Crusierweight championship, for the ending of the Benoit/Booker T match as the entire crowd chants, "You Tapped Out!" to Booker and the Rey/Orton match and the main event. Not a bad No Way Out. Not the best but definately worth checking out.....