WWE No Way out 2012 Results: Was It Worth the PPV Money?

The WWE had been putting together a surprising string of decent B level PPV's after WrestleMania with both Extreme Rules and Over the Limit exceeding expectations. Last night they tried to continue that trend with No Way Out, a PPV revived for the first time in the WWE since 2009.

Like many wrestling fans, the prospect of a WWE PPV will get my money more often than not, even when it doesn't seem like it will be worth the price at the end of the day.

But No Way Out certainly had potential to be a very good event. We had a Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship between CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and Kane that, with the added element of AJ, was becoming one of the best feuds of 2012.

We also had two decent SmackDown matches as both the Intercontinental and World Heavyweight Championships were being defended in two intriguing matches with Christian facing Cody Rhodes and Sheamus facing Dolph Ziggler.

Plus we had the main event saga with John Cena and Big Show inside a steel cage that had the implication of Cena or John Laurinaitis getting fired.

So was the PPV worth the money? Let's take a look at each match from the PPV as well as the other aspects of the show and determine whether or not it was worth the buy.

Backstage Segments/Promos

Before we get into the individual matches. Let's take a look at the backstage and promo segments from the show.

This consisted of John Cena's interview with Josh Matthews on the pre-show which was a little corny (how many different ways could they use the phrase No Way Out as a pun?) but served its purpose in setting up for the main event.

Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis also had a little exchange than turned into an interview of Laurinaitis with Matthews in which Big Johnny insulted him. He did pretty well with it and it was a good way to get some more heat on him.

The highlight of the backstage segments, though, was the performance of AJ in which she went up to each of the three members of the triple threat match and wished them good luck in the match kissing them all (Punk and Bryan on the cheek and straight up making out with Kane again). AJ has been doing a really good job in her role of this feud and this was a great way to add even more intrigue about just where her loyalties would lie in the match.

The only real promo we had was Triple H returning to address the Brock Lesnar situation. The Game did his usual excellent promo work and challenged Lesnar officially to a match as SummerSlam. I think we all knew this match was going to happen and this was just a formality, but its nice to finally hear it and its always good to see HHH doing what he does best.

Grade: A

Announcing

Another aspect of the show we must talk about is the announcing. As usual with PPV's, the announcing featured the three-man booth of Michael Cole, Jerry "The King" Lawler, and Booker T.

Maybe it was just me but the announcing seemed particularly bad last night. Booker really shouldn't be announcing PPV's because in the bigger matches his announcing is actually very distracting. I never have any idea what he is talking about.

King has just seemed out of touch lately and easily the most cringe worthy part of the show was when he proclaimed, "Listen to that their chanting! Let's go, Sheamus!" in the nights opening match. It was obvious the overwhelming majority were chanting, "Let's go, Ziggler." I understand that the WWE wants to protect their babyfaces, but that was awful.

Cole was typical Cole but as a fan it gets annoying when he consistently yells at every near fall. That pretty much gives it away that it won't be a three count.

Grade: C-

Brodus Clay vs. David Otunga

I appreciate the concept of the pre-show but the WWE has got to start giving out better matches than David Otunga vs. Brodus Clay.

I'm glad that they gave the match a little build with Otunga's sneak attack on SmackDown but it still felt like an out of nowhere match. 

Nothing special on either side in the actual ring other than the fact that they allowed Otunga to have a little offense which surprised me.

It frustrates me that WWE will allow Clay to beat The Miz clean at a PPV but they protect David Otunga by having him walk out of the ring to end the match.

Since Clay is obviously moving on into a feud with Big Show, what was the real point of that ending?

Grade: D

Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler for the World Heavyweight Championship

This match was an awesome way to open up the PPV. Ziggler was getting a huge pop which was a real pleasant surprise. 

After the reaction he got, the WWE almost has almost no choice but to push him. Alberto Del Rio's injury may just have been the break that Ziggler needed to become the main eventer that he should be.

The match itself was outstanding with both men putting on a great performance. I was terrified that when Ziggler went for his pre-match kiss from Vickie Guerrero, we were going to see another 18 second squash, but the WWE was smarter than that and it was a good tease when Ziggler barely ducked out of the way of Brouge Kick.

The only thing that keeps this match from being an A+ is the result. I don't have a problem with Sheamus being champion but the reaction Ziggler was getting was evidence that he should have probably walked out as the champion.

At the very least Jack Swagger could have got involved and cost Ziggler the match so he did not look weak in defeat.

Still, it was the match of the night in my opinion and personally I hope the feud continues through MITB. 

Grade: A

Santino Marella vs. Ricardo Rodriguez in a Tuxedo Match

Ugh. That is about the only word I can use to describe this match. 

Having this thing on Raw would have been bad enough but wasting time on a comedy spot at a PPV? Come on WWE..

Yeah. Marella had a Cobra on his foot, Ricardo had ADR underwear. I get it, hilarious. Marella is holding what's supposed to be the second most prestigious title on Raw and this is the match he is in? That's the real joke.

About the only positive of this match was hearing Rodriguez actually come out to his own entrance music. 

Grade F

Christian vs. Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental Championship

This match was the reason for a lot of people I know to buy No Way Out, and it did not disappoint.

These two are both great in the ring and showed a lot of good chemistry with each other. I'm not surprised Christian won but when Rhodes kicked out of the Killswitch, I admit, I thought the belt was going to change hands.

The last couple minutes of this match were very exciting with lots of false finishes. Having Christian win with the spear was a curious move but I liked it.

Now Christian can continue his reign with the belt and Rhodes can move on into an eventual feud with Sheamus for the World Title, a win-win all around. 

Grade: A-

Fatal 4 Way Tag Team Match to Determine the No. 1 Contenders

My only quarrel with this match is that it wasn't announced before the PPV. This was a great idea and an awesome way to get more exposure for the tag team division.

All four of these teams needed air time, and they all got a chance to shine. The WWE really seems like they are invigorating the Tag Team division, and I for one am very pleased with that.

We all knew a heel team was going to win it, so the Prime Time Players seemed like the most logical choice.

I know a lot of people were clamoring for The Uso's or Kidd and Gabriel but this decision makes sense considering the way PTP have been booked since coming to SmackDown.

The added wrinkle of AW screwing over Primo and Epico was a brilliant move since that stable was going nowhere fast. It gets some needed heat on O'neil and Young and allows AW to become an effective on-screen manager.

Grade: B

Layla vs. Beth Phoenix for the Divas Championship

Considering this match had almost no build other than Beth pinning Layla on Raw last week, it was pretty tough to get excited for it.

I'm a fan of these two, though, and they have shown the ability to put on watchable Divas matches. This one however was rather dull and not at the level of their previous meeting at Over The Limit.

Plus, now that Layla won clean twice, it seems as though Beth is out of the title picture which is a step in the wrong direction for the Divas division.

Who is Layla going to feud with now? Unless they bring AJ into the mix or Kharma comes back, there are basically no other divas worth feuding with at this point.

Grade: C

Sin Cara vs. Hunico

When I first realized this match was taking place I was all set to give it an F.

After all, I absolutely despise squash matches at PPV's and the result of this one was never really in question.

Plus, Sin Care generally bores me, and if they're going to waste my time, they could have at least used Damien Sandow in this spot or even Antonio Cesaro.

However despite all of the issues with the match, it turned out to be actually relatively entertaining.

Hunico looked pretty strong in defeat and was dominating for most of the match which was surprising. Maybe these two could even feud in the future which I'm sure would be really interesting....oh wait.

Grade: B-

CM Punk vs. Kane vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship

Going into the night, this was easily the match I was most excited for.

First off, I am a huge fan of all three men in the match. Plus, with the WWE Championship on the line and AJ's involvement, it had all the makings of a classic.

Not to mention it seemed like the first time in months that Punk's title was legitimately in jeopardy. 

As expected the match was one of the better matches of the year, even if it fell short of Bryan and Punk at OTL. Bryan stood out to me in this match as he looked particularly strong, despite not walking out with the title.

I expected AJ to be more involved then just a brief run in at the end, but it's no surprise she was directly involved in the finish and the look she gave Punk at the end of the match ensured this love, um..square is far from over.

Grade: A

Ryback vs. Two Jobbers

Enough is enough with these.

I get it, Ryback is really strong and he can lift up two different guys at once.

Please get him into a real feud before he loses all interest (see Brodus Clay).

Grade: F

John Cena vs. Big Show in a Steel Cage Match

You can read my full thoughts on this match here so I won't go into too much depth about it. To sum it up, I really really hated it.

Not necessarily the match itself, which was OK, but the booking. It was way too crowded with Clay and all the rest interfering, and god forbid Cena ever lose clean to someone that is being built up as an unstoppable force.

Focusing on the match itself, Big Show's slow-paced offense was boring and it took the hyped crowed right out of the match. It had a few cool moments like Show power bombing Cena off the Cage, but once Clay showed up, the whole thing went out of control.

Grade: D

Unpredictability

One of the reasons to buy PPV's as opposed to watching Raw and SmackDown every week is that you are much more likely to see something you don't expect.

Whether it is title changes, surprise returns, cool spots, or whatever creative has up their sleeve, PPV's are best when they are unpredictable. Unfortunately, No Way Out was quite the opposite.

I can't think of a match on the card where the result surprised me, which made for an overall dull PPV.

Grade: F

Overall Value

The PPV was saved by the big three matches of Sheamus vs. Ziggler, Rhodes vs. Christian, and the Triple Threat match. However, it still wasn't enough to warrant dropping 50 dollars on the event.

When you look at the event overall there were four or five matches that were basically time wasters and that is unacceptable on a PPV. The WWE should have built up more feuds so they were ready for this event, but instead they chose to fill the time with squash matches or pointless comedic acts.

I want to say that seeing Ziggler get his pop and Punk retaining against the odds was worth the money, but it wasn't. We can only hope Money in the Bank and SummerSlam will be better booked with a larger number of entertaining feuds and quality matches. 

Grade: C

Was it worth the money?: No