WWE – No Way Out 2007 – DVD Review

Reviews, Wrestling DVDs


Available at Amazon.com.

The Show

Originally held February 18, 2007 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The official theme song was “Powertrip” by Monster Magnet (available on iTunes).

We start with the hard sell of the main event tag team match: John Cena & Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker and Batista. “No Friends, No Trust, No Way Out” As a reminder – this is also (for the foreseeable future) the last of the exclusive brand-only (in this case Smackdown) PPVs.

MNM & Montel Vantavious Porter vs. The Hardys & Chris Benoit: (Yes, Joey is wearing the nose brace.) A very high-energy open for the night, as should be expected from these teams. MVP takes his first motion towards stepping into the upper card, showing his ability to stay with the technically proficient Benoit, and the high-spot expert Hardy Boys.

Cruiserweight Open: Another entertaining match, highlighted by the early entrance of the current Cruiserweight Champion (Gregory Helms, if you need a reminder), as well as the suprise last two entrants.

Finlay and Little Bastard versus the Boogeyman and Little Boogeyman: Highlighted by an extended sequence of Finlay beating on the Lil’ Boogeyman, this was more enjoyable than it had any reason to be. (Make no mistake: I don’t mean this was a “good’ wrestling match or anything. But, given the limitations, it was a fairly entertaining short PPV match.)

King Booker versus Kane: Two wrestlers with their own styles, which for some reason did not really mesh well in this match. By no means a terrible match, but certainly did not live up to expectations.

Paul London and Brian Kendrick (C) versus Deuce and Domino: Just in case this is being read far in the future: London and Kendrick are two highly proficient cruiserweight wrestlers (and former ROH stars), while Deuce and Domino are two pure characters, playing 50’s greasers “from the wrong side of the tracks.” DnD were fairly green, but quite a bit bigger than London and Kendrick – so they made the tag champs look that much better while being totally outwrestled through 95% of the match.

Bobby Lashley (C) versus Mr. Kennedy: Anyone who reads my regular A Look on the Bright Side column knows that I’m very high on Ken Kennedy. And this match was an early indicator of why: he was able to go with a relatively young but much more powerful wrestler in Lashley, and still bring out a well-paced match.

Diva Talent Invitational: Hosted by The Miz, which is a burden this segment must crawl out from under to begin with. It starts with a performance by Extreme Expose – well, probably another burden, although I will give props to Kelly for keeping on the same beat as her two co-dancers this time. (And, bonus to Layla for looking as hot as ever.) This followed by a much-too-long skit from Jillian Hall about her American Idol-wanna-be status, and a quick catfight involving all of the listed “Divas”. Ashley’s appearance, as you’ve no doubt seen by now, and is be-fitting her upcoming appearnce in “Playboy” magazine, of course takes the cake.

Batista and the Undertaker versus John Cena and Shawn Michaels: It would be tough to imagine a main-event level match involving these four that could *not* be, at the very least, entertaining. (And the build-up video is, as always with WWE Video, excellent.) And this time, the four participants do not disappoint, putting on a match that shows the personal pride of each character, while also pulling double-duty of driving along two seperate storylines involving the championship belts. Yes, it could be considered a bit of a “placeholder” match, but wouldn’t you be expected by anything else in the PPV between Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania?

The Audio

Available in English and Spanish Dolby Digital Surround 5.1 EX. The crowd noise is noticable on the rear speakers, but never overshadows the commentary.

The Video

Available in standard 1.33:1 fullscreen ratio.

The Extras

A theatrical trailer for The Condemned, starring Stone Cold Steve Austin.

A promo for WWE Home Video.

A ad for “The New and Improved D-X” video.

Chavo Guerrero: Post Match Comments – a fairly standard promo from Chavo, with the invocation of the various Guerrero family members, and claim to be “the greatest Cruiserweight Champion of all time.”

Ashley Behind the Scenes of the Playboy Shoot: Less than a minute’s worth of behind-the-scenes, with nothing near nudity (sorry, fanboys).

Batista, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels & John Cena vs. Rated RKO, Mr. Kennedy & MVP: a pretty decent 8 man tag from the 2/15/07 Raw, which matched up all/most of the main event contenders at the time.







The DVD Lounge’s Ratings for WWE No Way Out 2007
CATEGORY
RATING
(OUT OF 10)
THE SHOW
7
THE VIDEO
6
THE AUDIO
6
THE EXTRAS
3
REPLAY VALUE
6
OVERALL
7
(NOT AN AVERAGE)