WWE" No Way Out 2009 – DVD Review

DVD Reviews, Reviews

nowayout2009

WWE’s No Way Out is now set in stone as the event that will always take place between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. The Rumble would find the one superstar that would main event WrestleMania while No Way Out would help put all the final pieces in place for the biggest matches at each year’s grand stage. But besides helping organize the card for WrestleMania; No Way Out has a grander purpose in mind and that’s to deliver a message that sometimes there is just no escape. Surround on all sides and over their heads by miles of unforgiving steel, the Elimination Chamber lets the superstars realize they must fight to survive for they cannot flee.

February 15, 2009 would mark the day when twelve superstars would go into the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington with one goal in mind and that is to walk out as a champion. Both the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships would be decided on that night and they would either stay with their owners or change hands inside the confines of the relentless Elimination Chamber. Five superstars from SmackDown would enter their chambers and prepared to battle WWE Champion Edge in hopes of ripping the title from around his waist. We would also see five superstars from RAW step into the so-called circle of death looking to relinquish John Cena of his World Heavyweight title. Before the night was out though, one wrestler would do something that no other had ever done in history.

The rest of the night was full of action as well including the third major title being up for grabs as Finlay looked to use his veteran knowledge and brute force to wrestle the ECW Title from Jack Swagger. Shane McMahon looked to fight in the name of his family against a man that had been tormenting them for months. Randy Orton looked to not only win the main event at the upcoming WrestleMania, but also take out every member of the family that had put together the company he was currently in. Finally we would witness an employer versus his disgruntled employee when JBL took on Shawn Michaels. JBL was out to prove he is better then not only HBK but everyone while Michaels only wanted his freedom and monetary independence. Everyone on this night tried to escape with something, but for more then half of those competing, there was No…Way…Out!

~ Elimination Chamber Match For The WWE Championship: Edge (c) Vs. Triple H Vs. Undertaker Vs. Jeff Hardy Vs. Big Show Vs. Vladimir Kozlov – Odd that this would open the show but I guess the two big Elimination Chambers had to be separated by some time. Still though, I would have made the RAW Chamber the opened and put this match as the main event but that’s just me.

This is actually a fantastic match that is full of brutality, technical wrestling, odd team-ups, and just a lot of fun. Tons of action all over the place and quite the shocker that Edge ended up being the first man eliminated. I hate to say it because he’s a pretty dominant force in the WWE so far, but Kozlov is just boring as all living hell. He’s a big brawler in the ring and an intimidating force, but God he sucks. The rest of the match is really good with some hard spots and big surprises, but once Kozlov gets eliminated then it makes the match even better. Hell of an opener for this PPV and well worth the price of the DVD alone.

~ No Holds Barred Match: Shane McMahon Vs. Randy Orton – This match is nothing more then just a spotfest with a ton of lying around time thrown in between. Take out most of the incredibly long selling it and it would go from a twenty minute battle to something around eight. Still there are some good shots all around including Shane-O taking a superplex from the top rope and through a table that just looked like it might have killed him dead. Not one of the better “no holds barred” matches, but still fun for the sheer “Oh My God” and “Ooooo” value.

~ ECW Championship Match: Jack Swagger (c) Vs. Finlay – I like Swagger, I really do. But the dude’s lisp reminds me way too much of Chris Masters who got on my every last nerve no matter what he did. Swagger is much more talented though so I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Finlay is a great wrestler too and always has been, but there is just nothing between these two that says they should ever step in the ring together again. It was just kind of dull and almost seemed as if they were merely sleepwalking through a rehearsal together.

~ All Or Nothing Match: Shawn Michaels Vs. JBL – This is very much a match I was looking forward to but sadly it just doesn’t deliver making it the second dull match in a row on this PPV. JBL has been a bit of a driving force since coming back to active wrestling, but he just seems to show his age here and that the lingering injuries are taking their toll. The storyline between these two has been excellent, and it actually could have gone on much longer but it appears as if there were other plans in place so now is the payoff. Too bad that the match couldn’t live up to the awesomeness of the storyline. JBL couldn’t keep up and HBK couldn’t do the whole match on his own as much as he tried.

~ Elimination Chamber Match For The World Heavyweight Championship: John Cena (c) Vs. Rey Mysterio Vs. Kofi Kingston Vs. Chris Jericho Vs. Mike Knox Vs. Kane – Before the match, Edge rushes down and takes out Kofi Kingston on his way to the ring. Edge then gets himself put into the match allowing him to compete in his second Elimination Chamber of the night. Kind of interesting although I wouldn’t have minded him leaving Kofi alone and taking Rey out, but we all know that wouldn’t happen. I was right in my suggestion earlier in this review that the two Chamber matches should have switched positions on the card. The whole first half of the match is kind of dull and uneventful but things get rolling once everyone is out of the chambers. Seeing Cena eliminated third helps my feelings on this match a lot too!

The event is shown in 1.33:1 Full Screen format and the WWE continues their awesome production values as everything looks great.

The event is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and it also is flawless with commentary making great sounds out the center speaker allowing the pyro, entrance themes, and crowd noise to fill the room around you.

Todd Grisham Interviews The Winner Of The Elimination Chamber Match For The World Heavyweight Championship – Todd tries to say Edge cheated, but Edge rebuffs him and talks about his win. (0:49)

RAW January 29, 2009: Unsanctioned Match Shane McMahon Vs. Randy Orton – This was really good build-up for what would eventually be the main event of WrestleMania 25. Orton and Shane slugged it out for a while before the Legacy intervened and it ended with Stephanie McMahon being punted in the head by Orton. And now finally we would have the admittance of Trips and Steph being married. (12:23)

TrailersThe Best Of Saturday Night’s Main Event


No Way Out is built on the two Elimination Chamber matches and they did their job in presenting entertainment and some great stories leading to WrestleMania. Everything in between was just not that good and that’s a shame because it sucks when a couple hours of boredom is sandwiched by fun. Shane-O and Orton was decent enough to go along with the two title matches and merit a purchase of this DVD because there is a lot of good stuff to see. But do yourself a favor and fast forward through the ECW Title match and the JBL/HBK match because you’ll end up taking the disc out before getting to the second Chamber. It is nice getting an actual extra match in the special features though so be sure to check that out.

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WWE Home Video presents No Way Out 2009. Featuring: Triple H, Edge, JBL, Chris Jericho, Finlay, Mike Knox, Kane, Undertaker, Big Show, and many more. Running time: 180 minutes. Rating: PG. Released on DVD: March 17, 2009. Available at Amazon.com