Review of WWE: No Way Out 2005

Introduction

First introduced to the WWE PPV roster in 1998, the annual WWE No Way Out event has - after originally being replaced in 1999 - become a perennial intermediary PPV in the calendar. Sandwiched between the two big `uns, January`s Royal Rumble and April`s Wrestlemania, it has often unfairly been seen as a time-filler; a event to keep things simmering until Wrestlemania`s metaphoric flame-thrower.

Whether it is "filler" or not, though, depends entirely on quality of each bout, not No Way Out`s prior reputation. In this instance, one could not help but feel remarkably underwhelmed by a match card that seemed to promise significantly less than a paying viewer would expect. Indeed, even with the special stipulations in the JBL vs Big Show bout - a cage match where escape was made impossible by the use of barbed wire - only John Cena`s bout with hometown boy Kurt Angle filled this reviewer with anticipation.

Video

Video on this disc is presented in the now-customary 4:3 non-anamorphic PAL. The transfer to DVD begins as well as expected, and I believed I would again be able to say that this transfer was as good to view as the original telecast had been. However, in the final hour of the event, compression artefacts became much more noticeable, particularly in the Cena/Angle & JBL/Show matches. In the former, the over-use of blue in the ring ropes, the referee`s jersey, and the attire of both Angle & Cena proved somewhat distracting in the wide camera shots and was clearly an issue for the transfer. In the main cage match main event, wide shots of the match from outside the cage also caused compression artefacts to be much more conspicuous than they should have been.

That said, most viewers will not concern themselves with these slight video issues, and it would be ludicrous to consider not purchasing this DVD on the back of these difficulties.

Audio

Presented in standard WWE DVD Dolby Digital 2.0, audio on this disc is clear and never over-bearing, and is very good for a DVD of this genre.

Features

Considering that the actual event lasts over 150 minutes, there is little scope for a large set of extras on this disc, but what little there is adds depth to the event. Including excerpts from the WWE`s pre-PPV teaser show, and a promotional vignette for the main event cage match, these extras may not make for repeating viewing but may enhance your anticipation of the event. That is, if you watch the extras before you watch the main feature! Also including is a making-of, as well as the actual music video, for the song "Enemy" by wrestler Chris Jericho`s band Fozzy.

Conclusion

In my introduction I spoke of how an event`s reputation is no guarantee of its quality. To continue the analogy, if Glastonbury sucked this year, it was probably because of the bands, not the event. So what does one say about an event headlined by JBL and Big Show?

Frankly, this is one of the poorest PPVs that the WWE has broadcast in recent times. If you are wondering why there was no pre-match build-up for the bout between Booker T & John Heidenreich, it is because it was a match that was thrown together just three days before the event took place. Filler? You betcha. And it showed.

Unfortunately, the rest of the event followed suit. The opening tag match between the Basham Brothers and the combination of Eddy Guerrero and Rey Misterio Jr. was entertaining in a free-to-air TV kind of way, but was decidedly average for pay-per-view. John Cena`s clash with Kurt Angle was tremendously well paced, but the match was marred by a horrible lack of fluidity in its opening exchanges. The main event cage match was never destined to be technically brilliant, but both combatants failed to entertain, much to the chagrin of a muted live crowd.

Die-hards may wish to acquire this DVD to complete their collection. More thrifty viewers will skip directly to Wrestlemania.