Review of WWE: No Way Out 2006

Introduction

Held on 19th February from the First Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland, WWE No Way Out involved the performers from the Smackdown TV show, main-evented by a World Heavyweight Title match as Kurt Angle defended against The Undertaker.

The full card was as follows:

World Heavyweight Championship:
Kurt Angle (c) vs. Undertaker

Opportunity for a World Championship Match at WrestleMania 22:
Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton

United States Championship:
Chris Benoit vs. Booker T (c)

Matt Hardy and Tatanka vs. MNN

JBL vs. Bobby Lashley

Cruiserweight Championship:
Kid Kash vs. Psicosis vs. Super Crazy vs. Nunzio vs. Funaki vs. Paul London vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Scotty Too Hotty vs. Gregory Helms (c)

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL and is very good for a DVD of this genre. It is a noticeable improvement on the live SKY broadcast, which was hindered by a lot of blocking, especially during the light shows that highlight the wrestlers` entrances. This is certainly one of the better fullscreen transfers that you are going to see, especially since the main feature alone lasts 2 3/4hrs.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 and is good for a DVD of this genre. Entrance themes, in-ring dialogue and commentary - provided adequately by Michael Cole and Tazz - can all be identified through the organised chaos of the show.

For international viewers, there are also 2.0 soundtracks in French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.

Features

Extras on this disc are limited by the length of the main feature. This is fine by me, as the video quality of WWE DVDs has gone up noticeably on its pay-per-view events because of the lack of extras hogging disc space.

Here, there are just a couple of short interviews with Kurt Angle, Booker T and Sharmell, and Mark Henry and Batista. Absolutely nothing worth watching twice.

Conclusion

Whilst the WWE Smackdown show does have several of the most popular stars on its roster, including Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio, The Undertaker, and Batista, it has often been said that they are lacking top-level heels for the good guys to work with. In truth, only Randy Orton is considered as a top "bad guy", and opinion is even divided about him.

With that then, it was The Undertaker who stepped up to the plate at No Way Out to challenge Kurt Angle for the World Heavyweight Title, which was an intriguing title situation, given the popularity of both men and the fact that the storyline between the two was of mutual respect, but also of ultimate desire for the gold.

The match itself lived up to, and perhaps exceeded, every expectation of it, telling a great story of Angle setting up his opponent for the submission, with The Undertaker having to use some hitherto under-utilised technique in order to avoid getting caught. This was the best American wrestling match that I have seen so far in 2006.

Elsewhere on the card, there were good matches between Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio, and Chris Benoit and Booker T, although the former was marred by a poor finish which took the sheen off an exciting bout.

The aforementioned three matches were certainly the best of the card, and were the last three of the evening, which at least meant that the dross was largely forgotten about by the end of the show. Still, had I had to pay for the privilege of watching the Cruiserweight Title match, JBL vs Bobby Lashley, or MNM vs Matt Hardy and Tatanka, I would not have been best pleased.

Overall, an unsatisfactory show that is saved by the main event. Buy it for this, and this alone.