I think between the years 1997 and 2001, I watched every single WWE PPV...except for a handful that even I knew weren't worth their $30 price tag. This, a placeholder event between Royal Rumble 98' and WrestleMania XIV was one such show.
The opening contest is Marc Mero and Goldust - in full goth mode - taking on The Headbangers. The point of this match seems to be get the Mero/Sable angle over as Mero, in a brilliant bit of heeling, tells her to go back to the locker room because there's only room for "1 beautiful woman" at ringside (Goldust's valet, Luna). This match was a bit better than expected, in no small part because one of the Headbangers ends up busted open on the outside and a little "color" next hurts. This is the part of Goldust's career where I think he really fell off in terms of his in-ring performance and Mero, as much as I think he was great as a heel, was much more exciting to watch when in his WCW days too. The Headbangers, meanwhile, were always passable, but never a truly great team. Not the worst match ever, and when Sable comes back the crowd does go wild for her, but this isn't one I'd ever revisit. (2/5)
Taka Michinoku defends the Light Heavyweight Championship against Pantera (with Brian Christopher on commentary) in the next match. This was a step up in terms of in-ring action as both Michinoku and Pantera are strong high-flyers, but the crowd just does not seem to be into it at all. Lawler and Christopher's commentary gets repetitive and annoying almost immediately. Its really hard to recall why Lawler was considered such a great broadcaster/commentator in the 90s when, really, his one-liners have not aged particularly well and, in matches like this, his dismissive attitude towards the competitors didn't seem to do anyone any favors (compared to Heenan who, on Nitro, would at times genuinely "pop" for what he saw from the cruiserweights). If you ignore the somewhat dead crowd and the commentary, though, this is a solid match that, had it taken place in WCW, may even be remembered as one of the better cruiser bouts of the time. (3/5)
If you would've told me that The Quebecers were under WWE contract in 1998, I wouldn't believe you - but here they are, taking on The Godwinns (who I thought were going by "Southern Justice" by this time?) in a match based on an on-going feud that seems to have occurred mostly on episodes of Shotgun Saturday Night. Yeesh. You can hear a pin drop as these two heel teams go at it. Credit to the Godwinns for actually targeting a body part and some honestly stiff work out of all 4 men, but this was just filler performed by two competent-but-unexciting teams. It doesn't go too long, but it doesn't deserve to be on a PPV either. (1.5/5)
Jim Cornette's NWA contingent - Barry Windham, The Rock n' Roll Express, and Jeff Jarrett - make their way down the aisle next. Jarrett's challenger for the NWA Championship is Bradshaw, who comes in swinging a cowbell-on-a-rope like a Stan Hansen cosplayer. Bradshaw and Windham had been tag partners as The New Blackjacks, but had broken up in January. Before the match begins, the Rock n' Roll Express and Windham are sent to the back (though Cornette gets to stay because he has a "manager's license." I was surprised by how good this was - Jarrett has pep to his step, JBL is surprisingly solid as a badass babyface looking to get some revenge on his former allies, and Cornette does classic heel manager shtick as good here as ever. There are smart transitions throughout and the crowd cares more about this match than anything that preceded it (aside from getting a look at Sable). I even liked the finish, which saw Jimmy Korderas (the ref) actually make the right call and not act like an idiot, DQ'ing Jarrett despite maybe not getting a full view of him using the racket. The rest of the NWA stable come out and take out Bradshaw but are run off by the Legion of Doom, who get a respectable pop from the Houston crowd. An "LOD" chant breaks out to wrap up a match that exceeded my expectations. (3/5)
A "War of Attrition" match, really just a 10-man tag, was up next - The Nation of Domination vs. Ken Shamrock, Ahmed Johnson, Chainz, Skull, and 8Ball (aka the Harris Twins). As one would suspect, the best action in this match comes courtesy of The Rock, D'Lo Brown, and Shamrock with the Disciples of Apocalypse being the weak link. The Rock's offense was already crisper and more energetic than anyone else's work, though Shamrock was always an intense babyface and, though it didn't really go anywhere, I love Farooq's attitude as the Nation leader who knows he's getting overshadowed and usurped but can't really do anything but grimace about it (and Ron Simmons has a hell of a pouty face). This doesn't stretch too long and the crowd goes insane when all 10 men finally come to blows and the match becomes bedlam, which shows that the live crowd was much more into this than one might presume based on how not over the DOA and Ahmed Johnson was at this point (though, to be fair, there was a time when Ahmed was very popular). Shamrock tapping The Rock gets a nice ovation and furthers their feud. Not a bad match, in fact, I could even see the argument for saying its above-average considering that it could've been a slog and a total mess but wasn't. (2.5/5)
A lengthy hype video brings us to our next bout - Vader vs. Kane. Kane was in the midst of his first run and the monster push that came with it after debuting at October's Badd Blood PPV some 3-and-a-half months earlier. While I wouldn't consider this a top tier Vader match, for a Kane match its pretty good. Neither guy tries anything new or relevatory but they're not afraid to bash eachother or attempt some respectable high spots, including a Vader Moonsault, a powerbomb from Vader onto Kane (how many guys can say they've done that?), and the eventual Tombstone finish from the Big Red Monster. We also get a bit of requisite Attitude Era weaponry with Vader trying to take out Kane with a fire extinguisher, which I think is especially nice as a symbolic counterpoint to Kane' fire-based persona. I like the post-match angle too as the strike itself - Kane smashing a wrench into Vader's face - looked devastating and because they don't actually show the results of it (which would've been disgusting had it actually been real), they can get away with selling it as a heinous act on commentary. Nothing I'd revisit or seek out, but with the pre-match video, the solid 10 minutes of action, and the post-match angle, the whole presentation works for me and effectively furthers the idea that Kane is an unstoppable monster. (3/5)
Main event time - Triple H, The New Age Outlaws, and...*drum roll*...Savio Vega vs. Cactus Jack, Chainsaw Charlie (Terry Funk), Owen Hart, and Steve Austin. This starts off like its going to be a really wild brawl from beginning to end, something akin to the CZW/ROH fights that I reviewed a couple weeks ago, but I must've forgot what company I was watching because I'm not sure the WWE or WCW has ever really run a true ECW-esque, structureless, all-out fight. This starts out that way, but then morphs into a "regular" 8-man tag with tags and nearfalls and splitting the ring and half. Under that lens, it still works, though - largely because Foley is a great sympathetic babyface, Billy Gunn takes great bumps (and a trash can to the face at one point), Terry Funk sells the absolute hell out of wanting that tag, and Steve Austin was as over as any wrestler in the history of ever at this point and he's in his friggin' home state. This isn't a classic or anything, more like the kind of match where you can see everyone involved is having some fun and there to try to pop the crowd - which is a huge difference from what was happening in WCW's main event at the time, where would-be crowd-pleasing moments like Sting defeating Hogan for the WCW World Championship or having the Steiners finally take out Hall and Nash or Zybysko take out Bischoff were tarnished by overbooking. This might not be a masterpiece or even an important match, but the crowd likely left feeling like they got their money worth by seeing Austin come in, kick ass, and down some cold ones. (3/5)
With a Kwang Score of 2.57-out-of-5, one wouldn't think No Way Out is one of the more enjoyable, watchable shows the WWE put on in the mid-to-late-90s, a time when the roster wasn't necessarily loaded with great in-ring talent and just about everyone except Austin, Michaels, Taker, and Sable were relatively "cold" (even The Rock had not yet achieved "must watch" status). But while this show doesn't feature a single match that could ever be considered a "classic," the main event is a good bit of fun, Vader vs. Kane is a physical battle that delivers everything it needs to and features some of Vader's best WWE work, and the Jarrett/Bradshaw is better than it really has any right to be. Even the 8-man tag is watchable. Really, the worst match on the card is the Quebecers/Godwins bout, but it doesn't last too long. This show won't be for everyone, but it exceeded my admittedly very low expectations.
FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver
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