WWE No Way Out

WWE No Way Out logo (2003 - 2009)

No Way Out was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event, produced every February by the professional wrestling promotion, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). The event was created in 1998, with its inaugural event produced as an In Your House event in February of that year. The event in 2000 was rebranded as an annual PPV event for WWE. To coincide with the brand extension, the event was made exclusive to the SmackDown brand in 2004. In 2007, to follow the format of WrestleMania, all PPV events became tri-branded. The final event was held in 2009, with Elimination Chamber replacing No Way Out in 2010.[1][2]

During its time, the event had been held in two countries: the United States and Canada. It had been held in eight U.S. states and one Canadian province, where every event has been held in an indoor arena. Each event featured talent from WWE competing in various professional wrestling match types. Seven championship matches have taken place in the main event during its run.

Professional wrestling is a non-competitive professional sport, where matches are prearranged by the promotion's writing staff, and is also considered an athletic performing art, containing strong elements of catch wrestling, mock combat, and theatre. Each PPV event features several professional wrestling matches that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers are portrayed as either villains or heroes in the scripted events that build tension and culminate into a wrestling match or series of matches.

Contents

History

No Way Out was a pay-per-view (PPV) event consisting of a main event and undercard that feature championship matches and other various matches. The first No Way Out was originally produced as an In Your House event for World Wrestling Federation (WWF), the former name of WWE. The In Your House event was titled No Way Out of Texas: In Your House, named after the location of the venue, Houston, Texas. It took place on February 15, 1998 and aired live on PPV.[3] In 1999, production of In Your House events were canceled, though many of the former In Your House events, such as No Way Out, Backlash, and Judgment Day among others, were rebranded as annual PPV events.[3]

In 2002, WWF was court ordered to change their name, which resulted in the promotion changing its name to WWE.[4] Later that year, WWE held a draft that split its roster into two distinctive brands of wrestling, Raw and SmackDown,[5], and ECW in 2006.[6] Before the draft, matches featured wrestlers from the roster without any limitations; after the draft, matches only consisted of wrestlers from their distinctive brands. The first No Way Out event to be produced under the WWE banner and with roster limitations was No Way Out (2003), which took place on February 23, 2003. The following year, WWE announced that PPV events, excluding WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and the Royal Rumble, would be made exclusive to each brand; No Way Out was made exclusive to the SmackDown brand.[7] After three years of being produced as a brand exclusive event, No Way Out (2007) was the final No Way Out event (and the final PPV overall) that was brand exclusive, as WWE announced that PPV events from then on would feature all three brands of WWE.[8]

In 2008, WWE held the ninth annual No Way Out event, which featured two Elimination Chamber matches, a specialty professional wrestling match type promoted on rare occasions in WWE.[9][10] The following year saw No Way Out again host two more Elimination Chamber matches.[11][12] Furthering the new Elimination Chamber concept of the event, a survey indicating a possible renaming for No Way Out took place in September 2009. Voted by fans via WWE's official website, Elimination Chamber became the name of the February 2010 pay-per-view event, winning against Heavy Metal, Battle Chamber, Chamber of Conflict and the original No Way Out name.[13] Despite the poll, it was later announced by WWE that Elimination Chamber would not be considered a part of the No Way Out chronology.[14]

Each No Way Out event has been held in an indoor arena, with nine events taking place in the United States and one event taking place in Canada. Four events took place in the United States west coast, three events took place in the east coast, two events took place in the midwest, and one took place in Southern Canada.

Dates and venues

# Event Date City Venue Main Event
1
No Way Out of Texas: In Your House
01998-02-15 February 15, 1998[15]
Houston, Texas[16][17]
Compaq Center[16][17]
 Steve Austin, Owen Hart, Cactus Jack, and Chainsaw Charlie vs. Triple H, Savio Vega, and the New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn and Road Dogg) in a no disqualification match.[16][18]
2
No Way Out (2000)
02000-02-27 February 27, 2000[15]
Hartford, Connecticut[19]
Hartford Civic Center[19]
 Triple H (c) vs. Cactus Jack in a Hell in a Cell match for the WWF Championship.[20][21]
3
No Way Out (2001)
02001-02-25 February 25, 2001[15]
Las Vegas, Nevada[22]
Thomas & Mack Center[22][23]
 Kurt Angle (c) vs. The Rock for the WWF Championship[22][24]
4
No Way Out (2002)
02002-02-17 February 17, 2002[25]
Milwaukee, Wisconsin[25]
Bradley Center[25][26]
 Chris Jericho (c) vs. Steve Austin for the Undisputed WWF Championship[25][27]
5
No Way Out (2003)
02003-02-23 February 23, 2003[28]
Montreal, Quebec[29]
Bell Centre[29]
 The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan[7][28]
6
No Way Out (2004)
02004-02-15 February 15, 2004[30]
Daly City, California[31]
Cow Palace[30][31]
 Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Eddie Guerrero for the WWE Championship[30][32]
7
No Way Out (2005)
02005-02-20 February 20, 2005[33]
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[34]
Mellon Arena[34]
 John "Bradshaw" Layfield (c) vs. The Big Show in a barbed wired Steel Cage match for the WWE Championship[35][36]
8
No Way Out (2006)
02006-02-19 February 19, 2006[37]
Baltimore, Maryland[38]
1st Mariner Arena[39]
 Kurt Angle (c) vs. The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship[40][41]
9
No Way Out (2007)
 02007-02-18 February 18, 2007[42]
Los Angeles, California[43]
Staples Center[43]
 John Cena and Shawn Michaels vs. Batista and The Undertaker[44][45]
10
No Way Out (2008)
 02008-02-17 February 17, 2008[46]
Las Vegas, Nevada[47]
Thomas & Mack Center[47]
 Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. John "Bradshaw" Layfield vs. Umaga vs. Chris Jericho vs. Jeff Hardy in an Elimination Chamber match[9][10]
11
No Way Out (2009)
 02009-02-15 February 15, 2009[48]
Seattle, Washington[48]
KeyArena[49]
 John Cena (c) vs. Chris Jericho vs. Edge vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Mike Knox vs. Kane in an Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship
(c) - refers to the champion prior to the match

See also

References

  1. ↑ "WWE presents Elimination Chamber". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/schedules/events/rw/eventdetail/12786434. Retrieved 2009-12-11. 
  2. ↑ "WWE Elimination Chamber". Scottrade Center. http://www.scottradecenter.com/STC-events/wwe10.html. Retrieved 2009-11-27. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cohen, Eric. "History of the WWE PPV No Way Out". About.com: Professional Wrestling. The New York Times Company. http://prowrestling.about.com/od/ringresults/a/nowayout.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-13. 
  4. ↑ "World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Drops The "F" To Emphasize the "E" for Entertainment". World Wrestling Entertainment Corporate. 2002-05-06. http://corporate.wwe.com/news/2002/2002_05_06.jsp. Retrieved 2008-07-13. 
  5. ↑ "WWE Entertainment To Make RAW and SMACKDOWN Distinct Television Brands". World Wrestling Entertainment Corporate. 2002-05-27. http://corporate.wwe.com/news/2002/2002_03_27.jsp. Retrieved 2008-07-13. 
  6. ↑ "WWE Launches ECW as Third Brand". World Wrestling Entertainment Corporate. 2006-05-25. http://corporate.wwe.com/news/2006/2006_05_25_02.jsp. Retrieved 2008-07-13. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "No Way Out (2003) Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/history/2003/mainevent/. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  8. ↑ "WWE Pay-Per-Views To Follow WrestleMania Formula". World Wrestling Entertainment Corporate. 2007-03-14. http://corporate.wwe.com/news/2007/2007_03_14.jsp. Retrieved 2008-07-13. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Dee, Louie (2008-02-17). "The Deadman doubles down". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/matches/6364982/results/. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Clayton, Corey (2008-02-17). "The Game gets his title match at WrestleMania". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/matches/5908216/results/. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  11. ↑ Passero, Mitch. "Results:Regaining the throne". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/matches/9253224/results/. Retrieved 2009-10-09. 
  12. ↑ Tello, Craig. "Results:Gold way out". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/matches/9229100/results/. Retrieved 2009-10-09. 
  13. ↑ Martin, Adam (2009-09-24). "WWE to rename No Way Out PPV?". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/news2009/1253816146.php. Retrieved 2009-10-09. 
  14. ↑ "Elimination Chamber Match rules". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/eliminationchamber/exclusives/chamberrules. Retrieved 2010-02-02. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 "SLAM! Wrestling Pay-Per-View events". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/PPVReports/2004/12/18/788830.html. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Powell, John. "Austin stuns Chyna". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingArchive/feb16_nowayout.html. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "No Way Out (1998) Venue". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/history/1998/venue/. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  18. ↑ "No Way Out of Texas Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/history/1998/mainevent/. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "No Way Out (2000) Venue". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/history/2000/venue/. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  20. ↑ "No Way Out (2000) Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/history/2000/mainevent/. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  21. ↑ Powell, John. "No Way Out for Cactus Jack?". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingPPV/nowayout2000.html. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Powell, John. "Triple H & The Rock winners at No Way Out". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingPPV/feb26_nowayout-can.html. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  23. ↑ "No Way Out (2001) Venue". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/history/2001/venue/. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  24. ↑ "No Way Out (2002) Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/history/2001/mainevent/. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 Martin, Adam. "No Way Out (2002) Results". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/messages1/1213.shtml. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  26. ↑ "No Way Out (2002) Venue". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/history/2002/venue/. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  27. ↑ "No Way Out (2002) Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/history/2002/mainevent/. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Droste, Ryan (2003-02-23). "No Way Out (2003) Results". WrestleView.com. http://www.wrestleview.com/news/1046059526.shtml. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 "No Way Out (2003) Venue". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/history/2003/venue/. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 Sowers, Kevin. "2/15 WWE No Way Out PPV review: Sowers's "Alt Perspective" detailed rundown". PW Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/PPV_Reports_5/article_7183.shtml. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 "No Way Out (2004) Venue". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/history/2004/venue/. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  32. ↑ "No Way Out (2003) Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/history/2004/mainevent/. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  33. ↑ Martin, Adam. "No Way Out (2005) Results". WrestleView.com. http://www.wrestleview.com/news2005/1108958368.shtml. Retrieved 2008-07-13. 
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 "No Way Out (2005) Venue". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/history/2005/venue/. Retrieved 2008-07-13. 
  35. ↑ "No Way Out (2005) Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/history/2005/mainevent/. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  36. ↑ Keller, Wade (2005-02-20). "KELLER'S 2/20 WWE No Way Out PPV: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of live event". PW Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/PPV_Reports_5/article_12022.shtml. Retrieved 2008-07-13. 
  37. ↑ "No Way Out (2006) History Page". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/history/2006/. Retrieved 2008-07-13. 
  38. ↑ Martin, Adam (2006-02-19). "No Way Out (2006) Results". WrestleView.com. http://www.wrestleview.com/news2005/1140407606.shtml. Retrieved 2008-07-13. 
  39. ↑ "1st Mariner Arena Profile". A Cheap Seat. http://www.acheapseat.com/1st_mariner_arena_tickets.html. "On February 19, 2006, the 1st Mariner Arena hosted the WWE No Way Out Pay-Per-View event." 
  40. ↑ "World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle def. Undertaker". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2006-02-19. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/history/2006/matches/19435062/results/. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  41. ↑ Keller, Wade (2006-02-19). "KELLER'S WWE NO WAY OUT PPV REPORT 2/19: Ongoing "virtual time" analysis". PW Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/PPV_Reports_5/article_16140.shtml. Retrieved 2008-07-13. 
  42. ↑ "No Way Out (2007) History Page". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/history/2007/. Retrieved 2008-07-13. 
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 Hunt, Jen (2008-02-18). "Celebs at No Way Out". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/history/2007/exclusives/celebs. Retrieved 2008-07-13. 
  44. ↑ Hoffman, Brett (2007-02-18). "Payback". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/nowayout/history/2007/matches/34656681/results/. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  45. ↑ Powell, John. "No Way Out an excercise in monotory". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/PPVReports/2007/02/19/3645251.html. Retrieved 2008-07-13. 
  46. ↑ Martin, Adam (2008-02-17). "No Way Out (2008) Results". WrestleView.com. http://www.wrestleview.com/news2006/1203307081.shtml. Retrieved 2008-07-13. 
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 Caldwell, James (2008-02-17). "Caldwell's WWE No Way Out report 2/17: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of PPV". PW Torch. http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/PPV_Reports_5/article_24534.shtml. Retrieved 2008-07-13. 
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 "WWE Presents No Way Out". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/schedules/events/eventdetail/?id=8281200. Retrieved 2008-10-08. 
  49. ↑ "Seattle Center Events: WWE No Way Out". seattlecenter.com. http://www.seattlecenter.com/events/event_detail.asp?CA_CALNUM=306639. Retrieved 2008-10-08. 

External links