No Way Out 2008: Two Chambers, One Huge WrestleMania Pivot

Chavo Guerrero and CM Punk open with competent title wrestling that never gets enough time to develop a major championship rhythm. Punk brings the quicker combinations and repeatedly looks for ways to force Chavo into mistakes, while Chavo slows the match and waits for the champion-style opening that lets him control the pace. The finish is clean and well executed. Punk tries a top-rope hurricanrana, Chavo holds the ropes, and Punk crashes to the mat. Chavo immediately follows with the Frog Splash for the pin. The result establishes Guerrero as a legitimate champion, but seven minutes is too short for a rivalry with this much television history.

The first Chamber works because Undertaker and Batista are the structure's anchors from the opening bell to the final elimination. Big Daddy V and Great Khali provide short power segments, Finlay uses the steel environment well, and MVP's climb to the top of a pod sets up Undertaker's memorable chokeslam. The match becomes strongest once it returns to Batista and Undertaker. Batista lands the Batista Bomb and still cannot finish, while Undertaker survives the wall collision and eventually counters the powerslam into a Tombstone. The pin sends Undertaker to WrestleMania against Edge. It is a well-built Chamber with a logical final pair and a decisive winner.

Ric Flair and Mr. Kennedy get most of their value from the retirement stipulation and Kennedy's focus on Flair's injured leg. Kennedy attacks the weakness consistently, giving the short match one coherent target and making Flair's survival feel less automatic than the result eventually looks. Flair sells enough to keep the crowd nervous before creating the reversal he needs. He trips Kennedy into the Figure Four and forces the submission. The wrestling is basic and the seven-minute runtime limits any escalation, but the emotional stakes carry it. Flair survives another step toward WrestleMania, and Kennedy loses without needing to be dominated.

Edge and Rey Mysterio are forced to work around Mysterio's injured biceps, which shortens the match and makes every burst of offense feel cautious. Edge sensibly targets the arm and keeps Rey from sustaining the speed-based sequences that normally define their matches. Mysterio still creates one believable opening with the 619, but the injury prevents an immediate follow-up. When Rey finally attempts the springboard splash, Edge catches him with the Spear in mid-air for the clean pin. The finish is excellent and protects the champion. The match itself is more admirable than exciting because both wrestlers are clearly working inside physical limitations.

Randy Orton and John Cena have the crowd for a major championship match, but the booking prevents the contest from reaching a satisfying endpoint. Cena wrestles with urgency because he used his Royal Rumble opportunity early, while Orton spends long stretches trying to slow him and escape the comeback. The final sequence makes the champion's intent obvious. Orton fakes an injury outside, catches Cena with an RKO, then becomes increasingly desperate when Cena beats the count. Instead of risking the title, Orton deliberately slaps the referee and gets disqualified. Cena wins the match but not the championship, then attacks Orton afterward. The heat works; the payoff does not.

The Raw Chamber is the clear match of the night because every entrant adds something and Jeff Hardy gives the final minutes genuine emotional uncertainty. Jericho and Michaels start smoothly, Umaga changes the pace with power, JBL adds violence after elimination, and the field collapses quickly after the enormous sequence of finishers on Umaga. Hardy then becomes the center of the match. He eliminates Jericho, survives after Triple H removes Michaels, and kicks out of the first Pedigree to a huge reaction. Triple H finally counters the Twist of Fate by driving Hardy into a chair and hits another Pedigree onto the steel. The obvious winner has to earn it.