WWE No Way Out Hitlist: Floyd Mayweather vs. Big Show angle, two Elimination Chamber matches, Orton vs. Cena finish

-Did you think even for a second that the Big Show and Floyd Mayweather was a shoot? Either way, when is the last time you thought a worked angle was actually a shoot? Send a paragraph or two to dotnetjason@gmail.com and I’ll publish some of your answers.

No Way Out Hits
Big Show and Floyd Mayweather angle: I must admit that I pretty much yawned at Mayweather hanging out backstage with Rey Mysterio. And I didn't think twice when Mayweather was shown at ringside cheering for Ric Flair. After all, those clips were similar to countless celebrity cameos we’ve seen in the past on WWE television. Heck, I wasn’t even sure Mayweather was involved when Show taunted him at ringside. The first time my radar went off was when Floyd and his entourage kept straight faces when Show taunted them. Everyone knows that celebrities that aren't in on angles laugh in these situations. Even though I figured out that Mayweather was taking part in an angle, I didn’t have my hopes up for anything special when he entered the ring. However, things got interesting quickly once they stared each other down. Mayweather’s punches and Show’s bloody face really put the angle over. As I noted in my Live Coverage of the pay-per-view, that was the hottest angle I’ve seen in a long time. My only complaint—and it’s minor—is that the production team made it obvious that Show was going to attack Rey by cutting away from Show's promo for shots of Mysterio at ringside. Overall, though, a very memorable angle.

Raw Elimination Chamber Match: I wasn’t crazy about the outcome of this match because it just felt so predictable. There are plenty of times when predictable is what’s best for business, but it’s hard to justify keeping Jeff Hardy out of the WrestleMania main event when he’s the hottest guy in the company. I’m not going to play the son-in-law card because Hunter is over right now. There have been times in the past when viewers were tired of his act and he was ridiculously over-pushed, but that's not the case this time around. However, he’s not as over as Hardy and I think it’s a mistake not to capitalize on Jeff’s momentum. That being said, this was a strong match and they did a good job of making Hardy look good in defeat. He kicked out of a Pedigree and was pinned only after he was Pedigree’d onto a chair.

Smackdown Elimination Chamber Match: I expected Big Daddy V and Great Khali to slow things down and spoil the match. Rather, the match was scripted in a manner than let them come in and perform their offense before they bowed out quickly. Everyone knew this match was about Undertaker and Batista, and WWE let them carry the match by putting them out their first and letting them go the distance of the 30-minute match. My only complaint is that they could have done more with MVP. I thought they were setting him up for a push in this match based on the way they gave him a 15-minute-plus match with Batista on Smackdown the other night. Sure he bloodied Taker with his chain, but he wasn't elevated in this match. Overall, though, I went in expecting very little from this match and came away pleasantly surprised.

Randy Orton vs. John Cena finish: If you wanted Cena to win, then you hated this finish. If you were pulling for Orton, then you probably cheered louder than you ever have in your life for a DQ finish. I’d love to think this will lead to Orton vs. Hunter at WrestleMania, but there’s plenty of rumors that it’s going to be a three-way with Orton, Hunter, and Cena. Can we add Hardy and make it a four-way?

No Way Out Misses
Ric Flair vs. Mr. Kennedy: There was nothing wrong with their in-ring performances. And I’m not bitter because I felt going in that Flair should have lost this match. Rather, there was no mistaking that the live crowd never bought into the possibility that Flair could lose this match. WWE has arguably the greatest wrestler in history putting his career on the line every time he steps foot in the ring and it’s not making the company a dime because no one believes he’s going to lose before WrestleMania. The last month of the story line should get interesting with WrestleMania approaching, but that doesn’t change the fact that WWE has failed to capitalize on his retirement story line thus far.