Powell Editorials WWE No Way Out Hitlist: Two title change hands in the Elimination Chamber matches, Shane McMahon vs. Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels vs. JBL, Jack Swagger vs. Finlay By Jason Powell Feb 16, 2009 - 12:25 PM Email This Article | Printer Friendly Page Send Us News & Results | Back to Main Listing WWE No Way Out Hits Smackdown Elimination Chamber match: Arguably the best Elimination Chamber match to date thanks in large part to the closing minutes with Undertaker and Triple H. I was hoping that Jeff Hardy would stick around longer with those two than he did, but everything with Taker and Hunter was great. This was a wild way to open the show and the surprise of Edge being eliminated early made the match even more intense. The only negative about the match was the bland work of Vladimir Kozlov. Otherwise, a very good match. Raw Elimination Chamber match: Edge attacking Kofi Kingston and replacing him in the main event made no sense from a storyline standpoint. Let's be honest, people would be pissing and moaning if TNA did something similar because the idea that a wrestler could attack another wrestler and then be rewarded by getting his place in the match is absurd. However, most fans seem to accept it in this case because they enjoy Edge's heel antics. Still, the referees looked ridiculous for throwing their hands up and just letting Edge work the match because he locked himself inside the pod. Nevertheless, it was an entertaining match with some great action down the stretch from Edge and Rey Mysterio. I assumed Edge was going to win the title the moment he attacked Kofi, but Rey and Edge had me thinking twice with a couple of those great near falls. Overall show: More misses than hits as far as the matches go, but the action in the Elimination Chamber matches more than made up for the bad. I'm not crazy about changing both titles just weeks before WrestleMania 25, but it definitely shook things up and created some unexpected match possibilities for the big show in April. We left the show with more questions than answers regarding the WrestleMania 25 lineup, but it was a fun three-hour ride. WWE No Way Out Misses Shane McMahon vs. Randy Orton: WWE creative seemed to acknowledge they went overboard when they had Shane beat up all three Legacy members on Raw a few weeks ago. They came up with the excuse that the Legacy members weren't fighting back. What's their excuse for last night? Shane looked like the toughest guy in the company by fighting off Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, and roughing up one of the biggest stars of the company all in the same match. The announcers even implied that Shane had Orton down and may have been able to pin him, but the three count didn't matter to Shane because he was out for revenge. Don't get me wrong, this was a good effort from both performers, but Shane's super hero antics were just too much. JBL vs. Shawn Michaels: These two had the unenviable task of following up the first Elimination Chamber match. I expected this to be a high energy match with Shawn finally getting his hands on JBL, but it lacked energy until the final minutes when Rebecca punched JBL and Shawn finally got his mojo back. Kudos to Rebecca, though for producing tears and adding a little something extra to the match. Jack Swagger vs. Finlay: This was a clunker. The live crowd didn't care about anything they did and even Hornswoggle didn't get the hero reaction from the kids. This match would have been much better off in the opener role. Here's hoping this leads to WWE giving Swagger and other ECW performers more camera time on Raw and/or Smackdown so that the full audience gets familiar with them. By the way, I'm disappointed that WWE didn't reward their paying customers with a Christian appearance. HELP SUPPORT DOT NET! BECOME A MEMBER AT OUR CHARTER RATE OF JUST $5 A MONTH - GET THE FIRST LOOK AT EXCLUSIVE INSIDER DOT NET NEWS, TONS OF EXCLUSIVE AUDIO SHOWS, MESSAGE BOARD ACCESS, START YOUR OWN BLOG, AD-FREE MAIN LISTING: SIGN ME UP (or MORE INFO) GOT AN IPHONE OR IPOD TOUCH? THEN BE SURE TO DOWNLOAD OUR NEW FREE iPhone APP: (click here!) (or SEARCH "pro wrestling" in iTunes App Store) FOR MORE BREAKING WWE & TNA NEWS AND COMMENTARY, VISIT OUR AFFILIATE PWTORCH.COM (click here!) FOR MORE MMA & UFC NEWS AND COMMENTARY, VISIT OUR AFFILIATE MMATORCH.COM (click here!) CLICK TO RETURN TO DOT NET MAIN LISTING OR SELECT A LINK BELOW FROM THIS CATEGORY Powell Editorials Latest Twelve Articles WWE Raw Hitlist: Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne host Raw, Chris Jericho vs. John Cena vs. Big Show, Sheamus destroys Jamie Noble, The Miz vs. Evan Bourne, vintage Michael Cole Powell's TNA Impact Hitlist: Hulk Hogan footage, Desmond Wolfe vs. Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe has a brain, Eric Young renames the toy belt, Matt Morgan vs. Rhino, World Elite get new warmup gear, Team 3D vs. Motor City Machine Guns WWE Raw Hitlist: John Cena vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels announced for Survivor Series, Kofi Kingston shines, John Cena makes Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes look like losers, Hornswoggle can't read WWE Bragging Rights Hitlist: John Cena vs. Randy Orton in an Iron Man match, Undertaker vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Batista vs. C.M. Punk four-way, Raw vs. Smackdown tag match, The Miz vs. John Morrison Powell's TNA Bound For Glory Hitlist: A.J. Styles vs. Sting for the TNA Title, Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan, Ultimate X match, Mick Foley vs. Abyss, Bobby Lashley vs. Samoa Joe, ODB vs. Tara vs. Awesome Kong Powell's WWE Raw Hitlist: John Cena proves he could beat Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase by himself twice in the same night, Legacy infighting, Big Show and Chris Jericho bickering, departing Divas look bad on their way out the door