No Way Out returns and will take place tonight in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The main story of the night will be the match between John Cena and Big Show, but there are plenty of other storylines that will be on display throughout the night.
Pre-Show: Brodus Clay vs David Otunga
Brodus Clay has been unstoppable during his run in 2012, but this has come in squash matches. He was only proven vulnerable when Big Show attacked him before their scheduled match a few weeks ago on Raw. He was one again proved vulnerable on Smackdown when Otunga attacked him from behind.
This attack gave Clay a storyline knee injury, so his streak of dominating opponents may be over. My only problem with this match is the lack of a story behind the two men. Otunga works for Laurinaitis, who banned Clay from Raw, but that is about the only thing that these two could fight about.
Due to the injury I see Otunga winning this match. Hopefully, it can lead to a legitimate feud for Brodus Clay, who has done nothing but have short matches for months.
Prediction: David Otunga defeats Brodus Clay
Divas Championship match: Layla vs Beth Phoenix
The Divas division has not been seen on television too much over the past few weeks. AJ is currently the most popular diva due to her involvement in the Punk vs Kane vs Bryan feud.
Beth Phoenix is clearly at the top of the Divas division due to her in-ring ability, and she should be given the title for that reason. There has not been too much of a reaction to Layla’s return, which is why I have Beth Phoenix defeating her at on Sunday.
Prediction: Beth Phoenix defeats Layla
Tuxedo match: Santino Marella vs Ricardo Rodriguez
This match is clearly on the card to provide some entertainment, but it would be nicer if Santino was defending his US title instead of facing another man’s ring announcer.
The way to win a tuxedo match is to strip the other man of his entire tuxedo. This obviously comes from the fact that Rodriguez is always in a tux.
The “feud” between these two began when Santino criticized Rodriguez’s announcing, but this match will be nothing more than a comedy routine.
Prediction: Santino defeats Ricardo
Intercontinental Championship match: Christian vs Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes has been involved with the Intercontinental Championship belt ever since he first won it in August of 2011. He lost it to Big Show at Wrestlemania XXVIII, but quickly won it back at Extreme Rules.
Christian surprisingly returned at Over the Limit to take the title from Rhodes. This could have put Rhodes into the World Heavyweight title picture, be he started a feud with Christian.
I see Rhodes losing this match, which will allow him to compete in the main event picture. He has been in the midcard level for the majority of his career and it is time for him to challenge for one of the two main titles in WWE.
Christian is at the end of his career so he does not need Rhodes to put him over, but a loss would help out Rhodes in the long run.
Prediction: Christian defeats Cody Rhodes
World Heavyweight Championship match: Sheamus vs Dolph Ziggler
This matchup came about after Alberto Del Rio’s injury took him out of action. Ziggler won a #1 contenders match on Raw to set up his match with Sheamus.
Ziggler has been deserving of a title shot after having meaningless matches while being paired with Jack Swagger during the past few months. He is one of the best workers in the entire WWE and is very deserving of this spot.
Sheamus has held the title since Wrestlemania and is one of the most popular babyface characters in the entire company. I do not see him losing yet, but a feud with Ziggler would be a great one as Orton, Jericho, and Del Rio are all out of action.
Prediction: Sheamus defeats Dolph Ziggler
WWE Championship match: CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan vs Kane
It is almost wrong to exclude AJ’s name from this matchup, as she has been involved with in feud between the three men during this past month.
She is currently in the corner of CM Punk, as she wears his shirt while on television, but it appears she is also involved with Kane. Whether her kissing him was to protect Punk or not was prevented from being explained, which I think was a smart move by the creative team.
She will definitely be involved in the outcome of this match, but it is just a question of who she will help. It is not likely that Kane will be given the title, so it comes down to Punk and Bryan.
Punk has held the title for all of this year and should not lose it at No Way Out. Money in the Bank is coming up in July, which would be a great time for a title change. The buildup from now until MITB could allow Punk and Bryan to build up their feud, which has been rushed.
This could all be undone if AJ does something like help Daniel Bryan to give him the win, but this would still allow for a rematch between himself and Punk. It remains to be seen what happens, but Punk seems like the likely victor in this match.
Prediction: CM Punk defeats Daniel Bryan and Kane
John Cena vs Big Show
This match will take place inside a steel cage, and will surely be the main event. (Some are upset with the fact that Cena continually is in the main event when he is not going for a title, but as he is the face of the company I see no problem with him in the main event).
No matter who wins this match, someone will be facing being fired on Monday. Mr. McMahon announced that he will be ringside for this match, and if Big Show loses then John Laurinaitis will be fired. This would likely take place on Raw, in order to allow a larger audience to see it take place.
If Cena were to lose the match, then he would be fired by Laurinaitis. This is because of the fact Cena knocked out Big Johnny on Smackdown after he was told that his match with Big Show would take place no matter what.
This “firing” would not be permanent, and if it was to Cena he could actually take some time off. However, I do think that Cena will win which would allow for much more changes to take place.
There would be GM spots to be filled, and Laurinaitis could even make a return while being supported by a faction of heels. I have Cena winning, but this matchup is the hardest to predict on the entire card.
Prediction: John Cena defeats Big Show
About Steve Kubitza
lets go johncena