Ahead of WWE No Way Out, veteran announcer Jim Ross blogged about a gut feeling that WWE would shake things up at the live pay-per-view.
As far as WWE delivering on that hunch, Ross responds perfectly, “Never gamble on pro wrestling OR hang your hat on my WWE picks.”
It is unclear about what Ross could have been hinting, but there were certainly no major shakeups at Sunday’s event. The show’s main-event, which featured Big Show vs. John Cena in a steel cage, delivered little in the way of twists and turns and culminated with the expected storyline firing of John Laurinaitis.
Depending on how WWE handles the fallout with “Big Johnny” and Vince McMahon, who did the “firing,” RAW and SmackDown! might feature a different distribution of performers in the key segments, but the angle was hardly shocking or significant enough to warrant a “shake up” claim.
Other angles progressed, similarly, as expected. Triple H challenged Brock Lesnar to a match at Summerslam. CM Punk retained his title due to an interference by AJ. Kane, who had lost concentration in the match when he inadvertently knocked AJ off the apron, tended to the apparently-injured Diva after the match.
But as Kane carried the “hurt” AJ to the back, the “crazy chick” shot a smile at WWE Champion CM Punk.
WWE did attempt to get an angle going within the tag division, but given the placement on the card and lack of interest from the fans, it doubtfully resonated. Titus O’Neil and Darren Young became top contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championships when AW turned on Primo and Epico in favor of the Prime Time Players. Those involved did their best to sell the significance, but the audience simply did not feel the excitement.
