February in the wrestling world is usually that weird, transitional period where everybody is just waiting for the big show in April. But look back at No Way Out 2007. It wasn’t just a filler pay-per-view. Honestly, it was one of the most logically booked stops on the road to WrestleMania we’ve ever seen, even if the match card looked a little top-heavy at the time. You had the brand split in full swing, yet the main event featured four of the biggest icons in the industry's history sharing one ring. It was a SmackDown-exclusive event, technically, but it felt much bigger because of the cross-promotional drama involving John Cena and Shawn Michaels.
The Weird Logic of the Main Event
Most people remember this night for the tag team match. It was John Cena and Shawn Michaels versus The Undertaker and Batista. Think about that for a second. At the time, Cena and HBK were the World Tag Team Champions on RAW, and they were also scheduled to face each other for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 23. On the other side, Batista was the World Heavyweight Champion on SmackDown, and he was set to defend against the Royal Rumble winner, The Undertaker.
It was a "Can they coexist?" storyline taken to the absolute extreme.
The match itself lasted about 15 minutes, which is surprisingly short for a main event with that much star power. But the storytelling was dense. You could see the tension between Batista and Taker from the jump. They weren't friends; they were rivals who happened to have a common enemy that night. The finish came when Batista finally snapped, spinebustering his own partner, The Undertaker, and leaving him open for a Sweet Chin Music and an FU (now the Attitude Adjustment). It was a brilliant move. It established that the "Animal" wasn't going to be intimidated by the Deadman's aura. It made the WrestleMania match feel personal rather than just a "respect" bout.
The Underestimated Gem: Benoit vs. MVP
While the big names took the headlines, the real wrestling purists usually point to Chris Benoit versus Montel Vontavious Porter. This was a non-title match, but it did a massive amount of heavy lifting for MVP’s career. At this point, MVP was still the "big money" free agent who hadn't quite proven he could hang with the elite workers.
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Benoit was the ultimate litmus test.
They went nearly 15 minutes. It was stiff, technical, and grounded. MVP didn't win—he actually tapped out to the Crossface—but the way he hung with Benoit showed the front office he was ready for a serious push. If you go back and watch this, notice the psychology. MVP was working the arm to prevent the very submission that ended up beating him. It’s that kind of detail that’s often missing from modern weekly TV.
The Cruiserweight Open Chaos
Then there was the Cruiserweight Open. It was a bit of a mess, but a fun mess. Gregory Helms had been the champion for over a year—385 days to be exact. He felt invincible in that division. The match was a gauntlet style, which is always risky because the crowd can get burnt out.
- Scotty 2 Hotty and Daivari started things off.
- Jimmy Wang Yang was the babyface workhorse of the match.
- Chavo Guerrero was the "surprise" entrant at the end.
When Chavo hit the frog splash on Jimmy Wang Yang to win the title, it felt like a massive shift. It ended the longest Cruiserweight title reign in WWE history. It also signaled the beginning of the end for the division's relevance in that era, unfortunately, but for that one night at the Staples Center, the stakes felt incredibly high.
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ECW's Presence and the Bobby Lashley Problem
We have to talk about the ECW World Championship match between Bobby Lashley and Mr. Kennedy. This was during the period where WWE was desperately trying to make the "new" ECW work. Lashley was being pushed as the next dominant force, basically the RAW-level star on the C-show.
The match was... okay. It ended in a disqualification after about five minutes because Kennedy used a chair. It wasn't meant to be a classic; it was a plot device. Kennedy was the Mr. Money in the Bank at the time (or about to be), and Lashley was headed toward the "Battle of the Billionaires" at WrestleMania. The DQ finish protected both guys, but you could tell the Los Angeles crowd wasn't thrilled. They wanted a definitive ending. In hindsight, this match serves as a reminder of how clunky the ECW revival felt compared to the polished product of SmackDown.
Why 2007 was a Turning Point
No Way Out 2007 happened right as WWE was transitioning into a more cinematic style of storytelling. The production values were peaking. The set design for this show—featuring a massive "No Way Out" construction theme—was iconic.
But beyond the aesthetics, the show succeeded because it didn't overcomplicate things. The Diva Talent Invitational was a bit of a time-filler (as most women's segments were in the "Diva" era, sadly), but the rest of the card was focused on the two big world title matches for WrestleMania.
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Finlay and Little Bastard (later Hornswoggle) vs. The Boogeyman and Little Boogeyman was also on this card. Yeah. It was as weird as it sounds. It was pure spectacle, the kind of mid-card comedy WWE loved in the mid-2000s. It’s easy to mock now, but at the time, it provided a necessary breather between the intense Benoit match and the star-studded main event.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Historians
If you're going back to watch this event on the WWE Network or Peacock, don't just skip to the main event. There is a lot to learn about how to build a "Big Four" show by looking at the smaller details of this B-level pay-per-view.
Pay attention to the following details:
- The Commentary: Listen to Michael Cole and JBL. This was arguably their peak as a duo. JBL’s heel commentary was actually rooted in logic, which made Cole’s indignant babyface reactions work much better.
- The Crowd Response: LA is usually a "smart" crowd. Notice how they react to Cena. Even in 2007, the "Cena Sucks" chants were starting to become a permanent fixture, even though he was the top babyface.
- The Finish of the Main Event: Watch it specifically to see how Batista leaves the ring. He doesn't look back. It was a perfect heel turn that wasn't technically a heel turn—he just chose himself over his rival.
To really appreciate No Way Out 2007, you have to view it as the final rehearsal. Everything that happened here—the cracks in the Cena/HBK partnership, the physical dominance of Undertaker, the rising stock of MVP—paid off six weeks later in Detroit. It’s a masterclass in "Road to WrestleMania" booking that focused on character motivation over flashy stunts.
If you want to understand the DNA of the Ruthless Aggression era, this is the show to study. It had the grit, the stars, and the slightly chaotic energy that defined that five-year stretch of wrestling history. Go watch the Benoit vs. MVP match first, then the main event. You'll see two completely different styles of storytelling that both worked perfectly for the stories they were trying to tell.