Location Izod Center | Date 17 June 2012 Venue Izod Center Attendance 10,000 | |
 | ||
Themesong(s) "Unstoppable" by Charm City Devils Other Instances No Way Out (2009), No Way Out (2008), No Way Out (2007), No Way Out (2006), No Way Out (2005) | ||
No Way Out (2012) (also known as No Escape (2012) in Germany, since No Way Out was used as the substitute title for the Elimination Chamber' pay-per-view over concerns regarding The Holocaust imagery of the title) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the WWE promotion, which took place on June 17, 2012 at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The show was the twelfth No Way Out event and the first one since 2009. Nine matches were on the card. The event received 194,000 buys, up from last year's Capitol Punishment pay-per-view of 170,000.
Contents
Background
The professional wrestling matches at No Way Out featured professional wrestlers performing as characters in scripted events pre-determined by the hosting promotion, WWE. Storylines between the characters played out on WWE's primary television programs, Raw and SmackDown.
On the May 14 episode of Raw, the general manager of Raw and SmackDown John Laurinaitis fired The Big Show for mocking his voice. At Over the Limit, just before John Cena would defeat Laurinaitis, Big Show turned heel and hit Cena with his WMD finishing move, allowing Laurinaitis to pin Cena and keep his job as General Manager of Raw and SmackDown. The next night on Raw, Laurinaitis revealed that he gave Big Show back his job, complete with an ironclad contract with a bonus on the condition that he would take out Cena as Show was outside the influence of the no interference stipulation for the match. Show stated that he only helped Laurinaitis when he didn't receive any sympathy from the other Superstars, and because of his ironclad contract, started attacking every Superstar on the roster. Laurinaitis would soon book a match between Cena and Big Show inside a steel cage for the pay-per-view. On the June 11 edition of Raw, Mr. McMahon returned to evaluate John Laurinaitis' job, but was interrupted by the Big Show, at which point Mr. McMahon announced that if Big Show lost, Laurinaitis would be fired, at which point the Big Show knocked out Mr. McMahon after Cena ducked. On the June 15 episode of SmackDown, Laurinaitis announced the stipulation if Cena lost, he would be fired, at which point Cena knocked Laurinaitis out.
After Sheamus successfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio, Randy Orton and Chris Jericho at Over the Limit, Del Rio, Orton and Kane competed in a Triple Threat match on the May 25 episode of SmackDown to earn a match against Sheamus for his title. Del Rio successfully pinned Kane to face Sheamus at No Way Out. On the June 8 episode of SmackDown, Del Rio was pulled from the match after suffering a concussion. On the June 11 episode of Raw, Dolph Ziggler defeated Christian, Jack Swagger and The Great Khali in a Fatal-Four Way Elimination match to become the new number one contender for the title.
On the May 18 episode of SmackDown, WWE Champion CM Punk was put in a match against Kane. Daniel Bryan, who was on commentary, interfered by attacking Kane with a steel chair and making it look like Punk did it, causing Kane to attack Punk. On the May 21 episode of Raw, Bryan, who demanded a rematch due to Punk tapping out moments after scoring the pin during their title match at Over the Limit, was facing off against Kane, set up by Punk in which the situation nearly reversed itself. Afterwards, Kane would start attacking both indiscriminately after being a pawn in each of their plans. On the June 1 episode of SmackDown, which involved Punk defending the WWE title against Kane, Bryan would interfere in the match, attacking both again, only for Kane to chokeslam both Bryan and Punk. Afterwards, John Laurinaitis announced a Triple Threat match involving all three men.
Pre-show
The pre-show featured Brodus Clay defeating David Otunga by countout.
Preliminary matches
The event opened with Sheamus defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Dolph Ziggler. In the end, Ziggler applied a Sleeper Hold on Sheamus but Sheamus countered the hold into the White Noise on Ziggler and executed a Brogue Kick on Ziggler for the victory.
Next, United States Champion Santino Marella faced Ricardo Rodriguez in a Tuxedo match. Marella won by stripping Rodriguez down to his underwear.
After that, Christian defended the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Cody Rhodes. The match ended when Rhodes attempted a Beautiful Disaster Kick on Christian but Christian avoided the move and executed a Spear on Rhodes for the victory.
In the fourth match, The Prime Time Players (Titus O'Neil and Darren Young) faced Primo & Epico, The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso), and Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel in a Fatal 4-Way Tag team match to determine the #1 contenders to the WWE Tag Team Championship. Young executed a Gut Check on Primo for the victory.
Next, Layla defended the WWE Divas Championship against Beth Phoenix. Layla executed a Neckbreaker on Phoenix for the victory.
After that, Sin Cara faced Hunico. Sin Cara executed a Tilt-A-Whirl Headscissors Takedown on Hunico for the victory.
Main event matches
In the seventh match, CM Punk defended the WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan and Kane. During the match, Bryan applied the Yes Lock on Punk but Punk escaped the hold and executed a GTS on Bryan. Punk pinned Bryan but Kane pulled Bryan out of the ring, voiding the pinfall. Kane attempted a Chokeslam on Punk but Punk countered into a DDT on Kane for a near-fall. Punk executed a Diving Elbow Drop on Kane for a near-fall. Kane executed a Chokeslam on Punk for a near-fall. The match ended when Kane accidentally collided with AJ Lee, allowing Punk to execute the GTS on Kane for the victory.
After that, Ryback faced Dan Delaney and Rob Grimes in a Handicap match. Ryback executed a Shell Shocked on Delaney and Grimes simultaneously for the victory.
In the main event, John Cena faced Big Show inside a Steel Cage. The stipulation of the match was that if Big Show won, John Laurinaitis would fire Cena, but if Cena won, Mr. McMahon would fire Laurinaitis. Big Show dominated the match in the early going. Cena nearly escaped multiple times, but was stopped by Big Show. Cena almost escaped through the door, but this time was foiled by Laurinaitis even after Mr. McMahon tried to intervene, knocking out the outside referee in the process. Show then executed a Chokeslam on Cena for a near-fall. Show then inadvertently knocked out the inside referee with a WMD that was intended for Cena, who ducked. Show then executed a second WMD on Cena. Show attempted to walk out the door, but was stopped by Brodus Clay, wielding a steel chair. Show then attempted to climb out over the top, but numerous superstars from Zack Ryder to Kofi Kingston tried to knock Show off the top of the cage. Kingston finally succeeded in this, temporarily stunning Show. Cena tried to crawl out the door, but Show stopped him at the last second. Cena then executed an Attitude Adjustment on Big Show and climbed to the top of the cage, but was stopped by Laurinaitis, flailing his crutches at him. Clay came over and subdued Laurinaitis long enough to allow Cena to climb over the top before Big Show could crawl out the door. McMahon then fired Laurinaitis and Cena put Laurinaitis through the Spanish announce table with an Attitude Adjustment.