Shane McMahon vs. Randy Orton in a No Holds Barred match
We continue on the Road to Wrestlemania with No Way Out and there was no question that one of the hottest feuds going into this show was between Orton and the McMahons as this was a good way to keep Orton going into WM. Even though we didn’t know yet as to which title Orton was going to challenge for at WM, it seemed fairly obvious what the direction was going to be given the way Orton was going by feuding with the McMahons. After being gone since 2008, Shane had made his return and was ready to get some revenge on Orton for what he did to his father, and given that this match was going to be No Holds Barred you knew that Shane was going to go all out to deliver a great performance while trying to take Orton out.
On the 1/26 RAW, Orton came out with Legacy along with two lawyers and a therapist as he said that he had IED and took no responsibility for his actions the previous week, and he said that he was provoked and that WWE knew of his condition though did nothing about it. He would read a statement apologizing for his actions and threatened to sue Stephanie and WWE if he was fired or removed from the main event of WM as Legacy also threatened to walk out as well, and later that night Stephanie called out Orton as he came out with Legacy, the lawyers, and the therapist. They reminded her that WWE knew of his condition and Orton said he would not only sue her, but also file an injunction to prevent WM from happening as the rest of the roster came out on the stage. He said he would take them down with him and tried to goad Stephanie into firing him though she said that would be too easy, and then Shane would come out and brawl with Orton until Legacy helped him to the back. On the 2/2 RAW, Shane cut a promo about Orton challenging him to a match at No Way Out and he accepted though demanded a No Holds Barred match as Orton and Legacy surrounded Shane only for Shane to grab a Singapore cane and fight them off. Later that night, Shane and Stephanie were backstage as Legacy attacked them and Orton teased punting Stephanie in the head, but Shane would protect her by taking the kick to the back. On the 2/9 RAW, Orton said he was never going to kick Stephanie in the head and vowed to become champion at WM as the McMahons couldn’t stop him, and later that night he would lose to the Undertaker by DQ when Legacy got involved and Shane would make the save as he gave Dibiase the Coast to Coast. There was a lot of heat going into this match which was good given there was only 3 weeks of build, and you now just hoped that these two put on a fun brawl.
We get a great package highlighting the feud followed by a tremendous promo by Orton, and Shane gets a big pop from the crowd while Orton was red hot as a heel as we see Stephanie watching from the back. The two men square off to start the match as Shane gets a shot in on Orton and pounds on him, and he ducks a shot and continues to pound on Orton who gets a kick in and he pounds on Shane in the corner. Shane battles back on Orton and knocks him to the outside before hitting a baseball slide as he slides outside, and he pulls out a table and props it against the apron as he stomps on Orton and pulls out a trash can. Orton gets a knee in and hits the inverted backbreaker on Shane before ramming his back into the apron twice, and he throws Shane back into the ring and kicks at him before hitting a back suplex and he takes the pad off the buckle. He whips Shane into the exposed buckle and stomps him to the mat as he kicks at him repeatedly and shoves him to the outside, and he taunts the crowd as Shane pulls out a Singapore cane and he hits Orton in the head with it before hitting him in the leg. He rolls back into the ring and hits Orton with the cane repeatedly as Orton rolls outside to regroup, and Shane goes outside and hits a clothesline on Orton as he clears off the announce table. He grabs one of the monitors and hits Orton in the head with it which busts him open as he puts Orton on the table, and he rolls back into the ring and goes up top as Legacy run down to the ring and attack Shane. They throw Shane to the mat and pound on him in the corner as Rhodes rolls outside and brings a chair into the ring, and Dibiase holds Shane from behind as Rhodes charges with the chair only for Shane to turn Dibiase around and Rhodes hits Dibiase in the back with the chair by mistake. Shane hits a back elbow that sends Dibiase to the outside as he gets a kick in on Rhodes and hits a DDT on the chair, and he puts Rhodes in the corner and props the can in front of him before going up top and he hits the Coast to Coast which drives the can into Rhodes. Shane goes up top again and dives off only for Orton to avoid the elbow as Shane crashes through the table in a big spot, and Orton and Dibiase roll back into the ring and check on Rhodes as Orton tells Dibiase to take Rhodes to the back which he does. Shane struggles onto the apron and Orton grabs him as he holds him on the middle rope and hits a draping DDT for a series of two counts, and Orton brings the table into the ring and kicks at Shane twice as he sets the table up and pounds on Shane in the corner. He puts Shane on the top rope and continues to pound on him before going up himself and he hits a superplex through the table for a two count, and he rams the back of Shane’s head into the broken table and stomps on him repeatedly before dropping a knee on him for a two count. He sets up for the punt only for Shane to hit a spear and he grabs the chair as he hits him in the back with it, and he hits Orton in the leg with it repeatedly as Orton begs off and Shane hits him in the back with it. He stands over Orton before going to the corner and he looks for a punt himself only for Orton to catch him with the RKO which gets the three and he wins the match.
The match itself was great as both men worked hard and put on a really fun brawl that doesn’t get talked about enough for either man. It’s one that certainly doesn’t get talked about enough in terms of Shane’s great matches and Orton was on a major roll at this point, and they had great chemistry as they pulled out some big spots and Orton bleeding made it even better. Legacy played their part as well and kept their involvement at a minimum with Rhodes taking the Coast to Coast from Shane, and Shane goes all out to put Orton over and the ending was fantastic with one of the better RKOs out of nowhere from Orton. The crowd was red hot for the whole match and Shane, but are not happy when Orton gets the win. Orton gets the win over Shane though this issue is only about to get even more intense heading into WM.
Final Grade: ****
