WWE’s No Way Out series had 12 editions, from 1998 through 2012, and its closing matches ranged from multi-person tags to title bouts and Elimination Chamber contests. This is an editorial ranking, not an official scorecard: it weighs match structure, pacing, stakes, and how effectively each bout closed its event. The event history lists editions in 1998, 2000–2009, and 2012; the three-year gap after 2009 matters, and the later Elimination Chamber-branded events are outside this list.
Note: The available event records establish the closing match and its result for the 1998 and 2000–2006 editions, but do not provide enough match-level detail to verify the exact closers for 2007–2009 and 2012. Rather than guess at those four entries, this ranking covers the eight editions whose main-event facts are documented here.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
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| 1 |
![WWE: No Way Out 2009 [DVD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51he322DckL._SL160_.jpg)
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WWE: No Way Out 2009 [DVD] | $5.38 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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WWE No Way Out 2008 | $3.57 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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WWE No Way Out 2004 | $44.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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WWE No Way Out 2005 | $9.64 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
![WWE No Way Out 2003 [DVD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51S5R2W8WEL._SL160_.jpg)
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WWE No Way Out 2003 [DVD] | $39.88 | Buy on Amazon |
8. No Way Out 1998: Austin, Cactus Jack, Chainsaw Charlie and Owen Hart vs. Triple H, the New Age Outlaws and Savio Vega
The inaugural event’s closing bout was an eight-man no-disqualification tag, won by Stone Cold Steve Austin, Cactus Jack, Chainsaw Charlie and Owen Hart. Its unruly, crowded format gives it less dramatic focus than the strongest matches on this list: the available record confirms the stipulation and result, but does not establish a sharper individual story or a title stake.
7. No Way Out 2003: The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan
The Rock defeated Hulk Hogan in the closing match. The pairing carries enormous name recognition, but star power alone is not enough to put a match near the top of a ranking. The documented record available here confirms the result, not a title stake or distinctive stipulation that would elevate its event-ending function.
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- It's the last Pay-Per-View event before WrestleMania 25 - a last chance for the Superstars of Raw, Smackdown, and ECW to showcase their skills and prove they belong on the grandest stage of all. Key matches will decide who seeks championship gold at WrestleMania 25. Featuring Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Batista, Edge, Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy, CM Punk, and more! Run time: 180 mins
6. No Way Out 2002: Chris Jericho vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin
Chris Jericho retained the WWE Championship against Austin, with help from the nWo. A championship and outside interference give the finish clear stakes and a storyline hook, but interference also makes the outcome less satisfying as a direct resolution between the two wrestlers.
5. No Way Out 2005: JBL vs. Big Show
JBL retained the WWE Championship against Big Show in a barbed-wire steel-cage match. The stipulation makes the contest visually and structurally distinct, while the championship supplies a clear consequence. It ranks in the middle because the documented facts establish those ingredients, but not enough about the bout’s execution to justify placing it above the more distinctive top entries.
Rank #2
- It s the last Pay-Per-View event before WrestleMania 24 a last chance for the Superstars of Raw, Smackdown, and ECW to showcase their skills and prove they belong on the grandest stage of all. Key matches will decide who seeks championship gold at WrestleMania 24. Featuring Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Batista, Edge, Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy, CM Punk, and more! Format: DVD MOVIE Genr
4. No Way Out 1998: Austin’s team vs. Triple H’s team
This event is listed only once; its correct position is eighth.
4. No Way Out 2006: Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker
Kurt Angle retained the World Heavyweight Championship against The Undertaker. A title defense between two established headliners is a strong closing-match premise, and the result gives the event a definitive championship outcome. It sits below the top three because the available record does not document a special stipulation or unusually consequential twist.
Rank #3
- He lies, he cheats, he steals. and Eddie Guerrero will do anything to be the next WWE Champion. This is the FINAL stop on the road to WrestleMania - all the titles are up for grabs and once it starts there really is. No Way Out! WWE Championship - Brock Lesnar vs. Eddie Guerrero Triple Threat Match - Kurt Angle vs. John Cena vs. Big Show WWE Cruiserweight Championship - Rey Mysterio with Jor
3. No Way Out 2004: Eddie Guerrero vs. Brock Lesnar
Eddie Guerrero defeated Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Championship. The title change makes the result consequential in a way a routine defense cannot match, and the contrast between champion and challenger gives the main event an immediate, legible objective: the championship is at stake, and the challenger wins it.
2. No Way Out 2000: Triple H vs. Mick Foley
Triple H defeated Mick Foley in a Hell in a Cell match with the WWE Championship against Foley’s career. The stipulation gives the violence a clear dramatic purpose: the champion’s title and Foley’s future are both on the line. That unusually direct combination of stakes and match format makes it one of the series’ strongest closers.
Rank #4
- On February 20, 2005, the WWE roared into Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena for its annual NO WAY OUT showdown, which featured more uncompromising action from the fiercest wrestling talent around. Charlie Haas and Hardcore Holly took on Renee Dupree and Kenzo Suzuki in the Sunday Night Heat Match, while Rey Misterio and Eddie Guerrero battled the Basham Brothers for the WWE Tag Team Title. John Cena a
1. No Way Out 2001: Triple H vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin
Triple H defeated Austin two falls to one in a two-out-of-three-falls match, moving from a standard match to a street fight and then a steel-cage fall. The structure gives the bout a built-in escalation rather than relying on one repeated rhythm: each fall changes the conditions, and the overall result requires two victories. Of the documented No Way Out main events, it has the clearest match concept and the most purposeful progression.
Why four editions are not ranked here
The event chronology identifies No Way Out editions in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012, but the records available for this article do not establish each edition’s exact final match and result. The 2007 retrospective description identifies a tag match involving Batista and The Undertaker against John Cena and Shawn Michaels, but that alone is not enough to score the bout against the others. Ranking all four without verified event-level results would risk misstating which matches actually closed those shows.
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- WWE-NO WAY OUT 2003 (DVD MOVIE)
Scope and sources
The event history lists 12 No Way Out editions: 1998, 2000–2009, and 2012. The official WWE results archive supplies the documented closing-match facts through 2006; the available event chronology establishes the broader series span. The separate Elimination Chamber events that followed the 2009 edition are not No Way Out editions and are not included. No uniform authoritative rating exists for these matches, so the ordering above is a critical judgment based on the stated criteria rather than a claim of consensus.
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