10 Biggest WWE Pay-Per-View Disappointments

4. John Bradshaw Layfield Vs The Big Show (No Way Out 2005)

Goldberg The Rock
WWE.com

Though expectations were low on what JBL and The Big Show could do from an in-ring perspective, the vaunted 'Barbed Wire Cage' set to surround them horribly under-delivered on both real life and storyline expectations.

Booked by Teddy Long in a desperate bid to reduce the level of interference that had defined Bradshaw's unexpectedly enjoyable WWE Title reign, the threat of facing the giant challenger in such a lethal structure had blighted the champion from the moment it was announced.

However, on the night itself, the rolls of spiky chickenwire atop the usual steel cage were visually unimpressive, and barely featured into the match which booked itself out of the stipulation anyway.

After a deathly dull brawl, JBL's 'Cabinet' cohorts arrived on the scene with bolt-cutters, aiming to crack the lock on the door and/or destroy the cage to allow the Champion a barb-less escape.

Though the heels were dispatched by Long, the bolt-cutters were slid in for JBL to cork Big Show with for a tepid nearfall.

The finish came when Show chokeslammed the bloodied JBL through the ring from halfway up the cage. With the Champion presumably well beaten, Show elected to leave through the door, but Layfield escaped from the hole he'd fallen through to steal yet another victory.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett