12 Worst WWE Pay-Per-Views Without A World Title Match

10. No Way Out Of Texas

MVP Kane Inferno Match Armageddon 2006
WWE.com

Before WWE literally used the phrase as a show title, the February pay-per-view was often considered an unhelpful roadblock in between the company's surge to WrestleMania via January's Royal Rumble.

This was never more apparent than in 1998, when the company were forced to assemble a palatable card whilst desperate to maintain the purity of some crucial pairings that would help assemble one of the most important shows in company history the following month.

No Way Out of Texas (with the awkward 'Of Texas' added thanks to mild WCW litigation fears around the NWO initials WWE uncharacteristically couldn't be bothered to fight) combatted the situation by presenting an 8-man tag combining WrestleMania's three top matches.

It was a smart move, teasing possible physicality between all eventual opponents without having to deliver too much more than a Stone Cold Stunner to one of the heels for a crowd-pleasing finish.

But without the knowledge of all concerned parties, disaster had already stuck.

WWE Champion Shawn Michaels was in daily agony having cracked his back against The Undertaker's casket during their Royal Rumble war. With the severity becoming apparent, it was judged best to rest him as much as possible in order to ensure he was fit enough for the crucial 'Show of Shows' torch-passing to Steve Austin.

His replacement in the 4-on-4 main event? Savio Vega.

Coincidentally, Vega was once chosen as a babyface hope in place of Shawn Michaels (more on that later) too. As a heel, it predictably flopped just as hard.

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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