#245: Randy Orton vs. Shane McMahon, WWE No Way Out (2/15/2009).
This is a request brought to me by one of my buddies from work.
This is a No Holds Barred Match.
Weeks earlier, Randy Orton punted Vince McMahon in the head, putting him out of commission indefinitely. Afterwards, he won the 2009 Royal Rumble Match, earning a main event match at WrestleMania 25….oops, I’m sorry, I mean the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania. Spoiler alert: IT WASN’T THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY, YOU DUMB OLD FUCK.
Anyway, after taking Vince out, Shane McMahon made his return to fight for his dad’s honor. This is right before this storyline got really fucking crazy.
The bell sounds, and here we go! Shane with some quick jabs to start out. Orton is not happy that the non wrestler is making him – the Royal Rumble winner – look like an idiot. Orton fires back with hard punches to the head. Shane returns fire and sends Orton to the floor. Baseball slide dropkick connects, and Shane grabs a table from underneath the ring. He also grabs a trash can, and I’m sure you can guess what he’ll do with that.
Orton grabs Shane and hits a backbreaker. He then sends Shane back first into the apron, before rolling him back into the ring. Orton kicks Shane right in the chest, and then hits a high back body drop. He removes the top turnbuckle, exposing the steel. Michael Cole reminds us that it’s legal, even though the table and trash can told us that already. Orton irish whips Shane into the exposed steel. He kicks the younger McMahon to the outside, as he relishes in the boos of the crowd.
Orton goes to grab Shane, who hits him in the head with a kendo stick. Shane returns to the ring, and continues his attack with the cane. On the floor, Shane connects with a clothesline to Orton, and then he tears apart the Smackdown announce table. He grabs a monitor and decks Orton in the skull with it. He’s busted open now. Shane lays him across the table, and returns to the ring. He scales the top rope, but here comes Legacy – Ted DiBiase and current WWE Champion Cody Rhodes!
They double team Shane for a moment, until Cody accidentally hits DiBiase in the back with a chair. DDT on the chair to Cody by Shane. He places Cody in the corner, and grabs the trash can. Orton is a bloody mess on the table, as Shane places the can against Cody’s chest. Shane goes to the top rope, and connects with Coast to Coast! Shane goes back to the top rope, and goes for the elbow drop to Orton, who moves out of the way. Shane crashes through the announcer’s table.
Orton recovers in the ring, as Shane returns to the apron. Orton hits the Inplant DDT to Shane, and gets a nearfall off of it. Orton grabs the table from the floor and brings it inside the ring. He sets it up, as Shane tries to pull himself back to his feet. Orton with some clubbing blows to the chest, and now he places him on the top turnbuckle. Orton hits a Superplex, crushing Shane through the table. Orton slowly makes the cover, but Shane kicks out again.
Orton connects with the Garvin Stomp, and then a knee to the chest. Orton covers again, and Shane kicks out again. Shane is on his knees, as Orton backs away in the corner. He goes for the Punt, but Shane counters it with a Spear. Shane grabs the chair and drills Orton in the spine. He then hits Orton right on the ankle with it, and then does it again! That might be the smartest thing he’s done all match. Shane towers over Orton with the chair, and as Orton tries to beg him off, Shane drills him with the chair.
Now Shane looks for a Punt Kick of his own! He rushes, but Orton catches him with an RKO out of nowhere to take the win. Considering what was being fought over in this match – Shane fighting for his father, and Randy fighting for the destruction of the McMahon family – this was remarkably tame. It had the usual Shane spots – Coast to Coast, and the elbow through the table – but otherwise, this was a whole lot of nothing.
It was slow, and kind of boring. I can’t entirely fault the two involved, though. This was in the early stages of WWE’s PG Era, where everything was toned down several notches. If this had happened in 2008, I imagine they would’ve been able to get away with more. Alas, this is a basic brawl that doesn’t really get out of first gear for me. I did enjoy Shane targeting the ankle of Orton with the chair, but it came right at the end of the match, and nothing really came of it because Orton just won out of nowhere.
Big disappointment overall.