Retro Rowe: WWF No Way Out 2000

WWF No Way Out

February 27, 2000

by Samoa Rowe

-Follow me on Twitter: @SamoaRowe

-From Hartford, CT. Our hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

-I had an extremely difficult time picking my first show to review on WWE Network, but this one just kept calling out to me.

Intercontinental Championship:
Chris Jericho © (with Chyna) vs. European Champion Kurt Angle

Angle cuts a short patronizing promo, promising to return to Hartford later on as the hero they all deserve. Jericho responds by calling “Kirk Angel” an ignoramus. The crowd is red hot for Jericho at the opening bell. They keep a fast pace, with Jericho dropping Angle over the ropes for the drop-kick off the top. Jericho misses a clothesline and hits the ring post, but he rebounds with a moonsault off the ring steps! Angle crotches Jericho on the top rope for a belly to belly superplex. Jericho rebounds with a double underhook backbreaker, but Angle retaliates with a German suplex for 2. Angle goes to work on the hurt arm, but Jericho surprises with a spin heel kick. Jericho makes a comeback, complete with a dead lift power bomb. Angle rolls into a cross arm breaker! Angle nails the Olympic Slam but is too slow to cover and gets 2. Jericho avoids a belt shot and applies the Walls! Angle escapes and tries another belt shot, but Jericho inadvertently knocks him into Chyna against the steps. Angle blocks the Lionsault with a title belt and wins the match at 10:11. They packed a lot of action into a short amount of time, the cheap finish works in the context of Angle’s ongoing story, **¾.
Winner and new Intercontinental Champion: Kurt Angle

-Michael Cole interviews the Dudley Boyz backstage. They vow to become Tag Team Champions. Not much to say here, this was pretty straight to the point.

WWF Tag Team Championship:
The New Age Outlaws © (Mr. Ass and Road Dogg) vs. The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von)

The Dudleyz are looking for revenge after Mr. Ass put Bubba through a table on Smackdown and rush the ring for a brawl. Bubba quickly hits the Bubba Bomb on Road Dogg, setting up flying head butt to the groin from D-Von. Road Dogg becomes the tweener in peril. Mr. Ass distracts long enough for Road Dogg to hit a superplex on Bubba. Mr. Ass gets the hot tag and takes the fight to both Dudleyz, hitting the Fame-asser on D-Von. Road Dogg tags himself back in as Bubba hits Mr. Ass with a lead pipe at ringside. The Dudleyz finish Road Dogg with the 3D at 5:19. This wasn’t really bad, just a short match meant to write off Billy Gunn and transition the belts, *½.
Winners and new WWF Tag Team Champions: The Dudley Boyz

-The New Age Outlaws implode over the title loss. We wouldn’t see Mr. Ass again until the fall (when the era of The One Billy Gunn would sweep the nation).

-Kurt Angle celebrates with a mob of fans. What a goof.

-Last Monday on Raw, the recently deceased Viscera splashed the also recently deceased Mae Young.

Mark Henry vs. Viscera

Henry if fighting for Mae Young’s honor as he immediately attacks Viscera with a series of punches. Jim Ross is already apologizing for the match quality as Henry connects with a shoulder tackle. Viscera takes control with a rolling kick and drives Henry into the ring steps. The crowd rewards their effort with a “boring” chant. Back to the ring, Viscera nails a Samoan drop, but Mae Young runs in to check on her man. Viscera shoves Mae down and prepares for a big splash, but Henry nails a shoulder block. Henry slams Big Vis for the win at 3:47. This is a pretty obvious DUD.
Winner: Mark Henry

-Lillian Garcia interviews Chris Jericho, wondering if there’s friction between him and Chyna. Jericho puts all the blame on Kirk Angel for stealing the title.

-Mr. Ass is being attended to by the medical staff, and it appears his arm is in worse shape than we thought.

Jeff and Matt Hardy (with Terri Runnels) vs. Edge and Christian

Before the match can begin, the APA, hired by Terri, come to ringside to watch her back. Edge ambushes Jeff and dodges a senton. Jeff drop-kicks Christian to tag in Matt for their combination leg drops. Matt back suplexes Christian for 2. Christian and Matt trade chops, but Jeff interferes to drive Christian into the barricade. The Hardy’s keep Christian isolated with quick tags. Christian catches Matt with a neck breaker and counters Jeff’s dive to make the hot tag to Edge. Christian dives on Matt on the floor and hangs Jeff on the ropes to help Edge take control. Jeff takes a prolonged beating, including a PILEDRIVER from Edge. Jeff lands on his own head while hitting Edge with a hurricanrana. Edge cuts Jeff off with a dangerous sit-out power bomb. Matt interferes with a flying elbow drop on Edge while the ref was distracted by Christian. Jeff counters Edge with a drop-kick in mid-air and finally makes the hot tag to Matt. The match breaks down and the Hardyz deliver a flying leg drop/cross body combo on Christian. Edge counters Jeff’s Poetry in Motion with a SPEAR! Matt drops Edge with the Twist of Fate. Terri then turns on the Hardyz when she pushes Jeff off the top rope! Terri slaps Matt , setting him up for the Unprettier for the loss at 15:14. The crowd was surprisingly dead for this solid tag team outing, **¾.
Winners: Edge and Christian

-Matt grabs Terri by the hair, prompting the APA to attack. Faarooq drops Jeff on his head in sickening fashion. The APA leave both Hardyz down and out.

-Michael Cole interviews Edge and Christian backstage. Christian says he knew they’d win but he wasn’t expecting it to happen because of Terri. Edge says it doesn’t matter how they won, the important thing is they’re the #1 contenders to the Tag Team Championship.

-Lillian Garcia interviews Big Show backstage. Show’s feelings are hurt that the fans aren’t supporting him after he proved that he should have won the Royal Rumble (video evidence shows that The Rock’s feet touched the floor right before Show’s did). Big Show as the trying-be-reasonable heel who is technically right is lots of fun.

Big Bossman (with Prince Albert) vs. Tazz

Bossman meets Tazz in the aisle for a brawl. Tazz tosses Bossman into the ring so the bell can ring. It doesn’t take long for Tazz to throw a suplex and go for the Tazzmission. Prince Albert runs in and attacks Tazz to draw the DQ at 0:46. Albert power bombs Tazz and holds him in place for nightstick shots from Bossman. Tazz keeps getting back up but continually falls to the numbers game. This was hardly a match, just set-up for a feud that would go nowhere. DUD.
Winner via DQ: Tazz

No Holds Barred:
Kane (with Paul Bearer) vs. X-Pac (with Tori)

X-Pac recently turned on his best friend, Kane, AND stole his girlfriend to make things even worse. Kane quickly dumps X-Pac over the ropes and they brawl around the entrance area. They head through the fans back to ringside, where Kane misses a shot with the ring steps. X-Pac clocks Kane with the ring bell, but Bearer stops him from using a chair. Tori attacks Bearer, prompting him to chase her around the ring. The action finally returns to the ring, where X-Pac takes control with the Bronco Buster. Kane sits up and nails a hard clothesline. X-Pac ducks a big boot and drop-kicks the leg. X-Pac nails a low blow and X-Factor, but has to knock Bearer off the apron rather than make a cover. Kane finally nails the flying clothesline but turns his attention to Tori (J.R. really wants Kane to Tombstone her). Kane choke slams X-Pac, but Tori leaps on his back. Kane successfully Tombstones Tori, but X-Pac drop-kicks the steps into the face for the win at 7:46. I hate the sexist undertones of this feud, the match itself was simply okay, **.
Winner: X-Pac

-Michael Cole interviews The Radicalz backstage. They’ve got nothing but confidence heading into their pay-per-view debut and are looking to make a statement. Also, the injured Eddie Guerrero will be in their corner, and he’s wielding a metal pipe.

Too Cool (Rikishi, Scotty 2 Hotty, and Grandmaster Sexay) vs. The Radicalz (Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn, and Dean Malenko, with Eddie Guerrero)

The match begins with a six man brawl. Eddie sneaks in but Rikishi cuts him off with a strike to his dislocated elbow. Saturn and GMS are the first legal participants, with Saturn dishing out chops. GMS blocks a superplex and delivers his patented missile drop-kick. Benoit tags but runs into a Sexay hip toss, followed by a bulldog. Benoit suffers a double elbow drop from Too Cool, but rebounds to drop Scotty on the ropes. Scotty hits a suplex and moonwalks into a tag to Rikishi, who cleans house (including a stink face on Benoit). Malenko drop-kicks Rikishi’s leg to isolate him, but he wobbles into a super-kick on Saturn. Scotty tags and looks for the worm, but Malenko clotheslines from behind. The Radicalz settle for isolating Scotty instead. Rikishi eventually gets the hot tag and plows through the Radicalz. Scotty returns for The Worm on Saturn. Malenko continually sneaks in with chop blocks to Rikishi’s leg. GMS delivers the Hip Hop Drop, but Benoit follows with the diving head butt. The ring clears, leaving Malenko alone to suffer the Rikishi Driver. Rikishi finishes Malenko with the Banzai Bomb at 13:30. The wrong team went over here, but the match was lots of fun, ***.
Winners: Rikishi, Grandmaster Sexay, and Scotty 2 Hotty

-Rikishi wants to leave, but GMS convinces him to stay and dance.

-Kurt Angle is STILL celebrating with his fans in the lobby.

The Rock vs. Big Show

Rock is putting his Wrestlemania title shot on the line because Big Show has video evidence that his Royal Rumble victory is tainted. The match starts off with Rock laying into Show with punches. DDT by Rock gets a 2 count. Show blocks a Rock Bottom and the brawl heads to ringside. Show clotheslines Rock in the crowd, but Rock back drops him over the barricade. Show recovers to press slam Rock onto the barricade. Back to the ring, Rock has plenty of fire left in him, but Show dominates with a power slam. Rock desperately hits a side Russian leg sweep and a DDT but can’t get the pinfall. Sidewalk slam by Show gets 2. Show misses a chair shot but tosses Rock into referee Earl Hebner. Chokeslam by Show, but there’s no referee. Tim White runs in for the count, but Hebner pulls him out. The referees are arguing when Shane McMahon makes his return! Rock nails a chair shot and Rock Bottom! Shane runs in and clocks Rock with a chair during the Peoples’ Elbow! Tim White counts Show’s cover for the win at 9:26. The match was somewhat dull but kept short enough to avoid becoming awful, **.
Winner: Big Show

-Kurt Angle is finally done celebrating and is getting ready to leave the building when he’s ambushed by Chris Jericho and Chyna. They boot the boots to Angle and lock him in his rental car trunk.

WWF Championship (Hell in a Cell):
Triple H © (with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) vs. Cactus Jack

The stipulation states that Cactus Jack must retire if he loses. Cactus is distracted by the fact that the door has been excessively chained shut but fights off a Triple H ambush. Cactus wants to climb to the top of the cell and will have to find another way out. HHH dishes out a face buster but Cactus back drops him to the floor. Cactus grabs a chair but Triple H launches him off the apron into the cell. Triple H launches Cactus into the steps and then throws the steps right into his face. Triple H dismantles Foley with a chair as Stephanie applauds. Cactus low blows with the chair and DDT’s HHH onto it. Cactus continues to use the chair until Triple H counters with a drop toe hold onto it. Triple H looks for a Pedigree on the steps but Foley counters with a catapult into the cell. HHH is bleeding as Foley bats him around. Cactus drives a chair into HHH on the floor off the second rope! Cactus throws the stairs through the cell wall when HHH ducks. Cactus launches himself through the wall to make a new door. With the new found freedom, Cactus piledrives HHH on the announce table (which doesn’t break). Stephanie stops Cactus from climbing the cell, so he settles for clocking HHH in the face with a barbed wire 2x4! Triple H climbs the cell to get away, but Cactus pursues with the 2x4 in hand. HHH rubs the barbed wire in Foley’s face and knocks him off and through the announce table! Foley stumbles to his feet and reclimbs the cell (after failing to toss a chair up). HHH is ready for him and dishes out 2x4 shots. Cactus fights back with a low blow and nearly tosses HHH off the top. Triple H almost falls through the ceiling but Foley delivers a suplex. Foley delivers a DDT and lights the 2x4 on fire! Foley nails HHH with the burning 2x4! Triple H saves himself by back dropping Foley through the top of the cage and he crashes through the ring canvas! HHH climbs down but Cactus gets back on his feet! Triple H finally hits the Pedigree to end the slaughter at 23:54. This was an amazing spectacle of violence that also told an outstanding story. An all-time classic, *****.
Winner and still WWF Champion: Triple H

-Triple H and Stephanie depart and it already seems clear to me that Triple H is a bigger star now than he was 25 minutes ago. Meanwhile, Foley refuses medical aid and walks out on his own two feet. It’s a pity that Foley came back only weeks later to be included in the Wrestlemania main event, as this is how I would have liked to remember him.

Final Thoughts: This is an all around fun show (with a couple of short bad matches tacked on). The main event is must-see, for historical reasons as well it’s quality. Thumbs up.