No Way Out '01

Legacy Review

No Way Out '01

February 25, 2001 from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV

 

Commentary: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

 

After an all time great Royal Rumble the road to Wrestlemania X7 continues. This would turn out to be the final PPV put on by WWF while WCW was still a going concern. The end of an era is almost here. In fact it had already started, as a week after the Rumble WWF purchased the assets of nearly bankrupt ECW from their parent company.

 

WWF Hardcore Championship: The Big Show def Raven (def Billy Gunn def Raven) (c) in 4:20- Big Show made his surprise return from injury remedial OVW training in the Rumble. Raven brings out the usual shopping cart full of toys. Among the usual hardcore props I can also spot a partially deflated basketball (I didn't know Tom Brady played basketball), a Ouija board, and.....a stuffed monkey? When Show comes out a woman in a catsuit and mask tries to attack him but he cuts her off. Apparently this is an unknown woman who's been helping Raven recently, who would later be revealed to be Tori. Raven charges up the ramp with the classic oversized stop sign but Show cuts that off too and whacks Raven with it multiple times back down the ramp. That giant stop sign *never* worked for the Flock in WCW, why should Raven expect any different here? As they work toward the ring Raven dodges a charge and Show goes into the post. He hops on Show's back but Show easily flips him back off. Raven sets a fire extinguisher off in Show's face. Running baseball slide. A popcorn vendor runs in and attacks Raven! There's popcorn everywhere! Crunchy thumbtacks. The vendor is wearing a wig and fake mustache but is obviously Crash Holly. He gives Raven a bulldog for 2. 24/7 rule, it's allowed. Show powerslams Crash. He hits Raven with a GTR. Now Steve Blackman and Hardcore Holly run in! Both attack Show. From the other side Billy Gunn comes in and gives Raven a Fameasser! Gunn pins Raven to win the title! Crash rolls Gunn up for 2. Blackman and Hardcore double team Gunn until Show takes them both out. While they're fighting Raven covers Gunn and pins him to win the title back. Again Crash tries a roll up but can't get the pin. Show gorilla press slams Crash. The masked woman runs in again, this time followed by Molly Holly. Molly takes her out. Raven pummels Show with trash can shots. Show shrugs it all off, chokeslams Raven through a can, and pins him to win the Hardcore title for the first time. I appreciate them trying to do something different with the hardcore/24/7 rules, but this came off as a bit too much chaos. *1/2

 

After the bell Gunn tries to attack Show and they both completely fluff an over the top rope spot. Show looks legit pissed as he's walking out. The ring crew has its work cut out cleaning up that huge mess of popcorn in the ring between matches.

 

Fatal Four Way Match for the WWF Intercontinenal Championship: Chris Jericho (c) def Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and X-Pac in 12:18- Not the worst idea for an IC title match on a B PPV, throw together three of your best in-ring workers and let them go at it. And Pac. Even after nearly a year of off and on feuding watching Jericho and Benoit go at it never gets old. This is an odd four way as it's three heels against Jericho rather than an even split. Benoit and Guerrero are going in trying to work together as a team as the Radicalz were still nominally a thing at this point. Quick 2v2 jump start with Jericho and Guerrero in the ring and Benoit and Pac going to the floor. Benoit comes in to pull Jericho out of a pin attempt and nails the first big chops. The Radicalz team up on Jericho while the crowd chants "X-Pac sucks" just because he exists. Jericho gets a comeback flurry but runs into a Pac spin kick. The Radicalz pound Pac down. They seem to agree on a plan. Guerrero goes up top to hit the frog splash, but while he does Benoit counters Pac's offensive attempts into the crossface. Guerrero gets up top, sees that, and looks put out. Jericho pops back up to crotch Guerrero on the top rope and break the crossface up. Guerrero fights off a Pac superplex attempt. Flash frog splash! Jericho breaks the pin up. Benoit hits a short clothesline on Jericho for 2. Guerrero, behind Benoit's back, put Jericho's foot on the bottom rope. Benoit snap suplex on Pac for 2. Pac hits a leg lariat on Benoit. He goes for the bronco buster. Jericho cuts it off with a missile dropkick. Benoit runs Jericho over and plants him with a German suplex with a bridge. Guerrero breaks that up and doesn't even try to hide it this time. The Radicalz slug it out with each other! No more teamwork there. Guerrero counters a Benoit powerbomb attempt into a hurricanrana. Jericho suplexes Pac on the floor. Guerrero plants Benoit with a wicked Saito suplex for 2. Regular suplex from Guerrero and he goes up top again. Benoit fights up with him and hits a superplex. Pac and Jericho each cover for a simultaneous 2 count. Guerrero gives Pac a Cactus clothesline. Jericho double underhook backbreaker on Benoit for 2. Chop exchange. Jericho cradles Benoit for 2. Benoit hits a clothesline. Jericho tries the misdirection bulldog. Benoit blocks it and tries to counter into a German. Jericho fights it, but Benoit pounds back and hits it for just a 1 count. Benoit goes for another (not rolling Germans, he let go) but Jericho counters and rolls all the way into the Walls! Guerrero and Pac both run in and both get hooked in the Walls as well but no one taps. Former ECW star Justin Credible, who recently returned to WWF and formed an alliance with Pac, runs out and immediately gets popped off the apron. Benoit hits a dragon suplex on a distracted Jericho for 2. Pac and Credible take Benoit out. Jericho hits Guerrero with the Lionsault but Pac breaks the pin up. Pac low blow on Jericho. X-Factor! Benoit breaks the cover. Crossface on Pac! Guerrero breaks that up with a running neckbreaker. Benoit back suplex on Guerrero. The headbutt off the top hits! Pac takes Benoit out with a swing kick. Jericho comes up, cradles Pac, and gets a pin to retain! No less than you'd expect from these guys. ***3/4

 

Vince is in the back with William Regal, who since the Rumble has been named the new WWF Commissioner. Vince is unhappy with regal for booking Steph and Trish in a match with each other, then tells Regal "You'll know what to do". Regal indicates he does, but as soon as Vince leaves says "How the bloody hell should I know what he wants me to do?". I can picture a lot of Vince real life backstage talks going that exact same way.

 

Stephanie McMahon-Helmsely def Trish Stratus in 8:32- Evil Steph helped Vince drive Linda McMahon into a sanatorium so all was right in McMahonland....until Vince started shacking up with his new secretary Trish. Steph didn't like how that took attention away from her so here we are. This is Steph's first singles match since her women's title reign ended back in October. She charges in a half spears half leg takedowns Trish at the bell. Trish tries to get away so Steph pulls her off the ropes. Clotheslines and the mandatory women's hair toss follow. Steph pulls some more hair out of Trish's head, then tosses Trish out. Trish throws Steph over the barricade. Steph comes back up with a forearm and a clotheslineish off the barricade. Trish blocks an apron suplex and snaps Steph over the top rope. She slaps Steph in the corner and stomps her down. Running bulldog for 2. Lawler tries to dub it the "Trishdog". They'll come up with a MUCH better name for it using Trish's last name later. Steph tries to punch back. Trish DDTs her for 2. She climbs up and hangs Steph from the top rope in a straight choke hold. Steph uses that to flip Trish off the top rope. Trish gets tossed out again. Steph gives her some shots on the announce table, then grabs a pitcher of water and tosses it on Trish! Lawler gets all excited about a "wet t-shirt", but....Trish is wearing black. You're not going to see anything. That sets Trish off and she runs Steph into the announce table. Back in Trish runs into a Steph powerbomb for 2. Now things break down into Attitude Era T&A land as Steph pulls Trish's trunks down to spank her, then tries to rip Trish's top off. Both women charge and give each other a double faceplant. Regal makes his way down. He takes the ref out, puts Trish on top of Steph, wakes the ref up, but then seems to change his mind and puts Steph's foot on the rope. Again Regal puts the ref down. Trish gets in Regal's face, asking what the hell he's doing. That seems to set Regal's mind. He neckbreakers Trish, puts Steph on top of her, and Steph gets the pin. You know, most of that match before the T&A and overbooking kicked in was shockingly watchable. Decent even. Steph hit all her marks with no major issues, while this was the first real indication that Trish was developing into a pretty good worker. **1/4

 

Back in the back, Vince is PISSED at Regal. "I THOUGHT YOU KNEW WHAT I WANTED!". Again, people not reading Vince's mind the way he wanted, I imagine a lot of real life meetings ended up this way. Vince's revenge is to book a tag match for Raw tomorrow night: Vince and Trish vs Regal and Steph.

 

Three Stages of Hell Match: Triple H def "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in 36:31- Putting a bow on this feud as we head into the home stretch of Wrestlemania season. For now. Austin picked up his record third career Rumble win last month and has a date with the WWF Champion in the main event at WM no matter what happens tonight, the title shot is not on the line. This is purely personal. For those not familiar, Three Stages of Hell, being done as far as I can remember for the first time ever tonight, is a best 2 out of 3 falls match, but each fall has a different stipulation.

FIRST FALL (normal rules)- After a short think Austin, as usual, charges in and we're on. HHH is the first one down. Austin does the mudhole stomps in the corner, then goes for mounted punches on the other side. HHH tries an inverted atomic drop counter but Austin blocks that into a clothesline. HHH then tries to hide in the ropes. They have a miscommunication or something not going right, ending up with Austin trying a Thesz Press too close to the ropes and clotheslining himself on them. HHH goes for an early Pedigree. Austin grabs an arm during the hook up and counters it with an armbar slam. Nice, that's a new one. Austin posts the arm and goes to work on it. Back in HHH tries for the Pedigree again but his arm gives out and Austin is back on it. The proper Thesz Press hits. Elbow drop for 2. Austin just gets HHH over for a spinebuster in another rough looking spot. He tries coming off the second rope but HHH gets a boot up. Swinging neckbreaker from HHH, then a hangman's neckbreaker. His target is clearly Austin's recently surgically repaired neck and he starts picking it apart. Then HHH shits gears and clips Austin's chronically bad knee. Knee post shot from HHH. He goes for another one but Austin pulls him into the post. Another clip to Austin's knee back in. After some more softening up HHH hooks on a figure four! He works his way over to get added rope leverage behind Hebner's back. After a bit Austin drags HHH back to the center, then slowly fights over to reverse it. HHH quickly grabs a rope break. Elbow drop from HHH and he's back on the knee. While grounded Austin pummels HHH in the face with the bottom of his good leg/knee brace. Buckle shots for HHH. Another Thesz Press/elbow drop combo for 2. HHH grabs a kick but Austin spins him into a clothesline. HHH blocks a Stunner and hits another neckbreaker for 2. Roll up exchange for near falls. HHH gets a low blow kick in the corner. He comes off the second rope....right into a Stunner! Fantastic. Austin gets the pin for the first fall!

SECOND FALL (Street Fight)- Austin tosses HHH to the floor and suplexes him twice on the ramp. HHH gets knocked around ringside and Austin nails him with a Spanish announce table monitor. He tosses a few chairs in the ring, including one right out from under one of the ringside officials. It's a padded chair so I figure that was pure Austin messing with him. HHH tries to escape through the crowd. Austin follows, pounds away on HHH on the arena steps, then tosses him back over and in the ring. HHH gets one of the chairs but Austin cuts it off. He takes the chair and goes NUTS on HHH with repeated chairshots. It's a small preview of him completely snapping at WM. One last chairshot to HHH's sternum for 2. Austin goes out and gets the bell. After some more ringside knockaround Austin gets a new toy: the barbed wire covered 2x4! It was one year ago at this PPV that HHH (theoretically) retired Mick Foley, this is a nice callback. HHH cuts of a shot, gets the 2x4, and nails Austin with it. Austin's bleeding. And getting it all over the announce table. A HHH punch sends Austin flopping over the announce table, sending JR and Lawler scrambling and cutting JR completely off the air. HHH pounds Austin on the table, then sets him up for a Pedigree. Austin backdrops HHH through the Spanish announce table! Absolute full speed on that. JR is back on. Austin gets a beer, pops it open, and smashes it over HHH's head. He pounds away on HHH on the floor and pushes Hebner away. "Get the fuck outta here!". Back in HHH whacks Austin with the bell! Arm drape cover for 2. HHH neckbreakers Austin onto a chair! Cover for 2. Another one onto the chair and another cover for 2. Austin hooks on a sleeper. HHH quickly back suplexes him onto the chair. HHH sets up for a Pedigree onto the chair. Austin backdrops him over the top to the floor! Chairshot to HHH's head! Now HHH is busted open. Austin picks up the stairs and runs them into HHH. HHH drop toe holds Austin into the stairs. He goes under the announce table and gets his trusty sledgehammer! He got that right from where JR is sitting. Lawler logically asks JR where the hell that came from and JR hilariously loses his shit over Lawler asking. Austin cuts a sledge shot off. He does some more mudhole stomps back in. Another sledge shot cut off. HHH counters a Stunner and off the rebound gets Austin with the sledge! Pedigree and HHH evens the match up. Nice booking with both guys beating each other at the other's perceived strength, even though anyone that watched his WCW years knows Austin was a TREMENDOUS technical wrestler before his body broke down, and HHH was a damn good brawler when he needed to be.

THIRD FALL (Steel Cage)- Hard to imagine what these guys can still do to each other after that last fall. They both take time to recover as the cage is lowered and quickly hooked on. Austin tries to attack first but HHH runs him into the cage. HHH does some ground and pound and sends Austin into the cage again. He gets the 2x4 and digs it into Austin's head! Austin paws around, manages to get a chair, and blind swings it at HHH to get free. Now HHH goes into the cage. Austin gets the 2x4 in his face! HHH goes down and Austin straight drops the 2x4 into his face, then digs it in again. HHH gets around and gives Austin a DDT into a chair! Both guys are doing great selling pure exhaustion this deep in and after what they've done to each other. HHH gets an arm drape cover for 2 before Austin slugs back. HUGE Austin punch flurry in the corner. Trips flop! Austin covers for 2. HHH climbs up the cage. JR notes that this is pin only, no escape rules. Austin follows and they take turns ramming each other into the top of the cage. Austin goes down first and gets crotched on the top rope. HHH stays up top. Austin gets up and gives him the Flair slam off the top rope! Another Stunner attempt is countered. Pedigree! Austin kicks out! HHH is shocked. He gives Austin a chairshot and hooks up for another one. Austin gets free and slingshots him into the cage! Stunner off the rebound! Austin's slow to cover and HHH kicks out! Austin gets the 2x4. HHH gets the sledge. They hit each other at the same time! HHH falls on top of Austin, and pins him! What a finish. That win got a bit of a pop too, which HHH also got during his entrance. This, to me, is a forgotten and criminally unheralded classic. For some reason whenever anyone talks about HHH or Austin's best matches this never gets mentioned, and it should. Now, did they have a couple of rough spots in the first fall? Yes. Were they calling spots so loud at points people down the road at the casinos could hear them? Also yes. But the pure awesomeness of the last two falls and the perfect structure of the match as a whole more than made up for it. *****

 

Both guys take a long time to recover after that war. Once they finally get some footing Austin gives HHH a Stunner for the road. But as Austin's leaving, he looks back from the top of the ramp at HHH with a look that is very clearly newfound respect. Intentional or not, it's great foreshadowing of where these two will be going after WM.

 

Tazz makes his full entrance to take Lawler's place in commentary before the next match.

 

Steven Richards (w/Ivory) def Jerry "The King" Lawler (w/The Kat) in 5:31- Cool down match, activate. The stipulation with this is, if Lawler wins, Kat gets to "express her nudity". I'd have no complaints. If Richards wins, Kat has to join Right to Censor. They jaw at each other after the bell before Lawler gets the first shots in. Richards powders but comes back in hot. Lawler blocks a hiptoss and hits a clothesline. Slam and fistdrop combo. Richards bails again. He rips his shirt off! Flagrant disrespect of the RTC uniform. When he gets back in Lawler tosses him back out. Lawler holds Ivory for Kat to slap her. Richards uses the distraction to push Lawler into the post, then rolls Lawler in and covers for 2. Richards loads up for the Goodfather's no more hos train. Lawler dodges and hits an excessive amount of mounted punches (25ish). Bulldog from Lawler for 2. Richards gets a suplex for 2. He goes out and gets a chair. Lawler low blows him and hits a pair of DDTs. Ivory distracts ref Teddy Long. The match degrades into a bunch of running in and Lawler dodging women's title belt shots from Richards. Finally Kat gets the belt, swings at Richards but hits Lawler instead, and Richards covers for the pin. All of RTC come in, wrap Kat up in a large sack, and carry her away screaming. 1/2*

 

Unfortunately, or fortunately, this angle wouldn't go anywhere else. Kat, according to various reports, either quit in disgust over this angle or was fired for being hard to work with backstage. Probably truth in both. In solidarity with his then real life wife Lawler would walk out with her. He wouldn't return until November. Kat would never be seen in WWF/E again. Which begs the obvious (storyline) question: What the hell did RTC do to her?

 

Triple Threat Tables Match for the WWF Tag Team Championship: The Dudley Boyz (c) def The Brothers of Destruction and Edge & Christian in 12:04- Unlike past tag tables matches you only have to put one guy through a table to win this one. Tazz remains on commentary in Lawler's place for the rest of the show. Taker and Kane are kind of slumming it here. Kane's debuting, at least for PPV, some new all black gear. During entrances E&C get caught between the other two teams on the ramp. Being the smart ones they escape sideways and let the other two teams duke it out. Taker tosses D'Von off the ramp while E&C set a table up ringside. They charge but run right into the BOD buzzsaw. The next few minutes are BOD dominating E&C all around ringside. The Dudleyz run back in with chairs and take BOD out. Finally in the ring for the first time the Dudleyz pound on E&C. E&C get Bubba Ray in the tree of woe and literally squash hits nuts with their feet. Double flapjack on D'Von. E&C go out and get chairs. Bubba Ray ducks a conchairto. He slingshots Edge into Christian, then Edge takes the Whazzup Drop. Get the tables time! Plenty to choose from. While he does BOD attack. Christian hits Bubba Ray with the Unprettier. E&C try to fight BOD but get overwhelmed again. Stereo clotheslines off the top rope from BOD. They then fight the Dudleyz to get a couple of tables in the ring. The crowd chants "We want tables". THEY'RE IN THE FRAKKING RING. And it's a TABLES MATCH for frell's sake. I loathe that chant. The Dudleyz and E&C put their issues aside to try to take the two monsters down, but naturally that alliance doesn't last long. Bubba Ray hot shots Edge. Christian gets set up for a 3D through a table. Taker cuts it off. He sets up to chokeslam Christian but get tackled down. E&C double suplex Taker, but Kane pulled the table out of the way to save the match. BOD chokeslam everyone and set the tables back up. Rikishi and Haku run in and attack BOD! They all brawl on the floor, essentially eliminating BOD from the match. I don't really get why you'd put BOD in the match in the first place when you know they'd be overwhelming favorites, just to find a reason to have them not win it. Anyway, Bubba Ray and Edge slow slug it out in the ring. Bubba Ray dodges an Edge charge and Edge crashes into a corner table, which doesn't break! Ouch. Not sure if that was supposed to be the finish or not, everyone looks kind of surprised. The Dudleyz recover, improvise by giving Christian a 3D through the other table, and it's over. Fine but nothing near spectacular. **1/2

 

WWF Championship: The Rock def Kurt Angle (c) in 16:53- During the build for this match Angle debuted a brand new submission finisher: the ankle lock. The crowd is NUTS for Rock. They take their time staring down and jawing to let the crowd soak in. Angle takes the belt off and tries to hit Rock with it. Rock ducks, slugs, and here we go. Clothesline out of the corner from Rock. Angle hits a knee to the gut. Rock gets a Russian leg sweep. I just noticed that the ring mat is all taped up and coming apart. This is well before the days when the mat was changed between every single match. Angle hits a clothesline and goes into the brawling mode he was in a lot during this first title reign. But then he does a drop toe hold into the ankle lock! Rock quickly grabs a rope. Some more back and forth brawling. Angle gets a ripcord belly to belly suplex! A second one! Rock responds with his own Owen Hart style snap belly to belly! Diving clothesline from Rock. He hooks on the World's Shittiest Sharpshooter! Angle crawls over and gets a rope break. Rock Samoan drop for 2. We get a glimpse of security literally manhandling someone out of the arena. The crowd boos but I have little doubt he deserved it. Angle tosses Rock over the top to the floor. Rock hurt his leg on the landing. Back in Rock gets a kick wham DDT! Big Show's music hits. I guess we're getting into the period where someone's music has to play whenever they run in. I'm not a fan of that. Show comes in, chokeslams ref Mike Chioda, chokeslams Angle, chokeslams Rock, and leaves. Well. Thanks for coming I guess. Hebner runs out to take over. Angle crawls over and covers Rock, but Hebner's with Chioda and by the time he sees and gets in Rock kicks out. He then goes out to help Chioda again. Rock uses that to get the belt and nail Angle with it! Cover for a long 2. Rock's still limping. The ankle lock is on! Rock tries to crawl to the ropes. Angle lets go and SMASHES Rock's leg into the mat, then puts it back on! "Tap out you son of a bitch! I'll fucking break your ankle!". Oh yeah, we're seeing the birth of KURT FUCKING ANGLE right before our eyes. Rock fades, but just manages to grab a rope for a break. They slug it out again. Rock spinebuster! Pad off. People's Elbow! Angle kicks out! Oh yeah, the crowd bit HARD on that. There's even a small "bullshit" chant. Angle gives Rock a low blow behind Hebner's back, then takes a top turnbuckle pad off. Angle counters a Rock Bottom and Rock goes into the exposed buckle! Angle Slam! Rock kicks out! Another great near fall. Rock tries to lay in the smackdown punches. Angle cuts it off by kicking Rock's bad ankle! Angle charges. Rock dodges and Angle goes into the buckle! Rock Bottom! That was supposed to be the finish, but Hebner fucks up and only counts 2 even though Angle didn't kick out. Small reset, Rock hits another Rock Bottom, gives Hebner a death stare, and gets the pin to win the title back! It's Rock's 6th WWF Title win, which strangely isn't celebrated on TV even though it breaks a tie with Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart for the most ever to this point. Of course, most of Rock's were the hotshots he and Mick Foley were doing in early '99 so that might have something to do with it. That was another fantastic match that doesn't get talked about as much as it should. They did a great job of working in real drama even though bacteria on Europa knew Angle was a dead champion walking. Rock is at his absolute peak in every way. He worked hard to help make Angle look good, and Angle is really starting to put the pieces together by this point. His first reign might not have been a booking success, but he clearly took everything he learned from months of working main events with the top guys to continuously get better and better. Hebner's screw up hurt but that shouldn't detract much from the amazing work these two guys did. Take away that and Show's pointless run in and we might be talking about two full monty matches on one show. ****1/2

 

It's now official. Wrestlemania X7, Houston Astrodome, Rock/Austin II. The perfect match to culminate an entire era.

 

OVERALL SHOW THOUGHTS- Another fantastic show from one of the greatest Wrestlemania seasons ever. There is some junk on the undercard, and also several angle culs de sac (the correct plural) that didn't pan out (Rikishi and Haku attacking Brothers of Destruction, the Kat/RTC stuff, Show's interference in the main event), but the top matches delivered in spades. Like the Austin/Triple H match, I think this show as a whole doesn't get remembered as well as it should simply due to the sheer weight of the shows before and after it.

OVERALL SHOW GRADE: A-