World Wrestling Entertainment – No Way Out 2003 – 23rd February 2003
We’re in the midst of WrestleMania season now, so despite a pretty solid resurgence in the product through the second half of 2002 the lack of immediate and drastic improvements in both buyrates and TV ratings meant the suits were getting a little edgy. With WM19 now on the horizon The Rock, Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin were all brought back into the picture – a move which added star power but took precious airtime away from the hard workers who (particularly on the Smackdown side) had been rebuilding the company from the mess the previous generation of main eventers had left them with. It gives us a rather mismatched No Way Out card here, with some juicy looking prospects alongside some pretty obvious stinkers. Despite sucking hard at the Royal Rumble Triple H and Scott Steiner go again for the World Title, whilst our main event is a rematch from last year’s WrestleMania as Hulk Hogan looks to avenge his loss to The Rock. Also in the ‘obvious stinkers’ category is Undertaker/Big Show and Austin/Bischoff for the record. Potential show stealers on the undercard are Jericho vs Jeff Hardy, Kidman vs Matt Hardy, Regal and Storm defending Raw’s Tag Titles against the Kane/RVD team and the trio of Brock Lesnar, Chris Benoit and Edge facing all three members of Team Angle. This was taped in Montreal, QBC. Jonathan Coachman, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole and Tazz are your commentators.
SIDENOTE – This is the first WWE ppv in Montreal since the ’97 screwjob. Expect it to be referenced until you want to die watching this one...
Chris Jericho vs Jeff Hardy
Y2J is in the midst of a feud with Shawn Michaels. He tried to emulate his 1995 Royal Rumble win by voluntarily entering this year’s Rumble in the first two (alongside HBK)…and ended Shawn’s Rumble with a bloody chair shot. Michaels got revenge later in the match by forcing Jericho’s elimination – and it means that rather than preparing for a WrestleMania title shot Y2J is back down at the bottom of the card. The only solace he has is that Raw GM Eric Bischoff has apparently banned HBK from ringside so he can’t interfere in this match.
Hardy has been in the midst of the ever-popular ‘losing streak’ angle apparently. Jericho gives him a disrespectful slap to the face – perhaps because Jeff’s ugly body paint is already smeared all over his face. Chris controls the opening minutes until over-confidence strikes and causes him to miss a body avalanche in the corner. He tumbles out of the ring, into the aisle where Hardy flies to meet him with a SPRINGBOARD CORKSCREW SENTON! Arabian press back into the ring gets 2! The guardrail run clothesline misses though, and Jericho counters him with a hotshot into the ring steps. This crowd are seriously loud, and plenty of them are right behind Jericho no matter how much he tries to heel out on them. It helps that he hits a Perfect-Plex in tribute to the recently-deceased Curt Hennig of course. Lionsault gets knees and Jeff spikes Y2J literally on top of his head with an Evenflow DDT. Whisper In The Wind nailed! Walls Of Jericho applied…and draws huge boos when Hardy gets the ropes. ROPE RUN HIPTOSS BY JEFF! The Swanton Bomb only gets 2 though, much to Jeff’s dismay. A second Swanton misses…LIONSAULT GETS 2! Hardy looks for a frankensteiner but sees it countered with an AWESOMEBOMB! WALLS OF JERICHO! Hardy taps at 12:59
Rating - *** - It didn’t seem too coordinated in the early going, and it took them way too long to alter the pattern of the contest to appease a live crowd who desperately wanted to cheer Jericho. That said, they really clicked into gear in the second half and produced a pretty exciting opening match which certainly served it’s main purpose of revving up the audience. Hardy got a couple of hot nearfalls, before Y2J got a dominant, CLEAN win on pay-per-view – something he hasn’t gotten in well over a year. It made him look credible, as he needs to be considering he is lined up for Shawn Michaels at HBK’s first WrestleMania in five years.
Jericho doesn’t break the Walls…and the place ERUPTS in hatred as Shawn Michaels runs in to save Hardy. Shawn is public enemy #1 in Montreal and is roundly boo’d as he assaults first Y2J then Christian when he tries to enter the ring too.
Team Angle sit in their locker room all decorated with a championship belt. Kurt gives Haas and Benjamin a pep talk…which mostly involves minor racial slurs against Canadians. He also has an idea he wants to share with them…
Elsewhere Evolution arrive in a limo…and don’t see Stone Cold’s pick-up truck behind them in the lot.
Lance Storm/William Regal vs Kane/Rob Van Dam – World Tag Title Match
Somewhere between Royal Rumble and this show Regal and Storm took the World Tag Titles back from the Dudley Boyz…and face an entirely different proposition tonight in Lance’s home country. Kane and RVD had started teaming up with very little explanation from the writer. It was as if even the creative team were acknowledging that they were both upper midcard babyfaces with no direction, nobody to feud with and nothing better to do. I preferred Hurri-Kane for the record.
The crowd cheer for Lance, vocally dislike Regal and really like Van Dam too so this one has a bit of a mixed up face/heel dynamic. Storm and RVD start with an ELECTRIFYING back and forth exchange. Rob follows his hot start with a split-legged moonsault on Regal…and the champs don’t have much better luck when he tags Kane in. Regal looks to have been knocked out by a Kane body slam, and is so out on his feet it takes a combination of Kane, Storm and referee Nick Patrick to guide him into his corner to tag out. SOMERSAULT PLANCHA from Van Dam to Lance! Regal, meanwhile, is swaying around on the apron looking like the Mortal Kombat voiceover guy is about to yell ‘Finish Him’. Storm shoves RVD into the guardrail as he lines up a Five Star…and tentatively lets William into the ring even though he’s walking as if he’s on a ship in stormy water. HEAD DROP HALF NELSON SUPLEX! And Rob is dropped on his head again moments later with a Lance Storm DDT for 2. Kane tagged to hit the flying clothesline…so Storm goes after his mask. ACCIDENTAL CHOKESLAM ON RVD! Kane couldn’t see who he was Chokeslamming, and it hands the Un-Americans victory at 09:19
Rating - *** - Way more violent and exciting than you’d ever have predicted this to be. Storm and RVD were awesome anytime they got into the ring together, the Regal/Storm team were really slick at this point, and getting to watch a group of experienced professionals cover each other and hold a match together even whilst one of them is dealing with a pretty serious injury (Regal’s head injury looked really nasty and he was visibly groggy for the rest of the match) was a real pleasure. I also really liked the finish. It was a comedic spot that also fit in with the slightly shady, heel tactics of the Un-Americans and also felt far fresher than the tired Power Of The Punch routine.
Matt Hardy talks about cutting weight for his Cruiserweight Title Match (I’ll rise above ‘Fatt Hardy’ jokes) and gets slapped by his own brother as he tries to lecture him on the virtues of Mattitude. How did WWE blow this gimmick?
Billy Kidman vs Matt Hardy – WWE Cruiserweight Title Match
The whole set-up for this was hilarious and actually generated serious interest in the Cruiser title for a little while. Hardy decided he wanted to challenge for Kidman’s belt, but as he was too heavy for the division we got a number of comedic skits as he tried to lose enough weight to enter the Cruiserweight Title picture. He did make the weight to get here, and given his experience in big-time ppv matches in the WWE he probably enters as a slight favourite even over a veteran junior heavyweight like Kidman.
Hardy apparently made the weight at Smackdown, and has apparently been eating plenty to bulk up to his regular weight ever since. Kidman gets the better of him when it comes to fast-paced, typical cruiserweight exchanges…but Matt has an obvious power advantage and uses it to fling the champ from the apron to the ringpost. Back in the ring he drops Billy with a neckbreaker then cranks on the neck again with a Japanese stranglehold. Side Effect gets 2 and rattles Kidman’s neck for a third time in recent minutes. Even when Billy tries to counter to a sleeper hold he is completely able to grip the bigger man properly (not something he usually encounters in the cruiserweight division) and is dropped again with a BACK SUPLEX Side Effect. Finally Kidman does throw some offence back at the challenger and scores a nearfall with the BK Bomb…but he is shot down and gets his neck smashed again with the unnecessary screaming second rope leg drop. Twist Of Fate blocked…PESCADO NAILED! Sensibly Kidman is trying to take to the skies, only to get distracted by Shannon Moore on the apron so Hardy can hit his third Side Effect of the match. Stratusfaction by the champ…before the SSP MISSES! TWIST OF FATE FOR 2! The irate Sensei of Mattitude pounds on the neck, then chases Billy up the ropes to hit a SECOND ROPE TWIST OF FATE! New champion at 09:32!
Rating - *** - Another really decent little match for this ppv. They didn’t try anything too flashy or ornate and instead went for good, old-fashioned psychology and story-telling. The approach worked, the crowd were on board with it and the final product was solid. Hardy worked the neck, Kidman tried aerial moves and keeping a quick pace but ultimately Matt’s size and power (as he is now technically well above the Cruiserweight Title upper weight threshold) was too much to overcome.
We frantically cut backstage as Chris Benoit, Brock Lesnar, Stephanie McMahon and a bunch of EMT’s check on an unconscious Edge…who has clearly been attacked by someone.
SIDENOTE – Edge had been struggling with his neck for a while, but further exacerbated it in the final weeks before this ppv. Doctors soon confirmed he had pretty severe damage and required immediate surgery, similar to that which caused Steve Austin and Chris Benoit to miss over a year of their respective careers. This angle was the method they used to write him out of his scheduled match…
Big Show vs Undertaker
Well this should suck. Big Show put Undertaker on the injured list with a press slam off the stage soon after his transfer to Smackdown. Taker wound up missing three months, but made his return at the Royal Rumble and made it known that he wanted revenge on (and a fight with) the Show. But the giant and his agent Paul Heyman had other ideas. They tried to pacify the Phenom with a number of bizarre apology gifts (including Brian ‘Spanky’ Kendrick as a singing telegram, Kanyon dressed as Boy George…and a puppy) but only pissed off Big Evil even more. This was booked for ppv, the ‘mind games’ and tomfoolery are over and it’s time for a fight.
Taker looks to have gotten himself into decent shape during his three month hiatus, and sports significantly more muscle mass on his arms, shoulders and chest. Show tries to attack his back since that’s what he injured last October…then punches a steel chair into his face after referee Brian Hebner had taken cover. Next it’s Hogan/Andre time with Undertaker going for a body slam on the giant, but his back gives way so Show lands on top of him. MASSIVE suplex gets 2 for Big Show who, in fairness, is making sure pretty much all of his offence works the back. A bearhug is one such example of that and it’s rolled into a sidewalk slam to do more damage after Big Evil punches his way free. If a bad back wasn’t enough Taker is now bleeding too after a flurry of headbutts. We’re also nearly ten minutes into the match and he hasn’t been able to lift Show up. After failing with a Chokeslam attempt we are left to ponder what moves he actually has that he can use to beat him. He resorts to breaking the rules and uses an unseen low blow to set up for a running DDT. Last Ride COUNTERED to a spinebuster by Big Show! Taking Care of Business (also known as the TCB – his new dragon sleeper submission) is briefly locked in by the Phenom…but Paul Heyman tries to interfere so he breaks it. A-Train tries to run in and help Show as well. RUNNING SUICIDE DIVE TO THE FLOOR BY TAKER! That wipes out Albert and Heyman…and as Big Show tries to drop him with a Chokeslam Undertaker counters him into a triangle choke. Show is soon unconscious, so Taker wins at 14:07
Rating - *** - To the surprise of everyone, this was actually a good match! I won’t pretend it was fought at a fast pace or pretty to watch – but for two big dudes slugging each other around for nearly fifteen minutes it had surprising amounts of depth and I found myself into everything they were doing. Undertaker had his working boots on which really helped, and I really liked the concurrent stories they were telling – with Show working the back because that’s what he injured last year, and Taker therefore unable to execute any of his normal finishers. They followed through with both well as Undertaker didn’t lift Show off his feet at any point – instead having to use strikes, running moves and some of the new MMA-influenced submissions he’d started incorporating into his style. My only serious criticism here is more super-human booking for Taker, whereby he gets to beat Big Show even though both A-Train and Paul Heyman interfered on his behalf. It makes them all look like fools
SIDENOTE – The Survivor Series 2002-No Way Out 2003 must seriously be one of the best periods of Big Show’s career. It helps that he got to work with Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle and a motivated Undertaker of course, but all of his matches on the ppvs in that period have been really fun to watch (barring the Survivor Series ’02 finish). In fact, if you include his No DQ Match against Booker T at Vengeance 2002 (his last ppv appearance before Survivor Series that year) he’s actually on a roll.
A-Train tries to make a statement by dropping Undertaker with the Baldo Bomb. It’s just a set-up for him to be squashed like a bug at WrestleMania though.
Stephanie is helping EMT’s escort Edge to an ambulance, pausing to be a dick and tell Benoit and Lesnar to ‘go to the ring’ for their match anyway.
Karate Kid Eric Bischoff is ready for action and smiles as his Chief Of Staff Sean Morley delivers the news that he has a host of guys ready to help in Eric’s match with Stone Cold. Vince McMahon enters the room and thwarts their plan…by telling them that anyone who interferes gets fired on the spot.
Team Angle vs Brock Lesnar/Chris Benoit
Originally this was scheduled to be a trios tag, but Edge’s injury means Brock and Benoit are having to compete at a disadvantage. They are Kurt’s two top contenders for the WWE Championship at this point. Benoit took him to the limit in a classic at Royal Rumble 2003, whilst Kurt has been dodging Lesnar ever since he reneged on his promise to give him a title shot in return for helping him win it from Big Show at Armageddon. Angle will be forced to defend it against Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania though, after Brock won the 2003 Royal Rumble last month. It’s the first time Kurt has joined forces with the two protégés Paul Heyman found for him – but they have already proved their wrestling credentials to him by becoming the WWE Tag Champions.
Benoit starts with Shelton, who showcases his wrestling skill immediately by having no problems hanging on the canvas with the Wolverine. Haas isn’t as successful and gets dragged back to the opposition corner where Lesnar decimates him. Angle is already avoiding tagging in with Brock, but comes to Charlie’s aid by putting him in a rear naked choke from the outside. Benjamin backs it up with a superkick…and with Brock down NOW Kurt wants in the ring with him. He rides Lesnar in another rear choke, supposedly taking inspiration from John Cena who’d used the same hold successfully in a televised match against him weeks earlier. Tags all round, allowing Benoit to come in and snap suplex Haas on top of Benjamin. German on Angle! ROLLING GERMANS ON SHELTON! Charlie stops him hitting the Flying Wolverine though…allowing Angle to hit the ROPE RUN BELLY TO BELLY! It catapults the Canadian back into the ring where Benjamin is waiting to start working over his arm. The other two Team Angle representatives follow suit and all take turns attacking Chris’ shoulder…with Kurt himself dropping him right down onto it with a German suplex for 2. Broken Arrow (Leap Of Faith) nailed by WGTT for another nearfall soon after. Lesnar tagged in to destroy anyone who crosses his path, until Shelton saves his mentor from the F-5. ANKLELOCK ON BENOIT! COUNTERED TO THE CROSSFACE! COUNTERED TO THE ANKLELOCK! BACK TO THE CROSSFACE! Haas and Benjamin save…so Charlie gets slapped in the Crossface too! F-5 ON ANGLE! HAAS TAPS! Benoit and Lesnar win at 13:18
Rating - *** - Probably not the showstealer it would have been if Edge had been available, but the sheer quality of everyone involved meant this was a clear MOTN thus far. WGTT looked so natural and comfortable in the ring in their ppv debut as a team – and that started as early as the first minute as Benjamin tore it up with Benoit in a neat little exchange. The formula stuff as the match went along was pretty cool too – culminating in a blistering finishing sequence which showcased the ridiculous countering skills of Benoit and Angle…plus the power of Brock. All the exchanges between Angle and Lesnar were given great precedence too.
Triple H vs Scott Steiner – World Heavyweight Title Match
How WWE decided that THIS is the Royal Rumble title match to run a rematch of is anyone’s guess. HHH got roughed up by Big Poppa Pump last month (though his claim that he went ‘thirty minutes’ with him was laughably wide of the mark), and eventually forced a DQ finish because he felt he couldn’t beat him. Steiner reacted angrily and, despite taking a sledgehammer to the ribs, ended the night punishing Hunter with the Steiner Recliner. The following evening HHH’s manager, Ric Flair, had Scott wrestle his other client Batista in a singles match. Unwittingly Steiner was involved in an extremely significant moment as a result. Randy Orton interfered in that match alongside Flair and HHH – and the group known as ‘Evolution’ was born. The numbers advantage has meant they’ve made Scott’s life miserable since. He finally gets his World Title rematch tonight. Can he get the big gold belt back?
Steiner is NOT popular in Montreal, with his entrance getting more heat than even Shawn Michaels got. HHH’s quad is all taped up (again)…but with Steiner and Earl Hebner in the ring with him he is, by a mile, the most popular person in the ring as the match starts. The challenger quickly goes after the bandaged leg with his usual clumsy offensive style. This crowd are being even more merciless with him than Boston were at Royal Rumble, and pop LOUDLY when Flair illegally rakes his eyes to break a Figure 4 attempt on the champ. In fact, the only time Steiner gets a break is when they pause to chant ‘You Screwed Bret’ at Earl. We’re not even six minutes in and this one has already outstayed it’s welcome. Loud ‘Boring’ chants now ring out – and since HHH is on offence now they definitely aren’t aimed at Scott. Triple H shoves Hebner around trying to get disqualified…which probably gets the biggest pop of the night. Steiner gets back up and botches his only move (belly to belly suplex) which doesn’t help. On commentary Lawler actually has the NERVE to say wrestlers should look like this rather than ‘flippy daredevils’. King…they are slow as f*ck, both their bodies are falling apart, the crowd are booing everything and chanting ‘boring’. I get that he’s being fed lines but what the hell? Steiner hits the avalanche fallaway slam then applies the Recliner…so Randy Orton and Batista run in to help. Scotty starts trying to fight all four members of Evolution at once, giving Randy a HUGE bump over the top rope into the aisle. Pedigree wins it for Hunter at 13:00
Rating - DUD - Personally I found this significantly WORSE than Royal Rumble. At least in the first five minutes at the Rumble Steiner was actually decent, showed some logical wrestling psychology and the biggest issue was that he was completely gassed after that. This pretty much sucked from the outset. Steiner moved around the ring at a snails pace, which gave the crowd plenty of time to sh*t on everything. When HHH took over he was so boring he got boo’d as well. Nothing they did went anywhere, and it was just obvious stall-ins until the run-ins from talent who could actually do anything useful (like take actual bumps). This one didn’t even have as much of Flair’s crazy managerial act to fall back on. Terrible match, appalling performance (from both men, not just Steiner as most people would have you believe), and the usual disgraceful commentary from Lawler. A right mess…
SIDENOTE – This abomination of a feud placed ended up tarnishing Steiner’s entire career and legacy in the wrestling business. In the 90’s the Steiners were a phenomenal tag team, and in WCW he was a creditable main event act who fans bought into. After leaving the WWE he actually had a few decent years in TNA as something of a redemption too. But despite that, to many he remained that guy who sucked so badly he went from getting World Title matches on the first two ppvs of 2003 to not even being booked for WrestleMania (and falling off the apron against Test later in the year). It’s a shame because so much of the booking here was good. HHH was so f*cking stale at this point. His body was falling apart, his style was so boring and slow, and he was being pushed down everyone’s throats regardless. He badly needed some new enemies having crushed and humiliated every possible challenger on Raw already (RVD, Kane, Michaels, Jericho etc). In January the feud with Steiner felt like a breath of fresh air. It was a fresh match, Steiner’s act and look was different to anything else on the roster – and they sensibly built a feud which entertained people but seriously hyped their big ppv showdown. The fact that Scotty tanked so much pretty much vindicated HHH’s approach. He started believing that fans only wanted to see him as World Champion. Scrubbers like Van Dam, Booker T and Kane were fine for the occasional challenge, but they shouldn’t be carrying the show…and WCW outsiders like Steiner don’t even belong in WWE rings. The same thing happened with Goldberg’s push later in the year for that matter. If they’d have put half as much effort into promoting RVD or Kane’s big title matches last year (rather than the Katie Vick sh*t) Raw might actually have had a hot main event scene instead of the HHH-centric mess it became for two years – until the Benoit push of ’04.
A load of jobbers laugh at Bischoff as he straps on his ludicrous kickboxing gloves and walks towards gorilla for his date with the Rattlesnake. In the arena JR defies his Bischoff-inflicted injuries and doctors orders to join Coach and Lawler on commentary.
Eric Bischoff vs Steve Austin
As we heard at the Royal Rumble, Vince had given Bischoff thirty days to turn Raw around before firing him. Eric knew he needed to drop a bombshell to keep his job – and he hung his hat on being able to re-sign Stone Cold to Raw. Episodes of Raw kept passing without Austin showing up though...until just as the thirty days expired Mr McMahon looked set to terminate Eric’s contract…we received confirmation that Austin had signed. Bischoff kept his job, but was forced into this match. He used his karate skills (and Sean Morley’s help) to assault Jim Ross (Austin’s best friend) on Raw...meaning he now faces an extremely pissed off Rattlesnake. This is Austin’s first appearance on WWE programming since last June.
The biggest shock of the night is that JR’s Austin-induced boner hasn’t tipped the Raw announce table over. Stone Cold doesn’t want to win by forfeit…and launches into an assault on Bischoff. In fact, the whole ‘match’ is Austin beating Eric all around ringside. He wins after hitting three Stone Cold Stunners at 04:25…as JR showers Lawler and Coach in man-goo
Rating - N/A - There isn’t really any way you can rate this as a match, so I won’t bother. It was good to see Austin back on WWE TV, and getting the chance to end his wrestling career in the right way rather than sliding out the back door in a sea of completely woeful booking – which would have been the case had his departure in mid-2002 been the last we saw of him. His neck was still a mess, he was carrying a little weight and he knew at this point (even if the fans didn’t) that he was coming back to end his career with a money match at WrestleMania. This segment (rather than ‘match’) marked the start of that so I’ve given it an N/A pass. JR’s ridiculous commentary is worth a giggle too
The Rock vs Hulk Hogan
They stole the show at WrestleMania last year, and now we have the rematch. Hogan returned to the WWE in January, apparently healed from the injuries Brock Lesnar inflicted and boasting a new contract. That didn’t make total sense – because previously he’d wanted to retire and it was only the fact that he was already under contract that allowed Vince McMahon to stop him. Remember that promo where Hulk said his only goal left in wrestling was to get a match with Vince? Upon his return Mr McMahon did confront the Hulkster, and did vow to end Hulkamania for good at No Way Out. But Hogan wouldn’t be getting his match with Vince – since the Chairman was bringing back The Rock from Hollywood. Rock (live via satellite!!!!) accepted the match, and finally returned to WWE arenas on the lead-in Smackdown with a sleek and hilarious heel character (a reaction to fans booing him at Summerslam 2002). He wound up spitting in Hogan’s face that night. Can the Hulkster defy his age and mobility issues to avenge last year’s WrestleMania defeat?
The Rock’s new Hollwood entrance is INCREDIBLE. This is the only time they did in full incredibly. It’s SO good. In fact, that was the issue with this Rock heel turn in general. He’d grown stale as a babyface, but was so fresh and entertaining as a villain it didn’t take long before people loved him again anyway. He begins tonight by trying to attack Hulk from behind…then running back out of the ring when he is caught in the act. Eventually the Hulkster does get hold of him…and beats him around the ring back to the floor once again. Rock Bottom nailed early for 2! It does soften Hogan up enough for Rock to steal his bandana and weightlifting belt though! They take turns flogging each other with the belt, with Rock once again coming out on top by hitting a DDT. Sharpshooter locked in by him, so cue big heat from Montreal again! Hulk escapes and belts Rock with a chair…which isn’t a DQ according to referee Sylvain Grenier. DOUBLE People’s Elbow gets 2, before the ‘Hulking Up’ routine begins. Big boot/Leg Drop nailed…as the lights in the arena go out! When they come back on referee Grenier has been knocked out as well – with a suspect steel chair lying next to him. Vince McMahon is on the stage basking in ‘You Screwed Bret’ heat, distracting Hogan as the ref feeds Rock the chair. The Rock busts Hulk open with the weapon, before winning via a Rock Bottom at 12:35
Rating - ** - Plenty of people absolutely savage the match itself, when in truth it really isn’t that bad. Hogan was as good as he could be given his age and physical condition, and The Rock was an absolute revelation as a heel. In some ways the actual body of the match was far more entertaining than WrestleMania – where the insane Toronto crowd actually disguised some really slow and basic stuff. The problem was that the finish sucked a big fat dick. Everyone knew we were building to Hogan/Vince at Mania, and given the fact this is the first Montreal ppv since ’97 it was easy to predict we weren’t getting a clean finish. Unfortunately the screwjob they went with was so insanely convoluted and stupid people hated it. Not in a ‘You Screwed Bret’ way, but in a ‘that sucked and you’re stupid for booking it’ way.
Tape Rating - ** - A step down from Royal Rumble, but this show gets quite a bit of unfair criticism. Sure it has a couple of rather poor main events in HHH/Steiner and Rock/Hogan, but most of the card is actually pretty consistent. The Smackdown main event scene produced a really gripping multi-man tag match despite Edge having to be written out and Kurt’s neck rapidly falling apart too. Matt Hardy’s Cruiserweight Title win was a lot of fun…and in the miracle of all miracles an Undertaker vs Big Show match was actually good. Compared to No Way Out 2002, which was an APPALLING ppv this was mostly very watchable (up until the last five minutes).
Top 3 Matches
3) William Regal/Lance Storm vs Kane/Rob Van Dam (***)
2) Billy Kidman vs Matt Hardy (***)
1) Brock Lesnar/Chris Benoit vs Team Angle (***)