World Wrestling Federation – No Way Out 2001 – 25th February 2001
Everyone remembers WrestleMania 17 as being an era-defining, all-time great pay-per-view event for the World Wrestling Federation. What I’d forgotten is just how good the two ppv’s building up to it were. Royal Rumble was a great show, and the card for this is pretty strong as well. Although it wasn’t the main event, the one we’re all here to see is Triple H taking on Steve Austin in their feud-ending grudge match – the Three Stages Of Hell. The Rock has one last shot to make it into the WrestleMania main event, as he challenges Kurt Angle to the WWF Championship tonight. There’s also a talent-packed four-way for the Intercontinental Title with Chris Jericho defending against Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and X-Pac, a three-team Tables Match for the Tag Titles (featuring the reunited Brothers Of Destruction) and the hotly anticipated in-ring showdown between Vince McMahon’s mistress Trish Stratus and his daughter Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. This one was broadcast from Las Vegas, NV with Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler on commentary.
SIDENOTE – It’s safe to say the experiment with pushing Rikishi is over. A quick internet search reveals that he was relegated to the Sunday Night Heat pre-show.
Raven vs Big Show – WWF Hardcore Title Match
The mid/late-90’s ECW version of Raven is amongst the greatest wrestling characters ever. Unfortunately WWF’s creative never really ‘got it’, and by this point he was well down the same path Tazz had trodden a year earlier. That said, he did produce some entertaining Hardcore Title matches, and here defends his championship against a massive challenger. Big Show returned at the Royal Rumble, making a huge impact before being eliminated by The Rock. Despite his big return he is clearly well out of WWF Championship contention at present, so will be looking to vent his frustration on the Hardcore Champion tonight.
Raven’s female ninja accomplice (seriously) tries to jump Show during his entrance…but the plan fails spectacularly and leads to Raven getting bashed in the head with a ‘Stop’ sign. The champion unloads a fire extinguisher in his face…then Crash Holly sneaks in dressed as a popcorn vendor to try and steal the belt under the 24/7 rules. Big Show plants Raven with the Final Cut…but before he can win Steve Blackman and Hardcore Holly run in looking to regain the Hardcore Title as well. Billy Gunn becomes Hardcore Champion at 02:27 with the Fame Asser. Sadly he can’t flee the ring before Bob Holly and Blackman have grabbed him. Raven wins the belt back at 03:27 after Blackman and Holly have decimated The One. Female Ninja and Molly Holly run in…with Molly laying out the ninja with a trash can lid. CHOKESLAM THROUGH A TRASH CAN! Show wins at 04:19
Rating - * - A somewhat bizarre way to start the show, but in all fairness I did have quite a lot of fun watching it. Raven and Big Show probably could have had every bit as mediocre a match by themselves, but the multiple run-ins did provide some genuine comic moments.
Big Show (who looks in phenomenal shape here) easily fights Billy Gunn off then marches to the locker rooms still holding the Hardcore Championship.
EARLIER TODAY – Kurt Angle arrives in a limo and chats to Kevin Kelly, promising to make The Rock another Las Vegas loser tonight.
Lillian Garcia asks if Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero will be able to co-exist in their pursuit of the Intercontinental Title tonight. Benoit guarantees that one of them will win it
Chris Jericho vs X-Pac vs Eddie Guerrero vs Chris Benoit – WWF Intercontinental Title Match
Nobody likes the reigning IC Champion very much here. Jericho and Benoit have a long-standing rivalry, which reared it’s head again at the Royal Rumble in a spectacular MOTYC Ladder Match. Now Guerrero and X-Pac are added to the mix, both of whom with axes to grind against Jericho for putting them on the injured list. Eddie was injured by the Walls Of Jericho in late-2000 (apparently), whilst Waltman hasn’t been seen since No Mercy last October, apparently suffering a neck injury at the hands of Y2J in that match.
Benoit and Guerrero enter together, with the Crippler mowing down X-Pac so Latino Heat can make a beeline for Jericho. When Y2J manages to fend Eddie off, he barely gets to his feet before Benoit is on him and stomping him down into the corner. Pac sneaks in under the radar whilst the other three fight, but acts like a dickhead and gets the sh*t smacked out of him by Benoit. Crippler Crossface applied, only for Jericho to break the hold. Eddie hits the FROG SPLASH on X-Pac…and again Y2J is in to break the pin! Just when Benoit thinks he has it won Guerrero cleverly puts Jericho’s foot on the ropes (out of Benoit’s line of sight). A spinning heel kick from Waltman puts the Crippler down, but as he lines up the Bronco Buster Jericho puts his feet through his chest with a missile dropkick. Benoit gets 2 with a bridging German before Eddie breaks the fall…and now the Radicalz go at it! Gorgeous hurricanrana by Eddie, then a NECK DROP Saito suplex as Jericho suplexes X-Pac on the hard floor. Benoit catches Guerrero on the top rope and drags him off with a superplex which leaves them both down. Jericho capitalises with the double underhook backbreaker on the Wolverine. Benoit ducks Jericho’s bulldog and pounds at his neck to land another German suplex. Rolling Germans countered to the Walls Of Jericho! Guerrero saves Benoit…WALLS OF JERICHO ON EDDIE! WALLS OF JERICHO ON PAC! Justin Credible runs in and saves X-Pac…allowing Benoit to hit a DRAGON SUPLEX on the champion for 2. DOUBLE SUPERKICK by X-Factor (Waltman and Credible) to Benoit. In the ring Jericho nails the Lionsault for 2. X-Factor nailed by Pac…only for an irate Benoit to break the fall. He DESTROYS Justin against the guardrail, puts Pac in the Crossface only to have it broken with a FLIPPING NECKBREAKER by Guerrero! FLYING WOLVERINE ON EDDIE! X-Pac wipes out Benoit with a heel kick, but doesn’t see Jericho sneaking up behind him. Jericho retains with a bridging roll-up in a chaotic 12:17
Rating - *** - It didn’t feel like these guys had planned ANYTHING other than the Justin Credible run-in. It was genuinely rather fun watching four super-experienced and well-travelled workers riff off each other for 10+ minutes, even if at times things became a little uncoordinated. With all due respect to Eddie and X-Pac, the Jericho/Benoit stuff was masses ahead of anything else in the match, and it was clear there was mileage left in that duo which WWF would revisit after WrestleMania. Personally I’d have opened the show with this rather than Raven/Show.
HHH is having his wrists taped for his showdown with Steve Austin…
Vince McMahon berates his Commissioner (William Regal) for suggesting the Stephanie/Trish match tonight, and informs him to do the right thing when those two women collide next
Busta Rhymes is in WWF New York, and so is Test. He gives his expertise on the Trish/Steph match given his history with both ladies.
Trish Stratus vs Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley
Although some of the skits she participated in weren’t particularly politically correct or pro-feminist, this feud is really where Trish broke out in the WWF. Vince McMahon had demanded a divorce from his ‘meddlesome wife’ Linda on television, and together with Stephanie placed her under sedation in a care home. However, Vince then began an affair with Trish (remember the bubble bath scene, or the spanking scene, or the steamy limo windows?) meaning another power-woman was in the equation just when Stephanie thought she had established herself as the ‘only dominant female’. The issue between these two has become so personal that they will fight tonight, despite not being trained wrestlers.
Trish wears the fur coat Vince brought for her, which is a nice touch. Stephanie spears her to the mat, and we go right into a catfight! Trish tries to flee, but is dragged back into the ring for a shortarm clothesline combo. Steph actually hair-mares Trish so hard that she pulls out visible clumps of her hair. They go to the floor where Stratus actually tosses McMahon-Helmsley over the guardrail! DIVING LARIAT OFF THE RAILS by Stephanie! Trish retaliates with a top rope guillotine (even whilst battling a killer wedgie). She gets 2 with a bulldog (apparently it’s called the ‘Trish Dog’), and plants Steph again moments later with a DDT. Hanging choke in the ropes next…only for Stephanie to drag her off the top into an ICONOCLASM! Stratus is dumped out of the ring, and has an entire pitcher of water dumped in her face. That turns out to revive Vince’s mistress who absolutely SMASHES Stephanie into one of the announce tables. POWERBOMB BY STEPHANIE! She pulls down Trish’s shorts for a spanking…and starts tearing all her clothes off! Trish is all ‘f*ck you bitch’…and they sprint at each other for a double hair-drag takedown! William Regal arrives, knocks the ref down then drags Trish on Stephanie. It’s over…but Regal has second thoughts and puts Steph’s foot on the ropes! REGAL CUTTER ON TRISH! Stephanie wins at 08:30
Rating - *** - This is probably the best match you’ll ever see between two people with minimal/no wrestling training at all. Nobody really knew what to expect from this, and even at the time I remember it blew people away with how intense it was, and how many bumps both Stephanie and Trish were willing to take. It’s not like they were complete novices, since Stephanie spent her whole life around the wrestling business and Trish had been employed for almost a year, but producing something this good, with so few obvious botches was a really remarkable feat which both women should feel extremely proud of.
In the back Vince McMahon reams William Regal out again, and is furious at him for costing Trish the match. He books Regal & Stephanie against he and Trish on Raw tomorrow night.
Triple H vs Steve Austin – Three Stages Of Hell Match
We covered lots of the detail in the feud between these guys last year. HHH was the man that orchestrated the hit and run attack on Austin at Survivor Series 1999, and a year later Stone Cold came for revenge and dropped Hunter (trapped in a car) 20 feet from a crane. Neither felt the feud was settled, and as we eased into 2001 they both took turns screwing each other out of the WWF Championship – both appeared to have Kurt Angle beaten during their respective matches against him. This led to a really fun angle where Vince booked them into this match, but added a non-contact clause meaning they weren’t allowed to touch each other at any point before this pay-per-view. It led to some fun moments of provocation, including Austin Stunning Stephanie, then HHH returning the favour by giving JR the Pedigree (I’d rather he’d have kicked the crap out of Debra). I’m not sure if WWF actually acknowledged this match as being called a ‘Three Stages Of Hell’ match at this point, but I love the gimmick. It’s a 2/3 Falls Match, with each fall having a different stipulation. The first is a standard match, the second is a Street Fight and the third (if needed) is in a Steel Cage.
There is a loud pop as ‘zero tolerance’ comes to an end, and the two rivals finally get a chance to lay into each other with meaty punches. In a fist fight Austin appears to have the edge, prompting The Game to try to flee the ring. When Steve stops him, HHH counters the Thesz Press into a hotshot over the top rope…but seconds later Stone Cold shows his countering ability as he converts a Pedigree attempt into an ambar DDT. Austin quickly opens up an injury on the arm by ramming it into the ringpost. Triple H counters Austin’s diving elbow with a big boot. He is clearly struggling, but manages to drag Stone Cold into a series of neckbreakers. Instantly Austin’s surgically-repaired neck starts bothering him, as HHH’s multi-layered game plan reveals itself and he starts going after the knee as well. Figure 4 Leglock is applied, occasionally with the additional leverage of the ropes. Even when he counters out, before he can even crawl to his feet Helmsley is on Austin again – dropping an elbow across his neck. Austin drops him with a clothesline…Stunner COUNTERED into a neckbreaker! STUNNER NAILED! Austin wins the first fall at 12:21! We go into the Street Fight and Austin takes it straight outside for a series of suplexes on the ramp. With the Cerebral Assassin disorientated, he lines him up for a brutal TV monitor shot to the face. Triple H flees into the crowd, only to be hauled back and violently tossed back over the guardrail.
He swings a chair but has it snatched from him by Steve, who BEATS THE SH*T OUT OF HIM with it! He starts digging around behind the announce tables, and pulls out a barbed wire 2x4! Shades of HHH’s great enemy Cactus Jack, but perhaps it’s that experience against Foley which helps Hunter. He grabs the barbed wire bat and nails Austin with it – busting him open in the process. They fight on the American announce table, taking JR off the air temporarily. HHH lines up the Pedigree, but his arm is still hurting him! AUSTIN BACK DROPS HIM THROUGH THE SPANISH ANNOUNCE TABLE! Hunter’s landing was horrible there and looked extremely painful. Somehow he recovers quickly enough to blast Steve with the ring bell! They are in the ring now, where HHH hits a NECKBREAKER ON A CHAIR for 2! Austin tries a sleeper hold, countered with a BACK SUPLEX ON A CHAIR! He is destroying his neck now! Stone Cold counters the Pedigree again, this time into a back drop TO THE FLOOR! The Rattlesnake levels his opponent with a massive chair shot which splits him wide open – and is instantly made worse as Austin rams the steps into his face! The sledgehammer is brought into play (amusingly hidden under JR’s desk), and HHH COUNTERS THE STUNNER INTO A SLEDGEHAMMER SHOT! Awesome spot! It’s followed by the Pedigree, and Helmsley evens the score at 1-1 at 28:15.
The cage is slowly lowered, although neither man seems that capable of standing to continue the fight at this point. Lawler points out that the ring is still littered with weapons however the cage is enough of a weapon in itself – quickly demonstrated by HHH who hurls Austin’s bloody face into it. He starts raking the barbed wire 2x4 into Austin’s face! Amazingly Stone Cold bashes Triple H away with a steel chair, then pins him against the cage so he can shred his face with the barbed wire. DIVING BARBED WIRE ELBOW gets 2! It’s HHH’s turn to use a chair to counter barbed wire, and he drops the Texan with a DDT on one. Triple H tries to escape the cage, even though you can’t win like that. It leads to him getting his head drilled into the steel supports at the top of the cage! He comes back by crotching Austin on the top rope, only for Steve to hit a Flair-esque press slam to drag him back into the ring! Stunner countered TO THE PEDIGREE! FOR 2! The Game tries to turn his lights out with a massive chair shot, only to find another Pedigree countered with a catapult into the cage. STONE COLD STUNNER! The selling on that from both men was just awesome! They each grab a weapon, Austin clinging to the barbed wire bat as Hunter grabs the sledgehammer. SIMULTANEOUS WEAPON SHOTS! HHH falls on top of Austin – and picks up a fortunate victory at 39:27. Neither man moves for several minutes!!
Rating - ***** - One of the defining matches of the Attitude Era in my opinion. The problem with PG-era WWE is that they literally can’t acknowledge much, if any, of this great feud. They can’t air wrestlers running each other over with cars, or dropping them out of cranes. They certainly can’t show many highlights of a 40-minute blood and weapon-filled war like this either. I’m not saying it was without it’s faults – HHH’s incredibly lout spot-calling is often mentioned (and has always been an issue for him), and I thought the third fall lacked some of the snap and genuine quality of the first two. However, I still think this deserves the top rating. Without resorting to comic book violence or crash test dummy bumps, they told a remarkable feud-ending story. Austin out-wrestled HHH in the first fall, as both men opened up injuries on the other which would impact events later in the contest. The Street Fight fall was flat-out awesome. Both guys beat the crap out of each other (which made absolute sense in the context of where their feud was at), and gradually ‘wrestling’ injuries like a damaged arm or leg subsided into as many weapon shots to the head, or table bumps, that one could muster. And again, that made perfect sense. If you can get up after someone smashes you in the head with a sledgehammer, presumably you can also survive a sore knee or damaged arm? As I said, the third fall is noticeably slower. Not that it wasn’t logical, because they’d gone a full half hour before it even started, were both bleeding heavily and had suffered multiple weapon shots and injuries by that point. I loved the finish too. You can debate at lengths the merits of HHH winning instead of Austin (who would win the WWF Title the following month), and you can discuss whether the ‘fall on top of the other guy’ spot looked a little corny. Regardless of who won though, it was a great way to end this feud. They had literally beaten each other to within an inch of their lives, and it ended with both of them unconscious in a pool of their own blood. Fantastic stuff.
HHH visibly blades again AFTER THE MATCH to further put over the war they just went through. I’m not sure that counts as smart, but it certainly is dedication to the cause. Austin lunges into one final Stunner to get some heat back…and even then has to basically crawl up the ramp to the locker room.
Steven Richards gives Right To Censor a pre-match pep talk in their locker room, as in another The Kat pulls a coat over her naked body and heads off to accompany Jerry Lawler to the ring. With King wrestling next, Tazz enters the arena to take a seat alongside Jim Ross.
Steven Richards vs Jerry Lawler
Here we see The King fighting for the ‘right to nudity’. The Kat, who famously got her boobs out at Armageddon 1999, challenged Ivory for the Women’s Title and tried to expose her by tearing her clothes off. Right To Censor looked set to beat her up, until Jerry stepped in from the Smackdown announce table to save his wife (although it was never acknowledged on screen that they were married). It led to Right To Censor destroying Lawler – and a challenge being laid down for this match. If King wins Kat can get naked, but if Steven wins then Kat has to join RTC.
Lawler, looking utterly ludicrous in his leopard-print unitard seizes the advantage early and repeatedly tosses Richards out of the ring. Ivory tries to interfere but is slapped down by The Kat…but that distraction allows Stevie to throw King into the ringpost. Ho Train misses for Richards though, leaving him exposed to more punches from Jerry. Steven goes for a chair, only for Lawler to hit him in the balls and deliver a couple of DDT’s. Ivory distracts the ref, as does Kat moments later! Kat tries to hit Steven with the Women’s Title belt…but accidentally nails King. Richards wins at 05:31
Rating - DUD - Had it been shorter I’d have given this the N/A treatment, as it did it’s job of giving the crowd a chance to simmer down after the Austin/HHH match. However, this was a couple of minutes too long for that slot, and made Steven look like an idiot and a total no-hoper against a man in his 50’s. Not that Stevie was ever a credible wrestler in the WWF, but he should at least have been conveyed as intelligent whilst leading a prominent heel faction like RTC.
Right To Censor arrive in their numbers, and drag Kat away in a sack. She is now one of them…
SIDENOTE – I think the angle with Kat and RTC lasted for less than a week (maybe even one episode of Raw) before they dropped it and WWF released Kat. Her real-life husband Jerry Lawler protested her dismissal by resigning from the company and following her home. This is the last ppv he’d call for several months, before he finally returned to the company in November 2001 (after he and Kat had divorced).
The Brothers Of Destruction tell Michael Cole that their opponents tonight should be more concerned with survival than leaving as Tag Champions…
Dudley Boyz vs Undertaker/Kane vs Edge & Christian – WWF Tag Title Tables Match
A winner is declared when a member of one team is put through a table. We saw Undertaker and Kane reunite as part of the Royal Rumble last month and tonight they could win their first Tag Championship together. The Dudleyz are defending champions, and last Monday on Raw put a beating on Taker after the Deadman had been lured into the parking lot by Edge & Christian. E&C themselves put Kane down with a Con-Chair-To.
Edge & Christian enter second, leaving them trapped between the Brothers of Destruction at the bottom of the ramp, and the Dudleyz who enter moments later carrying a table. Somehow E&C manage to escape, leaving Undertaker to throw Bubba Ray off the ramp! Edge & Christian can’t evade the Brothers for long though – getting caught and having their faces bashed into the remaining announce table repeatedly. The champions hammer Taker and Kane with chairs just as they look set to put the Canadians through a table. Edge & Christian escape their clutches and have a far better time taking the fight to the Dudleyz. Bubba ducks a Con-Chair-To and catapults Edge INTO a chair shot on his own partner. Just when the Dudz look set to go for a table Undertaker and Kane return to the fray – sending Bubba into the Unprettier from Christian. Stereo powerslams from the Brothers, followed by STEREO DIVING LARIATS! That’s Taker’s first serious bump of the match at almost seven minutes in. All four of their opponents join forces…but even then Taker and Kane remain on their feet! Undertaker saves Christian from a 3-D through the table, and nearly Chokeslams him through it instead before Bubba and D-Von mob the Phenom. Kane moves a table as E&C try to suplex Taker through it. Stereo Chokeslams by Taker and Kane…taking out ALL of their opponents again. Edge & Christian look set to go through tables until Rikishi and Haku run in to attack the Brothers. In the ring Edge misses a Spear on Bubba, crunching his shoulder into a table. That’s him taken out and the Dudleyz complete the win at 12:02 with a 3-D through a table on Christian.
Rating - * - Why put Undertaker and Kane in the ring with these guys if neither one of them is remotely interested in bumping or selling for them? The Dudleyz and E&C have spent the past year taking incredible risks for the company and have made a genuine reputation for themselves in so doing. I’m not sure it’s particularly fair on them to subsequently be made to look like hapless idiot teams who can be beaten up by one of Taker or Kane single-handedly. Undertaker legitimately bumped once in the entire match – and that was from his own offensive move. The Brothers vs Rikishi/Haku feud went nowhere either
The Rock delivers a brief yet utterly brilliant (and catchphrase-free) promo ahead of our main event…
Kurt Angle vs The Rock – WWF Title Match
Rock is the man Kurt defeated to win the WWF Championship back at No Mercy. At that point Rock was distracted by Rikishi, and it was a combination of the big Samoan and Triple H that wound up costing Rock the title on that night. Since then Kurt has (somewhat fortuitously) beaten all comers. With the exception of Hell In A Cell at Armageddon, he hasn’t beaten anyone cleanly – and he now faces a Rock completely focused on winning back his title and headlining a third consecutive WrestleMania next month. Steve Austin awaits the winner at the biggest show of the year…
Kurt tries to cheap shot Rock with the belt before the bell…but it’s ducked and the fight is underway. Angle survives the initial onslaught to choke his opponent in the ropes…then sweep him into an early Anklelock (by this point he’d worked that move into his repertoire). The Rock escapes, but having fallen victim to that hold on the preceding Smackdown as well, he now obviously fears that move. Rock tries a flurry of right hands – only for Kurt to counter him into belly to belly suplexes at every turn! Belly to belly suplex by Rock! He applies a Sharpshooter, throwing submission moves back in Kurt’s direction for the first time. Once again Kurt uses his wrestling acumen to his advantage in countering another volley of punches into a back suplex. Foolishly he steps out of his element to attempt a move from the top rope and rightly gets punished with a superplex for 2. Big Show marches to the ring – and levels referee Mike Chioda with a Chokeslam. Kurt and Rock receive the same punishment as Show vents his frustration at missing out on another title shot and the WrestleMania main event. Earl Hebner replaces poor Chioda as referee and counts to two as Kurt crawls over Rock to pin him. The Rock retaliates by hitting Kurt with his own title belt behind Hebner’s back! ANKLELOCK FROM NOWHERE! Kurt is AWESOME at this point, screaming at Rock to tap and hurling multiple profanities his way. Rock makes the ropes, although doesn’t seem to have the ability to walk at this stage. Somehow he hits a spinebuster, followed by a LIMPING PEOPLE’S ELBOW! Kurt kicks out at 2, much to the fury of the Las Vegas crowd! The champ exposes the metal turnbuckle bolt and bashes Rock’s face into it. ANGLE SLAM GETS 2! He kicks Rock’s leg from under him…only for Rock to ram his head into the turnbuckle bolt! ROCK BOTTOM! That should be it, but Hebner botches the finish and doesn’t count three! The crow boo, and Rock can be seen hurling abuse at Earl too. Another Rock Bottom finishes it and gives Rock the title at 16:54
Rating - **** - I didn’t get the point of Big Show’s interference, and it seemed completely out of place with what was an outstanding main event. The wrestling was significantly better than No Mercy, as Kurt had another five months to hone his skill and his style. The Rock was his usual self – which I mean in a good way. He sold the leg tremendously well, and he had the crowd in the palm of his hand as usual. The heat was incredible, particularly for the nearfalls at the end. Although it didn’t look great, I actually think Kurt kicking out of the first Rock Bottom added something to the match. Giving the crowd one last false finish really sent them over the edge as well – meaning the pop seconds later when Rock did win was astronomical.
Tape Rating - **** - Another really strong ppv from WWF as we build up to WrestleMania 17. It wasn’t as consistent as Royal Rumble, and there were certainly more bad matches here. However, over a third of the show was taken up by the HHH/Austin finale, which was an amazing match and enough to sell the show by itself. I liked the Angle/Rock main event too, feeling it was a real step up in class from the original at No Mercy 2000, and the fact that it sets up the long-awaited Rock vs Austin WrestleMania rematch only sweetened the deal. The IC Title fourway and Stephanie/Trish were actually a lot of fun too, and added some real depth to a relatively quiet undercard. Elsewhere, as I said, there is some serious crap. Undertaker and Kane do their best to take a dump all over the tag division. WWF’s creative team take a dump all over Steven Richards’ credibility. And I really don’t know why they chose the bizarre Big Show vs Raven Hardcore Title match to open the show. The good on this show winds up massively outweighing the bad though.
Top 3 Matches
3) Chris Jericho vs X-Pac vs Eddie Guerrero vs Chris Benoit (***)
2) Kurt Angle vs The Rock (****)
1) Triple H vs Steve Austin (*****)