Views from the Hawke’s Nest: WWF No Way Out 2001

 

February 25, 2001
Las Vegas, Nevada

 

Raven (c) vs. The Big Show [WWF Hardcore Championship]

Raven’s female accomplice attacked Show before the match. It was a WWF Hardcore plunder brawl. Some guy in a blonde wig attacked Raven during the match to try to steal the title. That failed. Show hit Raven with THE FINAL CUT. Steve Blackman and Hardcore Holly showed up. The wigged man was revealed to be Crash Holly. Billy Gunn showed up and gave Raven the FameAsser: 1…2…3. New champ.

They all continued to fight. Raven pinned Gunn to get the title back.

Raven’s accomplice returned, but Molly Holly attacked her. Show then pinned Raven after a chokeslam on a garbage can.

I have a fondness for the Hardcore title days because I enjoy WrestleCrap. This did not age well though. Even as WrestleCrap goes, this was fairly uninspired.

Match Rating: * 

 

Chris Jericho (c) vs. Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero vs. X-Pac [WWF Intercontinental Championship]

I have very fond memories of this one.

X-Pac was the opposite of over here. They mostly kept it to the “two men in, two men out” format. After saying they would work together before the match, Eddie and Benoit eventually stopped doing just that. Jericho and Benoit did one of the hotter sequences in the match. Jericho put him and then Eddie into the Walls. X-Pac then got a turn. Justin Credible ran in, but Jericho attacked him. Tiger suplex on Jericho from Benoit! X-Pac and Credible hit Benoit with a double superkick. They started doing nearfalls. Jericho eventually caught X-Pac with a bridging roll-up to pick up the win and retain the title.

If they worked the whole match like the final few minutes and only went 7-8 minutes, this would have been much more enjoyable. It also would have likely gotten much more over. It’s still probably one of the better midcard four-ways on a WWE PPV though! That’s gotta count for something!

Match Rating: ***

 

Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley vs. Trish Stratus

The match was a brawl that quickly ended up on the floor. Steph initially had control, but Trish made a comeback. This was all surprisingly well-executed. Steph slowed her down with an ICONOCLASM. Steph poured water on Trish. Steph pulled her pants down and spanked her ass. She then ripped at Trish’s shirt before choking her. William Regal ran down and dropped the ref. Trish didn’t want the help, and Regal ended up giving her a Cutthroat Neckbreaker. Steph made the cover: 1…2…3

This was WAY better than I could have possibly expected. It was a heated and intense brawl that was only mired by the Attitude Era grossness and weak finish. Kudos to both of them for the great effort AND execution.

Match Rating: **3/4

 

Steve Austin vs. Triple H [Three Stages Of Hell]

The first fall is a normal singles match. The crowd is already way hotter for this than their Survivor Series match. They weren’t on the same page early on, and it led to a couple of awkward spots. Austin started going after the left arm of HHH. HHH came back after hitting a neckbreaker. He then went after Austin’s neck. HHH then went after Austin’s left leg. He even applied the figure four on the right leg. Gold star to you, HHH! Austin fought back. HHH avoided the stunner and hit a neckbreaker. Austin came back and hit the stunner: 1…2…3!

Steve Austin: 1
Triple H: 0

The second fall was a street fight. Austin was in control. HHH tried to run away through the crowd. Austin brought him back and hit him with a chair. He took out a barbed wire 2×4, but HHH kicked him in the nuts. HHH used the 2×4 to bust Austin wide open. Austin avoided a pedigree though and put HHH through a table. Back in the ring, HHH hit him with the bell for a nearfall. Austin fought back and killed HHH with a chairshot to the head. HHH eventually avoided a stunner and hit Austin in the head with the sledgehammer. Pedigree: 1…2…3

Steve Austin: 1
Triple H: 1

Cage match time. HHH was in control to start the final fall. Austin fought back with the barbed wire 2×4. The match slowed to a crawl. HHH hit a DDT onto a chair. HHH tried to escape first. Jim Ross informed us he couldn’t win that way though. Back on the mat, HHH hit the pedigree: 1…2…NO! Austin avoided a second pedigree and hit a sloppy stunner. In a very labored spot, Austin hit HHH with the 2×4 at the exact moment HHH hit Austin with the sledgehammer. HHH then fell on Austin: 1…2…3

As far as booking goes, this was quite brilliant. Austin was already guaranteed a title shot at Wrestlemania for winning the Royal Rumble, and this set HHH up for a title shot after Wrestlemania. Granted, WWF didn’t end up going in that direction. It was a brilliant idea though!

This may sound weird, but this match really reminds me of the original triple threat match between Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, and Christopher Daniels. The first two thirds of the match are just awesome and compelling all the way through. They ran out of steam for the last third of the match though, and that brings it down a bit in my eyes. If they went home very quickly after the cage portion started, this would have been that much better. Instead, it will have to settle for being merely great.

Match Rating: ****

 

Jerry Lawler (w/The Kat) vs. Steven Richards (w/Ivory) [Kat May Get Naked Or Must Become Property Of RTC Match]

So, Lawler was fighting for his wife’s right to get naked on TV? The Attitude Era was terrible in so many ways.

Ivory got involved at one point, and that distraction allowed Richards to cut The King off. Richards went to use a chair, but Lawler hit a low blow and a pair of DDTs. There was a clusterfuck finish with Ivory and Kat. Kat accidentally hit Lawler with Ivory’s title: 1…2…3

The rest of the Right to Censor came down to the ringside area and forced Kat into servitude.

There are moments where I am very thankful that I was but a wee lad during the Attitude Era. Terrible time to be alive at times.

Match Rating: DUD

 

The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley) (c) vs. Christian & Edge vs. Kane & The Undertaker [WWF World Tag Team Championship Three Way Table Match]

It was a tornado brawl the whole time. A team or a wrestler would occasionally be taking a nap while the remaining wrestlers continued to brawl. Everyone was working hard, and they kept up a fan-friendly pace. Kane and Taker hit a pair of diving lariats on E&C. They did some table teases. OUT OF FUCKING NOWHERE, MENG SHOWS UP! GET’EM MENG! IT’S RAINING MENG! Rikishi was also there. Those two started brawling with Kane and Taker. Shortly after that, The Dudleys put Christian through a table with a 3D.

I didn’t think this was all that interesting, but they all worked hard and kept the crowd engaged. That’s pretty much all you can ask for in a single-fall tables match. That’s a tough stipulation to work in a compelling way.

Match Rating: **3/4

 

Kurt Angle (c) vs. The Rock [WWF World Heavyweight Championship]

The winner of this match would defend the belt against Austin. WWF was obviously doing Rock/Austin, but we’ll see if the crowd goes along for the ride.

Rock was starting to peak as a performer right here. It’s hard to say how much better he would have gotten, but he pretty much stopped being a year-round full-timer a month of so after this match (which is the period when he started to frequently leave to film movies). They went back and forth to start the match. Rock got the sharpshooter, but Angle made the ropes. It looked like Angle was getting control of the match, but Rock hit a DDT. The Big Show, with his awful haircut, made his way to the ring. He gave the ref, Angle, and the Rock a chokeslam. The referees were distracted. Angle got a nearfall after a referee got back in the ring. Rock hit Angle with the belt for the nearfall. Weird thing for a babyface to do considering that Angle did not cheat. Angle got the Drunk Lock. Rock managed to make the ropes. Angle went after the now-injured leg. Rock came back with a spinebuster. Rock hit the People’s Elbow: 1…2…NO! The crowd booed. Angle undid a turnbuckle pad. Drunk Slam from Kurt: 1…2…NO! Angle kicked out the injured leg, but Rock then sent Angle into the exposed turnbuckle. Rock Bottom: 1…2…NO! It didn’t look like Angle moved at all. Rock Bottom #2: 1…2…3

Not sure what happened with the finish. Vince may have been on a kick for the referees to not let sloppy pins slide. This was WWF/E main event formula. They went back and forth for the majority of the match. They traded finishers. The crowd was into everything. Thumbs up!

Match Rating: ***3/4

 

Watch some WWE matches for free!

CM Punk vs. John Cena

The Rock vs. Eddie Guerrero

Bruno Sammartino vs. Ernie Ladd

Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart

Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart

Shawn Michaels vs. Shelton Benjamin

Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler

 

Watch some NJPW for free!
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hirooki Goto (G1 Climax)
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jun Akiyama (G1 Climax)
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yuji Nagata (G1 Climax)
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Prince Devitt (G1 Climax)
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Togi Makabe (Chain Match)
Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Karl Anderson
Kota Ibushi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi [Fantastic Match]
Prince Devitt vs. Kenny Omega
Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi (With thoughts from Prince Devitt)
Katsuyori Shibata &Wataru Inoue vs. Eddy Guerrero & Black Tiger

 

If you want to watch some ROH matches for free, check out:
CM Punk vs. AJ Styles
Eddie Guerrero vs. Super Crazy
Daniel Bryan vs. Seth Rollins
Daniel Bryan vs. Nigel McGuinness [Great match]
The Young Bucks vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico
El Generico vs. Chris Hero
The Young Bucks vs. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli
AJ Styles & Matt Sydal vs. Austin Aries & Roderick Strong
CM Punk vs. Brian Kendrick

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

While there was some eye-rolling shit on this show, there was enough quality wrestling here to make it a pretty great show. If you haven't watched this on the Network yet, make sure you do.