wrestling / Video Reviews
Hall’s WWE No Way Out 2000 Review
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...No Way Out 2000
Date: February 27, 2000
Location: Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Attendance: 12,551
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler
This is an interesting one as the show is from one of the hottest stretches the company has ever had but it is only really remembered for the main event. That would be HHH defending the WWF Title against Cactus Jack inside the Cell, with Jack’s career on the line. Other than that, we get the fallout from the screwy ending to the Royal Rumble. Let’s get to it.
The opening video focuses on HHH vs. Cactus Jack, which is all about what it costs to go to Wrestlemania.
Intercontinental Title: Kurt Angle vs. Chris Jericho
Angle is challenging but not defending his European Title and Chyna is here with Jericho. Before the match, Angle mocks the former Hartford Whalers, prompting Jericho to call him a jackass. The reality is the Three I’s stand for Idiot, Imbecile and Ignoramus but the only I that matters to Jericho is the Intercontinental Title. Believe it or not, the fans are rather behind Jericho as he chops away to start.
Angle is able to drop toehold him throat first into the bottom rope, only to get launched outside in quite the heap. The triangle dropkick sends Angle outside again, where Jericho gets in a posting. Jericho’s clothesline misses but he’s able to moonsault off the steps (not great execution but a nice idea). Back in and Angle crotches him on top for a belly to belly superplex and two more. Another suplex gives Angle another two and we’re off to the chinlock.
That’s broken up and Jericho hits a butterfly backbreaker for one, only for Angle to German suplex him again. A crossface chickenwing keeps Jericho down, followed by a DDT onto the arm for two. Jericho manages to come back with a spinwheel kick into the bulldog, followed by a heck of a running forearm for two more. Jericho’s powerbombs are countered into a cross armbreaker, with a rope break getting him out of trouble.
The Angle Slam gets two and the Walls send Angle over to the ropes, with Lawler praising the intelligence after saying Jericho used the ropes due to a lack of integrity. They go outside and Angle swings the belt at Chyna, with Jericho ramming Angle into Chyna into the steps. The referee checks on Chyna, allowing Angle to block the Lionsault with the belt for the pin and the title at 10:15.
Rating: B. These two could have a good match in their sleep and it was another early step towards Angle becoming a major star in short order. The ending was the kind of cheating that Angle can use to steal a win and still brag about being such an amazing star and all that jazz. In other words, early Angle was awesome and that was on full display here.
The Dudley Boyz are putting people through tables to get respect, with Bubba (still country) saying get ready for another title change. Their two words for the Outlaws: 3D.
Tag Team Titles: New Age Outlaws vs. Dudley Boyz
The Dudleys are challenging. Dogg jabs away at Bubba to start, earning himself and early Bubba Bomb (not yet named). The also unnamed What’s Up hits Dogg and the champs are in trouble early. D-Von stomps away and hits a running clothesline to put Dogg back down. Gunn is drawn in, allowing D-Von to choke away a bit because the Dudleys know how to do some nice cheating.
Bubba comes in for his own shots before D-Von hits his spinning elbow. Gunn gets up to offer a distraction though and Dogg hits a low blow, followed by a superplex. It’s back to Gunn to clean house, including a Fameasser to D-Von. Dogg comes back in so Bubba pulls Gunn outside and blasts him in the arm with a pipe. The 3D gives the Dudleys the titles at 5:18.
Rating: C+. This was what needed to happen as the Dudleys were clearly the hot new team and ready to take the ball. The Outlaws did have their time, but they weren’t going to be able to hang with the new generation. There was no reason to not change the titles here and the Dudleys dismantled the Outlaws to win the belts. Nicely done, and nearly a squash.
Post match the Outlaws are not happy with each other.
Kurt Angle is celebrating in the concession stand.
We recap Viscera attacking Mae Young (the 77 year old pregnant woman) so Mark Henry (the father of said baby) jumped him earlier tonight.
Mark Henry vs. Viscera
They go right to the brawling with Henry slugging away but getting dropped by a shoulder. A running shoulder knocks Viscera down but he’s back up with his spinwheel kick (not exactly the best contact though he tried). Back up and Viscera hits a clothesline, followed by another one to knock Henry outside. A hard whip sends Henry into the steps, which works so well that Viscera does it again. That’s good for two back inside, followed by a Samoan drop. Cue Mae Young to protect Henry, who has to shoulder Viscera down. A good slam gives Henry the pin at 3:47.
Rating: D+. Ok, this was never going to be good, with even JR more or less saying “yeah this is going to be terrible”. That being said, they did about as nice enough of a job as could be expected. The ending looked good with Henry getting some impressive height on that slam. Other than that, it was just a brawl between two huge guys, which went about as well as it could have.
Chris Jericho says there is no friction between himself and Chyna, but there is with himself and Kirk Angel.
Billy Gunn’s shoulder is really banged up.
Hardy Boyz vs. Edge And Christian
For a future Tag Team Title shot and Terri is here with the Hardys. The Acolytes are here too as Terri has hired them to protect her from the Dudleys. Edge jumps Jeff to start fast and avoids an early Whisper In The Wind. Christian comes in but gets taken down by Jeff, allowing Matt to come in for the double legdrop. The Hardys take their shirts off (Terri approves) and Matt yells at Christian to get up, which is a bit out of character for him at this point.
Poetry In Motion connects and an Arabian Press gives Jeff two. Christian slips out of a Razor’s Edge and hits a neckbreaker, followed by kicking Jeff out of the air. It’s back to Edge for the clothesline comeback and Christian is back up with a springboard dive onto Matt. We settle back down to Edge hammering on Jeff in the corner before Christian adds a faceplant.
A drop toehold sends Edge face first into Jeff in the corner, followed by a jumping piledriver for two. The chinlock keeps Jeff down, setting up one heck of a sitout powerbomb for two. Christian’s powerslam gets two and it’s back to Edge, with the referee yelling at Christian in the corner. Matt’s top rope elbow behind the referee’s back gives Jeff a breather and Jeff dropkicks Edge out of the air.
The tag brings Matt back in to clean house and it’s a Doomsday Device…which is broken as Edge ducks, only for Jeff to switch to a high crossbody on Christian instead (that’s awesome). The top rope splash/legdrop combination gets two on Christian but Edge gives Jeff a middle rope spear. Matt Twists Of Fates Edge and Jeff goes up, only for Terri to shove him down. A slap sends Matt into the Unprettier to give Christian the pin at 16:49.
Rating: B+. Yeah these guys absolutely stole the show thus far with a heck of a match. You could absolutely see the star power and how hard these guys were working out there. It’s a great match between two talented teams who were obviously the future. Throw the Dudleys into the mix and it’s no wonder that the tag division took off like it hadn’t in years. Awesome match and worth a look.
Post match Terri tries to celebrate with Edge And Christian, who look rather confused. Edge And Christian leave and Jeff grabs Terri, with the Acolytes coming in to take Jeff out. Faarooq gives Jeff a SCARY powerbomb, which looked like it was supposed to be a Dominator but Jeff landed hard on the back of his head instead.
Edge And Christian are happy to go to Wrestlemania, though Christian isn’t wild on how they got there.
Big Show again contends that he won the Royal Rumble and we see footage of Rock’s feet hitting the floor first. Show does have a point here (I believe that wasn’t on purpose and they just ran with it, which is fine) and tonight is about Show getting his deserves title shot.
Big Boss Man vs. Tazz
Prince Albert is here with Boss Man and the brawl starts in the aisle. They get inside for the bell with Boss Man hammering away and hitting a corner splash. A clothesline gets Tazz out of trouble and there’s a suplex into the Tazmission…so Albert runs in for the DQ at 48 seconds. Ok then.
Post match the beatdown is on, with Boss Man getting in some nightstick shots. The beatdown stays on with Tazz getting up over and over. Boss Man even breaks the nightstick over Tazz’s head but he gets up again, as somehow he’s not dead. A low blow finally puts Tazz down for good. I have no idea why this was on pay per view.
We recap X-Pac vs. Kane. They were friends and then X-Pac turned on him and stole Kane’s girlfriend Tori. Now it’s time for the revenge, partially due to Kane being institutionalized, with Paul Bearer returning to get him out.
Kane vs. X-Pac
Anything goes and Kane is in the always awesome inverted color scheme. X-Pac hammers away to start to no avail so he and Tori try to leave. Kane isn’t having any of that and beats him down near the entrance, with X-Pac climbing the set and getting sent face first into it instead. They fight through the crowd with Kane beating him up even more, only for X-Pac to get in a chair shot. A bell shot staggers him again and Tori gets in a cheap shot.
Paul Bearer gives chase (oh dear), allowing Kane to get back up. X-Pac kicks him down back inside and the Bronco Buster connects. Kane powers out of a leglock and pulls X-Pac out of the air, earning himself a low blow. The X Factor is shrugged off and Kane boots him in the face. Cue Tori, whose interference doesn’t work as Kane hits a chokeslam. The Tombstone plants Tori so Kane grabs the steps….which are kicked into his face to give X-Pac the pin at 7:45.
Rating: B-. This was a long running feud and having the inverted monster vs. smaller guy story was an interesting way to go. They weren’t about to be done here and the feud would continue as Kane still wanted revenge. Nice brawl here and that’s what it should have been given how serious it was for them.
The Radicalz are ready to beat up Too Cool because they’re the only ones who should be dancing. Malenko says the four of them aren’t scared and you can see him cut himself off from doing the Horsemen sign. Eddie Guerrero is injured but has a steel pipe with him instead.
Too Cool/Rikishi vs. Radicalz
Eddie Guerrero is here with The Radicalz. It’s a brawl to start and Rikishi (with his bad leg) drops the good leg on Malenko but has to steal the pipe from Guerrero. A pipe shot to Guerrero’s injured elbow puts him down and we get the opening bell with Saturn jumping Sexay from behind. Sexay fights up and almost loses the doo rag, even as he bulldogs Benoit for two.
Scotty comes in for a double elbow, followed by a suplex for two on Benoit, right into the Moon Walk. It’s off to Rikishi, who gets taken down by the bad leg but fights out without much effort. Scotty comes in and gets caught with a middle rope knee backbreaker combination, followed by the chinlock. That’s broken up so it’s back to Benoit, who gets sent into the corner but comes out ramming his head into Scotty’s for a double down.
Rikishi gets the tag and everything breaks down, with Rikishi cleaning house. Malenko goes after the bad leg to take Rikishi outside, leaving Sexay to hit the Hip Hop Drop. Benoit breaks it up with a Swan Dive and they head outside, leaving Malenko to take Rikishi back inside. Malenko works on the leg but gets kicked low, setting up the Rikishi Driver to knock Malenko silly. The Banzai Drop finishes Malenko at 12:41.
Rating: C+. This had its moments and some good parts, but dang it went on for awhile. They could have trimmed off a bunch of this and not missed much, including the entire Banzai Drop as the Rikishi Driver was enough. That being said, this was a good reminder of just how much of a hit Rikishi and Too Cool really were. It was a great fit and they became big stars as a result.
Kurt Angle is STILL celebrating in a funny bit.
We recap the Rock vs. Big Show. Rock won the Royal Rumble, last eliminating Show, though it seems Rock’s feet actually did hit the ground. Therefore, Show is getting a singles match for the title shot at Wrestlemania.
Big Show vs. The Rock
For the Wrestlemania title shot. They talk a lot of trash before the bell and Rock slugs away to start but the Rock Bottom attempt is shrugged off. Show follows him to the floor and they fight into the crowd, where Show hits a big clothesline to put him down again. Rock manages a heck of a backdrop to send Show over the barricade (dang) and they head back inside. An awesome powerslam gives Show two and he slowly hammers away, with a side slam cutting Rock off.
Show tries to bring in a chair and it goes badly, followed by the referee getting bumped to the floor. A big boot knocks Rock down and the chokeslam gets….two, with the original referee pulling the replacement out. Cue Shane McMahon as the referees brawl and Rock hits Show with a chair. The Rock Bottom looks to set up the People’s Elbow but Shane chairs Rock in the head, giving Show the pin at 8:31.
Rating: B-. This was about the only way to do this match, as Show is best when he gets to do his power stuff and get out before the novelty wears off. That’s what we had here, as a lot of the match was spent brawling in the crowd before the latest McMahon drama. It’s a good way to go and keeps the story moving, though you can imagine a lot more shenanigans on the way.
We recap HHH defending the WWF Title against Cactus Jack inside the Cell. HHH survived against jack at the Royal Rumble and Jack wants one more shot, with his career on the line. He’s even promised to dive off the Cell, because that’s kind of what he does.
Kurt Angle is finally leaving and gets jumped by Chris Jericho and Chyna, who shove him into the trunk of a car.
WWF Title: HHH vs. Cactus Jack
Inside the Cell with HHH defending, title vs. career. Jack checks the door to start and then proceeds to hammer away, as he is known to do. The running forearms knocks HHH down and Jack again tries to find a way out, only to drop HHH again. HHH finally gets in a few shots and they head back inside, with HHH hammering away in the corner. A backdrop sends HHH outside again but Jack takes too long getting a chair.
That lets HHH knee Jack into the Cell and then whip him HARD into the steps (knees first, as is Jack’s custom). HHH tosses the steps at Jack (OUCH) for another knockdown, with the steps landing on him and HHH getting to pound away with the chair. A chair to the back and another to the head give HHH two but Jack gets in a low blow. The double arm DDT onto the chair gets a delayed two on HHH as the fans are still notably quiet.
Back up and the drop toehold sends Jack into a chair in the corner for two. They head outside with HHH sending him into the cage over and over but a catapult sends HHH into the cage. That’s enough to draw some blood and Jack sends him into the cage over and over. With HHH down, Jack goes up with the middle rope chair shot. Jack picks up the steps and throws them at HHH but only hits the Cell….which breaks.
NOW the fans are up, as they knew there was no way the match was ending without Jack getting out of the Cell (Jack talks about this in his second book as he thought no one cared that his career would be over but then realized he was underestimating their intelligence). They fight outside and onto the announcers’ table, with a piledriver dropping HHH onto the table. Jack goes up (the fans go with him) but Stephanie McMahon pulls him back down. That doesn’t work well as Jack gets down and finds a 2×4 wrapped in barbed wire.
A shot to the head sends HHH running up the cage, where he gets on top. Jack gives chase but HHH gets the 2×4 and hits him in the head, sending Jack crashing through the announcers’ table in a nasty crash. Naturally Jack gets up and tries to throw a chair onto the cell, which doesn’t go so well. Instead Jack climbs up there, with HHH hitting him in the back with the 2×4. Jack kicks him away, with HHH’s arm going through a hole in the roof (because that’s something that can happen).
A double arm DDT on the roof drops HHH and Jack grabs the 2×4. Then, just because, Jack whips out a lighter and lights the barbed wire on fire. HHH gets hit in the face and Jack loads up a piledriver (onto the fire of course), which is reversed into a backdrop through the roof and through the ring in the big crazy bump. HHH manages to get into the ring…and Jack gets up again. A Pedigree is enough to end Jack for good at 24:00.
Rating: A-. This is such a forgotten gem, as Foley has a far more famous Cell match and the match these two had at the Royal Rumble is just that much better. That being said, these guys had a heck of a fight with the fans getting behind the idea of Foley being able to pull off the miracle. This is a match that needs a lot more attention, as it really is a different kind of fight with HHH managing to survive against Jack again, which was a big reason why HHH got over as strong as he did at this point.
Post match HHH leaves and Jack refuses medical attention. Jack gets the big sendoff and leaves with Jim Ross thanking him one last time. Foley truly believed this was it and then came back one more time in the main event of Wrestlemania, pretty much as a huge career thank you, which was a nice moment.
Results
Kurt Angle b. Chris Jericho – Belt shot
Dudley Boyz b. New Age Outlaws – 3D to Dogg
Mark Henry b. Viscera – Slam
Edge And Christian b. Hardy Boyz – Unprettier to Matt
Tazz b. Big Boss Man via DQ when Prince Albert interfered
X-Pac b. Kane – X-Pac kicked the steps into Kane’s face
Rikishi/Too Cool b. Radicalz – Banzai Drop to Malenko
Big Show b. The Rock – Chair shot from Shane McMahon
HHH b. Cactus Jack – Pedigree
