Kevin’s Random Reviews: WWF No Way Out 2000

WWF No Way Out 2000
February 27th, 2000 | Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut | Attendance: 12,551

2000 is possibly my favorite year in WWE history. Fresh off a great Royal Rumble PPV featuring an absolute classic between Triple H and Cactus Jack, a rematch was set for this show. The storyline was top notch, with Cactus putting his career on the line inside Hell in a Cell. Up to this point, there had only been two cell matches, so it still had the aura of being dangerous. This would also be the first WWF show to feature their latest signees from WCW, the Radicalz. That team (along with guys like Angle and Jericho) helped usher in a new era of in-ring work for the company. This was the second No Way Out PPV in history.

One of the best opening videos to a PPV ever kicks this show off. Cactus Jack speaks over footage and talks about his dream of main eventing WrestleMania. “You may say, ‘This is no dream. This is a nightmare.’ Maybe, but it’s my nightmare and I DECIDE WHEN I WAKE UP!” Fantastic stuff. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler are on commentary.

WWF Intercontinental Championship: Chris Jericho (c) w/ Chyna vs. WWF European Champion Kurt Angle
The Jericho/Chyna partnership after their matches at the end of 1999 was a strange one. Chyna gets her own entrance and JR says it’s her first appearance at No Way Out, though she took a Stone Cold Stunner at the PPV in 1998. The grappling exchanges end quickly as they go to slaps. It moves to the floor following a Jericho springboard dropkick. There’s been more brawling and less mat work than I expected. When Angle does go to the mat, he gets “Angle sucks” chants. While they were outside earlier, Jericho hit his arm on the ring post. Angle uses that when he hits a single-arm DDT. Psychology ladies and gentlemen. Jericho hits a powerbomb so Angle goes to a cross armbreaker, which was rarely seen at the time. I would’ve loved Shamrock/Angle had Shamrock stuck around. The Olympic Slam doesn’t finish it, so Angle grabs the IC Title. The referee takes it from him, allowing Jericho to slap on the Walls but Angle reaches the ropes. Outside, Chyna takes a bump getting sandwiched between Angle and the steel steps. Inside, Angle blocks the Lionsault with the European Title. He covers to steal the title at 10:14. A surprising result at the time since Jericho seemed poised for huge things (he was but they stalled on him A TON in 2000). The right kind of opener. They worked a smart match with some good psychology and didn’t overdo anything. [***¼]

Backstage, the Dudley Boyz are interviewed about their Tag Team Title match. Bubba Ray, still sporting a Southern accent, says the fans should prepare for another title change.

WWF Tag Team Championship: The New Age Outlaws (c) vs. The Dudley Boyz
The Outlaws were absolutely the team of the late 90’s. But it’s the 2000’s now and it’s time to transition the division from super over team that has mediocre matches to super over teams that have good matches. There are “ECW” chants when the Dudleys enter. Bubba hits the awesome Bubba Bomb on Road Dogg, followed by the WAZZUP headbutt before the WAZZUP was officially added. They isolate Dogg, which makes sense since Billy is legitimately injured. Dogg finally makes the tag. People can say Billy was never officially known as Mr. Ass, but that’s all JR calls him here. He hits a Fameasser, clearly nursing the shoulder. Bubba whacks him with a lead pipe in that shoulder outside. They hit a great 3D on Dogg and win the titles at 5:21, just five months after debuting. A one-sided match, which can be expected since it was the end for the Outlaws and Billy’s injury. [**]

Kurt Angle has a big celebration with the fans in the concession stands.

Mark Henry vs. Viscera
Viscera attacked Mae Young on Raw and she nearly lost her baby, I mean her hand. This is a last minute addition after they brawled on Heat. I’m sure everyone was just dying to see this. In six years, Viscera would be the “World’s Largest Love Machine” and a team with “Sexual Chocolate” would’ve made sense. They slug it out and JR literally says this won’t be something to get a high rating on any star system. He knows. Viscera hits one of his worst spinning heel kicks ever. The fans chant “boring” and they’re not wrong. Mae Young does a run-in and moved quicker than both guys. Vis shoves her down but takes a body slam and loses at 3:46. It was short and Mae gets points for her effort so I won’t give this a dud rating. [¼*]

Lillian interviews Chris Jericho backstage and asks if there’s tension between him and Chyna. He calls her Vivian and says there isn’t. He threatens Kurt if the new champion keeps acting like a tool.

Elsewhere, Billy and his bad shoulder are checked on by medics.

Number One Contender’s Match: Edge and Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz w/ Terri Runnels
Terri with the Hardys was so weird. Nowhere near the fit Lita ended up being. Terri hired the APA to protect her since the Dudleys have been putting women through tables, so they’re at ringside. The Hardys start hot and take off their shirts, which gets a pop. Terri randomly gets on the apron to taunt. It’s interesting to see how this is worked since both teams are faces (while the Tag Title match had two heel unites). Christian gets double teamed and it feels like the Hardys are subtlety the heels. Edge gets a hot tag, hitting both Hardys with his offense. Christian takes out Matt with a plancha. Now it’s Jeff’s turn to take a beating as Edge and Christian used frequent tags and tandem offense. Jeff’s heat segment lasts longer than Christian’s. Matt sneaks in a big elbow drop and his brother has an opening. Once Matt gets an official tag, the match breaks down to something more exciting. Edge counters Poetry in Motion with an awesome spear. He eats a Twist of Fate though and Jeff sets up for a Swanton once he’s up. Terri shoves him off the top and into the guardrail. She also slaps Matt and Christian hits the Unprettier (not named yet) for the win at 15:16. They don’t need ladders to have a good match together. This was some good tag team wrestling with some cool spots and a hot finishing stretch. [***½]

Terri celebrates with Edge and Christian, who are confused. They just leave and the Hardys go after Terri for answers. The APA are still around though, so they beat the Hardys up. Faarooq nearly murders Jeff with a particularly brutal Dominator.

Backstage, Christian says he didn’t expect to win that way but Edge says the Hardys would’ve accepted it too.

Elsewhere, Big Show pleads his case for being the real Royal Rumble 2000 winner. He was honestly right in this entire argument.

Big Bossman w/ Albert vs. Tazz
It’s been a month and Tazz already feels like the fun of his arrival is up. They brawl in the aisle but once inside, Tazz turns it around. He applies the Tazzmission and Albert whacks him for a DQ at 0:44. At least it was short. [NR]

They continue to beat up Tazz, but he won’t stay down. They were trying to sell how tough Tazz was but he worked better as an ass kicking machine and not as the guy taking the beating. By the way, this segment goes on for far too long.

No Holds Barred: Kane w/ Paul Bearer vs. X-Pac w/ Tori
I honestly truly enjoyed the Kane/X-Pac pairing. It helped humanize Kane and the big man is the KING of makeshift tag teams (see: X-Pac, Daniel Bryan, RVD, Hurricane, etc.). This should’ve been a WrestleMania blowoff singles match but instead we got an add tag there. Kane wins the early brawl so Pac bails and they fight by the entrance. A trash can, ring bell and steel steps come into play as they make it back to ringside. Paul Bearer gets in some licks on Pac but also takes a right hand once things move back inside. Kane plants him with a chokeslam but here comes Tori. Kane no sells her shots and Tombstones her. Kane goes for the steps but Pac dropkicks them into his face and uses the steps for pin leverage to steal it at 7:49. This was more of a sprint but I thought it was fun, had the right amount of shenanigans and was a good way to continue a feud. [**½]

Michael Cole interviews the Radicalz, who are insulted that he thinks they’re nervous about their first WWF Pay-Per-View.

The Radicalz w/ Eddie Guerrero vs. Rikishi and Too Cool
They brawl before the bell. Eddie tries using his lead pipe as a weapon so the referee ejects him. I mean, if it happens before the match, should he be tossed? Too Cool does well when the match begins until Dean cuts off the WORM. I just realized how that sounds. Scotty takes the heat as the Radicalz take joy in kicking his ass. Everything they do looks great. It was clear they were operating on a different level than a lot of the WWF midcard. Rikishi gets the hot tag and cleans house. He also allows Scotty to hit the WORM but then has his bad leg chop blocked twice. Sexay nails the Hip Hop Drop but Benoit breaks the pin with a diving headbutt. Too Cool, Saturn and Benoit all fall outside during a scuffle. Malenko, who ran from Rikishi earlier, is confident since the big man is down now. Rikishi turns things around and squashes Dean with the Banzai at 12:43. A head scratching result at first glance. It worked out in the end though. The match itself was a lot of fun. The Radicalz looked motivated and brought great offense, Scotty bumped well and Rikishi’s hot tag stuff was great. Add in a hot crowd and you’ve got a winner. [***½]

Too Cool and Rikishi dance for the crowd after the match.

In the lobby, Kurt Angle still celebrates with fans.

Number One Contender’s Match: Big Show vs. The Rock
The Rock is credited with winning the 2000 Royal Rumble but Show provided proof that Rock’s feet hit the floor before him. The best thing about this feud was the Rock’s Big Show impersonation. Rock slaps Show, so they brawl outside and through the crowd. Show takes control, wearing down Rock with some dull offense. Rocky has a hope spot cut off by a side slam. Since that only gets two, Show argues with Earl Hebner. At least he doesn’t cry. Like a moron, Show tries a chair shot but misses. He hits a chokeslam following a ref bump for the visual win. Tim White runs out to count but Hebner pulls him out and they argue, renewing their earlier issues. Shane McMahon returns to a MONSTER pop while the officials brawl. Rock hits Show with the chair and nails the Rock Bottom. His People’s Elbow is broken up by a wicked chair shot from Shane, giving Show the win at 9:27. About as good as you could expect considering what this was. Having Show win and Shane appear were both surprises. [*¾]

Kurt Angle hums “We Are The Champions” on his way to his car. Chris Jericho and Chyna attack and stuff him in the trunk. Those jerks.

WWF Championship Hell in a Cell: Triple H (c) w/ Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley vs. Cactus Jack
If Cactus loses, his career is over. These two had an instant classic at the Royal Rumble last month. Cactus promised to go to the top of the cell (like he did in the last HIAC) but HHH wisely has the door extra padlocked. They brawl in and around the ring, with Cactus looking under the ring several times. He can’t find what he wants though. HHH uses the steel steps and a chair on offense but Cactus won’t give up. Cactus fires up, only to run into a drop toe hold into a chair. It’s a nice call back to Cactus doing it to HHH while handcuffed at the RR. Cactus uses the cage as a weapon and then drives a chair off the top into HHH, busting him open. HHH avoids the steps thrown at him but they hit the cage and break it. CACTUS HAS HIS OPENING! He piledrives HHH on the announce table as the violence factor is picking up. Cactus finds his barbed wire 2×4 and HHH’s reaction is priceless. Perfectly done. He escapes to the top, where Cactus follows. Cactus throws the 2×4 up first, so HHH uses it to rake his face and send him crashing through the announce table. It wasn’t anywhere near the KOTR 98 spot. Cactus won’t die though and once he’s up, he climbs again. He takes another 2×4 beating until hitting a low blow. He raises the stakes by setting the 2×4 ON FIRE! After whacking HHH with it, he looks for a piledriver but takes a backdrop through the cell roof and through the ring. The ring breaking was a great way to avoid the awful bump he took in 1998. HHH gets down and in the ring, where Cactus is fucking moving. HE WON’T DIE! Oh wait, a Pedigree does him in at 23:57. It doesn’t reach the levels of the Rumble match but this is a fitting end to their rivalry. It was the rare “career on the line” match where the fans were unsure who would win. They brought the violence but couldn’t quite match their last bout. I did like how they played off Foley’s past spots and upped the ante by bringing fire into play. JR was dynamite in the booth throughout as well. [****¼]

Mick Foley gets a standing ovation as he leaves his last PPV….until next month.

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

I enjoyed this Pay-Per-View. Outside of Viscera/Henry and Tazz/Bossman, everything was worth watching. Even the Show/Rock match had some Attitude Era fun in the shenanigans, making up for some dull work. The event has an emotional main event that delivered in a big way, which is the obvious thing that sticks out. However, Angle/Jericho and Angle’s antics throughout the night were entertaining. There are also two often forgotten tags here (Hardys/E&C and Radicalz/Too Cool) that were both very good matches. Kane/X-Pac was fine and the Dudleys mostly squashing the Outlaws to signal a new era for the tag division was great.