Classic Shows: WWF No Way Out 2001
Posted by Mac Craig on 12.31.1969
HHH and Austin tear the house down on one of the best shows of the year.
- Classic Shows: WWF No Way Out 2001
- Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada
- February 25, 2001
- Announced by J.R. and the King
Hardcore Title: Raven (champion) vs. The Big Show
Raven comes to the ring with a shopping cart full of toys. The Big Show is distracted by Tori on his way out allowing Raven to gain a quick advantage which is reversed by a few stop sign shots to the head by the Big Show. Raven counters with a fire extinguisher and a drop kick. Show’s down on the outside and Raven is in the ring when a popcorn vendor jumps in, hits Raven with a tray, and tries for the win. Wow, I completely forgot about the 24/7 thing. Show slams the vendor who turns out to be Crash Holly who goes for the pin on Raven. Steve Blackman and Hardcore Holly are out next, they work over the Big Show which allows Billy Gunn to sneak in and get the pin on Raven at 2:40. Holly hits a legdrop on Gunn and Raven steals a pin at 3:40. Tori tries to interfere but Molly Holly takes her out, Show then chokeslams Raven on a trashcan for the win and the belt at 4:30.
Winner and new Hardcore Champion: The Big Show
**1/4
A big mess, but a fun way to open the show.
Intercontinental Title: Chris Jericho (champion) vs. Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit vs. X-Pac
This should be good. They pair off to start with Benoit going at it with X-Pac and Jericho with Guerrero. Jericho slingshots Eddie into the turnbuckle and goes for this first cover, Benoit breaks it up and works Jericho over with some chops in the corner. Eddie decides to get in on the fun and they double team Jericho with chops and punches. Jericho reverses an irish whip and gives Eddie a leg lariat. X-Pac sneaks back in and hits Jericho with a sidekick. The Radicalz then decide to double team X-Pac. Benoit locks the Crippler Crossface on X-Pac while Eddie is perched on the top rope. Jericho shoves Eddie off and breaks up the submission attempt. Benoit and Jericho are now working each other over while Eddie and X-Pac do the same. Eddie hits a Frogsplash on X-Pac but Jericho breaks up the cover. Benoit nails Jericho from behind and they slug it out. Short-arm clothesline followed by a cover from Benoit but Eddie puts Jericho’s foot on the bottom rope to break it up. X-Pac comes back in and gets a snap suplex from Benoit. X-Pac gains the advantage and goes for a bronco buster on Benoit but Jericho nails him with a missile dropkick. Benoit catches Jericho with a german suplex with a bridge but Eddie kicks benoit’s feet out from under him at two. An argument between the two ensues and they throw their friendship to the side and slug it out. Eddie hits Benoit with a huricanrana and lays in the punches. Eddie drops Benoit on his head with a suplex but only gets two. Jericho tastes the steps thanks to X-Pac on the outside. Eddie goes to the top but gets caught and superplexed by Benoit. X-Pac comes in to cover Eddie while Jericho goes to cover Benoit, the ref counts both men down but they each kick out at two. Jericho gives Benoit a back breaker and they exchange some vicious chops in the corner. Jericho rolls up Benoit for two. Benoit fights back and lays the boots to Jericho while Eddie and X-Pac brawl on the outside. Benoit goes for the three German’s on Jericho but the second one is reversed into the Walls of Jericho. Eddie comes in to break it up but gets caught in the same move. X-Pac tries to break that up but Jericho locks it in on him as well. Justin Credible comes down and distracts Jericho allowing Benoit to hit a dragon suplex which gets a two count. X-Pac and Justin pull Benoit out of the ring a give him a double superkick. Back in the ring Jericho hits the Lionsault on Eddie but X-Pac breaks up the pin attempt. Low blow and an X-Factor gets a two count on Jericho. Benoit catches X-Pac in a Crippler Crossface but Eddie breaks it up with a neckbreaker. Cool looking move. All four men are down. Benoit hits a diving headbutt on Eddie but is taken out with a sidekick from X-Pac, Jericho then rolls up Pac for the win at 12:18.
Winner and still Intercontinental Champion: Chris Jericho
****
Non-stop action and we have our first **** match of the night.
- They cut to the back where Triple H is shown getting taped up for his match later on. They then show Vince giving William Regal a talk and blaming him for the whole Stephanie/Trish match. He says that he’s confident that Regal will know what to do, William looks confused.
Stephanie McMahon vs. Trish Stratus
Stephanie immediately takes down Trish and lays in some slaps. Trish tries to escape but gets caught and slammed to the mat. A few clotheslines and some hair pulling follows. The action spills to the outside and Trish dumps Stephanie over the guard rail. Stephanie fights back with a stiff punch and clothesline from the top of the rail. They get back in the ring where Trish hits Stephanie with a barrage of slaps and kicks. Bulldog out of the corner gets a two count on Steph. Trish nails a DDT after getting hit with a couple hard forearms but only gets a two count. Trish chokes Stephanie from the top rope but Steph fights out of it and slams Trish to the mat. Both women are down. They each fight to their feet at the count of eight. Stephanie gains the advantage and throws Trish to the outside. She then gives Trish’s head a few whacks on the announcers table and follows up by throwing a pitcher of water at her. Trish is pissed. She returns the favor on Steph by slamming her head on the announcers table and then throws her back in the ring. Trish goes for a huricanrana but Steph reverses it into a powerbomb for a two count. Stephanie is frustrated so she decides to give Trish a spanking. She tries to rip Trish’s clothes off but she fights it off. The crowd’s loving it. Both women go for a hair takedown which results in a double knockdown. Regal makes his way down to the ring and knocks out the ref. He puts Trish on top of Stephanie for a pin but changes his mind and puts her foot on the rope to break up the count at two. He comes into the ring and is greeted by a slap from Trish; he retaliates with a neckbreaker which allows Stephanie to get the pin at 8:30.
Winner: Stephanie McMahon
***
That’s not a typo. I don’t know how they did it but all of the stars must have been aligned just right because these two put on a hell of a match.
- We head to the back once more where Vince yells at Regal for making the wrong decision; he then books a tag match for Raw the next night with Regal and Steph going against him and Trish.
Two out of Three Falls: Steve Austin vs. HHH
First Fall: Straight Wrestling Match. Slugfest to start which Austin gets the better of. He goes for the stunner early but HHH ducks out of it. Austin goes for a Lou Thesz press but HHH catches him and Austin gets dropped neck first on the top rope. The Game goes for the pedigree but Austin counters into an armbreaker. They brawl to the outside where Austin works the Games arm over on the ring post. Back in the ring HHH goes for another pedigree but can’t hook it in because of his arm. Stone Cold takes advantage and works over the arm some more. HHH tries to fight back but Austin nails another Thesz press for a two count. Stone Cold goes for an elbow from the second rope but the game gets his boot up. HHH hits a few neckbreaker’s and knees to the back of Austin’s head. He follows up with a chop block and then slams Austin’s leg against the ring post. He continues to work over the leg and applies the figure-four. He grabs the ropes for leverage but Austin pulls the Game to the center of the ring and reverses the hold. HHH breaks the hold and works over Austin’s legs some more. Stone Cold fights back with some punches and another Thesz press. He goes for the cover but only gets a two count. Austin goes for another stunner but HHH counters it with a neckbreaker. HHH rolls up Austin for a two count but Austin reverses it and rolls up the Game which also gets two. The game hits a low blow but Austin fights back and nails a stunner which gets the pin. Austin wins the first fall at 12:20.
Second Fall: Street Fight. Austin throws the Game to the outside and gives him two suplexes on the steel ramp to start. Austin drags HHH over to the announcers table where he nails the Game with a T.V. monitor. Austin then throws a few chairs into the ring. HHH tries to run away but Austin catches him and throws him back into the ring. Austin UNLOADS on the Game with a sick looking chair shot to the head but HHH kicks out at two. They brawl around ringside some more and Austin smacks the Game’s head against the time keepers table. HHH falls back pulling the table with him and it reveals a 2x4 rapped in barbwire. HHH nails Austin in the face with it. He’s now busted open. They fight on top of the announcers table where The Game goes for a pedigree but Austin reverses it into a backdrop that sends HHH through the Spanish announcers table. Cool spot. Austin whacks HHH in the head with a can of beer and proceeds to lay the punches in. They wind up back in the ring where HHH hits Austin with the ring bell but only gets a two count. HHH lands a neckbreaker on the chair for another two count. HHH reverses a sleeper attempt and backdrops Ausin on a chair. The Game goes for a pedigree but gets dumped to the outside. Austin NAILS HHH with a chair shot to the head and then follows up with the steel steps. HHH is now busted open. The Game gains the advantage and finds his sledgehammer. He tries to nail Stone Cold with it but Austin fights back and they wind up back in the ring. Austin goes for the stunner but Game gets out of it and nails him with the sledgehammer. He then hits the Pedigree and gets the pin. HHH wins the second fall at 28:09. (Altogether)
Third Fall: Cage Match. They lower the cage as both men catch their breath. HHH rams Austin’s head into the cage and then lays in some punches to start. They both look exhausted. The Game throws him into the cage once more and then rakes the barbwire 2x4 against his face. Austin breaks it up with a chair shot and returns the favor with the 2x4 on the Game. He goes for a pin but only gets two. He then continues to rake the barbwire against HHH’s face as the Game screams in pain. The Game fights to his feet and hits Stone Cold with a DDT on a chair. Each man uses the ropes to pull themselves back to their feet and they proceed to slug it out. Austin gains the advantage and HHH tries to climb out of the cage. He gets caught and Austin slams him from the top rope for a two count. They each make it back to their feet where The Game reverses a stunner attempt and nails the pedigree. Austin kicks out at two! HHH is in shock. He goes for another pedigree but Stone Cold slingshots him into the cage and nails a stunner which HHH kicks out of at two! This is great. Both men struggle to their feet. Austin grabs the 2x4 on his way up and HHH grabs the sledgehammer. They each nail each other at the same time but HHH fall’s on top of Austin and gets the pin at 39:24. HHH wins the third and deciding fall. Austin gives the Game a stunner and walks out after the match.
Winner two falls to one: HHH
*****
Wow this was a war. Incredibly intense match as these two went out there and busted their asses for 40:00 in what was probably the match of the year. It doesn’t get much better than this folks.
Jerry “the King” Lawler vs. Steven Richards
Tazz comes down to fill in on commentary for the King. The match starts. They jar at each other for a bit and then the King hits a few punches. Richards goes for a hip toss but the King counters with a clothesline. They go to the outside where Richards throws Lawler into the ring post, he rolls him back in a gets a two count. Richards goes for a Ho Train splash in the corner but Lawler moves out of the way and catches him in a bulldog which gets a two count. Richards fights back and nails a suplex for two. He then tries to nail Lawler with a chair but the King counters with a lowblow. The King then hits two DDT’s followed by a pin attempt but Ivory distracts the ref from making the count. Ivory runs in to the ring and gets bodyslammed by the King. The ref is distracted by trying to get Ivory out of the ring when the Kat comes in and hits the king with the women’s title by mistake. This allows Richards to get the pin at 5:31. The Kat must now join the Right to Censor.
Winner: Steven Richards
*1/4
Better than I expected it to be, but that’s not saying much.
Tag Team Title Table Match: The Dudley Boys (champions) vs. Edge and Christian vs. The Undertaker and Kane
Only one person has to be put through a table for this match to end. Here we go. Edge and Christian immediately high tale it out of there leaving the Dudleyz to contend with the Undertaker and Kane. They brawl up the ramp to start. The Dudleyz get thrown off the ramp by Taker and Kane who then focus their attention on Edge and Christian. They slam their heads on the announcers table a few times and set up a table. They try for a double powebomb through the table they just set up but Dudleyz break it up with a few chairshots to their heads. The Dudleyz then work over Edge and Christian in the ring. Bubba misses a splash allowing edge and Christina to gain the advantage. They go for a Conchairto but Bubba reverses it and slingshots Edge, who is still holding a chair, into Christina. Cool sequence. Wassaup on edge follows. And now it’s time for D-von to “get the tables!” He is greeted by the Undertakers fist on his way out while Edge and Christian take over on Bubba. Taker and Kane now start to brawl with Edge and Christian. They nail a double powerslam followed by a double top rope clothesline. Kane and Taker slide two tables into the ring but get quadruple teamed by the other four men. The Dudleyz set up a table in the ring while Taker goes for a chokeslam on Christian. D-von breaks it up. Edge and Christian miss a double suplex on Taker through the table but Taker and Kane don’t miss a double chokeslam on Edge and Christian. They follow up with another one on the Dudleyz. Taker and Kane go for a double powerbomb on Edge and Christian but Rikishi and Haku run down to break it up. Those four brawl to the outside. Back in the ring edge misses a spear on Bubba who was on a table in the corner but the table doesn’t break. This leaves Christian alone to get 3-D’d through a table. The Dudleyz retain at 12:00.
Winners and still Tag Team Champions: The Dudley Boys
***
I’m usually a big fan of these types of matches but I don’t think The Undertaker and Kane were right team to be in this. Still, it was a fun brawl.
WWF Title: Kurt Angle (champion) vs. The Rock
The Rock immediately lays in some punches and explodes out of the corner with a clothesline. He then hits a Russian leg sweep for a two count. Angle nails a clothesline and takes over. Punches and kicks in the corner follow. The Rock fights back but Angle locks on the ankle lock which is immediately broken by The Rock grabbing the ropes. The Rock tries to fight back but Angle responds with two belly to belly suplexes. The Rock responds with a belly to belly of his own and both men are down. The Rock is up first and just levels Angle with a lariat and follows with a sharpshooter. Angle makes the ropes. Samoan drop by the Rock gets two. Angle responds with a back drop suplex, goes to the top, and gets crotched. Superplex from the Rock gets a two count. Angle counters an irish whip attempt and throws the Rock to the outside. The Rock lands on his ankle and is thrown back in the ring by Angle. The Rock fights back with a DDT and both men are down. The Big Show’s music hits and here he comes. He chokeslam’s the ref, Angle, and the Rock, then leaves the ring. A few refs come out to help their fallen comrade while Angle makes the cover. Hebner comes in and makes the count but the Rock kicks out at two. The Rock goes to the outside and grabs the title. He nails Angle with it but only gets a two count. Angle locks on the ankle lock and screams “I’ll break your fucking ankle Rocky, tap out!” crazy intensity from Angle. The Rock makes the ropes. They exchange some punches and the Rock hits a spinebuster. Peoples elbow only gets two. The Rock is shocked. Angle nails the Rock with a low-blow behind the refs back and takes off the padding on the top turnbuckle. Angle counters a rock bottom and slams The Rock’s head into the exposed turnbuckle. Olympic slam follows but the Rock kicks out at two. The crowd is hot. Angle charges the Rock but he sidesteps and Angle tastes the exposed turnbuckle. The Rock nails a Rock bottom but only gets two. Looks like the ref screwed up the count. The Rock gives Angle another one for good measure and gets the pin and the title at 16:55.
Winner and New WWF Champion: The Rock
****1/2
I wasn’t sure if they’d be able to follow HHH and Austin but they pulled off a compelling and dramatic main event that ended the night on a high note. Tremendous match.
The 411: This show seems to fly under the radar a bit and it's a shame. It had HHH and Stone Cold in what was my pick for match of the year, a tremedous main event, an awesome four-way for the Intercontinetal title, and Stephanie Mcmahon in a *** match. How often can you say that? If Wrestlemania 17 didn't follow this the next month, No Way Out would have been the show of the year. Try and go out of your way to find a copy of this if you can because it is one of the best ppv's you'll ever see.
