WWF No Way Out 2001 Review
(by Justin Lee)

Not much of an introduction of this is needed really, since the pay per view was only three weeks ago. And no, just in case you were wondering, this is not going to be a habit. In fact, I'll probably lapse into reviewing the oldest tapes I can find in order to compensate for this recent stuff. Here we go:

1) Hardcore Title Clusterfuck: Raven (champ) vs The Big Show
Thing starts as a singles match, with Raven trying to be decent, and the Big Show totally sucking, and then a whole bunch of people show up. Billy Gunn shows up and pins Raven for the title. Then Bob Holly and Steve Blackman start attacking him. Raven pins the knocked out Gunn to regain the title. Raven then takes a chokeslam onto a garbage can from the Big Show to sort of end the match and give Paul Wight the hardcore title. This match was not a good match.
3/4 *

2) Four Way Dance For The Intercontinental Title: Chris Jericho (champ) vs Chris Benoit vs Eddy Guererro vs X-Pac No way in hell I'm doing play by play for this one. I'd go nuts trying to cover everything from all four guys. Personally, I like four way matches better than three way matches most times, because there's always two pairs of guys to go at it. This match is pretty much just a total Radicals beatdown, as Eddy and Benoit have a huge advantage. Jericho plays the role of the champ who gets beat down and heroically tries to work against the odds. X-Pac is just the "other guy", who gets to eat the finishers of the other three. Early on, X-Pac gets both the crossface and the frogsplash. The real gold in this match is Eddy vs Benoit, as its a refreshing matchup and they're the two best wrestlers in the promotion. Eddy has Benoit almost beat too... BACKDROP DRIVER! Wow, so I guess we can add to the list of people in the WWF who will take that move to 2 (Benoit and Essa Rios). Benoit comes back and gives Eddy a BIG superplex for the double knockout, and, well, fuck the other 2 guys, whatever their names are. After Benoit vs Eddy we get Benoit vs Jericho, which is good, but dammit, we've seen it before. Stiff chops, close falls, the usual exciting stuff, but its hackneyed dammit. Ah, who am I kidding, I still love this stuff no matter how many times I see it! Jericho gets the liontamer on everyone, but Justin Credible distracts him and Benoit catches his ass with a DRAGON SUPLEX! Whoo! Now its nearfall fest 2001, as everyone is trying to pin everyone. Wait a minute, I'm doing play by play, aren't I? Eh, old habits die hard. Benoit has a chance to hit the backdrop driver on Eddy, but just uses a regular backdrop suplex instead. That's nice of him. Benoit then hits the diving headbutt on Eddy, gets superkicked by X-Pac, and X-Pac gets rolled up by Jericho for the Y2J win. This is good stuff. I would give it a higher score, but a) It could have been 10 minutes longer easily, b) There could have been a bigger multitude of suplexes and c) X-Pac wasn't terribly amazing, although he was the night after this show.
**** 1/4

3) Trish Stratus vs Stephanie McMahon
These two don't know much, but what they do know they work into this match quite well. Also, there are some pretty stiff strikes in this match, as Stephanie's punches and Trish's kicks are rather strong. Trish does a good stunner over the ropes and a Raven-esque ddt, but Stephanie really shocks the crap out of me by pulling out an ICONOCLASM! Whoo! I know Vince doesn't watch much wrestling outside of his own promotion, but Shane and Stephanie certainly do. Stephanie's powerbomb isn't too great, but its still better than Sable's. In the end, both girls knock each other out and Steve Regal comes out, pulls the ref's feet from under him, and puts Trish on Stephanie. The ref counts to 2, and then Regal changes his mind and saves her by putting her leg on the ropes. He then gives Trish the armbar neckbreaker and Steph
gets the 1-2-3. One of the best American women's matches in a good long while.
** 3/4

4) Best of 3 Falls: Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs Steve Austin Early in the first fall, Austin hits a single arm ddt on HHH, and starts working on the arm like a madman. Uh oh, that means Hunter has to sell it for the next 30 minutes. I wonder if he can. HHH fights back by working on Austin's neck, and now, unlike during the second RAW match between Austin and Angle, the annoncers actually recognize the injury he's had before. Next, HHH works on Austin's other botched body part, the knee. Austin sells the knee like a champ, and it should be noted that HHH is still selling his arm very subtlely. Nice touch. Figure four leg lock! Whoo! I love this old school "work on a body part" mentality. Its also amazing that the crowd buys this stuff, when they're usually ignorant to anything of the sort. HHH works on the knee a bit more, and then Austin comes back. He hits his usual offense, but HHH counters a stunner attempt with a neckbreaker. They split a pair of near-fall rollups, HHH kicks Austin in the nuts, comes off the top rope, and Austin catches him with a stunner for the first fall win. Austin starts off the second fall, the streetfight fall, with a pair of suplexes onto the ramp, which hurts HHH's lower back, which sets up Austin's nonexistant lower back finisher. Oh well, so much for psychology. Then, we move towards the annoucer's table for the usual stuff around there. Austin throws a bunch of chairs into the ring and then the fight goes into the stands. Back in the ring, Austin destroys HHH with chairshots all over the body. Its pretty sadistic. Austin especially makes a note to go after HHH's knee, because, as we all know, almost all of HHH's moves involve his knee. Austin pulls a rubber-tipped barbed wire stick out of nowhere and HHH uses it on him. Austin dives under the announcer's table and blades. I hate fake
barbed wire. Doesn't anyone have balls anymore? HHH remembers that this is a pay per view match, so he goes for his trademark pedigree through the announcer's table. Austin reverses it into a backdrop, and HHH flies over and through the Spanish table. Ohh, swerve! Austin attacks HHH a bit, and then we get back in the ring, where HHH nails Austin with the ring bell for 2. HHH hits a neckbreaker onto a chair for another 2. And another 2. And another 2. Shit, HHH, do a move before you try another pin! Only Flair can get away with doing that! Backdrop suplex onto a chair gets 2. Normally, I'd be excited as to what will eventually put Austin away, but its obvious that the pedigree will do it. HHH tries just that, but Austin backdrops him over the top rope onto the outside mat. Nice spot. Austin drills HHH with a chairshot "right between his evil eyes" (Jim Ross). That quotes is funny. At this point HHH starts bleeding too. Austin throws the ring steps at him too, but once he puts the steps down, HHH hits a drop toehold on Austin, sending the bald man face first into the steps. HHH pulls the sledgehammer out of what seems to be Jim Ross's ass and tries to hit Austin, but Stone Cold fights off the attack and back in the ring we go. Austin tries for a stunner, but HHH throws him off and nails him with the hammer. A pedigree finishes the second fall.

HHH is still in control at the start of the third fall, which is a cage match. Austin gets tossed into the cage a couple times and is pretty much dead. HHH grabs the barbed wire stick, which was conveniently left in the ring, and rakes it over Austin's face. Austin fights HHH off with a chair, and is surprisingly enough not bleeding any more than he used to be. Shit, what is the fucking point of the barbed wire if it isn't going to be real? Shit like that exposes the business. Austin uses the barbed wire on HHH's head for a 2 count. More wire to the face. HHH comes back with a ddt out of nowhere onto a chair. A delayed cover gets 2. Both make it to their feet and Austin charges at HHH with a flurry of punches, resulting in HHH doing something very similar to the Flair fall, although HHH's version is less cartoonish. HHH tries to climb out of the cage, and Austin gives chase. The two fight on the top rope, and HHH crotches Austin. Austin gets right back up and throws HHH off the rope for a 2 count. Austin tries a stunner, but HHH blocks and hits a pedigree for 2. HHH hits a chairshot on Austin's head and tries another pedigree, but Austin pulls his legs from under him and slingshots him into the cage. Stunner! Austin covers for a 2 count. I like this whole "both guys kick out of each other's finishers" bit. It adds to the drama of the match. HHH grabs the sledgehammer, Austin grabs the barbed wire stick, and they both hit each other at the same time. Austin falls down while HHH staggers, and then HHH falls on top for the win. Overall, a great match, especially the brilliant first fall, but the fake barbed wire pisses me off, and I didn't love the 2nd and 3rd falls, although they certainly didn't suck. Memorable, but not perfect. The match that will really hit perfection between these two would be an ironman match, as it would just be the first fall extended into 60 minutes. **** 1/2

5) Stevie Richards (with Ivory) vs Jerry Lawler (with The Kat)
I guess this turned out to be "loser leaves the WWF"... Lawler dominates the entire match with fairly basic offense. Richards makes short-lived comebacks with equally basic moves. Richards goes to grab a chair, and Lawler blocks the shot and hits 2 ddts. Ivory interferes, but Lawler still dominates. The Kat picks up Ivory's women's title to hit Richards, but Stevie ducks and she knocks out Lawler instead. 1-2-3. Richards wins. *

6) Tag Team Championship Table Match: The Dudley Boys (champions) vs Edge/Christian vs The Undertaker/Kane UT and Kane toss the Dudleys off the rampway even before the match really starts, so the beginning is just UT and Kane beating up Edge and Christian around the ring in a fairly lame brawl. When something cool is about to happen, that being UT and Kane powerbombing E&C through a table, the Dudleys come back, laying out both big guys with chairshots to the head. Finally in the ring, Edge and Christian come back and work on the Dudleys. E&C miss the con-chair-to on Buh Buh, leading to a Dudley comeback and a wassup drop on Edge. D-Von goes to get a table, but UT and Kane suddenly get up and destroy him. In the ring, Christian hits the Tomikaze on Buh Buh to take him out. Back to a E&C vs Dudleys match. Damn, does this thing ever get to a point where all teams are involved? UT and Kane both hit powerslams on E&C, and then hit stereo top rope clotheslines. They then go to get tables, and the Dudleys come back into the action, while E&C takes a break. Finally, all three teams get into the match, but they are just teaming up to take out the big dead guys. Cue end sequence. The Dudleys set up a table to put Christian through, but UT knocks them out of the way and tries to chokeslam Christian through it, but Edge breaks it up. UT and Kane hit stereo chokeslams on both E&C and the Dudleys, then try to powerbomb E&C through two tables, but Haku and Fatu show up and the ref... has no problem with this. What the fuck? Anyway, the big dead guys and the Headshrinkers 2001 brawl to the back. Back in, Edge tries to spear Buh Buh through a table, but a) Buh Buh moves, and b) the table doesn't break. Ouch. 3D on Christian through a table finishes to retain.
* 3/4

7) WWF World Title match: Kurt Angle (champion) vs The Rock Match starts off going back and forth between Angle and Rocky, with both dealing some impressive offense. Angle settles into some form of domination, beating Rocky into a corner. Rocky tries to fight back and comes off the ropes to hit a clothesline, but Angle uses a drop toehold into an ankle lock submission. Rocky reaches the ropes, and back up Angle hits two belly to belly suplexes before Rocky counters with his own (even though it hardly looks like a suplex). Angle still continues to dominate, but Rocky comes back with a flying axe bomber and goes for the sharpshooter, with Angle able to reach the ropes. Rock hits a Samoan drop for 2. Angle comes back with a backdrop suplex (being such a pussy, Rocky covers his neck for protection). Angle climbs the top rope, but Rocky gets up and crotches him. Rocky lays in a few punches to the chin, and hits a 2nd rope superplex for 2. The Rock tries to throw Angle against the ropes, but Angle reverses and throws him out of the ring. Rock "hurts" his knee and starts selling it. Angle rolls Rocky back in, and the Rock suddenly fights back by kicking angle (with the "hurt" leg no less... so much for psychology) and ddting him. Then Paul Wight shows up for no reason and chokeslams the ref, then Angle, then Rocky. The marks boo. The smart marks boo. If dogs could talk, they'd boo too. And now you're probably booing that horrible joke. Uh, back to the match. Angle goes to cover Rocky, but the ref is DEAD. By the time the replacement, Earl Hebner, comes in, The Rock can kick out at 2. The biggest babyface in the promotion, The Rock, then grabs the world title belt and knocks out Angle (Hebner is checking up on the original ref all the while, conveniently enough) for a 2 count. Angle recovers, pulls Rocky's leg from under him, and does a Shamrock-esque "snap" and puts Rocky in the ankle lock. Rocky reaches the ropes, and fights back, but Angle fires in a few shots of his own, causing The Rock to reel back, and have his bad leg buckle from under him. Good job Rocky! That made sense! Rock stands back up and gets in the spinebuster. People's elbow gets 2. Rocky gets Angle in the corner, but Angle kicks Rocky in the nuts and pulls away the turnbuckle pad. Rocky tries for a Rock bottom, but Angle sends him into the exposed turnbuckle... OLYMPIC SLAM! 1......2.....nope. Rock fights back and beats Angle into a corner, does the "spit in the hand and punch the guy" bit, but Angle kicks Rocky's leg from under him. Rocky quickly comes back and rams Angle into the exposed turnbuckle, hits one rock bottom for 2 (actually 3, but Hebner fucked up), and a second one to finish, which is actually a cooler finish. Cool match, but screwy stuff and a short length hurt it. *** 3/4

END OF SHOW

In conclusion, get a copy of this ppv. Its quite worth it.

Email me at GnXn282@aol.com. Feel free to make requests.

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