Well, that was WCW SuperBrawl X…let’s get into WWE No Way Out 2000 and see if it tops WCW’s February offering. No Way Out 2000 took place in Hartford, Connecticut and drew over 12,550 fans for another showdown between Triple H and Cactus Jack over the WWE title—in HELL IN A CELL!
The Undercard
No Way Out 2000 had a solid opener as Kurt Angle defeated Jericho for the IC title. This match got enough room to groove with a little over ten minutes. Jericho made for a good opponent to a green-but-improving Angle. It’s not a banger but it’s a strong opening bout and that sets the pace for the rest of the show.
While it only got a smidgen of time, the Dudley Boyz challenging for the WWE Tag Team titles made for an acceptable match on PPV. This was a time during the Attitude Era when new, more exciting teams were coming in and the New Age Outlaws weren’t exactly matching that excitement in the ring.
The duo could deliver a solid match still but mixing it up with these younger teams for mixed times garnered mixed results.
That was the case with the Dudleys versus the Outlaws. This wasn’t a bad bout nor was it particularly good—although that could’ve changed if it was booked for television.
Mark Henry versus Viscera and it’s just under four minutes. I wouldn’t even both with this match. On paper, it doesn’t look appealing and in execution, it was as boring as you’d think it would be. Skip it.
However, stick around for the Hardy Boyz taking on Edge & Christian. This was a number one contenders bout to face the Tag Team champions and it was harder fought than the title match on the show.
If you’ve seen any matches involving these teams then you know what you’re getting into here. I definitely recommend watching this one as it delivers the action and excitement you expect from PPV bouts.
The contenders match was basically a good match sandwich as it was sandwiched between two blah matches. Following that bout is a Tazz win after Prince Albert interferes on the behalf of Big Boss Man. Pretty much no time was eaten up for this match-angle but it’s a match and it’s on the card—so it gets the thumbs-down action.
During the Attitude Era, it just seemed like storylines lasted a long-ass time because X-Pac and Kane had a program going for months. Of course, it evolved over time from an odd couple tag team to winning tag team gold, and finally to enemies.
Since these two were involved in a program with each other for so long, it might seem like they had been feuding for most of 1999 and into 2000.
The match itself was decent and would’ve come off much better as a television match. The no holds barred stipulation made things a little more interesting because the story had been going for some time and a standard match just wasn’t going to do it at this point.
I always saw Too Cool as a trio with Rikishi as the singles guy. Their match against the Radicalz—everything plural gets a “Z” at the end as were the times—was pretty damn good. What I love about too Cool is that whether it’s a tag match or singles, all three guys could surprise you with an unexpectedly good match.
Of course, this one is a little less unexpected because they were facing the in-ring machines the Radicalz. These are the guys who were putting on watchable matches with WCW’s mixed bag of teams and groups. This match had a good amount of room to groove and they made the best of it for an entertaining match that had its thrills.
Closing out the undercard is The Rock taking Big Show for a shot at the belt at WrestleMania 2000. Because of the ending to the Royal Rumble match, Big Show was given another shot and would pick up the win in a middle-of-the-road match. Obviously, this isn’t the end of the Rock-Big Show feud.
Overall, it was a match that didn’t bring down the PPV while not topping other bouts in the undercard.
The Main Event
It’s Triple H taking on Cactus Jack: what else is there to say? This time they’re facing off in their final singles showdown and it’s just as violent a brawl as expected. At this point, Foley’s match card was down to its last few for the moment. Still, those last full-time matches he had were just enough for Triple H’s tough badass arc.
This is the kind of match I prefer PPVs to end on. This match was made even bigger with Foley putting his career on the line against Triple H’s WWE title. Stakes! With a story to them!
The WrestleMani 2000 main event saw Foley get a final shot at the belt during the Attitude Era and I’d say that this should’ve been the main in that card.
It’s that epic of a brawl.
WWE No Way Out 2000 Verdict: Silver Medal (Thumbs In the Middle for the Undercard, Thumbs Up for the Main Event)
Fortunately, the mid matches were firmly middle where the matches weren’t impacted while the bad matches were particularly skippable. The good matches in the undercard were enough to float the undercard thanks to some decent enough matches.
However, the PPV MVP was the WWE title match. You want a really strong main event that can lift the rest of the show if necessary but it can’t be a carry job.
The main event definitely had help in the undercard.
Match of the Show: Triple H [c] vs. Cactus Jack – Hell in a Cell Match for the WWE Title
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