WWE No Way Out 2002

RATING LEVELS:

Curt Hennig – A “GOAT” show, as Perfect as possible

Watch It – A consistently good show worth watching in its entirety

Watch It…With Remote in Hand – 3 or more above-average ratings

High Risk Maneuver – Mostly filler, inessential, but 1-2 good matches

DUDleyville – Zero redeeming qualities, chore to watch

No Way Out - February 2002

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, Chris Jericho is the Undisputed WWE World Champion, Jazz is the Womens’ Champion, the World Tag Team Champions are Spike Dudley and Tazz, William Regal is the Intercontinental Champion, and, with help from The Rock, Maven defeated the Undertaker to become the Hardcore Champion. Diamond Dallas Page holds the European Championship and the Cruiserweight Champion is Tajiri.

COMMENTATORS: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

The show kicks off with a rather awkward in-ring promo from the New World Order's Hall, Nash, and Hogan. The nWo plead the fans for a chance, letting them know that they do not have any intention of destroying the WWE but just want to make it better. While this is obvious a ploy, it doesn't make it entertaining or clever. In fact, there are some groan-inducing lines sprinkled in and not a single one that actually comes off as funny. An awful way to start the show. (0/5)

The opening bout is a Tag Team Gauntlet Match featuring six different teams - with Christian and Lance Storm kicking things off against Albert and Scotty 2 Hotty. The first round is quickly-paced with some good spots and effort out of all four men. The third team in pop the crowd with just their entrance - the Hardys are back after feuding a bit in 2001 and end up eliminating the Canadians after a bit of back-and-forth action. Fourth in are the Dudleys, accompanied by Stacy Keibler, though, they also get sent packing by the fan favorites. Unhappy with being cheated out of their WrestleMania opportunity, the Dudleys connected with a 3D onto Jeff on the outside of the ring, which allows the next team, Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo to pin Matt. Finally, the Acolytes appear, the last entrants in the contest. While a Billy & Chuck/Acolytes face-off is not one I'd like to spend very long watching, in this context it works and Gunn, in particular, is impressive in his selling. Far from a classic, but decent enough filler. (2/5)

Ric Flair is backstage with Michael Cole and after he says a few lines about how "the boys" are worried about the nWo, The Undertaker shows up to let Flair know that he should be worried more about who else has their eyes on the Nature Boy.

Goldust makes his way down the aisle for the next match, a 1-on-1 contest with the most recent object of his stalking, Rob Van Dam. Van Dam is over with the crowd  and the clash of styles with Goldust makes for an interesting battle - Goldust slowing down the match and combating RVD's flashy offense with smirks, right hands, and an excellently innovative slingshot-into-a-backcracker move. Unfortunately, Lawler's commentary is absolutely terrible here, with overdone movie references (at one point, Lawler quotes a line from the film American Pie). While the match lags in spots, Van Dam's ability to pick up the pace (and Goldust's ability to halt it with a momentum-stopping DDT) helps this one keep the crowd engaged. (3/5)

Backstage, the nWo offers Austin some beer. He rejects it. They roll their eyes and let him be. Again, I'm not entirely sure what the purpose of the nWo acting so out of character and weak is. Austin looks like kind of an asshole too - as Hogan said in their opening promo, what exactly did the nWo do to deserve the cold shoulder?

Classic nWo!

The World Tag Team Championships are on the line in the next match - Tazz and Spike Dudley defending against the team of Booker T and Test. I'm not a huge fan of any one of these performers,  but it is not as if this match is an absolute disaster. Some parts are actually good, just nothing spectacular. Neither time strikes me as having tremendous chemistry no matter how hard Good Ol' JR works on commentary to put the champions over. Not long enough to grate on your nerves, but not short enough to call it "short and sweet," this one makes you wonder how the tag title scene devolved into having these two teams vying for the straps when, earlier in the night, you had several better teams going at it. (2/5)

The Rock cuts a pretty straightforward promo on the Undertaker backstage.

The Intercontinental Title is on the line in the next match, with William Regal defending against Edge in a Brass Knuckles On A Pole match. I enjoyed their match at the previous month's Royal Rumble, which was highly physical, and they pick up where they left off in this match. On commentary, JR and Lawler put over the fact that Regal caused Edge internal injuries in the previous weeks, which ends up becoming a key component of this one when Edge starts coughing up blood after a double-underhook powerbomb on the outside of the ring. The brass knuckles do not come into play for quite awhile, playing the "MacGuffin" role as you get the feeling that when one man gets a hold of them, the match will be over. A botched spot on the side of the ring deadens the crowd and forces the two to regroup. Edge and Regal end up brawling over the knucks in the corner, but once they hit the mat, Regal kicks them out of the ring and out of the challenger's grasp. After Edge grabs them, we get an unexpected extra twist to the match, one that doesn't necessarily make perfect sense but works well enough to keep the feud going. Not as good as their Rumble match, but not a dud. (2.5/5)

Backstage, Kurt Angle discusses his upcoming match against Triple H, vowing to walk out of tonight's show with Triple H's guaranteed title shot at WrestleMania.

A video package leads us to our next match - The Undertaker vs. The Rock, a feud that began when The Rock disrespected the Deadman by bringing up his Royal Rumble elimination at the hands of Maven. Despite plenty of opportunities to clash, Taker and The Rock had never had a major 1-on-1 program up to this point, the two only wrestling on PPV in a singles match on one other occasion way back at the 1999 King of the Ring. The Undertaker takes the upperhand early, staying in control for a large amount of the minutes, which doesn't necessarily make for the most engaging match, but does get the crowd firmly behind The Great One. Like most big matches of the era, this one ends up spilling into the crowd, with Booger Red and the Brahma Bull spending several minutes just brawling. What's notable to me is how unremarkable Taker is in this match - his Biker gimmick, no longer fresh, just doesn't quite measure up to the stupendous, larger-than-life persona of The Rock. It comes off as a typical "Rock vs. Monster Heel" match, not an iconic battle between two mega-stars. At any other time in history, this could be a WrestleMania main event, but in 2002, it's nothing special. After hitting the Rock with a chokeslam, Taker tosses the ref, grabs a lead pipe from his motorcycle, and gears up to put the Rock out of commission. Fortunately, Ric Flair makes the save, allowing the Rock to recoup and lock in the Sharpshooter. The arrival of Vince McMahon adds another wrinkle to the finish, which, as overbooked as it is, is still effectively executed. Considering the talents involved, this one just doesn't live up to the legends of either performer. (2.5/5)

After a lengthy video package detailing the dissolution of the McMahon/Helmsley marriage, Stephanie McMahon heads down the aisle to assume her role as the guest referee for Triple H vs. Kurt Angle. The match kicks off with back-and-forth brawling, broken up with momentary spats between husband and wife. Chants of "Take your shirt off!" are cut off by the first big shift in the match - Angle clotheslining Stephanie full force out of the ring and knocking her unconscious. Triple H chuckles at the sight of his wife being carried off as Tim White takes over referee duties. Angle's suplexes are great (and come in threes) and it is at least somewhat interesting to see Triple H wrestle a non-dominant, sell-first fashion for stretches. Still, the crowd just doesn't seem incredibly engaged - there's no pop for Hunter's spinebuster, no gasp at Kurt Angle knocking Tim White senseless, and the audience seems unsurprised in the "near fall" spot they try to work in once Stephanie returns. The crowd does come alive for the closing minutes, which is, at the very least, a credible ending to the match. Had it gone the other way, this one would've defied logic completely. Above average, with a surprisingly eyebrow-raising finish. (3/5)

The Rock is backstage and, in one fell swoop, he rips the nWo a new one. I'm not sure if the plan was to make the nWo look like total dweebs, but, if it was, the fact that they basically just stood back and let both The Rock and Austin make them look like losers was a really effective way of doing that.

The Rock berating jabronis without consequence. 

Main event time - Chris Jericho defending the Undisputed WWE Championship against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Before the match begins, we are treated to arguably the worst video package in WWE history - not a great tone-setter for what would be Austin's last WWE Championship match ever. Austin is terrific in the early going, showing off surprising speed and energy against the agile Y2J while simultaneously playing for the live crowd via chest chops and corner work (and the TV audience by sprinkling his offense with devious smiles and trash talk). When the match leaves the ring, the action decreases to chops and knees to the gut, but fortunately, both men put their work boots back on once they get enter the ring, where Austin ends up hitting Jericho with three suplexes from the top rope. Unfortunately, Jericho has to rely on a low blow to get the upperhand - not a grievous move, but one that had already been utilized multiple times in other matches the same night. Similarly, Jericho locks in a sleeper, a reasonable way to get heat, but a method that had been employed by Angle in the prior match. There are times when the competitors seem unsure of where to take the match next or how to enliven the somewhat quiet crowd (seeing a pattern there, Milwaukee!), but answer the question by working stiffer and busting out their signature spots. At one point, Austin hits a clothesline and double-leg spinebuster that looks like a guaranteed concussion-causer, while Jericho connects with two Lionsaults before locking in the Walls of Jericho. What is less well-executed is the pseudo-ref bump, the utilization of the Championship belt as a weapon in the closing minutes, and the screwjob finish, one that doesn't even make sense - the nWo and Jericho weren't allies and Austin was not Vince McMahon's chief target at the time (Vince was behind the nWo's return). The post-match does not add much either, a "branding" that the nWo end up walking away from like cowards - something I'm not ever sure they ever did with Savage, The Giant, or Piper (until Sting started showing up with that black bat of his). While the bulk of this match (and Austin's performance specifically) is pretty strong, it deteriorates completely in its final act. (3/5)

Too sweet? Naa. Too little, too late.

With an average match/segment rating of 2.25-out-of-5, No Way Out 2002 is about as average a show as one could ever watch - shocking considering that it featured the pay-per-view debut of the New World Order in the WWE. While no match is actively bad (even The Rock/Taker and the Tag Gauntlet are decent), no match is remarkable - in fact, the match of the night might actually be the unique Van Dam/Goldust clash of styles. Austin/Jericho starts off hot and shows that the Rattlesnake could still go, but the last third, with its directionless back-and-forth, anticlimactic ending, and unimpressive post-match sinks it considerably. The nWo segments are unremarkable, their actions lack any touch of the hipster menace and shocking brutality that was their calling card in their early WCW run. All in all, a completely skippable show with little to merit a re-watch for anyone but the biggest Goldust, Van Dam, or Stephanie McMahon fan.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver