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Main events salvage No Way Out
By
CHRIS SOKOL - SLAM! Wrestling
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On the Road to Wrestlemania, there was one last
PPV stop, this time in Baltimore, Maryland, as SmackDown! presented No Way Out. With a
less than stellar undercard, hopes were high that Orton/Mysterio and
Angle/Undertaker would deliver, and deliver they did.
In the main event of the evening, The Undertaker
was primed to do battle with current World Heavyweight Champion and Olympic Gold
Medalist, Kurt Angle. The match began with some back and forth technical
wrestling that even confused Tazz, as The Undertaker is rarely seen as a technically
sound grappler.
His power wasn't gone however, as 'Taker lifted
Angle up out of a wrist lock and slammed him to the canvas. 'Taker then grounded
and pounded, laying in fists of fury, taking Angle completely off his game. Not
known to back down from a fight, Angle fired back with a series of blows that
staggered 'Taker, who retaliated with more fists to the face and even a little
bit of Old School ... Vintage Undertaker.
Angle countered and found himself back in the
driver's seat after a few German suplexes. The fight then found its way to the
outside, with Angle getting rammed back first into the steel ring post. After
gathering his bearings, Angle came back, ramming 'Taker's legs into the post and
applying a figure four around the ring post, shades of the soon-to-be WWE Hall of
Famer, Bret "The Hitman" Hart.
Again 'Taker came back, using his boots to kick
Angle away. Angle got 'Taker down on the outside and applied the Angle Lock,
breaking the count before the referee could count them out. Tables were torn apart and ultimately destroyed, as Angle
hit the Angle Slam on 'Taker through the Spanish Announcers Table. Nick Patrick
nearly counted 'Taker out, but Angle made the save, telling him that he wanted
to beat 'Taker one-two-three.
Angle went back on the outside and wound up
getting sent into the steps, bouncing off and catching his throat on a piece of
table that was laying up on the outside. The match spilled back into the ring,
with 'Taker looking to go high risk, only to get caught with a belly to-belly
suplex off the top rope. Angle locked the Angle Lock back on, but 'Taker
reversed back into the Triangle choke. The two rolled all over the ring,
reversal after reversal, until 'Taker locked the Triangle Choke, with Angle
rolling through and hooking him for the pin.
After the match, a stunned Undertaker shook
Angle's hand, but told him that he indeed had his number. Angle is still the
champion and will continue on his road to Wrestlemania.
SUNDAY NIGHT HEAT RESULTS:
Match One - Simon Dean vs. The Boogeyman
Prior to the match getting underway, Dean cut a
promo on Baltimore and Rafael Palmiero. The Boogeyman came out next with worms
dripping out of his mouth. He proceed to throw Dean around like a rag doll,
finishing him off with a vicious Pump Handle Slam. He then pulled more worms out
and spit them all over the face of Dean before exiting the ring.
Winner via Pinfall - The Boogeyman
Match Rating - 3/10
WWE NO WAY OUT RESULTS:
They began with a promo video hyping the double
main events -- the two matches that salvaged the show.
Match One - WWE Cruiserweight
Championship Cruiserweight Open - Gregory Helms (C) vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Paul
London vs. Super Crazy vs. Psicosis vs. Kid Kash vs. Funaki vs. Nunzio vs.
Scotty 2 Hotty
There was a lot going on in this one, with bodies
flying all over the place. Paul London and Brian Kendrick paired off to do
battle with The Mexicools. Kash and Funaki went at it, with Kash getting the
better of the exchange. Helms found himself on the receiving end of a series of
finishers, much like he did on previous occasions. The match ended when Kash hit
a Brainbuster on Super Crazy and Helms dove in for the cover.
Winner via Pinfall and STILL WWE
Cruiserweight Champion - Gregory Helms
Match Rating - 6/10
In Teddy Long's office, Booker T and Sharmell
begged Long to take Booker out of his match with Chris Benoit, claiming that he
re-aggrevated his groin injury. Long didn't buy it, telling Booker that the only
way he was getting out of the match was if he forfeited the title. Booker said
he would think about it.
Kristal was backstage getting ready to pitch some
sort of promo when Finlay walked in and complained that he didn't have a match.
He then told Kristal he would pick a fight, lifting her up and carrying her to
the ring. Before he could do any damage, "The Real Deal" Bobby Lashley hit the
ring and took the heavy offense to him, sending him in all sorts of directions
as JBL's music hit and he and Jillian Hall made their way to the ring.
Finlay was disposed of and taken to the back as Lashley/JBL got
underway.
Match Two - "The Real Deal" Bobby Lashley vs. JBL w/ Jillian Hall
It was a back and forth contest, with Lashley getting in plenty of offense early on. The tide soon turned when JBL sent Lashley through the middle rope and to the floor. JBL continued the onslaught, putting
the boots to Lashley. Lashley came back with a series of suplexes, capping them
off with a T-Bone. As Lashley was about to finish JBL off, Finlay came in
through the crowd and through Tony Chimel into the ring. While the referee was
distracted, Finlay cracked Lashley in the head with a shelaliegh, leaving him
prone to a Clothesline from Hell for the three count. The winning streak for Lashley is over, but the crowd still gave him a standing ovation.
Winner via Pinfall - JBL
Match Rating - 5/10
Wrestlemania 22 takes place on April 2 on PPV.
"The Animal" Batista made his way out in front of
the crowd for a surprise appearance. Batista got on the mic and talked about his
interest in the Heavyweight title match, and how much he misses the SmackDown!
fans. This was a drawn out, horrible promo, but everyone still wishes Batista a speedy
recovery.
In the back, Kurt Angle was shown watching a
monitor when "The Legend Killer" Randy Orton walked in and started badmouthing
him. Orton said that Angle would still be champ after No Way Out, but not after
Wrestlemania. Angle retaliated, telling Orton that he was the Heavyweight
Champion for a reason. Would be great to have these two go at it at Wrestlemania
22.
JBL and Jillian Hall were shown talking on WWE Instant Access.
Match Three - MNM w/ Melina vs. Matt Hardy and Tatanka
Tatanka is still in great ring shape. MNM started
this one off, using some of their double teaming tactics to isolate Hardy from
his partner. Once Tatanka got the tag, he was red hot, but was soon cooled off,
as MNM once again used double teaming to their advantage. Tatanka came back
after MNM missed some of their top rope offense. Hardy came in and even the
odds. Tatanka and Hardy hit the Twist of Fate and the End of the Trail in stereo
for the win.
Winners via Pinfall - Matt Hardy and Tatanka
Match Rating - 6/10
Match Four - WWE UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH - Booker T w/ Sharmell vs. Chris Benoit
Prior to the match, Booker T cut a promo, claiming he would forefit the belt. Benoit got on the mic and started a "Coward" chant. Sharmell grabbed the mic and began berating Benoit and slapping him in the face. Benoit backed her down, as Booker jumped him from behind and started the match. Benoit wrestled his way out of the beating, hitting Booker with his
patented suplexes. The two wrestled out to the floor, Booker faked a groin
injury and then sent Benoit into the steel steps. Booker sent Benoit back into
the ring and locked on a full nelson. Booker then targeted the arm, trying to
pick it apart and make it difficult for Benoit to lock in the Crippler planted
Benoit with a spin kick for a two count. Benoit once again mounted a comeback,
Sharmell tried to get involved, but she was knocked off the ring apron. Benoit
got Booker down into a Sharpshooter, before jumping into a Crippler Crossface
for the submission victory.
Winner via Submission and NEW WWE United
States Champion - Chris Benoit
Match Rating - 5/10
In the backstage area, Chris Benoit was
congratulated by the SmackDown! stars, as well as Chavo and Vicki Guerrero. He
told Mysterio that he was doing it for Eddie and that he would be there to
congratulate him when he returned after his match.
Match Six - NUMBER ONE CONTENDERS MATCH FOR A SHOT AT THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP - "The Legend Killer" Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio
The majority of this match was Orton beating
Mysterio down. Orton took it to Mysterio and showed no signs of letting up.
Mysterio got in some periodic offense, but nothing too major. At one point,
Mysterio and Orton were fighting on the outside, when Orton took Mysterio and
swung him head first into the steel ring post. Mysterio attempted some high
risk offense, but received a midair dropkick that sent him to the mat. Mysterio
got up and pulled off a drop kick of his own, sending Orton into the ropes. He
missed the 6-1-9 and was rolled up, Orton hooked the ropes and picked up the
win, advancing to Wrestlemania. After the match, Orton grabbed a mic and told
Mysterio he was going to Wrestlemania, but asked Mysterio where he was going.
Can we end this Eddie Guerrero angle yet? All due respect, he was an amazing
athlete and a tremendous person, but please, let's stop all this
hoopla.
Winner via Pinfall and NEW Number One Contender to the World Heavyweight Championship - "The Legend Killer" Randy Orton
Match Rating - 7/10
Backstage, Mysterio walked, crying. All the superstars had their heads down, as Mysterio apologized and hugged Chavo and Vicki Guerrero. Mysterio walked down the rest of the hallway, by himself. Punching the walls and reflecting on his match and lost opportunity.
Match Seven - WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH - Kurt Angle vs. The
Undertaker
Winner via Pinfall and STILL World Heavyweight Champion - Kurt
Angle
Match Rating - 7/10
Overall Event Rating - 6/10
Visit the SLAM! Wrestling store!
Pre-order WWE No Way Out 2006 DVD
Chris Sokol is from Long Island, NY and wants to know why Boogeyman wrestled a Pre-Show match as opposed to a PPV match. He is on a great push, why not put him on PPV?
