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Mellon Arena – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – February 20, 2005
HEAT MATCH: Hardcore Holly & Charlie Haas vs. Kenzo Suzuki & Rene Dupree
The match is JIP back from a commercial. Haas has Dupree in an armbar. Holly tags in and continues the arm work. He knocks Suzuki off the apron and then tags Haas back in. Suzuki illegally enters the ring and tries to help out but immediately gets sent to the floor. Haas and Holly take the fight out there and throw both men back in the ring. Dupree cuts Haas off with a neckbreaker, and he and Suzuki isolate Haas in their half of the ring. Haas fights back with an exploder suplex and makes the hot tag. Holly is a house afire. He hits Suzuki with a top-rope clothesline and Dupree breaks up the cover. Haas dumps Dupree to the floor and Holly hits Suzuki with the Alabama Slam for the win at 5:24 (shown). That was acceptable Heat fare but nothing memorable.
Rating: *½
MATCH #1: WWE Tag Team Championship Match – The Basham Brothers vs. Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio
Doug and Danny Basham have been the Champions since 1.13.05, and this is their third defense. Guerrero and Danny start the match. They chain wrestle a bit and Guerrero gets the better of it before tagging out. The challengers tag frequently to keep the champions off-balance. The Bashams come back and isolate Guerrero in their half of the ring. Doug misses a headbutt off the top rope and Guerrero makes the tag. Mysterio is a house afire but the Bashams cheat to cut him off. The champs double-team him until Mysterio is able to knock Doug off the top rope and hit a moonsault press for two. Doug recovers quickly though and drags Mysterio back to his corner. Danny tags back in and the Bashams continue to keep Mysterio away from his partner. Finally Mysterio avoids a dual attack by the champs and makes the tag! Guerrero is a house afire and the crowd is going nuts for him. The Bashams cut Guerrero off and double-team him but Mysterio comes to the rescue. Guerrero goes to the floor and grabs one of the title belts but Mysterio convinces him not to use it. The Bashams pulls a switcheroo and Guerrero goes up top. Guerrero misses the Frog Splash but is able to somersault through it. Doug doesn’t know that though, so Guerrero plays possum and rolls him up in an inside cradle for a two-count. Danny tosses the belt in the ring and Guerrero catches it and then throws it to Doug. While the referee gets rid of the one belt, Mysterio hands the other one to Eddie, who clocks Doug with it to get the pin and win the titles at 14:51! That was good tag team formula stuff with an awesome finish that’s classic Eddie Guerrero stuff.
Rating: ***¼
MATCH #2: Booker T vs. Heidenreich
Heidenreich recites of his disaster-pieces before the match. Man this guy was so weird, but R-Truth has been very successful ripping off “Little Jimmy” from Heidenreich’s “Little Johnny.” Heidenreich controls the opening moments with punches and a clothesline for two. Booker fights back with chops and knees. They spill to the floor and Booker slams Heidenreich into the steel steps. Back in the ring Booker hits Heidenreich with a superkick for a two-count. Heidenreich fights back with a bodyslam and keeps Booker on the mat. Booker comes back with a spinebuster. He follows with a spin kick to the face and then executes the Spinaroonie. Heidenreich comes back and charges but Booker dumps him to the floor. Booker foolishly turns his back and Heidenreich picks up a chair. Heidenreich hits Booker with said chair for the disqualification at 6:48. What exactly was the point of that?
Rating: *
MATCH #3: Cruiserweight Title Gauntlet Match – Paul London vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. Shannon Moore vs. Spike Dudley vs. Akio vs. Funaki
Funaki has been the Champion since 12.12.04, and this is his fifth defense. The first match is London versus Funaki, but the weird part is that the other four guys are standing on the apron from the get-go. London and Funaki go back and forth at a rapid pace and London hits the Mushroom Stomp. Funaki comes back with a bulldog for two. Spike hits Funaki from the apron, as he’s still angry that Funaki took the title from him at Armageddon. London then rolls Funaki up for the first elimination at 1:38. Spike is the next man in the ring. Funaki gets immediate revenge by hitting a superkick and Spike and London gets another pinfall at 2:00. Moore is next. He tries to wear London down, including a couple of pinning combinations for two-counts. Moore misses the Mooregasm and London hits him with the 450 Splash to end Moore’s night at 3:39. Akio is next and he immediately cuts London off with a clothesline for two. He hits an enziguiri for another two-count. London is looking worn out even though the match has been going on for all of five minutes. Akio brings London to the top rope for a superplex but London fights him off and hits a super swinging neckbreaker and both men are down. The referee starts the 10-count and only London makes it back to his feet so Akio is gone at 7:01. You don’t see that for a finish every day. We’re down to London versus Chavo now. Chavo is arrogant at first until London blocks a neckbreaker by hanging on to the top rope. London covers for two. He follows with a bridging dragon suplex for another two-count. London is a house afire, hitting a back body drop and the dropsault for two. He tries an O’Connor Roll but Chavo reverses the momentum and grabs the ropes for leverage to get the pin and win the title for a fifth time at 9:46. It’s also the second straight year that Chavo has won the title at No Way Out. The match was a fine little spot-fest but the format only really gave London the chance to stand out.
Rating: **
MATCH #4: Undertaker vs. Luther Reigns
Reigns is accompanied by Mark Jindrak. Referee Brian Hebner kicks Jindrak out of the arena before Undertaker even makes his entrance. To the surprise of no one this starts off as a slugfest. Undertaker connects with Old School and then a Flatliner for two. Reigns unties one of the turnbuckle pads to expose the steel underneath. He tries to slam Undertaker into it but it gets blocked. Undertaker whips Reigns into the corner and Reigns pops out with a clothesline for two. Reigns hammers away and tries to whip Undertaker into the exposed turnbuckle but it gets reversed and Reigns takes the full impact on his back. Undertaker hits the apron legdrop and Reigns starts to beg off. Reigns hides in the corner, but it’s a ploy to reposition the referee and hit a low blow. He then whips the back of Undertaker’s head into the exposed turnbuckle. Out on the floor Reigns rams Undertaker into the apron and then into the steps. Reigns continues to work the back until Undertaker fights back with punches and a clothesline for two. Undertaker goes to work but Reigns cuts him off with a spear for a two-count. Reigns goes for the Roll of the Dice but Undertaker fights out of it. Undertaker hits the flying clothesline and then a running clothesline in the corner. He whips Reigns into the exposed turnbuckle. He sort of hits Snake Eyes and a running boot to the face, followed by a legdrop for two. Undertaker hits a Chokeslam. He goes for the Tombstone but Reigns slips out and hits the inverted DDT, which Cole calls a swinging neckbreaker. Either way it gets two. They continue to call it a swinging neckbreaker, probably solely to irritate me. Reigns goes for the move in question again but Undertaker reverses to a straight DDT. Undertaker sits up and hits the Tombstone Piledriver to get the win at 11:44. That was a pretty typical Undertaker versus big guy match. Undertaker had not yet had his career resurgence so he was still pretty blah.
Rating: *¾
MATCH #5: Number One Contender’s Tournament Final – John Cena vs. Kurt Angle
Cena beat Orlando Jordan and Booker T (who had beaten Eddie Guerrero) to get here. Angle beat Rey Mysterio and got a bye in the semifinals due to Undertaker and Rene Dupree fighting to a double countout. Cena is already the current United States Champion. They take it down to the mat, which is going to be advantage Angle no matter who he’s in the ring with. Cena fights back and clotheslines Angle to the floor. He follows Angle out and tackles him over the announce table and pounds away at him. Back in the ring Cena hits a Fisherman Suplex for a two-count. Cena goes for the F-U but Angle slips out and takes a powder. Back in the ring Cena slugs away at Angle in the corner. Angle cuts him off and hits a German Suplex right into the turnbuckles. Now Angle has Cena back where he wants him – on the mat, hurting. Cena fights back with a hard shoulder tackle and both men are down. Back on their feet Cena unloads with a series of strikes. Angle rakes the eyes but Cena doesn’t care, hitting a spinebuster for two. Cena fights off the rolling German Suplexes and hits a Protoplex for two. He goes for the F-U again but Angle counters with a sunset flip for two. Angle then hits a belly-to-belly suplex and both men are down. Back on their feet Angle goes for the Angle Slam but Cena reverses to a DDT for a near-fall. Angle comes back and puts on the Ankle Lock. Cena rolls out of it, sending Angle to the floor. Angle gets to the apron and Cena nails him with the Cena Slice for a two-count. That’s a cool spot. Cena hits the F-U but Angle kicks out! A frustrated Cena falls prey to Angle’s ankle attack. Angle hits an Angle Slam and then locks on the Ankle Lock. Cena reaches the ropes but Angle pulls him off. If a guy reaches the ropes the hold should be broken, period. Cena reaches the bottom rope again. Angle won’t let go of the hold and when the referee tries to stop him he gets knocked down. With the referee out Angle goes for Cena’s chain but Cena cuts him off and hits the F-U to get the pin at 19:21! Cena wrestled like a man with something to prove and Angle made a great foil for him.
Rating: ****
MATCH #6: Barbed Wire Steel Cage Match – JBL vs. Big Show
JBL has been the Champion since 6.27.04, and this is his eleventh defense. They immediately start slugging and Show wins that battle. JBL comes back by going to the knees. He thinks about climbing out but the barbed wire deters him so he jumps off the top rope and Show catches him with a fallaway slam for two. JBL thumbs Show in the eyes and climbs up again. Does he not know that there’s barbed wire around the top of the entire cage? Show goes back to work. JBL cuts him off with a big boot in the corner and then slams him into the cage. Show is busted open. JBL hits a shoulder block off the top rope and stomps away. Show fights back, I yawn. He hits JBL with a powerbomb. Show throws JBL into the cage walls, bloodying his face. Orlando Jordan and the Basham Brothers come out and try to get into the cage but Smackdown GM Theodore R. Long comes out and runs them off. Jordan left his bolt cutters through, and JBL is able to pick them up. JBL hits Show with the bolt cutters and then lands the Clothesline from Hell. Show kicks out at two. JBL goes for another one but Show catches him with a Chokeslam for a two-count. A bloody show signals for another one but JBL punches him in the junk and boots him in the face. That gets a near-fall. JBL climbs up with the bolt cutters but Show stops him and the bolt cutters fall to the mat. Show repeatedly slams JBL’s head into one of the steel support beams. He then Chokeslams JBL off the top rope and the ring breaks! The crowd pops huge for that. Instead of going to a sure pin, Show breaks the lock on the door and walks out. Before he makes it to the floor the bell rings at 15:09. As it turns out JBL was able to crawl out under the ring and get to the floor! The match was kind of dull but they worked hard and the finish was creative.
Rating: **¼
Show attacks JBL after the bell so Orlando Jordan and the Basham Brothers come out to the rescue. Then Batista (in full gear for some reason) runs out and makes the save for Show. JBL tries to leave but John Cena comes out to attack him in a WrestleMania preview.
