By Wade Keller, Torch editor

WWE NO WAY OUT PPV
FEBRUARY 20, 2003
LIVE ON PPV FROM PITTSBURGH, PA.

-Michael Cole and Tazz introduced the show after one of the snazzy produced introductions hyped the barbed wire cage main event.

1 -- THE BASHAMS vs. EDDIE GUERRERO & REY MYSTERIO - World Tag Team Titles

Cole talked about Guerrero winning the WWE Title one year ago at No Way Out. He did not mention that he defeated Brock Lesnar. The Bashams worked over Guerrero. At 5:00 Guerrero avoided a Danny top rope headbutt dive and hot-tagged Rey. Rey went on offense right away. Danny locked Rey into a long a full nelson at 6:30. Mysterio took a beating for a few minutes. He snuck in a hope spot with a moonsault off the ropes, but Basham kicked out at two and regained control quickly. Danny took Rey to the mat and applied a headlock. Guerrero argued with the ref over whether he was holding his tag rope, which he had extended to twice the length somehow. Doug tagged in at 11:15. Cole declared "the match over for all intents and purposes" after a double-team face plant by the Bashams. The problem is, not one fan in the arena saw the move and thought the match was over, so Cole loses credibility when he acts as if he thinks that could be the end of the match. Rey finally hot-tagged Guerrero at 12:00. He worked over both Bashams for a minute. When the Bashams managed to take control, Rey tried to intervene, but he was easily tossed aside after the long beating he had taken. The Bashams set up Guerrero for a double vertical suplex, but Rey speared one of them and Guerrero small packaged the other for the near fall. Nice sequence. Outside the ring, Guerrero grabbed one of the tag belts. Rey begged Guerrero not to use the belt. Meanwhile, the Bashams switched places inside the ring. Guerrero then went to the top rope and flipped to the mat. He didn't go for the frog splash, because he suspected the Bashams switched. Guerrero then pretended he did crash land. When Doug turned around, Guerrero surprised him with a small package. Danny threw Guerrero a tag belt. Guerrero played hot potato and tossed it to Doug. The ref took it away from Doug. Rey gave Eddie the other belt. He KO'd Doug with it. Mysterio then gave Danny the 619. Eddie covered Doug for the win.

WINNERS: Guerrero & Mysterio at 14:48 to capture the WWE Tag Team Titles.

STAR RATING: **1/4 -- Nothing wrong with it, but pretty paint-by-numbers formula uninspired and unimaginative tag action for the first 11 minutes or so. It was as if they were just filling time adequately until the fun finishing sequence they had planned.

-Backstage Teddy Long told workers to be sure Batista gets the red carpet treatment. Carlito Cool introduced Long to Mrs. Rodriguez, a wife of a member of the WWE Board of Directors. Long asked if she was having a good time. She said yes, that she enjoyed seeing the tag titles change hands. She said she was really excited to see Batista join Smackdown. Long said he would do his best. Mrs. Rodriguez left. Carlito told Long his understanding regarding Long's future is that the WWE Board will be greatly influenced by whether he gets Batista to jump to Smackdown. The hole in this is that it's not clear why members of the board would rather have Batista on Smackdown than Raw since both are parts of WWE.

-Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson joined Cole and Tazz at ringside. They commented about the rookie divas one at a time as they walked out. The problem with this remains that fans still don't know why rookie divas are even there, what purpose they serve, and how they got their jobs in the first place. Fans do ask themselves so types of questions, and that plot hole is a pot hole in this entire scenario. Joy, Michelle, Lauren, and Rochelle were introduced for the formal wear competition. Then Cole plugged that voting was open on WWE.com. They didn't bother to go to the expense of an 800 voting line for this.

-The spoof on Pulp Fiction with Eddie Guerrero and Booker T aired.

2 -- HEIDENREICH vs. BOOKER T

Heidenreich read a poem before the match, saying he would show Booker what it was like to feel all his pain and strife that he has dealt with his entire life. Booker got in some early offense including a superkick. Heidenreich took over with a clothesline; Booker flip bumped for the move. Heidenreich applied a keylock. Cole talked about Batista's decision and said he'd love to have him on Smackdown. Booker made a comeback at 5:00 and did the Spinaroonie. The man who named that move, Mark Madden, ironically was kicked out of the backstage area at the PPV earlier in the day (not for anything he did, but apparently just for who he is in general, despite helping WWE with publicity for the event on his radio show). Booker armdragged Heidenreich over the top rope to the floor. Heidenreich then jabbed Booker in the throat with the end of a chair, prompting a DQ. Heidenreich threw Booker into the ring and went for the cover anyway. The ref explained that the match was over.

WINNER: Booker at 6:30.

STAR RATING: 1/2* -- Not much to it. Lame finish, but it's no surprise it was a DQ because neither wrestler is far above the other on the depth chart of the Smackdown roster, and the match was just thrown together, so a clean win was unlikely for either.

-Hardcore Holly, Charlie Haas and Scotty 2 Hotty congratulated Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio on capturing the tag team titles. When Cena entered the room, Guerrero said he wanted a word with Cena alone. Guerrero told John Cena that he may not realize how big his match is. He told him when Angle puts the anklelock on him, don't tap out. He said that will just make him frustrated and he'll make mistakes and that's his opening. Cena listened and shook Guerrero's hand, but didn't react either way to Guerrero's suspect gameplan advice.

3 -- FUNAKI vs. PAUL LONDON vs. CHAVO GUERRERO JR. vs. AKIO vs. SPIKE DUDLEY vs. SHANNON MOORE

London came out first, then Chavo, then Shannon Moore, then Spike Dudley, Akio, and finally Funaki. Nobody got much of a reaction other than Funaki, who got a mild pop. The reaction for Moore was stunning silent. WWE needs to do something to give the impression the cruiserweight contenders are more than occasional fodder for heavyweights who otherwise wrestle each other for a meaningless minor title. Spike kneed Funaki from behind while standing on the ring apron, and London pinned him at 1:31. That assured there would be a new champion. London then quickly pinned Spike at 1:50 after Funaki snuck back into the ring and superkicked him. Moore then faced London. London hit his 450 splash to pin Moore at 3:30. Akio then faced London. These pinfalls are ridiculously unrealistically rapid-fire. Akio put London in a sleeper, then hit him with a jump roundhouse kick to the back of his head. After both men landed hard after a top rope neckbreaker by London, Chavo counted along with the ref, trying to get him to count faster so he'd be the winner by default. Both men struggled to get to their feet, but London got to his feet before Akio did at 7:00 and the ref declared Akio eliminated by countdown. That was as flat of a finish to a fall as you'll see. Try that in a World Title main event match just for fun sometime and see the riot that would result. Chavo then entered against the tired London. London kicked out of some early pin attempts by Chavo. Chavo told London if he's going to make him work for his win, he'll give him a beating. He battered away at London, who fired back with a full nelson suplex at 8:45. London began yelling to signal a full-fledged comeback. The crowd was silent. Chavo scored the win by rolling through on a London roll-up and holding the ropes for heel leverage.

WINNER: Chavo at 9:39 to win the Cruiserweight Title.

STAR RATING: * -- Ridiculous time limit for a six-person tag doomed this match from the start. There were a few nice spots, but nothing all that special and certainly not enough to offset the ridiculous rapid-fire eliminations, none of which were at all exciting or memorable.

-The divas rookies came back out for the talent competition. The first, Joy, said she is a message therapist. Cole said: "My masseuse doesn't dress like that!" If Cole wants to be accepted at all by wrestling fans, he shouldn't be talking about having a masseuse. She gave Torrie a massage. Dawn said she stunk. Torrie said all the men in the back know first hand about Dawn's massages. Rochelle said she was a stand-up comedian and then told two horrendous jokes. The third diva, Lauren, did a dance that would have been gonged on the Gong Show within five seconds. Dawn's reactions were fun. She told the diva not to quit her day job. The fourth diva, Michelle, bodyslammed Dawn when she asked, "What are you going to do to impress me?"

-Josh Matthews interviewed JBL backstage. He said he understands what he's getting himself into. "Blood is going to flow like a river, and a lot of it is going to be mine," he said, adding that he is willing to go through it because his body is temporary, but the title is forever. He told Show he has to realize that he, too, won't leave the ring the same man he walks in as. He called him a side show freak without a show or any guts. He said the people will remember this day because it's the day people will realize he is what he says he is. "I am the wrestling god."

4 -- LUTHER REIGNS (w/Mark Jindrak) vs. UNDERTAKER

Taker went after Reigns aggressively at the start of the match. This match could have used some mic work by Reigns beforehand since Reigns's mic work was pretty strong on Smackdown the last two weeks. Taker did the rope walk a minute in and came off with a forearm and then hit a DDT for a two count. Taker gave Reigns a guillotine legdrop across the ring apron at 4:00. Reigns took control at 4:15 with a low blow and then ramming Taker's head into an exposed turnbuckle. At 8:00 Taker got in a hopespot with a big boot, but Reigns remained in control with a methodical battering. By 9:15 Taker made a full-fledged comeback with a clothesline, boot to the face, and legdrop for a two count. The crowd wasn't into the match at all (or much at all during the event) until Taker signalled for a chokeslam. They showed some, but not much, life for that. He the set up the Tombstone, but Reigns slipped out and hit what Cole called the swinging neckbreaker, although there was no "swing" at all since it was a straight drop. That got Reigns a two count. Reigns set up a swinging neckbreaker, but Taker blocked it and hit a DDT. He sliced his throat with his thumb and then hit a Tombstone for the win. Afterward Taker stood in the ring, met by silence, and went through his post-match tongue snarl routine.

WINNER: Undertaker at 11:38.

STAR RATING: 3/4* -- There have been worse matches in recent memory, but few that felt so empty and pointless. Almost no heat. The prototype of a seen-it-before Taker formula match, but without any passion or energy.

-The Diva Rookies had a bikini contest. Joy was the runaway winner in the online poll. The contest was a farce in that the online voting decided it, but there wasn't any time between the bikini contest and the results being announced on PPV. The crowd response overall indicated the sooner this ended the better. Torrie congratulated Joy on her being the Rookie Diva of 2005.

-A video recap aired of the Smackdown Tournament with something resembling a Kenny Logins cover band (as if such a thing would exist) playing in the background. It could have a lame B-side from a Survivor single 15 years ago.

5 -- KURT ANGLE vs. JOHN CENA - Top Contender at WM21 Tournament Final

They worked mat holds in the opening minutes. The crowd woke up for the first time in the show, chanting "Angle Sucks" with enthusiasm early. They brawled at ringside at 3:30 and rolled on and around the announcers' table. Angle went on sustained offense including a German suplex into the top turnbuckle. Cena came back and scored some near falls around 10:00. Angle avoided an FU at 12:00 and rolled into a pin attempt. He followed with a suplex. Angle reversed a victory rolle and applied the Anklelock at 13:00 and got a pop from many in the crowd cheering for the Pittsburgh native. Cena came back with a rare top rope move, a legdrop across the back of Angle's head and neck. Cena didn't look comfortable up there. Cena hit an FU at 14:30 for a near fall. Angle regained control at 15:30 and applied a leglock. Cena reached the bottom rope to force a break. At 18:00 Angle went for an Anklelock, but then elbowed the ref perhaps inadvertently. Angle grabbed Cena's chain off of the corner ringpost. Cena, though, recovered and speared Angle into the corner and then hit an FU. He grabbed at his ankle in pain, then made the cover ands cored the pin. Cena couldn't celebrate as he grabbed at his left ankle. Angle threw around the ringside stairs in frustration.

WINNER: Cena at 19:14.

STAR RATING: ***3/4 -- Good match. Not enough to carry the show alone, but very solid match.

-Cole and Tazz wondered if Batista was even going to show up.

6 -- JBL vs. BIG SHOW -- Barbed Wire Cage match for WWE Title

JBL went for an early escape, but when he touched the barbed wire, he pulled back quickly. Show threw him to the mat. Show threw some heavy chops to JBL's chest in the corner. JBL worked over Big Show with some methodical offense until Show took control again at 6:00. Show and JBL were both bleeding from their foreheads at this point. With Show in control, both Bashams and Orlando Jordan ran to the cage and began climbing it. Teddy Long came out and said he assured America there would be no interference and banned them from ringside. As Long talked, the Bashams clipped a hole in the cage and slipped JBL a wire cutter. It happened right in front of the ref, who had to ignore it. JBl cllimb ed to the top of the cage and cut some barbed wire, but then dropped the cutters. Show suplexed JBL off the top of the cage and when JBL landed, the rng caged in. That drew some ohhs and ahhs from the crowd. Tazz should have brought up how this happened in one of his matches against Bam Bam Bigelow. It's not as if it's not part of WWE history, since it was included on the WWE-released "Rise and Fall of ECW" DVD. I hate when announcers act dumber than the fans at home when an obvious reference to history is called for. Show yanked off the chain to the door and left the ring and stepped to the floor to apparently win the WWE Title. JBL, though, snuck out underneath the ring on the other side and was declared the winner by the ring announcer. Cole and Tazz didn't know how to react to what happened.

WINNER: JBL at 14:50.

STAR RATING: **1/2

-After the match, Show continued to beat on JBL at ringside out of frustration with the decision. The cage was raised. The Bashams and Jordan charged to the ring and attacked Big Show. The crowd chanted "Batista, Batista." His music then played and he charged the ring. He slammed the heels to the mat with intensity. He gave Danny a Batista Bomb. JBL, meanwhile, staggered toward the back. John Cena then walked out. JBL rolled off of the rampway to avoid Cena, who pursued him and threw him into a stack of monitors and storage cases. He then spinebustered him through a platform to end the show. After Cena and Batista each signalled that they'd be winning the WWE Title from JBL, Cole said Cena vs. JBL vs. Batista looked to be the WWE Title match at WrestleMania. The show ended with Cena and Batista exchanging confident glances.

WWE NO WAY OUT PPV
FEBRUARY 19, 2003
LIVE ON PPV FROM PITTSBURGH, PA.

-Michael Cole and Tazz introduced the show after one of the snazzy produced introductions hyped the barbed wire cage main event.

1 -- THE BASHAMS vs. EDDIE GUERRERO & REY MYSTERIO - World Tag Team Titles

Cole talked about Guerrero winning the WWE Title one year ago at No Way Out. He did not mention that he defeated Brock Lesnar. The Bashams worked over Guerrero. At 5:00 Guerrero avoided a Danny top rope headbutt dive and hot-tagged Rey. Rey went on offense right away. Danny locked Rey into a long a full nelson at 6:30. Mysterio took a beating for a few minutes. He snuck in a hope spot with a moonsault off the ropes, but Basham kicked out at two and regained control quickly. Danny took Rey to the mat and applied a headlock. Guerrero argued with the ref over whether he was holding his tag rope, which he had extended to twice the length somehow. Doug tagged in at 11:15. Cole declared "the match over for all intents and purposes" after a double-team face plant by the Bashams. The problem is, not one fan in the arena saw the move and thought the match was over, so Cole loses credibility when he acts as if he thinks that could be the end of the match. Rey finally hot-tagged Guerrero at 12:00. He worked over both Bashams for a minute. When the Bashams managed to take control, Rey tried to intervene, but he was easily tossed aside after the long beating he had taken. The Bashams set up Guerrero for a double vertical suplex, but Rey speared one of them and Guerrero small packaged the other for the near fall. Nice sequence. Outside the ring, Guerrero grabbed one of the tag belts. Rey begged Guerrero not to use the belt. Meanwhile, the Bashams switched places inside the ring. Guerrero then went to the top rope and flipped to the mat. He didn't go for the frog splash, because he suspected the Bashams switched. Guerrero then pretended he did crash land. When Doug turned around, Guerrero surprised him with a small package. Danny threw Guerrero a tag belt. Guerrero played hot potato and tossed it to Doug. The ref took it away from Doug. Rey gave Eddie the other belt. He KO'd Doug with it. Mysterio then gave Danny the 619. Eddie covered Doug for the win.

WINNERS: Guerrero & Mysterio at 14:48 to capture the WWE Tag Team Titles.

STAR RATING: **1/4 -- Nothing wrong with it, but pretty paint-by-numbers formula uninspired and unimaginative tag action for the first 11 minutes or so. It was as if they were just filling time adequately until the fun finishing sequence they had planned.

-Backstage Teddy Long told workers to be sure Batista gets the red carpet treatment. Carlito Cool introduced Long to Mrs. Rodriguez, a wife of a member of the WWE Board of Directors. Long asked if she was having a good time. She said yes, that she enjoyed seeing the tag titles change hands. She said she was really excited to see Batista join Smackdown. Long said he would do his best. Mrs. Rodriguez left. Carlito told Long his understanding regarding Long's future is that the WWE Board will be greatly influenced by whether he gets Batista to jump to Smackdown. The hole in this is that it's not clear why members of the board would rather have Batista on Smackdown than Raw since both are parts of WWE.

-Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson joined Cole and Tazz at ringside. They commented about the rookie divas one at a time as they walked out. The problem with this remains that fans still don't know why rookie divas are even there, what purpose they serve, and how they got their jobs in the first place. Fans do ask themselves so types of questions, and that plot hole is a pot hole in this entire scenario. Joy, Michelle, Lauren, and Rochelle were introduced for the formal wear competition. Then Cole plugged that voting was open on WWE.com. They didn't bother to go to the expense of an 800 voting line for this.

-The spoof on Pulp Fiction with Eddie Guerrero and Booker T aired.

2 -- HEIDENREICH vs. BOOKER T

Heidenreich read a poem before the match, saying he would show Booker what it was like to feel all his pain and strife that he has dealt with his entire life. Booker got in some early offense including a superkick. Heidenreich took over with a clothesline; Booker flip bumped for the move. Heidenreich applied a keylock. Cole talked about Batista's decision and said he'd love to have him on Smackdown. Booker made a comeback at 5:00 and did the Spinaroonie. The man who named that move, Mark Madden, ironically was kicked out of the backstage area at the PPV earlier in the day (not for anything he did, but apparently just for who he is in general, despite helping WWE with publicity for the event on his radio show). Booker armdragged Heidenreich over the top rope to the floor. Heidenreich then jabbed Booker in the throat with the end of a chair, prompting a DQ. Heidenreich threw Booker into the ring and went for the cover anyway. The ref explained that the match was over.

WINNER: Booker at 6:30.

STAR RATING: 1/2* -- Not much to it. Lame finish, but it's no surprise it was a DQ because neither wrestler is far above the other on the depth chart of the Smackdown roster, and the match was just thrown together, so a clean win was unlikely for either.

-Hardcore Holly, Charlie Haas and Scotty 2 Hotty congratulated Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio on capturing the tag team titles. When Cena entered the room, Guerrero said he wanted a word with Cena alone. Guerrero told John Cena that he may not realize how big his match is. He told him when Angle puts the anklelock on him, don't tap out. He said that will just make him frustrated and he'll make mistakes and that's his opening. Cena listened and shook Guerrero's hand, but didn't react either way to Guerrero's suspect gameplan advice.

3 -- FUNAKI vs. PAUL LONDON vs. CHAVO GUERRERO JR. vs. AKIO vs. SPIKE DUDLEY vs. SHANNON MOORE

London came out first, then Chavo, then Shannon Moore, then Spike Dudley, Akio, and finally Funaki. Nobody got much of a reaction other than Funaki, who got a mild pop. The reaction for Moore was stunning silent. WWE needs to do something to give the impression the cruiserweight contenders are more than occasional fodder for heavyweights who otherwise wrestle each other for a meaningless minor title. Spike kneed Funaki from behind while standing on the ring apron, and London pinned him at 1:31. That assured there would be a new champion. London then quickly pinned Spike at 1:50 after Funaki snuck back into the ring and superkicked him. Moore then faced London. London hit his 450 splash to pin Moore at 3:30. Akio then faced London. These pinfalls are ridiculously unrealistically rapid-fire. Akio put London in a sleeper, then hit him with a jump roundhouse kick to the back of his head. After both men landed hard after a top rope neckbreaker by London, Chavo counted along with the ref, trying to get him to count faster so he'd be the winner by default. Both men struggled to get to their feet, but London got to his feet before Akio did at 7:00 and the ref declared Akio eliminated by countdown. That was as flat of a finish to a fall as you'll see. Try that in a World Title main event match just for fun sometime and see the riot that would result. Chavo then entered against the tired London. London kicked out of some early pin attempts by Chavo. Chavo told London if he's going to make him work for his win, he'll give him a beating. He battered away at London, who fired back with a full nelson suplex at 8:45. London began yelling to signal a full-fledged comeback. The crowd was silent. Chavo scored the win by rolling through on a London roll-up and holding the ropes for heel leverage.

WINNER: Chavo at 9:39 to win the Cruiserweight Title.

STAR RATING: * -- Ridiculous time limit for a six-person tag doomed this match from the start. There were a few nice spots, but nothing all that special and certainly not enough to offset the ridiculous rapid-fire eliminations, none of which were at all exciting or memorable.

-The divas rookies came back out for the talent competition. The first, Joy, said she is a message therapist. Cole said: "My masseuse doesn't dress like that!" If Cole wants to be accepted at all by wrestling fans, he shouldn't be talking about having a masseuse. She gave Torrie a massage. Dawn said she stunk. Torrie said all the men in the back know first hand about Dawn's massages. Rochelle said she was a stand-up comedian and then told two horrendous jokes. The third diva, Lauren, did a dance that would have been gonged on the Gong Show within five seconds. Dawn's reactions were fun. She told the diva not to quit her day job. The fourth diva, Michelle, bodyslammed Dawn when she asked, "What are you going to do to impress me?"

-Josh Matthews interviewed JBL backstage. He said he understands what he's getting himself into. "Blood is going to flow like a river, and a lot of it is going to be mine," he said, adding that he is willing to go through it because his body is temporary, but the title is forever. He told Show he has to realize that he, too, won't leave the ring the same man he walks in as. He called him a side show freak without a show or any guts. He said the people will remember this day because it's the day people will realize he is what he says he is. "I am the wrestling god."

4 -- LUTHER REIGNS (w/Mark Jindrak) vs. UNDERTAKER

Taker went after Reigns aggressively at the start of the match. This match could have used some mic work by Reigns beforehand since Reigns's mic work was pretty strong on Smackdown the last two weeks. Taker did the rope walk a minute in and came off with a forearm and then hit a DDT for a two count. Taker gave Reigns a guillotine legdrop across the ring apron at 4:00. Reigns took control at 4:15 with a low blow and then ramming Taker's head into an exposed turnbuckle. At 8:00 Taker got in a hopespot with a big boot, but Reigns remained in control with a methodical battering. By 9:15 Taker made a full-fledged comeback with a clothesline, boot to the face, and legdrop for a two count. The crowd wasn't into the match at all (or much at all during the event) until Taker signalled for a chokeslam. They showed some, but not much, life for that. He the set up the Tombstone, but Reigns slipped out and hit what Cole called the swinging neckbreaker, although there was no "swing" at all since it was a straight drop. That got Reigns a two count. Reigns set up a swinging neckbreaker, but Taker blocked it and hit a DDT. He sliced his throat with his thumb and then hit a Tombstone for the win. Afterward Taker stood in the ring, met by silence, and went through his post-match tongue snarl routine.

WINNER: Undertaker at 11:38.

STAR RATING: 3/4* -- There have been worse matches in recent memory, but few that felt so empty and pointless. Almost no heat. The prototype of a seen-it-before Taker formula match, but without any passion or energy.

-The Diva Rookies had a bikini contest. Joy was the runaway winner in the online poll. The contest was a farce in that the online voting decided it, but there wasn't any time between the bikini contest and the results being announced on PPV. The crowd response overall indicated the sooner this ended the better. Torrie congratulated Joy on her being the Rookie Diva of 2005.

-A video recap aired of the Smackdown Tournament with something resembling a Kenny Logins cover band (as if such a thing would exist) playing in the background. It could have a lame B-side from a Survivor single 15 years ago.

5 -- KURT ANGLE vs. JOHN CENA - Top Contender at WM21 Tournament Final

They worked mat holds in the opening minutes. The crowd woke up for the first time in the show, chanting "Angle Sucks" with enthusiasm early. They brawled at ringside at 3:30 and rolled on and around the announcers' table. Angle went on sustained offense including a German suplex into the top turnbuckle. Cena came back and scored some near falls around 10:00. Angle avoided an FU at 12:00 and rolled into a pin attempt. He followed with a suplex. Angle reversed a victory rolle and applied the Anklelock at 13:00 and got a pop from many in the crowd cheering for the Pittsburgh native. Cena came back with a rare top rope move, a legdrop across the back of Angle's head and neck. Cena didn't look comfortable up there. Cena hit an FU at 14:30 for a near fall. Angle regained control at 15:30 and applied a leglock. Cena reached the bottom rope to force a break. At 18:00 Angle went for an Anklelock, but then elbowed the ref perhaps inadvertently. Angle grabbed Cena's chain off of the corner ringpost. Cena, though, recovered and speared Angle into the corner and then hit an FU. He grabbed at his ankle in pain, then made the cover ands cored the pin. Cena couldn't celebrate as he grabbed at his left ankle. Angle threw around the ringside stairs in frustration.

WINNER: Cena at 19:14.

STAR RATING: ***3/4 -- Good match. Not enough to carry the show alone, but very solid match.

-Cole and Tazz wondered if Batista was even going to show up.

6 -- JBL vs. BIG SHOW -- Barbed Wire Cage match for WWE Title

JBL went for an early escape, but when he touched the barbed wire, he pulled back quickly. Show threw him to the mat. Show threw some heavy chops to JBL's chest in the corner. JBL worked over Big Show with some methodical offense until Show took control again at 6:00. Show and JBL were both bleeding from their foreheads at this point. With Show in control, both Bashams and Orlando Jordan ran to the cage and began climbing it. Teddy Long came out and said he assured America there would be no interference and banned them from ringside. As Long talked, the Bashams clipped a hole in the cage and slipped JBL a wire cutter. It happened right in front of the ref, who had to ignore it. JBl cllimb ed to the top of the cage and cut some barbed wire, but then dropped the cutters. Show suplexed JBL off the top of the cage and when JBL landed, the rng caged in. That drew some ohhs and ahhs from the crowd. Tazz should have brought up how this happened in one of his matches against Bam Bam Bigelow. It's not as if it's not part of WWE history, since it was included on the WWE-released "Rise and Fall of ECW" DVD. I hate when announcers act dumber than the fans at home when an obvious reference to history is called for. Show yanked off the chain to the door and left the ring and stepped to the floor to apparently win the WWE Title. JBL, though, snuck out underneath the ring on the other side and was declared the winner by the ring announcer. Cole and Tazz didn't know how to react to what happened.

WINNER: JBL at 14:50.

STAR RATING: **1/2

-After the match, Show continued to beat on JBL at ringside out of frustration with the decision. The cage was raised. The Bashams and Jordan charged to the ring and attacked Big Show. The crowd chanted "Batista, Batista." His music then played and he charged the ring. He slammed the heels to the mat with intensity. He gave Danny a Batista Bomb. JBL, meanwhile, staggered toward the back. John Cena then walked out. JBL rolled off of the rampway to avoid Cena, who pursued him and threw him into a stack of monitors and storage cases. He then spinebustered him through a platform to end the show. After Cena and Batista each signalled that they'd be winning the WWE Title from JBL, Cole said Cena vs. JBL vs. Batista looked to be the WWE Title match at WrestleMania. The show ended with Cena and Batista exchanging confident glances.

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