WWE�No Way Out�"Alt Perspective" Review
February 15, 2004
San Francisco, Cali. at The Cow Palace
By Kevin G Sowers, Torch Team Contributor

I'm back, and before I begin, I stand corrected. A reader�pointed out to me that Pedro Morales was the first ever Latino World Champion, and in fact, according to our Torch Trivia guru Octavio Fierros, he was also the first man to hold the World, Intercontinental, and Tag Titles. I stated previously that should Eddie Guerrero win the WWE Title tonight, he would be the first Latino to do so. What I meant to say was, Eddie would be the first Latino from El Paso, Texas with the last name Guerrero, to win the WWE Title, this year.�

The show opens with the Barbie twins, Sable and Torrie in the ring, welcoming us to No Way Out. You might laugh at the fact Billy Kidman had to wrestle on Sunday Night Heat instead of No Way Out, but who's laughing tonight when he goes home to his wife, a two time, two time Playboy centerfold! Anyway, welcome to No Way Out.

Michael Cole and Tazz introduced the Spanish announce team, and although I don't speak Spanish that well, I think they said something to the effect they now have table insurance, as an annoying duck waddled behind them and yelled, "AFLAC!".�

(1) Rikishi and Scotty Too Hotty defeated The Basham Brothers and Shaniqua at 8:13 to retain the WWE Tag Titles. Like I said earlier today in the Lounge, Momma said not to go and say anything at all if I have nothing nice to say. The match ended with a Samoan Drop by Rikishi on Shaniqua, followed by the Bonsai Drop, and Rikishi sitting on top of Shaniqua's chest for the pin.

(2) Jamie Noble(Blind Folded) defeated Nidia at 4:25. This match was ok at best. A few funny moments as Nidia toyed with Noble by circling him, then giving him a swift kick to his ass. Later in the match, Noble peeked from under his hood long enough to see Nidia about to leap from the top rope, then slams her to the mat followed by a chokehold, to which Nidia taps out.

Kurt Angle is interviewed backstage by Josh Matthews, but is interrupted by John Cena. The two eventually exchange blows and are promptly broken up by backstage personnel.

(3) Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas defeated The APA at 7:21. Bradshaw's right arm was heavily taped up as he has some kind of injury but�even�Tazz noted that he doesn't know what's going on.�Faarooq started the match off in the ring against Shelton Benjamin and the fans heavily chanted "APA, APA!" and Faarooq and Shelton locked it up in the center of the ring and Shelton put Faarooq in a waist lock and then he took him down to the mat and Shelton rolled Faarooq up in a pin for a two count.�

Bradshaw planted Shelton Benjamin with a power bomb and then he pinned him, thinking he had the win but Charlie Haas got in the ring and broke it up with a leg drop. Charlie Haas whipped Faarooq into the steel ring post on the outside of the ring and in the ring, Shelton Benjamin gave Bradshaw a reverse elbow. Shelton then went to the top rope but Bradshaw caught him and gave him the Last Call from the top rope. Charlie Haas entered the ring but that turned out to be a mistake as Bradshaw laid him out with the Clothesline from Hell. Shelton Benjamin then hit Bradshaw with the dragon whip and then he pinned him for the three count.

Goldberg makes his way to his ringside seat, heavily guarded by security. He gets to his seat, and says hello to a few kids and takes his�seat. Paul Heyman hits the ring wanting to know who Goldberg thinks he is showing up at a Smackdown PPV. Brock Lesnar shortly follows suit and reunites with his former agent in the ring. This seems to be too much for Goldberg, as he climbs over the barricade and gets into the ring. The two mammoths shed their shirts, and Brock strikes first as he corners Goldberg and delivers some shoulder blocks to the mid section. Goldberg replies with a Jackhammer to Brock, thus bringing security at the request of Heyman, escorting Goldberg out of the arena in handcuffs. Great segment.

(4) Hardcore Holly defeated Rhyno at 9:56. �With Brock Lesnar still in the ring, Hardcore Holly made his way out to the ring and went after Brock but Brock quickly got out of the ring. This match was added to the pay per view earlier tonight on Sunday Night Heat.

Hardcore Holly met Rhyno in the aisle way and the two exchanged right hands until Holly rolled Rhyno into the ring and the two continued to go at it in the ring.�Rhyno got Hardcore Holly on the top rope and Rhyno set Holly up for a top rope superplex and connected with it. Rhyno rolled over and covered Holly but only got a two count. Rhyno gave Hardcore Holly an Arn Anderson-like spinebuster and then Rhyno went to the corner to set up for the Gore. As Hardcore Holly got to his feet, Rhyno plowed through him with the Gore and then Holly wisely rolled out of the ring. Holly remained on the outside of the ring until the count of nine and when he got back in the ring, Rhyno hammered away on him.�Holly was able to give Rhyno the Alabama Slam and then he pinned him for the win.

Not a�bad match, better than I expected. Again, someone please tell me the logic of being afraid of�Holly, but NOT Goldberg?

The lights went dark, and the distorted video montage aired again, letting us know, "In 28 days, the dead shall rise, again".

(5) Chavo Guerrero�defeated Rey Mysterio to win the Cruiserweight Title at 17:21. Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero locked it up in the center of the ring and Chavo put Rey in a waist lock and Rey countered it into a wrist lock and he wrenched away on it until Chavo countered it into a wrist lock of his own. Rey rolled out of it and took Chavo Guerrero down to the mat with a deep arm drag.�Chavo Guerrero gave Rey Mysterio a snap mare down to the mat and Chavo tried to remove the mask of Rey Mysterio but Mysterio got out of it and send Chavo Guerrero to the outside of the ring.

Rey sent Chavo into the ropes and then he nailed him with the 619�followed by the�West Coast Pop but Chavo, Sr. grabbed Rey's feet and pulled him down to the arena floor. Jorge Paez then went over and laid Chavo Guerrero, Sr. out and then the�referee�sent Jorge Paez back to the locker room as a result of his actions at ringside.

Chavo, Jr. then got out of the ring and checked on his father and told him to get up as Rey Mysterio waited for Chavo to turn around. When he turned around, Rey leapt up to the top rope and jumped on Chavo, Jr. with a springboard plancha on the arena floor. Rey Mysterio got Chavo Guerrero on the top rope and he went for the twisting huracanrana but Chavo countered it into a gut buster from the top rope. Rey Mysterio put Chavo Guerrero in a front face lock on the apron and he dropped down, giving Chavo a DDT onto the ring apron. Rey Mysterio then got in the ring and he covered Chavo Guerrero but only got a two count.

Rey Mysterio went to the top rope and he nailed Chavo Guerrero with a moonsault to take him down into a pinfall but he only got a two count as Chavo got his foot on the bottom rope.
Rey Mysterio gave Chavo a huracanrana to send him into the ropes and then Mysterio hit him with the 619 once again and then he gave him the leaping senton but Chavo rolled through into a single leg half crab and he really wrenched back on him almost bending him in half but Rey was somehow able to get to the ropes to break it up.�Rey Mysterio went to the top rope and Chavo Guerrero, Sr. hopped up and knocked him down and then Chavo Guerrero rolled him up and hooked the tights and pinned him for the Cruiserweight Title.

Okay, okay. I apologize. I said in The Lounge earlier if we got a match out of these two longer than five minutes, I would apologize. So, while I'm apologizing, I also want to thank the powers that be if they are reading this. This is what the fans want. Give the Cruiserweights a chance. The only thing left now is to�make the Cruiserweight Title seem important. Chavo carried the belt over his shoulder like he was carrying a sack of groceries home.

Backstage, Chavo Jr. and Sr. stand in front of Eddie Guerrero's locker room, while Junior calls Eddie a loser and an addict, never able to get that proverbial monkey off his back.

(6) Kurt Angle defeated John Cena and Big Show at 12:12�to become the number one contender for the World Title at Wrestlemania XX John Cena got on the ring apron and Kurt argued with The Big Show. After the bell rang, Cena got in the ring and stood back in the corner as Big Show and Kurt Angle locked it up. Big Show grabbed Kurt Angle by the arm and gave him a hip toss across the ring as Cena stood in the corner and watched.�The Big Show gave John Cena a leg drop and then he got up and gave him another one. Kurt Angle then grabbed Big Show by the foot from the outside of the ring and Big Show grabbed hold of Kurt Angle and grabbed him by the throat and Cena got up and hit Show and Kurt went to German suplex Big Show from the ring apron but he was unable to do so. Angle then nailed Big Show with a low blow to send him down to the arena floor.

John Cena came off the top rope with a flying elbow on The Big Show to send him hobbling across the ring. Kurt Angle then went to the top rope and came off with a missile drop kick to finally send The Big Show down to the mat. John Cena picked The Big Show up over his shoulders and gave him the FU and then Kurt Angle got in the ring and went for the Angle Slam but John Cena countered it into a DDT. Cena went over and pinned The Big Show but The Big Show got his foot on the bottom rope. Kurt Angle gave John Cena a clothesline to send him out of the ring and then Angle gave Big Show the Angle Slam and then a pin for a two count. John Cena got back in the ring and went for the FU on Angle but Angle got out of it and put Cena in the ankle lock but The Big Show broke it up with a choke slam. Cena then rolled Big Show up and pinned him but only got a two count.

The Big Show gave John Cena the choke slam and then he pinned Cena but only got a two count as Angle grabbed Big Show by the leg to break it up. Angle put The Big Show in the ankle lock and Angle put Big Show through a lot of pain but Big Show eventually kicked Angle to get out of it. Cena gave Angle a spinebuster and then a fist drop. Cena then waited for Angle to get up and he went for the FU but Big Show punched John Cena right in his injured knee to send him down to the mat. The Big Show grabbed John Cena and gave him a body slam, leg first into the top turnbuckle. Kurt Angle then gave Big Show an Angle Slam to send him over the top rope to the outside of the ring. Angle then took Cena down to the mat by the knee and then put him in the ankle lock to force him to tap out.

I'll comment more on this match at the end of this review. Very solid match.

(7) Eddie Guerrero defeated Brock Lesnar at 30:07�to win the WWE Title. At the start of the match,�Lesnar power bombed Guerrero and then he lifted him back up off the mat in the same power bomb position and then spun around real fast and tossed him across the ring. Brock�gave Eddie�a delayed fisherman buster to send him down to the mat. Brock then pinned Eddie but only got a two count. Brock Lesnar went for a high knee on Eddie Guerrero in the corner but Eddie ducked under it and Brock's knee hit the top turnbuckle and then Brock fell over the top rope and went crashing to the outside of the ring. Eddie Guerrero then jumped on Brock Lesnar on the outside of the ring and the referee started the count and both men got in the ring at the count of nine.

Eddie put Brock�in an STF and the fans were well behind it as Brock was close to tapping out but�Lesnar was somehow able to break the arms of Guerrero to take leverage off the hold. Eddie then got up and grabbed Brock by the leg and drove his knee into the mat with his foot.
Eddie Guerrero looked like he was going for a figure four leg lock but he couldn't apply it correctly and Brock kicked Eddie right off of him. Eddie Guerrero went for the figure four once again and finally applied it in and Brock was in a ton of pain and he fought to roll it over and Lesnar eventually got out of it but was again put in the STF.

Brock Lesnar put Eddie Guerrero in a reverse choke in an attempt to choke him out and Eddie fought to get to his knees and Eddie eventually got to his feet and then dropped down to the mat, sending Brock Lesnar into the second turnbuckle head first. Eddie Guerrero went to the top rope for a missile drop kick but missed it and then Brock Lesnar grabbed Eddie Guerrero and gave him a vertical suplex. Brock, who was bloodied up, started yelling "die" to Eddie Guerrero. Brock applied a reverse gut wrench on Eddie Guerrero to wear him down.

Eddie Guerrero gave Brock Lesnar a vertical suplex and he held onto it and gave him two more. Eddie Guerrero then headed to the top rope for the frog splash but Brock Lesnar rolled out of the way and Eddie went crashing down to the mat. Brock Lesnar then lifted Eddie Guerrero up over his shoulders and gave him the F5 but Eddie's legs hit the referee to send him down to the mat on the way down. Brock then pinned Eddie but with the referee down, no one was there to make the count. After noticing that the referee was down, Brock Lesnar got out of the ring and grabbed the Championship belt and brought it into the ring and the fans suddenly popped as Goldberg stormed to the ring and speared Brock Lesnar down to the mat.�Eddie Guerrero then went over and pinned Brock Lesnar but only got a two count.�With the referee still groggy, Eddie Guerrero grabbed the WWE Championship belt and waited for Brock Lesnar to get up and Brock slowly got up and Eddie went to hit Brock with the title but Brock ducked it and kicked Eddie in the gut. Brock Lesnar then lifted Eddie up over his head for the F5 but Eddie countered it into a DDT on the belt! Eddie then tossed the belt out of the ring and then he went to the top rope and came off with the frog splash and then pinned Brock Lesnar for the three count to win the WWE Title.

Wow! A very solid match, which sets up a fantastic Wrestlemania. Kurt Angle to take on Eddie, and Brock Lesnar takes on Goldberg(one can only assume, geez). After the match, Eddie went over to his family in attendance, and hugged his mother, who seemed to have legit tears in her eyes. All I can say is Eddie Guerrero is a prime example that you should never give up so easily on someone. Three years ago Eddie hit rock bottom with his addictions, but was able to battle his personal demons, to earn his first WWE Title reign. I for one, am proud to be a fan of Latino Heat.

Match of the Night This is a no brainer, as Eddie electrified the world of WWE. Brock Lesnar shows he can stand with the best of them, while at the same time help elevate someone who has never been at the top. Very solid match, and an early candidate for match of the year.

MVP Eddie Guerrero. I think I have said it all, but allow me to say this is a much needed, and welcome title reign. His match with Lesnar will be one to remember for a long time. I haven't seen a title win this sentimental since Angle won the title at Unforgiven 2001.

That's all folks. I'll see you next month. Check me out every Sunday in The Lounge, and I'll see you all then.

All feedback is welcome and appreciated. XanderWB@aol.com

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