WWF No Way Out 2000: Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best

WWF No Way Out 2000 served as the final stop on the Road to WrestleMania 2000, delivering a stacked card that would have major implications for the biggest show of the year. The main event saw Triple H defend his WWF Championship against Cactus Jack inside Hell in a Cell, with Mick Foley's career hanging in the balance in what would become an instant classic.

RELATED: WWF Royal Rumble 2000: Every Match Ranked Worst To Best

The Rock and Big Show battled to determine the number one contender for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania, while two title changes shook up the landscape heading into the Showcase of the Immortals. From high-stakes drama to championship chaos, the evening produced several unforgettable moments alongside some less memorable encounters. Here's every match from WWF No Way Out 2000, ranked from worst to best.

WWF No Way Out 2000 Results

Match Order	Match	Stipulation	Time	Winner
1	Chris Jericho Vs. Kurt Angle	WWF Intercontinental Championship Match	10:15	Kurt Angle
2	The New Age Outlaws Vs. The Dudley Boyz	WWF World Tag Team Championship Match	5:20	The Dudley Boyz
3	Mark Henry Vs. Viscera	Singles Match	3:48	Mark Henry
4	The Hardy Boyz Vs. Edge & Christian	No. 1 Contenders Match For The WWF World Tag Team Championship	16:55	Edge & Christian
5	Tazz Vs. The Big Bossman	Singles Match	0:47	Tazz (DQ)
6	Kane Vs. X-Pac	No Holds Barred Match	7:46	X-Pac
7	The Radicalz Vs. Too Cool	Six Man Tag Team Match	12:38	Too Cool
8	The Rock Vs. Big Show	No. 1 Contender Match For The WWF Championship	8:55	Big Show
9	Triple H Vs. Cactus Jack	Title Vs. Career Hell In A Cell Match For The WWF Championship	24:00	Triple H

9. Mark Henry Vs. Viscera

• Mae Young Was Involved In This Storyline

• This Was Mark Henry's Only PPV Match In 2000

• Viscera Would Be Released By The Company A Couple Of Months Later

This was an impromptu match set up after Mark Henry and Viscera got into a backstage brawl earlier on Heat. The match went for a little under four minutes and was painfully dull throughout.

Mae Young got involved in the contest, and Henry saved her from an attack by Viscera before defeating him with a body slam. God, I hate everything about this stupid angle, but at least this match was kept short.

• Rating: DUD

8. Tazz Vs. Big Boss Man

• This Was Only Tazz's Second WWF PPV Match

• It Was The Shortest Match On The Card

• Albert Got Involved And Caused The Disqualification

It's a shame that WWF ruined Tazz within a month of his explosive debut at the Royal Rumble. He went from defeating the undefeated Kurt Angle to feuding with Big Boss Man and Albert in a program that generated zero interest from fans. This match lasted only 47 seconds before Albert attacked Tazz, causing a disqualification.

The post-match brawl between Tazz and the two big men continued, including a spot where Boss Man hit Tazz with his nightstick and it broke. The only reason this ranks above Mark Henry vs. Viscera is because the torture here ended even quicker.

• Rating: No rating (N/R)

7. The Rock Vs. The Big Show (WWF Championship #1 Contender's Match)

• The Rock Won The 2000 Royal Rumble Match

• However, Big Show Claimed (And Proved) That He'd Actually Eliminated The Rock First

• The Winner Of This Match Would Get The WWF Title Shot At WrestleMania 2000

This match carried massive implications as the winner would challenge for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania 2000, but the storyline wasn't that interesting and was heavily carried by The Rock. The match itself was mediocre with some questionable booking decisions. At one point, Big Show attempted to hit The Rock with a steel chair, but The Rock stopped him from doing so. This made zero sense since it would have gotten Big Show disqualified, and there was no logical reason for Rock to prevent it.

Both men looked foolish in the process. Towards the end, Shane McMahon made a shocking return and helped Big Show win the match, kickstarting the infamous "McMahon in every corner" storyline heading into WrestleMania. A pretty boring match throughout, though Shane's surprise return was an undeniably cool moment. Can you imagine HHH vs. Big Show as the 'Mania main event though? Yeah, me neither.

• Rating: *3/4

6. The New Age Outlaws Vs. The Dudley Boyz (WWF Tag Team Championship)

• The Dudley Boyz Won Their First Championship In WWF/E At No Way Out 2000

• The New Age Outlaws Wouldn't Be Champions In WWE Again Until 2014

• Billy Gunn Was Injured In This Match And Would Only Wrestle His Next Match In October 2000

This was a heel vs. heel match, with The New Age Outlaws essentially playing the face-in-perils, as fans loved cheering for them. There's not much to discuss here, as it was basically an extended squash, with The Dudley Boyz capturing the WWF Tag Team Championships for the first time.

The Dudleys had a lot of momentum with their schtick of putting people through tables, so the title change made complete sense.

• Rating: **
  

5. Kane Vs. X-Pac (No Holds Barred Match)

• Kane & X-Pac Won The WWF Tag Team Championship Twice In 1999

• They Became Heated Rivals Months Later

• Kane Returned With Paul Bearer By His Side In Early 2000

I was really looking forward to this match as Kane was on fire (no pun intended) at this point with his recent alliance with Paul Bearer, and everyone wanted to see him get his revenge on X-Pac. It was a solid No Holds Barred bout with some cool action, including a memorable spot where Kane hit the Tombstone Piledriver on Tori, which was satisfying to watch.

However, for some reason, X-Pac actually won the match. The finish was certainly creative, and I understand they wanted to advance the storyline, but it made absolutely no sense for X-Pac to go over, especially without any outside interference. The match itself is decent though, until the questionable finish ruins it.

• Rating: **1/2

4. Chris Jericho Vs. Kurt Angle (WWF Intercontinental Championship)

• Kurt Angle Was The Reigning European Champion Heading Into This Match

• Because Of His Win, Kurt Angle Became The "Euro-Continental" Champion

• Kurt Angle And Chris Jericho Would Later Meet Again At King Of The Ring 2000

Kurt Angle entered this match as the European Champion, but only Chris Jericho's Intercontinental Championship was on the line in this contest. This was the match that kicked off the pay-per-view and was undoubtedly the perfect choice to open the show. The match ran for 10 minutes and was highly entertaining as both wrestlers' styles meshed beautifully together. Perhaps it could have been given a bit more time, but I have no complaints with what we got.

The finish saw Kurt Angle nail Jericho in the head with the Intercontinental Championship belt, which was a nice callback since the titles had been weaponized throughout the build-up. Angle became a double champion here and would have further altercations with Jericho later in the night to continue their storyline. Good stuff all around.

• Rating: ***1/4

3. Edge & Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz (WWF Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Match)

• This Was The First Time The Two Teams Met On PPV Since The Epic Ladder Match At No Mercy 1999

• The Hardy Boyz Were Coming Off A Huge Win Over The Dudley Boyz At The Royal Rumble

• Edge & Christian Would Soon Turn Heel

I wasn't too keen on watching this match, as I would have preferred seeing it on Raw or SmackDown. But I was quite satisfied and genuinely enjoyed what we got here. Terri made her first appearance after being put through a table by the damn Dudleys, and she played a huge role in the match, as she turned heel on The Hardy Boyz, helping Edge & Christian secure the victory. This match clocked in at almost 17 minutes, which is quite surprising.  It did drag a bit in the middle, but picked up towards the end with the final moments being pretty entertaining. WWF further teased the heel turn of Edge & Christian, as they were now the number one contenders for the tag team titles heading into WrestleMania.

• Rating: ***1/4

2. The Radicalz Vs. Too Cool & Rikishi

• The Radicalz Jumped From WCW To The WWF In January 2000

• They Faced Too Cool In Their First WWF PPV Match

• An Injured Eddie Guerrero Accompanied The Radicalz To The Ring

This was the WWF pay-per-view debut of The Radicalz, and the story heading into this match was compelling with Rikishi selling his injured ankle throughout the build. Both teams were incredibly over with the crowd, which made for a very enjoyable and energetic six-man tag team contest.

All matches involving The Radicalz since their WWF arrival had been impressive, and Too Cool & Rikishi were always entertaining to watch, so this combination was guaranteed to deliver. I'm not entirely sold on The Radicalz taking the loss here, but I suppose it made sense within the context of the story they were telling, especially with Rikishi overcoming his injury to help his team secure the victory.

• Rating: ***1/2

1. Triple H vs. Cactus Jack (WWF Championship: Hell In A Cell Title Vs. Career Match)

• Triple H Had Defeated Cactus Jack In A Brutal Street Fight At The Royal Rumble

• Cactus Jack Was Willing To Put His Career On The Line Just To Get Another Chance

• This Is One Of The Most Violent Hell In A Cell Matches Of All Time

This was the highly anticipated rematch from their classic Street Fight at Royal Rumble 2000 just one month prior. The stakes were at an all-time high as the WWF Championship match was contested inside Hell in a Cell with Cactus Jack's career on the line. Following up such a legendary encounter is extremely difficult, but these two wrestlers did an incredible job and delivered another instant classic that was nearly as good as their first battle. This was another brutal war with jaw-dropping spots, as both men put their bodies on the line, especially Cactus Jack who seemed determined to leave everything in the ring.

There was an insane spot where Cactus Jack attempted to hit a Piledriver on Triple H through a flaming 2×4 wrapped in barbed wire, but HHH back dropped Cactus through the cell, even breaking the ring upon his fall, which was the highlight of the match. Despite the carnage, Cactus Jack refused to give up, but Triple H ultimately retained his WWF Championship by hitting a Pedigree on the Hardcore Legend, ending Mick Foley's career in the process. Post-match, the crowd gave a standing ovation to Foley in an incredibly emotional moment. Of course, Foley would return for a match at WrestleMania 2000 and would wrestle more matches down the line, but this marked the end of his career as a full-time wrestler.

Foley winning here would have been epic, but it made complete sense for Triple H to go over, as he became an even bigger main event star coming out of this match. What a phenomenal way to cap off the show.

• Rating: ****3/4

And that’s all for today’s post, thank you all for reading. Stay tuned for the next post of this series where we will rank the matches of WrestleMania 2000. Have a nice day! Enjoyed the breakdown? Join our wrestling Discord server to connect with fans, share predictions, and talk your favorite matches anytime.