The 2003 No Way Out was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the American promotion World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the fifth No Way Out and took place on February 23, 2003, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions.
This was the first No Way Out held under the first brand extension that began in March 2002, and it was the last to feature multiple brands until 2008, as beginning with Bad Blood in June, all monthly PPVs outside of the "Big Four" (WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Royal Rumble) became brand-exclusive until brand-exclusive PPVs were discontinued after WrestleMania 23 in April 2007. This was also the first No Way Out produced under the WWE name, after the promotion was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE in May 2002. This was also the first WWE pay-per-view event held in Montreal since the infamous Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series in 1997.
The main event from the SmackDown! brand was a rematch from WrestleMania X8 between Hulk Hogan and The Rock, which The Rock won by pinfall after Sylvain Grenier, the referee of the match, allowed Rock to hit Hogan with a steel chair, which proceeded to a Rock Bottom. The main event from the Raw brand was a World Heavyweight Championship match between Triple H and Scott Steiner, which Triple H won via pinfall, after he hit Steiner with the championship belt and a Pedigree. The primary match on the undercard from Raw was the encounter of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Eric Bischoff, which Austin won via pinfall after three consecutive Stone Cold Stunners. The main match on the undercard from SmackDown! was a Handicap match between Team Angle (Kurt Angle, Charlie Haas, and Shelton Benjamin) and the team of Brock Lesnar and Chris Benoit, where Edge (Lesnar and Benoit's partner) was unable to participate in the match due to injury. The match, however, was won by Lesnar and Benoit via submission, after Benoit forced Haas to submit to the Crippler Crossface.
Production Background No Way Out was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event first held by the American promotion World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as the 20th In Your House PPV in February 1998. Following the discontinuation of the In Your House series in February 1999, No Way Out was reinstated in February 2000 as its own PPV event, thus establishing it as the annual February PPV for the promotion. The fifth event was held on February 23, 2003, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This was the first WWE pay-per-view event in Montreal since the infamous Montreal Screwjob at the 1997 Survivor Series.
This was the first No Way Out held under the WWE name, as the promotion was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE in May 2002. It was also the first No Way Out held during the brand extension that was introduced in March 2002, a storyline subdivision in which the promotion divided its roster into two separate brands, Raw and SmackDown!, where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform. The 2003 event in turn featured wrestlers from both brands.
Storylines On the January 23 episode of SmackDown!, SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon announced the return of Hulk Hogan to WWE. During the returning segment of Hogan, the WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon, came down to the ring to insult Hogan, resulting in Hogan challenging McMahon into a match. However, Hogan then proceeded to attack McMahon. The attack led to McMahon accepting Hogan's challenge. On the January 30 episode of SmackDown! however, McMahon instead booked a rematch from WrestleMania X8 between Hogan and his representative, The Rock at No Way Out; thus reigniting the feud between The Rock and Hogan. During the weeks leading to No Way Out, both The Rock and Hogan cut promos on who was the better wrestler. The feud intensified on the February 20 episode of SmackDown! where The Rock made his first live appearance on WWE television in 6 months. The Rock acted genuine as if he was attempting to shake Hogan's hand, but then spat water into Hogan's face.
At the Royal Rumble, Kurt Angle successfully defended the WWE Championship against Chris Benoit, while Brock Lesnar won the Royal Rumble match later in the night to earn himself a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania XIX. On the January 23 episode of SmackDown!, Kurt Angle confronted his protégés, Team Angle (Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin), about their losses that night, as Benjamin was pinned by Edge, while Haas was pinned by Benoit. On the January 30 episode of SmackDown!, Haas and Benjamin were booked in a tag team match against Edge and Benoit. During the match, Angle interfered in Haas and Benjamin's behalf, which allowed them to pin Edge and Benoit for the win. Haas and Benjamin would then defeat the then-reigning WWE Tag Team Champions, Los Guerreros, to win the WWE Tag Team Championship on the February 6 episode of SmackDown!. On the February 13 episode of SmackDown!, General Manager Stephanie McMahon announced a match between Team Angle (Angle, Haas, and Benjamin) against the team of Lesnar, Benoit, and Edge at No Way Out, thus the official beginning of the Team Angle-Team Lesnar feud. On the February 20 episode of SmackDown!, Angle was booked in a match against Lesnar, however, before the match started, Angle stated that Lesnar had to defeat Haas and Benjamin before he could wrestle Angle, which Lesnar was able to do. As Lesnar then wrestled Angle, Paul Heyman, who was at ringside, interfered in the match and hit Lesnar with a steel chair, causing Angle to lose by disqualification.
On the January 20 episode of Raw, Eric Bischoff made an announcement about how "Stone Cold" Steve Austin walked out on WWE during the summer of 2002 with no explanation and that he would like to give Austin an opportunity to give his side of the story. Bischoff also invited Austin to make an appearance at No Way Out. On the January 27 episode of Raw, Bischoff stated that Austin has agreed to tell his story in the Raw magazine. On the February 3 episode of Raw, Bischoff headed to Texas, to sign Austin to the Raw brand. But, he was unsuccessful in doing so, as he could not locate Austin anywhere. On the February 10 episode of Raw, Bischoff (kayfabe) fired Jim Ross, after Bischoff stated that it was Ross' fault that Austin had not signed yet to the brand. Vince McMahon had stated the previous week that he would fire Bischoff and Chief Morley due to the way they were running Raw the last couple of weeks, and due to the fact that Bischoff had not yet signed Austin to the Raw brand. That night, McMahon asked Bischoff if he had signed Austin yet, which prompted Bischoff to say "no". Before McMahon could fire Bischoff, however, Ross informed McMahon that Austin would be at No Way Out, which led to McMahon booking a match between Bischoff and Austin at No Way Out.
At the Royal Rumble, a scheduled match for the World Heavyweight Championship saw Triple H defend the title against Scott Steiner. The match saw Steiner defeat Triple H by disqualification, after Triple H brought a sledgehammer in during the match. As a result, Triple H retained the World Heavyweight Championship. On the January 20 episode of Raw, Steiner was put in a match against Batista. In the match, Batista was disqualified after interference from Randy Orton. After the match, Triple H, Ric Flair, Orton and Batista all attacked Steiner, which led to Triple H performing a Pedigree on Steiner. On the February 3 episode of Raw, Triple H officially formed the stable known as Evolution with Flair, Orton, and Batista. That same night, a number one contender's match was scheduled between Chris Jericho and Steiner, in which the winner would meet Triple H at No Way Out for the World Heavyweight Championship. The match saw Steiner defeat Jericho.
After his Hell in a Cell match with Brock Lesnar at No Mercy in October, The Undertaker came to the ring and called out Lesnar who apologized for bringing Undertaker's wife Sara into the feud and stated that he earned his respect. After Lesnar departed from the ring, Big Show who had been traded to SmackDown! from Raw came to the ring and stated that it was because of him that Lesnar was able to defeat Undertaker and referred to him as a broken down has-been. Undertaker stated back that he would rather be a broken down has-been than a giant that never was, referring to Big Show. When Undertaker walked up to the stage and posed for the crowd, Big Show emerged from the back and attacked him before gorilla pressing him over head and throwing him off the stage. As a result of the attack, Undertaker was injured and placed out of action for over three months. In January he returned at Royal Rumble and was the last participant eliminated from the Royal Rumble match by Lesnar who won. On the January 23 episode of SmackDown!, Undertaker made his return and called out Big Show but instead Big Show sent out A-Train to face Undertaker in a match which Undertaker won. The following three weeks, saw Big Show through his agent Paul Heyman sending Undertaker boxed gifts to the ring such as Brother Love, Chris Kanyon who was dressed as singer Boy George and finally a puppy in what turned out to be an ambush as Big Show attacked Undertaker from behind and Chokeslammed him. This led to a match between the two at No Way Out.
Event + Other on-screen personnelRole:Name:English commentatorsJonathan Coachman Jerry Lawler Jim Ross Michael Cole Tazz Spanish commentatorsCarlos CabreraHugo SavinovichInterviewersJonathan CoachmanJosh MathewsRing announcersHoward Finkel Tony Chimel RefereeCharles Robinson Nick Patrick Jack Doan Earl Hebner Chad Patton Mike Chioda Jim Korderas Brian Hebner Mike Sparks General ManagersEric Bischoff Stephanie McMahon
Preliminary matches
Before the event aired live on pay-per-view, Mark Henry defeated John Cena in a dark match and Rey Mysterio defeated Jamie Noble on Sunday Night Heat. The first match was between Jeff Hardy and Chris Jericho. Jericho forced Hardy to submit to the Walls of Jericho to win the match.
Next was a World Tag Team Championship match between Kane and Rob Van Dam and William Regal and Lance Storm. After Storm pulled Kane's mask, preventing him from seeing, Kane executed a Chokeslam on Van Dam. Storm pinned Van Dam to retain the title.
The third match was a Cruiserweight Championship match between Matt Hardy and Billy Kidman. Hardy executed a Twist of Fate off the top rope to win the title.
Next was a match between Big Show and The Undertaker. The Undertaker forced Big Show to pass out to a Triangle Choke to win the match.
Main event matches In the fifth match, Team Angle (Kurt Angle, Charlie Haas, and Shelton Benjamin) faced Brock Lesnar and Chris Benoit in a 3-on-2 Handicap Match. Before the match, Edge was attacked backstage and it was announced he was unable to compete, thus make it 3-on-2. Edge had suffered a severe neck injury prior to the event, and was forced to be written off of television for the foreseeable future. Lesnar and Benoit won the match after Benoit forced Haas to submit to the Crippler Crossface.
Next was a World Heavyweight Championship match between Scott Steiner and Triple H. After Evolution (Ric Flair, Randy Orton and Batista) interfered, Steiner attacked them, which caused the referee, Earl Hebner, to eject them. Triple H hit Steiner with the title belt and executed a Pedigree to retain the title.