WWE: Flashback Friday! Hell In A Cell Classic - A Look Back At No Way Out 2000

Apologies I missed this feature last week had a mental busy few days but I made sure I'd get this one in, even if it is with an hour or so to spare!

This week I'm sticking to the trend of steering away from the "big" pay-per-views, WrestleMania, Rumble, SummerSlam and Survivor Series (until next week anyway, next week's Flashback Friday will be Survivor Series 1998) when I review No Way Out 2000 from Hartford, Conn.

I hope to hear back on your memories of the event or if you hadn’t before seen it ,and watched it on my recommendation, what you thought of it. Suggestions for future Flashback Fridays are welcome also.

I think it's fitting to review this weekend as it was headlined by a Hell In A Cell match between the then WWF Champion Triple H and his challenger Mick "Cactus Jack" Foley.

Foley had reverted to his Cactus Jack character a month earlier just days before the Royal Rumble when he and Triple H tore up Madison Square Garden in a New York City Street Fight. So the only way to top that was inside the Hell In A Cell.

Cactus talked about the great career he has had, and that the only thing he wanted to accomplish that he never did was headline WrestleMania. So he asked Triple H for a rematch for No Way Out with the winner going on to the biggest stage of them all.

Triple H, who at the time was in control of the WWE alongside his bride Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, told Cactus he could only get a rematch if he agreed to retire should he be in unsuccessful in challenging for the WWF Title.

However earlier in the show, The Rock and the Big Show battled to determine who would challenge the winner of the Hell In A Cell. The previous month,  The Rock questionably won the Royal Rumble and Big Show was granted a match as he showed video that proved The People's Champ's feet touched the floor first.

During the match when referee Timmy White was knocked out, we saw the return of Shane McMahon after a five month absence and helped The Big Show defeat The Rock and win the 'Mania title shot.

The opening match of the card was for the Intercontinental Championship. Chris Jericho put the strap on the line against the European Champion Kurt Angle, and it could have been a classic but Chyna's interference took that away.

The Tag Team title match was notable as not only was it the first time that Buh-Buh Ray and D'von—The Dudley Boyz—won the WWF Tag Team Titles, but it was also the last ever match for the New Age Outlaws.

Road Dogg and Billy Gunn would team together in TNA as The James Gang and also the Voodoo Kin Mafia, but this event was the last time we would see New Age Outlaws as they would lose the titles to the Dudleyz and the next night D-Generation X kicked Billy Gunn out of the faction.

Mark Henry wrestled Viscera and Mae Young interfered. They expected people to pay for that. Shocking, I know.

Kane wrestled X-Pac on the pay-per-view for the third time in four months and it was old and stale at that stage.

Despite being sided with Paul Bearer, Kane could not overcome X-Pac and lost to end the feud. 10 years on, imagine X-Pac going over Kane on pay-per-view. Imagine X-Pac on pay-per-view.

The rest of the show had forgettable matches: Tazz and the Big Bossman in a 83 second farce. Rikishi, Scotty 2 Hotty and Grand Master Sexay (Too Cool) defeated Perry Saturn, Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit of The Radicalz, and Edge and Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz.

They were given a quarter of an hour, but compared to their TLC matches—their cage match later that year, and their original Ladder Match from No Mercy 1999—made this look like a house show effort.

But the main event saw, Triple H, in his home state of Connecticut, against Cactus Jack in a great Hell In A Cell.

Foley, remembered for arguably the greatest Hell In A Cell moment, made some more history here as he was knocked from the side of the Cell through the announcers table once again.

As he stood on top of the Cell getting ready to deliver a piledriver to Helmsley onto a 4x4, wrapped in barbed wire and set on fire (long before TV-PG!), Triple H countered with a back body drop which caused Cactus to go break through the Cell into the ring and crash through the canvas.

When Triple H made his way into the Cell somehow, someway Cactus began to move! Triple H who was as shocked as the 14,000 in attendance picked up Cactus and hit a Pedigree to retain the title and force Foley to end his 15-year career.

However, a few weeks later Linda McMahon would grant Foley his wish of headlining WrestleMania and put him in the WWF Title match against Triple H, Big Show and The Rock.  Foley would be first eliminated and would then retire.

But like every other wrestler, Foley could not resist temptation and would come out of retirement four years later at WrestleMania XX, as we know he still wrestles today for TNA.

A great "smaller pay-per-view" with a great main event.

Well worth the watch for the Hell In A Cell match alone. I can guarantee you we won't see anything like this on Sunday. I'd be surprised if anybody even leaves the Cell.

Next week, I'll be reviewing Survivor Series 1998. Billed as "The Deadly Game", 14 Superstars would compete in an elimination-style tournament to crown a new WWF Champion.

So get ready for one of the best PPVs in WWE History.

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Duane Doogan runs The Wrestling Voice website, who earlier today interviewed Chris Jericho, so look out for that and is also looking for new writers to write for the site. So check out WrestlingVoice.net if you are interested.