No Way Out
Promotional poster featuringScott Steiner
Promotion	World Wrestling Entertainment
Brand(s)	Raw SmackDown!
Date	February 23, 2003
City	Montreal,Quebec,Canada
Venue	Bell Centre
Attendance	15,100[1]
Buy rate	450,000[2]
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous Royal Rumble Next → WrestleMania XIX
No Way Out chronology
← Previous 2002 Next → 2004
WWE in Canada chronology
← Previous WrestleMania X8 Next → Backlash

The 2003No Way Out was the fifthNo Way Outprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion'sRaw andSmackDown!brand divisions. The event took place on February 23, 2003, at theBell Centre inMontreal,Quebec,Canada. It was 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, as well as the first held under the first brand extension that began in March 2002. This was also the first WWE pay-per-view held in Montreal since the infamousMontreal Screwjob atSurvivor Series in 1997.

Themain event from the SmackDown! brand was a rematch fromWrestleMania X8 betweenHulk Hogan andThe Rock, which The Rock won bypinfall afterSylvain Grenier, the referee of the match, allowed Rock to hit Hogan with asteel chair, which proceeded to aRock Bottom. The main event from the Raw brand was aWorld Heavyweight Championship match betweenTriple H andScott Steiner, which Triple H won via pinfall, after he hit Steiner with the championship belt and aPedigree. The primary match on theundercard from Raw was the encounter ofSteve Austin andEric Bischoff, which Austin won via pinfall after three consecutiveStone Cold Stunners. The main match on the undercard from SmackDown! was asix-man tag team match betweenTeam Angle (Kurt Angle,Charlie Haas, andShelton Benjamin) and the team ofBrock Lesnar,Edge, andChris Benoit, where Edge was unable to participate in the match due to injury. The match, however, was won by Lesnar and Benoit viasubmission, after Benoit forced Haas to submit to theCrippler Crossface.

No Way Out was first held byWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as the20th In Your Housepay-per-view (PPV) in February 1998. Following the discontinuation of theIn Your House series in 1999,^[3] No Way Out returned inFebruary 2000 as its own PPV event, thus establishing it as the annual February PPV for the promotion. The 2003 event was the fifth event in the No Way Out chronology and was held on February 23 at theBell Centre inMontreal, Quebec, Canada.^[1][4] It was also the first held under the WWE name, as the promotion was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE in May 2002.^[5] It was also the first No Way Out held during thebrand extension that was introduced in March 2002, a storyline subdivision in which the promotion divided its roster into two separate brands,Raw andSmackDown!, where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform.^[6] The 2003 event in turn featured wrestlers from both brands.^[1]

On the January 23 episode ofSmackDown!,SmackDown! General ManagerStephanie McMahon announced the return ofHulk Hogan to WWE.^{[7][8][unreliable source?]} During the returningsegment of Hogan, the WWE Chairman,Vince McMahon, came down to thering to insult Hogan, resulting in Hogan challenging McMahon into a match. However, Hogan then proceeded to attack McMahon.^[7][8] The attack led to McMahon accepting Hogan's challenge. On the January 30 episode ofSmackDown! however, McMahon insteadbooked a rematch fromWrestleMania X8 between Hogan and his representative,The Rock at No Way Out; thus reigniting thefeud between The Rock and Hogan.^{[9][10][unreliable source?]} During the weeks leading to No Way Out, both The Rock and Hogan cut promos on who was the better wrestler.^{[11][unreliable source?]} The feud intensified on the February 20 episode ofSmackDown! 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.^{[12][13][unreliable source?]}

At theRoyal Rumble,Kurt Angle successfully defended theWWE Championship againstChris Benoit, whileBrock Lesnar won theRoyal Rumble match later in the night to earn himself a WWE Championship match atWrestleMania XIX. On the January 23 episode ofSmackDown!, Kurt Angle confronted his protégés,Team Angle (Charlie Haas andShelton Benjamin), about their losses that night, as Benjamin waspinned byEdge, while Haas was pinned by Benoit.^[7][8] On the January 30 episode ofSmackDown!, Haas and Benjamin were booked in atag 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.^[9][10] Haas and Benjamin would then defeat the then-reigningWWE Tag Team Champions,Los Guerreros, to win the WWE Tag Team Championship on the February 6 episode ofSmackDown!.^[11] On the February 13 episode ofSmackDown!, 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.^{[14][unreliable source?][15]} On the February 20 episode ofSmackDown!, 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.^[12][13] As Lesnar then wrestled Angle,Paul Heyman, who was at ringside, interfered in the match and hit Lesnar with asteel chair, causing Angle to lose bydisqualification.^[12][13]

On the January 20 episode ofRaw,Eric Bischoff made an announcement about howStone Cold Steve Austin walked out on the 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.^{[16][unreliable source?][17]} Bischoff also invited Austin to make an appearance at No Way Out.^[16][17] On the January 27 episode ofRaw, Bischoff stated that Austin has agreed to tell his story in the Raw magazine.^{[18][unreliable source?][19]} On the February 3 episode ofRaw, Bischoff headed toTexas, to sign Austin to the Raw brand. But, he was unsuccessful in doing so, as he could not locate Austin anywhere.^{[20][unreliable source?][21]} On the February 10 episode ofRaw, Bischoff (kayfabe) firedJim Ross, after Bischoff stated that it was Ross' fault that Austin had not signed yet to the brand.^{[22][unreliable source?][23]} Vince McMahon had stated the previous week that he would fire Bischoff andChief 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".^[22][23] 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.^[22][23]

At the Royal Rumble, a scheduled match for theWorld Heavyweight Championship sawTriple H defend the title againstScott Steiner. The match saw Steiner defeat Triple H by disqualification, after Triple H brought asledgehammer in during the match. As a result, Triple H retained the World Heavyweight Championship.^{[24][unreliable source?]} On the January 20 episode ofRaw, Steiner was put in a match againstBatista. In the match, Batista was disqualified after interference fromRandy Orton.^[16][17] After the match, Triple H,Ric Flair, Orton and Batista all attacked Steiner, which led to Triple H performing a Pedigree on Steiner.^[16][17] On the February 3 episode ofRaw, Triple H officially formed thestable known asEvolution with Flair, Orton, and Batista.^[20][21] That same night, a number one contender's match was scheduled betweenChris Jericho and Steiner, in which the winner would meet Triple H at No Way Out for the World Heavyweight Championship.^[20][21] The match saw Steiner defeat Jericho.^[20][21]

After hisHell in a Cell match with Brock Lesnar atNo 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 toSmackDown! fromRaw 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 atRoyal Rumble and was the last participant eliminated from the Royal Rumble match by Lesnar who won. On the January 23 episode ofSmackDown!, Undertaker made his return and called out Big Show but instead Big Show sent outA-Train to face Undertaker in a match which Undertaker won. The following three weeks, saw Big Show through his agentPaul Heyman sending Undertaker boxed gifts to the ring such asBrother Love,Chris Kanyon who was dressed as singerBoy 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.

Before the event airedlive onpay-per-view,Rey Mysterio defeatedJamie Noble onSunday Night Heat.^[25] The first match was betweenJeff Hardy andChris Jericho.^[25][26] Jericho forced Hardy to submit to theWalls of Jericho to win the match.^[27][28]

Next was aWorld Tag Team Championship match betweenKane andRob Van Dam andWilliam Regal andLance Storm.^[25][26] 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.^[29][26]

The third match was aCruiserweight Championship match betweenMatt Hardy andBilly Kidman.^[25][26] Hardy executed a Twist of Fate off the top rope to win the title.^[26][30]

Next was a match betweenBig Show andThe Undertaker.^[25][30] The Undertaker forced Big Show to pass out to a Triangle Choke to win the match.^[26][30]

In the fifth match,Team Angle (Kurt Angle,Charlie Haas, andShelton Benjamin) facedBrock Lesnar andChris Benoit in a3-on-2 Handicap Match.^[25] 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.^[27][29] Lesnar and Benoit won the match after Benoit forced Haas to submit to the Crippler Crossface.^[26][30]

Next was aWorld Heavyweight Championship match betweenScott Steiner andTriple H.^[25][30] AfterEvolution (Ric Flair,Randy Orton andBatista) interfered, Steiner attacked them, which caused the referee,Earl Hebner, to eject them.^[25][29] Triple H hit Steiner with the title belt and executed aPedigree to retain the title.^[31][26]

The final match on theundercard was a match betweenEric Bischoff andSteve Austin.^[25][30] Before the match began, Bischoff offered Austin a chance to forfeit the match, but Austin attacked him instead.^{[32][unreliable source?][27]} Bischoff attempted to escape by running around ringside only to be attacked once again by Austin.^[32][30] As Austin rolled Bischoff back into the ring, he performed theStone Cold Stunner on Bischoff. As Austin pinned Bischoff, Austin deliberately broke the pinfall to perform two more Stunners on Bischoff to win the match.^[29][30]

Themain event was theWrestleMania X8 rematch betweenHulk Hogan andThe Rock.^[25][31] The Rock executed aRock Bottom on Hogan and applied two consecutivePeople's Elbows. Hogan performed aBig Boot and aLeg drop but as the referee counted the pinfall, the lights in the arena went off.^[31][29] As the lights came back on, the referee,Sylvain Grenier, was unconscious, allowingVince McMahon to distract Hogan, which allowed the referee to hand a steel chair to The Rock, which he hit Hogan with.^[27][29] The Rock executed a Rock Bottom to win the match.^[25][31]

On the February 27 episode ofSmackDown!,Vince McMahon announced thatThe Rock had chosen to be part of theRaw brand, thus making him Raw exclusive and ending the feud between The Rock andHulk Hogan.^{[33][unreliable source?][34]} On the Raw brand, The Rock immediately began a feud withStone Cold Steve Austin, and on the March 3 episode ofRaw, The Rock challenged Austin to a match atWrestleMania XIX. However, Raw General ManagerEric Bischoff announced that if The Rock defeatedBooker T the following week onRaw, he would have the choice to either face Austin or have aWorld Heavyweight Championship match againstTriple H at WrestleMania.^{[35][unreliable source?][36]} The following week onRaw, The Rock announced that instead of facing Booker T, he would choose his own opponent, in which he choseThe Hurricane.^{[37][unreliable source?][38]} During the match, however, Austin came out to the ring and distracted The Rock, which allowed The Hurricane toroll up The Rock into a pinfall; despite losing the match, The Rock chose Austin as his WrestleMania opponent.^[37][38] At WrestleMania, The Rock defeated Austin via pinfall.^[39][40]

After No Way Out, Vince McMahon continued his feud with Hulk Hogan, in which he proclaimed that Hulkamania was dead and proclaiming a new mania; McMahonamania.^{[41][unreliable source?][42]} On the March 6 episode ofSmackDown!, Hogan informed McMahon that Hulkamania was not dead and that McMahon had nothing to do with creating it.^{[43][unreliable source?][44]} McMahon informed Hogan that he did not hate Hulkamaniacs or Hulkamania, but he hated Hogan; McMahon explained that he hated Hogan, because he left WWE and went to work forTed Turner's promotionWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW).^[43][44] McMahon also stated that he hated Hogan for the fact that Hogan testified against him in his steroid trial (even though in reality Hogan testifed that McMahon never told anyone to take steroids).^[43][44] McMahon challenged Hogan to a Street Fight at WrestleMania XIX, to the stipulation that if he beat Hogan, he would never wrestle again and stating he would kill Hulkamania.^[43][44] On the March 20 episode ofSmackDown!, the contract signing between McMahon and Hogan's match at WrestleMania took place.^{[45][unreliable source?][46]} During the contract signing, McMahon attacked Hogan from behind with a steel chair.^[45][46] The attack led to McMahon stabbing Hogan with a pen in the forehead and forcing him to sign the contract in Hogan's blood.^[45][46] At WrestleMania, Hogan defeated McMahon in after threeLeg drops.^[47]

Although the 2003 No Way Out featured wrestlers from both Raw and SmackDown!, thefollowing year's event was made exclusive to the SmackDown! brand.^[48]

In 2008,J.D. Dunn of 411Mania gave the event a rating of 5.0 [Not so good], stating "If you cut out the "money" matches, this is a decent show (well, keep Hogan/Rock II). Austin abusing Bischoff, while fun for people who hate Bischoff isn't something that belongs on ppv. The World Title match was just horrible, a worth suck-sessor to their Rumble match. The atmosphere was great, but the actual matches- outside of the handicap tag- didn't live up to ppv status. Thumbs down."^[49]

• Professional wrestling in Canada

• Official No Way Out 2003 WebsiteArchived 2011-05-25 at theWayback Machine

• Professional wrestling shows in Montreal
• WWE No Way Out
• 2003 in Montreal
• 2003 WWE pay-per-view events
• February 2003 in Canada
• WWE in Canada

• CS1: long volume value
• Accuracy disputes from August 2022
• CS1 errors: missing title
• CS1 errors: bare URL
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• All articles lacking reliable references
• Articles lacking reliable references from February 2012
• Webarchive template wayback links