Thanks to our own Lou Corsaro for the following…
The press conference for No Way Out, the last pay-per-view before WrestleMania 21 offered a little more than the usual meet-and-greet stuff this time around.
With, bizarrely, precious few matches announced for the PPV leading into Thursday’s Smackdown, it’s no surprise they offered some more information..
Rey Mysterio came out and said he would be getting a shot at the Basham Brothers for the tag-team titles. In need of a new partner with Rob Van Dam out, he introduced him: Eddie Guerrero.
Torrie Wilson – who is just absolutely, stunningly gorgeous in person – came out to announce the 2005 Smackdown Diva Competition. She explained it would be a swimsuit, talent and evening gown challenge to determine the 2005 Smackdown Diva. Whatever that means. Joy and Michelle will be among the competitors, but Amy Weber’s name was absent. That should help confirm her departure from WWE.
It was also announced by Big Show – attending with Joy Giovanni, also stunning – that Batista would be at No Way Out. Obviously, this will be a “guest of General Manager Teddy Long” kinda thing to tease his contract signing on the next night’s Raw.
With the event taking place here in Pittsburgh, it should be no surprise that Kurt Angle received a warm welcome. But it was John Cena the crowd went nuts for, and he graciously stayed longer than the rest of the wrestlers in attendance to sign autographs, leaving only when a handler made him do so.
With the press conference in the books, that puts the No Way Out card for Sunday like this:
Big Show vs. JBL (barbed-wire steel cage match for the WWE Title)
Kurt Angle vs. Booker T or John Cena in the No. 1 contender’s match
Rey Mysterio & Eddie Guerrero vs. the Basham Brothers (Tag Team Titles)
Luther Reigns vs. Undertaker
2005 Smackdown Diva Challenge
Overall, not a terrible card and we can probably expect a cruiserweight title match to be added on Smackdown – I hope.
Lou Corsaro
