It is often forgotten, but Kurt Angle's first run as WWE Champion didn't go so well. He was booked pretty weakly throughout it, winning the title in unconvincing fashion and managing to hold onto the thing despite looking inferior in the finishes. Still, this is Kurt Angle we're talking about, and the one thing WWE Kurt Angle always provided was great matches. His chemistry with The Rock was legendary, and their match for the strap at No Way Out 2001 was one of their best in the early days. Rocky would pick up the win, ending Angle's reign but somehow making him look good despite the result. That is the thing with this match; it is absolutely fantastic, despite many decisions being made that should lead to a different result. The Big Show walks out and chokeslams everyone at one point, which had no future resolution or even make a difference to the match itself. Earl Hebner screws up a number of things throughout. Angle and Rock put on a classic however, with Angle's intensity coming to the fore with the ankle lock in the closing stretch. I'll never tire of wrestlers imploring their opponent to tap out whilst locking a submission on them, it adds so much in the way of intensity and desperation to big matches. Hebner screws up the finish, Rock hits a second Rock Bottom and that's all she wrote. Kurt Angle and The Rock put on a fantastic match in 2001, which would rank a lot higher in the echelons of WWE main events if it wasn't for all the idiocy that came with it.