WWE "No Mercy" - SmackDown™ Pay-Per-View
Location: Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
by "Rockin" Robin Drodge
Event
Date: October 3, 2004
Report Date: October 3, 2004
Match number one - Eddie Guerrero Vs Luther Reigns
This was the first match at No Mercy. The fans were really into this match when Eddie Guerrero scored the pin-fall with his frog splash.
Match number two - WWE Cruiserweight Championship Spike Dudley Vs Nunzio.
The Dudleys were at ringside for this match. The match went back and forth until the Dudleys got involved and helped Spike pick up the pin-fall victory to retain the Cruiserweight Championship.
Match number three - Paul London Vs Billy Kidman.
The fans didn't know what to expect in this match. They did not know who to cheer for so the match was rather quiet. Kidman went to the top rope to attempt the shooting star press but he stopped and then decided to leave. The fans started to boo Kidman.
Later, Kidman returned to the ring, London went for Kidman's own move which was the shooting star press. Kidman put his legs up and then went for the shooting star press to pick up the pin-fall victory. After the match, London was bleeding, I'm not sure if this was for real or not. The Commentators at ringside, Michael Cole and Tazz, said that London had suffered internal injuries but I question this. Next, Kidman got on the microphone and asked the fans if they wanted to see him perform the shooting star press in the ring. He said that the fans were sick because he, himself, had just injured another wrestler. Subsequently, London was strapped to a stretcher and Kidman hit him with the shooting star press once again.
Match number four - WWE Tag Team Championship, Kenzo Suzuki and Rene Dupree Vs Rob Van Dam and Rey Mysterio.
This match was ok; Suzuki and Dupree retained the Tag Team Championship.
Match number five - Big show Vs Kurt Angle.
The match started off with Angle and the Big Show going at it. Angle had enough and decided to leave, resulting in him getting counted out. Afterwards, the General Manager of SmackDown™, Theodore Long, said that the match would continue but if Angle wanted to have it "this way and walk away" that he would never wrestle again on SmackDown™. He said the match would restart where Angle had a count of 10 to return to the ring, if he did not he would get fired. Angle just made it back in on a nine count and the match continued. The ending came when the Big Show choke slammed Angle from the top rope to pick up the pin-fall victory.
Match number six - Best of five series finals to determine the undisputed United States Champion. Booker T Vs John Cena.
Cena had hit the FU to win the match and to become the undisputed United States Champion. He won the series by a score of three matches to two.
Match number seven - A six-person tag team match between the team of Charlie Haas, Rico and Miss Jackie Vs the team of the Dudley Boys and Dawn Marie.
This match was ok and saw some Diva action between Dawn and Jackie. They really can't wrestle very well and actually didn't wrestle that much. Rico hit a Moonsault from the top rope and picked up the pin-fall victory to win the match for his team.
Match number eight - WWE Championship "Last Ride Match", John "Bradshaw" Layfield Vs the Undertaker.
The rules for the match were there would be a Hearse at ringside. The only way for that match to end was for either JBL to put the Undertaker into the Hearse and drive it out of the arena or vice versa. Other than this, there were no rules such as pin-falls, submissions, count outs or disqualifications. This match was brutal in that both the Undertaker and JBL went all out with the steps at ringside; hitting each other and whatever else they could do with the steps in order to get the advantage in the match.
Afterwards, they used a steel chair and then the Undertaker had hit a tombstone on JBL on to the steps and then choke slammed JBL through the Spanish announcer's table that was at ringside for the Spanish Commentators.
The Undertaker went up to the Hearse and started to open the door. At this time, Heidenreich came out of the Hearse and attacked the Undertaker. He had used chloroform; the Undertaker was then placed into the Hearse and was being driven out of the arena. However, this did not happen because the Undertaker got back up and kicked open the door. Afterwards, JBL hit the "Clothesline from Hell" whereby the Undertaker was placed back into the Hearse and was driven out of the arena. JBL won the match to retain the WWE Championship. Later in the Parking Lot garage, it was revealed that Paul Heyman had driven the Hearse, and then Heidenreich who was in a 4x4 truck crashed into the Hearse, causing some destruction as the show went off the air.
Overall it was ok, but nothing great.
Some additional comments related to "No Mercy".
ü Once again they did not announce how many fans were in attendance for this Pay-Per-View event, so I really wonder why and would like to know the actual number.
ü In some of the matches they had the fans really into it but for the rest of the matches, the fans were rather quiet and not much reaction at all. There was a little reaction for the Big Show in the match between him and Kurt Angle, but the fans didn't really react well to the Big Show as a baby-face in that match.
ü One thing I am questioning is the move of giving John Cena the United States Championship when he won't be around to wrestle much, due to the fact he is currently in the process of filming a movie in Australia. Why would they give him the Title now? My guess is that this Thursday on SmackDown™ he will lose the Title or shortly afterwards, in order to go back to re-filming the movie.
ü The Tag Team Championship match was ok but right now the WWE needs to rethink what they are doing. They have two wrestlers, Rob Van Dam and Rey Mysterio, that can wrestle and put on some good matches, but the Writers on SmackDown™ don't seem to know exactly what to do with them. These wrestlers haven't been given an opportunity to challenge for a serious championship.
ü On the other hand, you have two mid carders, Kenzo Suzuki and Rene Dupree. They were both singles wrestler(s) and for some reason they were paired up as a Tag Team. There was no explanation given to why they were put together as a Tag Team. The other thing that did not make any sense in my opinion is that the WWE gave them the Tag Team Championship.
ü In the six-person Tag Team match between the Dudley Boys and Dawn Marie Vs the team of Charlie Haas, Rico and Miss Jackie. I can certainly understand why the Dudleys, Charlie Haas and Rico were in the match because for a while over the summer on SmackDown™ the two teams were going at it in a feud. However, the feud was cut short because of an injury to Rico. After he returned to action they continued the feud from where they left off. I think that this feud will continue for a while before it comes to an end. I am not sure what they are doing with Jackie and Dawn Marie. This is a fact that in real life, Charlie Haas and Jackie are engaged and probably will get married some time in the next year.
ü I guess the WWE wanted to make this fact known so this is why they brought the issue of Jackie's ring up on SmackDown™ this past week before "No Mercy". Then they had Dawn Marie drawn into the middle of this situation, whereby they said that she was having an affair with Haas. I don't know if they are turning Haas "heel" or what they are doing, but they are trying to do something with Jackie and Dawn Marie. I don't know if this is to give them more Television time to wrestle more or to further develop the ongoing feud between the three of them.
The ending of the "Last Ride match" was easy to predict and the feud between the Undertaker and Heidenreich has been planned for a few months now. In fact, Heidenreich was supposed to interfere at Summerslam™ and then start the feud with the Undertaker at that time, but the WWE did not feel that he was ready just yet. So what they decided to do was to plan a match between the Undertaker and Heidenreich at the Survivor Series. The plan was that Heidenreich would interfere in the "Last Ride" Match and help JBL keep the WWE Championship. However, what I have read now on the Internet is that there may be another match between the Undertaker and JBL at the Survivor Series. So this statement, it is an almost certainty that the match between the Undertaker and Heidenreich may not happen, but who knows what the WWE will do. They need to do something because if this happens, hopefully not, that third match between the Undertaker and JBL for the WWE Championship will just be another repeat, and no one wants to see that. However, no matter what decision the WWE makes, the fans are not going to be happy because if the match is made between the Undertaker and Heidenreich, it is still not going to be something the fans are really going to look forward to because they feel Heidenreich is not ready for this yet. Whatever decision they end up making will happen at the Survivor Series on November 14 in Cleveland, Ohio. This
has been another report for The Canadian Connection by your author,
"Rockin" Robin Drodge.
© 2004 Robin Drodge, All Rights Reserved
(This page was last updated on 2007-01-01 )
© 2004 Robin Drodge, All Rights Reserved
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