I know that's not exactly a ringing endorsement considering the PPVs Smackdown has churned out this year, like Judgment Day and The Great American Bash, but their October show No Mercy was OK for the most part. No Mercy took place on Sunday, October 3rd, 2004. Its card had one outstanding match, a few decent matches and a few pretty poor matches.
The following is an account of what went down (including the results, so *Spoilers ahead*) and my rating out of 10 for each match:
Match 1- Eddy Guerrero vs Luther Reigns. This certainly surprised me as the opener, as Guerrero (as a former WWE Champion), like Chris Benoit the previous month at Unforgiven, was "jerking the curtain." This feud had little build-up save for Reigns costing Eddy a 2/3 falls match against Kurt Angle a few weeks before on Smackdown, and would seem to be a transition feud for Guerrero until they put him back against Angle or give him a shot at JBL for the Title. The match itself was OK. It was typical of WWE's "modern" style in that the middle of the match was slow with many restholds, and the pace quickened before the finish. Reigns has one or two good moves but he hasn't done much to set himself apart from the other 'big men' WWE have bombarded us with over the last few years. (Nathan Jones, Tyson Tomko, Gene Snitsky, Matt Morgan, Kevin "Mordecai" Fertig, Test, etc.)There was nothing really of note except Eddy hit a beautiful reversal of Reigns' 180' DDT finisher- almost a version of the Sliced Bread #2. The finish had Eddy blast Reigns with a truncheon and hit the Frog Splash for the pin. Not much of a setback for Reigns, not much of an achievement for Eddy. Match rating: 5.5/10.
Match 2- Spike Dudley vs Nunzio (ECW's Little Guido.) This was a rematch for the Cruiserweight Title of a pretty poor non-title match these two had on the previous Smackdown; Nunzio pinned Spike with a roll-up. So, there wasn't really much build-up for this match- Spike had been booked in a feud with Rey Mysterio for a good while, but since Rey was teaming with RVD this match was thrown together. The FBI aren't "over" with the fans (usually cos the writers can't make up their mind about whether they're heels or 'faces) so the match was pretty lifeless, crowd-wise. The match was better than the TV one but still bad for a Cruiserweight match. Some interference from Bubba & DVon led to the finish where Bubba crotched Nunzio on the ringpost and Spike pinned him. Again, this match served no purpose- it was just "a Cruiserweight title match." Match rating: 4/10.
Match 3- Billy Kidman vs Paul London. THIS is one thing that Smackdown has done right this year- this feud had been consistently entertaining (if a little rushed) over the weeks leading up to No Mercy and both guys had proved that they could put on a great match. The build-up was great for this. After Kidman knocked out Chavo Guerrero with a botched Shooting Star Press, he was reluctant to do it again in case he hurt anyone else. (Well-written as any wrestler could realistically relate to that fear of injuring someone in the ring.) Kidman's reluctance led to him walking out on London during two matches and they lost the tag titles as a result. The bad blood built from there and led to this match which I would comfortably describe as one of my favourite matches of this year, along with the main event at WrestleMania. With some great fast-paced action, wonderful high spots (including a springboard asai moonsault over the top rope to the outside by London) and some superb psychology, this was without doubt the best match of the night (even at its relatively short 10 minute running time.) Kidman worked London's rib/torso area for the entire match setting up for the finish, which was masterful. London missed his London Calling off the top rope (his version of the Shooting Star Press- a thing of beauty) landing ribs-first on Kidman's knees [obviously damaging his already weakened torso.] Kidman went up top and hit HIS Shooting Star Press and landed awkwardly with his knees into London's ribs. He got the pin off this and London began "bleeding internally". Kidman then hit ANOTHER SSP onto London who was on a backboard ready to be put onto a stretcher. This (a) got him over as a heel and (b) ensured that this feud will continue somewhere down the line. Hopefully it will- I'd love to see a rematch! A great match and some excellent feud-building. The only thing I would criticise is Kidman's naff 1970s-esque ring jacket. Otherwise, great stuff. Match rating: 8.5/10.
Match 4- Kenzo Suzuki & Rene Dupree vs Rey Mysterio & Rob Van Dam. Again, another feud with very little build up whatsoever. The only interaction between these two teams was RVD saving Rey from a beating from Suzuki & Dupree after they cost him the Cruiserweight title against Spike Dudley. Nonetheless it was a reasonably entertaining match- RVD & Rey hit their usual exciting offense after a boring middle portion of Suzuki & Dupree wearing down RVD. The finish had Suzuki roll up Mysterio cheaply for the win. Hopefully they'll do a better job of building up the rematch assuming there will be one. Match rating: 5/10.
Match 5- Kurt Angle vs Big Show. Save for the Big Show's return during the first two weeks- where he had to "choose" who he would face at No Mercy- this feud had been dealt with reasonably well. Show caused Angle a serious injury a few months previous by Chokeslamming him off a balcony (which led to Angle's disastrous run as Smackdown GM) and then went missing for a few months. When he resurfaced, Angle shot him with a tranquiliser dart after a tag match and shaved his head! Thus, both men had a score to settle going into the match. Show's offense was as usual fairly slow and plodding, but the match really picked up when Angle aggressively went after Show's ankle with the Ankle Lock and blasted it with a chair. After a few minutes of good psychology (with Angle working the ankle) Show won, Chokeslamming Angle from the top rope. Decent enough match and better than expected. Match rating: 6/10.
Match 6- John Cena vs Booker T. This was built up well even if their Best of Five Series hadn't been remarkably good. Michael Cole, after the match, described it as a "mirror image of every other match in the series". While he meant it in a complimentary fashion, I would certainly agree with the statement. As the fifth match in the series, it really was like any other match these two have had: decent enough, but nothing spectacular. Cena got his third win of the series with the F-U. Three wins, all with the F-U! They really should've booked better finishes for these matches- Booker T looked weak, in that he had to cheat to beat Cena. They should've given him at least ONE clean victory. Anyway, match rating: 6/10.
Match 7- Charlie Haas, Rico and Jackie Gayda vs The Dudleys and Dawn Marie. In a sense of art, imitating life, imitating art, Charlie and Jackie's real-life engagement was used to advance a pretty pathetic soap opera-type storyline where Dawn Marie claimed to have had her way, as it were, with Mr. Haas. Dawn & Jackie had a catfight on Smackdown during a tag match between Rico/Charlie and the Dudleys, so this six-person tag match (for lack of a more "PC" term) was booked. Haas is a fine wrestler- pity the other 5 are not. The match was average, ending with Rico pinning a Dudley off a moonsault. This probably WILL advance the storyline but I bet that in 6 months, this angle will be forgotten and Jackie & Dawn will be teaming up. Continuity has NEVER been an issue in WWE! Match rating: 4.5/10.
Match 8- The Undertaker vs John Bradshaw Layfield- Last Ride (Hearse) match for the WWE Championship. Nothing in this feud interested me. JBL is an amusing enough character but he does not belong as the WWE Champion on Smackdown. Nor does this lame 2004 incarnation of The Undertaker. The Deadman gimmick has been extremely diluted this time around and while his entrance may be good, an entrance does not a good wrestler make. The match was dreadful for the most part, ending predictably with a run-in from that masochistic, poetry-reading psychopath, Jon Heidenreich. Heidenreich distracted Taker long enough for JBL to blast him with a lariat and put him in the hearse for the win. After, Heidenreich smashed into the hearse with an SUV causing an explosion in true OTT WWE style. Obviously Taker-Heidenreich is on the cards. God help us. Match rating: 3/10.
Well, that was the card. As I said, not a ringing endorsement, but one of the only PPVs this year with a match that I would rate higher than a 7. (The Kidman/London match.) The main event was absolutely appalling and possibly the worst this year. Overall though, it was a watchable PPV and one Smackdown can be relatively proud of.
The following is an account of what went down (including the results, so *Spoilers ahead*) and my rating out of 10 for each match:
Match 1- Eddy Guerrero vs Luther Reigns. This certainly surprised me as the opener, as Guerrero (as a former WWE Champion), like Chris Benoit the previous month at Unforgiven, was "jerking the curtain." This feud had little build-up save for Reigns costing Eddy a 2/3 falls match against Kurt Angle a few weeks before on Smackdown, and would seem to be a transition feud for Guerrero until they put him back against Angle or give him a shot at JBL for the Title. The match itself was OK. It was typical of WWE's "modern" style in that the middle of the match was slow with many restholds, and the pace quickened before the finish. Reigns has one or two good moves but he hasn't done much to set himself apart from the other 'big men' WWE have bombarded us with over the last few years. (Nathan Jones, Tyson Tomko, Gene Snitsky, Matt Morgan, Kevin "Mordecai" Fertig, Test, etc.)There was nothing really of note except Eddy hit a beautiful reversal of Reigns' 180' DDT finisher- almost a version of the Sliced Bread #2. The finish had Eddy blast Reigns with a truncheon and hit the Frog Splash for the pin. Not much of a setback for Reigns, not much of an achievement for Eddy. Match rating: 5.5/10.
Match 2- Spike Dudley vs Nunzio (ECW's Little Guido.) This was a rematch for the Cruiserweight Title of a pretty poor non-title match these two had on the previous Smackdown; Nunzio pinned Spike with a roll-up. So, there wasn't really much build-up for this match- Spike had been booked in a feud with Rey Mysterio for a good while, but since Rey was teaming with RVD this match was thrown together. The FBI aren't "over" with the fans (usually cos the writers can't make up their mind about whether they're heels or 'faces) so the match was pretty lifeless, crowd-wise. The match was better than the TV one but still bad for a Cruiserweight match. Some interference from Bubba & DVon led to the finish where Bubba crotched Nunzio on the ringpost and Spike pinned him. Again, this match served no purpose- it was just "a Cruiserweight title match." Match rating: 4/10.
Match 3- Billy Kidman vs Paul London. THIS is one thing that Smackdown has done right this year- this feud had been consistently entertaining (if a little rushed) over the weeks leading up to No Mercy and both guys had proved that they could put on a great match. The build-up was great for this. After Kidman knocked out Chavo Guerrero with a botched Shooting Star Press, he was reluctant to do it again in case he hurt anyone else. (Well-written as any wrestler could realistically relate to that fear of injuring someone in the ring.) Kidman's reluctance led to him walking out on London during two matches and they lost the tag titles as a result. The bad blood built from there and led to this match which I would comfortably describe as one of my favourite matches of this year, along with the main event at WrestleMania. With some great fast-paced action, wonderful high spots (including a springboard asai moonsault over the top rope to the outside by London) and some superb psychology, this was without doubt the best match of the night (even at its relatively short 10 minute running time.) Kidman worked London's rib/torso area for the entire match setting up for the finish, which was masterful. London missed his London Calling off the top rope (his version of the Shooting Star Press- a thing of beauty) landing ribs-first on Kidman's knees [obviously damaging his already weakened torso.] Kidman went up top and hit HIS Shooting Star Press and landed awkwardly with his knees into London's ribs. He got the pin off this and London began "bleeding internally". Kidman then hit ANOTHER SSP onto London who was on a backboard ready to be put onto a stretcher. This (a) got him over as a heel and (b) ensured that this feud will continue somewhere down the line. Hopefully it will- I'd love to see a rematch! A great match and some excellent feud-building. The only thing I would criticise is Kidman's naff 1970s-esque ring jacket. Otherwise, great stuff. Match rating: 8.5/10.
Match 4- Kenzo Suzuki & Rene Dupree vs Rey Mysterio & Rob Van Dam. Again, another feud with very little build up whatsoever. The only interaction between these two teams was RVD saving Rey from a beating from Suzuki & Dupree after they cost him the Cruiserweight title against Spike Dudley. Nonetheless it was a reasonably entertaining match- RVD & Rey hit their usual exciting offense after a boring middle portion of Suzuki & Dupree wearing down RVD. The finish had Suzuki roll up Mysterio cheaply for the win. Hopefully they'll do a better job of building up the rematch assuming there will be one. Match rating: 5/10.
Match 5- Kurt Angle vs Big Show. Save for the Big Show's return during the first two weeks- where he had to "choose" who he would face at No Mercy- this feud had been dealt with reasonably well. Show caused Angle a serious injury a few months previous by Chokeslamming him off a balcony (which led to Angle's disastrous run as Smackdown GM) and then went missing for a few months. When he resurfaced, Angle shot him with a tranquiliser dart after a tag match and shaved his head! Thus, both men had a score to settle going into the match. Show's offense was as usual fairly slow and plodding, but the match really picked up when Angle aggressively went after Show's ankle with the Ankle Lock and blasted it with a chair. After a few minutes of good psychology (with Angle working the ankle) Show won, Chokeslamming Angle from the top rope. Decent enough match and better than expected. Match rating: 6/10.
Match 6- John Cena vs Booker T. This was built up well even if their Best of Five Series hadn't been remarkably good. Michael Cole, after the match, described it as a "mirror image of every other match in the series". While he meant it in a complimentary fashion, I would certainly agree with the statement. As the fifth match in the series, it really was like any other match these two have had: decent enough, but nothing spectacular. Cena got his third win of the series with the F-U. Three wins, all with the F-U! They really should've booked better finishes for these matches- Booker T looked weak, in that he had to cheat to beat Cena. They should've given him at least ONE clean victory. Anyway, match rating: 6/10.
Match 7- Charlie Haas, Rico and Jackie Gayda vs The Dudleys and Dawn Marie. In a sense of art, imitating life, imitating art, Charlie and Jackie's real-life engagement was used to advance a pretty pathetic soap opera-type storyline where Dawn Marie claimed to have had her way, as it were, with Mr. Haas. Dawn & Jackie had a catfight on Smackdown during a tag match between Rico/Charlie and the Dudleys, so this six-person tag match (for lack of a more "PC" term) was booked. Haas is a fine wrestler- pity the other 5 are not. The match was average, ending with Rico pinning a Dudley off a moonsault. This probably WILL advance the storyline but I bet that in 6 months, this angle will be forgotten and Jackie & Dawn will be teaming up. Continuity has NEVER been an issue in WWE! Match rating: 4.5/10.
Match 8- The Undertaker vs John Bradshaw Layfield- Last Ride (Hearse) match for the WWE Championship. Nothing in this feud interested me. JBL is an amusing enough character but he does not belong as the WWE Champion on Smackdown. Nor does this lame 2004 incarnation of The Undertaker. The Deadman gimmick has been extremely diluted this time around and while his entrance may be good, an entrance does not a good wrestler make. The match was dreadful for the most part, ending predictably with a run-in from that masochistic, poetry-reading psychopath, Jon Heidenreich. Heidenreich distracted Taker long enough for JBL to blast him with a lariat and put him in the hearse for the win. After, Heidenreich smashed into the hearse with an SUV causing an explosion in true OTT WWE style. Obviously Taker-Heidenreich is on the cards. God help us. Match rating: 3/10.
Well, that was the card. As I said, not a ringing endorsement, but one of the only PPVs this year with a match that I would rate higher than a 7. (The Kidman/London match.) The main event was absolutely appalling and possibly the worst this year. Overall though, it was a watchable PPV and one Smackdown can be relatively proud of.
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