WWF No Mercy (October 2000)

From Albany, New York; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler.

Opening Tag Team Table Invitational Match: Too Cool v D-Lo Brown and Chaz: The idea here is that this is a five team mini-tournament, with two teams starting, and battling until one team puts the other through tables. That team then advances to the next round, and immediately faces the next team drawn. Too Cool control early, but quickly get laid out, and Chaz hits Scotty 2 Hotty with a vertical suplex. D-Lo tries the same for Grandmaster Sexay, but it gets reversed, and Chaz gets blown low. They go for the tables, but Brown catches Sexay with the skyhigh - only to have the Lo-Down miss, and go crashing through a table at 3:53. DUD

Tag Team Table Invitational Match: Too Cool v Tazz and Raven: Okay, so now they have to beat Tazz and Raven to advance. I like how the announcers put Tazz and Raven over as sure things, since they're 'from the streets of Brooklyn,' as if those guys just grow up putting people through tables on their way to school in the morning, or something. Scotty goes for the Worm on Raven, but ends up getting suplexed through a table moments later by Tazz at 2:29. ¼*

Tag Team Table Invitational Match: Tazz and Raven v The Dudley Boyz: The Boyz totally squash them with the Wassup Drop, before putting Tazz though a table at 2:08. DUD

Tag Team Table Invitational Match: The Dudley Boyz v The Goodfather and Bull Buchanan: RTC manage to control early, but the referee gets bumped as Bubba puts Bull through a table with a powerbomb, and doesn't see it. Goodfather takes advantage by whacking Bubba with a chair and putting him in the rubble, and when the referee wakes up, he sees it, then awards the match to the RTC at 2:15. Oh, but wait, here's a second referee to clue him in, and they restart the match - the Boyz putting Goodfather through a table at 2:45. This whole thing was just an excuse to put a bunch of people through tables. Nothing more, nothing less. DUD

Six-Person Tag Team Match: Lita and The Acolytes v Trish Stratus and T&A: Well, in theory, as the match gets cancelled when the Acolytes can't compete due to a backstage attack from T&A. That doesn't stop Trish from abusing Lita anyway, but the Hardy Boyz run in to make the save before too much damage is done. Okay.

Cage Match: Chris Jericho v X-Pac: Well, we're over a half hour into this show, so hopefully we'll actually see a wrestling match now. I think this is also the debut of X-Pac's perma-headscarf - which he hasn't taken off in the fourteen years since. Oh, whoops, never mind - Jericho baseball slides it off of his head before he can even get into the cage. Chris destroys him on the floor before dragging him in, but ends up getting the door slammed in his face as he does so, and X-Pac controls with kicks and chops in the corner. Spinkick, and X-Pac climbs, but Jericho springboard dropkicks his leg to leave him crotched on the top rope, then quickly vertical suplexes him before tossing him into the cage. Bulldog, and Chris climbs, but X-Pac is on him, so Jericho leaps with a missile dropkick. Springboard moonsault, but X-Pac lifts the knees to block, and goes for the door - stopped by Jericho. He responds by launching Chris into the cage wall a few times, but a charge sees him get backdropped into the cage. Chris crawls for the door, but X-Pac stops him, and takes control back with a spinheel kick. Bronco buster hits, and X-Pac climbs, but hustles after him, and hits a visually impressive powerbomb off the top rope! Chris quickly tosses him into the cage a few times, and responds to X-Pac's pleas for a T/O with a lariat. He climbs, but ends up getting crotched on the top rope - allowing X-Pac to go for the door. Jericho manages to grab an ankle, but X-Pac drags a chair in with him, and levels Chris with it. He climbs all the way to the top, but Jericho manages to catch up to him, and slaps on the Walls on the top of the cage - in a spot that sounds cooler than it looked. X-Pac blows him low to escape, and knocks him back down the canvas, and he starts climbing down. However, before he can make it to the floor, Jericho dropkicks the cage, knocking X-Pac into a brutal crotch shot spot on the open door - which Chris then dives out of for the win at 10:38. Though the cage match concept was grossly overused in 2000, this was still fun - with X-Pac bumping like crazy all match long (he showed a lot of renewed promise during this feud), and an inventive finish. **

Mixed Tag Team Match: Billy Gunn and Chyna v Val Venis and Steven Richards: Gunn starts with Venis, and unloads a bodyslam to set up a kneedrop for two. Cross corner whip sends Val out to the floor for Chyna to abuse, and back in, Billy gets two out of it - but walks into a stungun. Tag to Richards, but he charges right into a press-slam, and Chyna tags in to toss him around via his necktie. Dropkick, and Billy tags back in, but quickly falls into a heat segment - RTC cutting the ring in half while working his arm. Billy manages to escape a Steven armbar with a DDT to allow the tag, and Chyna comes in hot. And yes, that may be the first time anyone other than Sean Waltman has used 'Chyna' and 'hot' in the same sentence. Pedigree for Venis, but Eddie Guerrero runs in - attacking her from behind to allow Val the pin at 7:17. Glad to see Gunn used those nine months off to not change even a bit. ½*

No Holds Barred Match: Steve Austin v Rikishi: This is Austin's first match in a year, and he drives into the arena in a pickup truck - hopping out to brawl with Rikishi on the floor. He slams the driver’s side door into his face, then tosses him into the ring steps for some more conventional fun. Over to the announce table and into the crowd, where Austin whips Rikishi with a belt. He finds some rope underneath the ring and tries to hang Rikishi with it, but an attempt at putting him through the Spanish announce table gets him whipped with a CRT monitor. Ouch. He grabs a chair, but misses, and Austin busts him open with a shot of his own. He goes to work on him with the chair, then decides to toss the bloody Samoan into the flatbed of his truck. Hmm, is it just me, or would 'The Bloody Samoan' would make an awesome cocktail name? With Rikishi in the bed, Austin gets into the drivers seat, takes a swig of beer, and drives the truck out of the arena with Rikishi in it! He drives Rikishi out into the parking lot, and pulls him out for a beating. He decides to punctuate it by running him over with the truck (as revenge for Survivor Series 1999), but the cops show up, and arrest Austin for attempted murder at 7:00 - the match declared a no contest. They never even set foot into the ring, but doing a wild brawl made sense given the angle, though the ending was horrendous. Pretty wild brawl for what it was, though. *

WWF European Title Match: William Regal v Mideon: The idea here is that Mideon likes to wrestle in the nude, but Regal is (understandably) disgusted by it. They thankfully force him to start the match fully dressed, and he controls Regal through an reversal sequence. Ha! Yeah right! I mean, there's suspension of disbelief, and then there's just downright ridiculous. Mideon with a pair of dropkicks, but Regal knocks him to the floor, so Mideon decides to start stripping. Regal cuts him off at the shirt with a double-underhook suplex for two, then slaps on a chinlock. Hey, whatever you have to do to keep his clothes on, sir. Mideon escapes and strips down to only a fanny pack and boots (with a flesh covered thong underneath), and decides to kiss the champ before backdropping him. He goes up, but Regal crotches his naked ass. Regal Stretch, but he's too disgusted to wrap up the naked lard lad, and decides to hit a neckbreaker instead at 6:10. Regal was definitely the right guy to work this stupid angle with, but the match was a total style clash - more about the gimmick than the wrestling anyway. ¼*

WWF Tag Team Title Match: The Hardy Boyz v Los Conquistadors: The idea here is that the Hardy's wouldn't give Edge and Christian another tag title rematch, so they started working as the mysterious masked Conquistadors (last seen in the Hulkamania era) to earn a shot - though everyone knows it's them. Great bit before the bell, with the Conquistadors paying their respects to the Spanish announce team. Though I've always been a fan of this angle, the match definitely suffers for it, as they suffer a case of the Black Scorpions while trying to disguise their offense. But, hey, there are literally dozens of good E&C/Boyz matches out there (covering nearly every gimmick match under the sun, to boot), so no complaints from me. For those who have never seen the Conquistadors, picture a creepy cross between the Black Scorpion and the Ding Dongs. And for those who have never seen the Black Scorpion or the Ding Dongs, stop being a pussy, and buy a WWE Network subscription. The Boyz control, but run into all sorts of cheating from their challengers. They cut the ring in half on Jeff, but a flying somersault senton misses, and Matt gets the tag. He's a crack house of fire to trigger a four-way brawl, but the champs make the mistake of trying to take the masks off rather than getting the pin, and end up paying for it when Matt takes the Impaler at 10:52. Not their best match, but you could see Edge and Christian were having a ball with this angle, and it was well booked - as was the payoff the next night on RAW, when the new champs defended against E&C, with the Hardy's hiding under the masks to get the belts back. ¾*

Triple H v Chris Benoit: Huge, HUGE 'Triple H' chant at the bell. Unbelievable how quickly he went from being the most revered guy in the promotion, to an insufferable glory hog. Hard fought collar-and-elbow lockup to start, ending in HHH powering Benoit into the corner, and immediately going after the knee. He ducks an enzuigiri and slams the leg into the mat a few times, then wraps it around the post for good measure. Man, wasting no time here, are they? HHH lets him struggle up to his feet before cruelly clipping the knee, and he drops a series of elbows onto it before wrapping the leg around the middle rope, and dropping his weight onto it. Kneesnap and a kneebreaker, but a second is countered with a sunset flip from the Crippler - only to have HHH catch him in a drop-toehold, and slapping on a bridging deathlock. Not the most elegant one, but not bad either, and the effort is there. Benoit tries to fight back with a side suplex out of the ring, but HHH hangs on, and turns it into a bulldog over the top! Nuts! Benoit manages to use a slingshot into the post and a whip into the steps to turn things around, and inside, he catches the Game with a single-arm DDT. Chris goes after the shoulder with a shot into the corner, and adds a hammerlock-side suplex for two. Don't see that spot everyday! Bridging northern lights suplex gets two, and a lariat leaves HHH rolling out of the ring to break the momentum. Benoit follows with a stungun onto the announce table before rolling him back in for a snap suplex - worth two. He stays on the shoulder with an armbar, and hits a swift armdrag when HHH tries powering out - into a cross-armbreaker. Another hammerlock side suplex sets up the flying headbutt onto the shoulder, but HHH snaps off an inside cradle when Benoit tries to cover - getting two. Inverted suplex (another spot you don't see everyday) leaves both men down for the count, and they stagger up for a HHH-won slugfest. High knee sets up a neckbreaker for two, and a superplex gets two. Pedigree, but Benoit backdrops out, and catches him with a two-alarm rolling German suplex, then a bridging dragon suplex for two when HHH is in the ropes. Another away from the ropes forces Hunter to kick out, and he hits a kneeling facebuster, but ends up charging right into the Crossface! Hunter powers out, but Benoit is on him with a series of forearms to the neck, and he slaps it right back on! HHH powers into a death valley driver to escape, and Stephanie adds a slap for good measure. Pedigree, but Benoit attacks the shoulder like a rabid wolverine to turn it into the Crossface. Hunter counters back to the Pedigree before he can get it on, but Benoit re-counters. HHH struggles to keep the shoulder from giving out before Benoit can get it locked, and snaps off the low blow to set up the Pedigree at 18:45. Boy, he earned that chant tonight! This was filled with some really unique spots, and tons of psychology (though Benoit forgot about the knee a bit too much - would it have killed them to have Hunter strike the knee instead of doing a low blow at the end?), and a great finish. Benoit's lapses in selling hurt it for me a bit, but this was just brilliant otherwise - twenty minutes without relying on table spots, run-ins, or brawling through the crowd, and filled with drama. **** ¼

Main Event: No Disqualification WWF Title Match: The Rock v Kurt Angle: Stephanie distracts the champ to allow Angle to attack, and he knocks Rock to the floor for few shots into the announce table, and a smack with a chair in the opening moments. Inside, Kurt keeps hammering, but runs into a clothesline, and gets dropped like a Samoan for two. The challenger rolls out to the floor to break the momentum, but Rock chases him up the aisle with a clothesline, and they fight over by the entrance set. Angle bumps through different portions of it before reversing a whip into a lighting rig, and they thankfully head back into the ring. Hey, I can totally live with the entrance set brawl shit as long as it's kept short. Inside, Kurt bootchokes him in the corner, but Rock manages to sweep him, and he wraps Kurt's knee around the post. He cracks it with a chair for good measure, and blocks a kick attempt with a legwhip into a Sharpshooter. Angle taps, but Stephanie distracts the referee with her giant titties to prevent him from seeing it. Nice. Rock doesn't think so, and chases her, but runs into a belly-to-belly suplex from Angle. He adds a diving forearm for two, then slaps on a chinlock. Rock escapes after two armdrops, and tosses Angle over the top - following for a shot into the rail and steps. He tries putting him through a table, but Stephanie passes Kurt the title belt, but Rock counters a shot into the Rock Bottom - only to have Angle wrestle his way out, and clobber him with it for a dramatic two count. Kurt goes up, but ends up getting superplexed down for two. He ducks a short-clothesline into a German suplex, but a flying moonsault misses, and Rock snaps off a hurricane DDT for two. Overhead suplex and a spinebuster set up the People's Elbow, so Stephanie runs in. Rock Bottom's her and decides to give her the Elbow instead, but Angle cuts him off. Triple H runs in to properly defend Stephanie's honor with a Pedigree for Rock, and he throws her over his shoulder to carry her away. Meanwhile, Kurt hooks the leg for a dramatic two count. Kurt goes for the kill, but Rock manages another DDT for two, and Angle wisely rolls out of the ring before the champ can finish him. Rocky follows, but Kurt forces him to chase him around - rolling out of the ring whenever Rock tries to get him back in. Hey, smart, since this is no DQ/countout, and Rock has to pin him or make him submit to retain. Rikishi comes out to help Rock put Angle down (looking super creepy with loads of dried blood all over his face), and the champ hits a Rock Bottom with his aid for two. Rikishi comes in to help finish, but accidentally hits Rock with both an avalanche and a superkick - allowing Angle the Olympic Slam to win the WWF Title at 21:44. Not a bad match by any means, but a bit too much brawling, and way too much interference. ** ¼

BUExperience: The Triple H/Benoit match certainly keeps this out of the DUD-pile, but not by a whole lot, as it’s a pretty boring show up until then. That, and the good-if-overbooked main event are almost enough to save it, but it’s certainly one of their stronger efforts that year.

**