WWE No Mercy (October 2002)

From North Little Rock, Arkansas; Your Hosts are Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, and Tazz

Opening World Tag Team Title Match: Chris Jericho and Christian v Booker T and Goldust: For those of you confused, this is the title that had previously been referred to as the 'WWF/E Tag Team Title,' but since they decided to create a new title for the Smackdown brand (also called the 'WWE Tag Team Title'), this was repurposed as the 'World Tag Team Title.' This is the one that has the same lineage as the belts Demolition, and the Hart Foundation, and The Wild Samoans held. Weird new look for Christian tonight, as he's added a top to his usual bottoms. Also, they're red. Like, really red. And Booker is apparently unimpressed with it as well, because he kicks him down right away for two, then passes to Goldust to savate kick his fashionable ass for another two. Christian passes to Jericho, but Goldust sends him flying out via a slingshot - Chris landing right on top of Christian. Back in, Goldust works him over with a ten-punch, but Christian pops up and snaps his neck across the top rope, and Jericho capitalizes with a dropkick for two. The champs cut the ring in half, but Goldust manages to snap off a powerslam on Christian and a neckbreaker on Jericho to tag. Booker is a house of arson to ignite the four-way brawl, which tonight includes an unintentionally funny spot when Jericho tries springboard dropkicking Booker - and the middle rope snaps. Whoops. Luckily, the match is finishing up anyway, and Jericho bulldogs Goldust onto the (still WWF logoed) title belt, then improvises a flying moonsault for the pin at 8:48. Paint by numbers stuff, but still decent. *

Torrie Wilson v Dawn Marie: Dawn tries stalling, so Torrie plants a baseball slide on her, then rolls her in for a pair of clotheslines. Sunset flip gets two, so Dawn knees her, and snaps her throat across the top rope. They spill to the floor for Dawn to ram her back into the apron, then back in, she works it with some corner whips, and a bow-and-arrow. Bodyslam sets up a headbutt to the crotch for two, but Torrie tackles her down for a catfight. The referee gets a little too grabby in the process, so Dawn slaps him around, but that allows Torrie to come from behind with a snap suplex for two. Dropkick gets two, and a slingshot sets up a schoolgirl for two. Stungun, and Torrie finishes with a swinging neckbreaker at 4:41. Junk. Harmless junk, but junk nonetheless. DUD

Ric Flair v Rob Van Dam: Luckily Flair didn't dress in the dark again this month. Rob attack on the floor with a shot into the post and a flying sidekick to setup a guillotine legdrop across the rail. Van Dam with another flying sidekick on the way back in to setup the handspring moonsault for two, and a spinheel kick puts Flair down for some mounted punches. Springboard sidekick is worth two, so Flair begs off - and promptly mulekicks RVD. Some things never change. Ric clips the knee to take control, and he works the part in rather dull fashion. He finally gets to the Figure Four, but Van Dam reverses, then makes the ropes when Ric tries reversing back. That's the problem with the figure four... once you've had it reversed on you, reversing it back won't help you. If Flair ever started his own promotion, he should build a double sized ring to prevent that from happening. At least the WWE rings were bigger than the WCW ones, though. Rob comes back with a sunset flip for two, and a backslide for two. Dropkick, but Flair stops short to avoid it, and goes for another Figure Four, but this time Rob cradles him for two. Ric makes a last ditch effort with a backelbow and a trip to the top, but Van Dam slams him down, and hits rolling thunder for two, then spinkicks him to setup the Five Star Frogsplash at 8:01. I've certainly seen worse, but this was not one of Flair better matches from the period. It was basically just Flair bumping around for Van Dam, then trying to manufacture drama with some knee work that didn't lead to anything, until Rob made his usual comeback. *

WWE Cruiserweight Title Match: Jamie Noble v Tajiri: Tajiri nails him with a baseball slide during the entrances, then adds a springboard moonsault to get us started. Inside, that gets two for the challenger, but a whip into the corner gets reversed, and Jamie high knees him down. Snapmare sets up a kick to the shoulder blades, but Tajiri snapmares him back, and unloads his own swift kick. Tajiri with a bodyslam to setup a kneedrop for two, so Noble tries a sunset flip, but Tajiri drags him to the apron while blocking, then plants another kick on him for two. Cool counter there. Tajiri tries a victory roll, but Noble blocks with an electric chair for two, then delivers a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Bow-and-arrow, but Tajiri escapes, so Noble drops him like a Samoan, then hits a lariat to setup a kneedrop for two. Tajiri tries a sunset flip, but Noble cuts him off with an elbowdrop, and goes back to the bow-and-arrow. Jamie tries a side superplex, but Tajiri shoves him off and leaps with a flying moonsault - Jamie getting out of the way, but Tajiri landing on his feet, and planting him with a tornado DDT instead. Tajiri with a series of kicks and the handspring elbow for two, then a modified airplane spin to setup a bridging German suplex for two. That was cool. Tarantula sets up the Buzzsaw Kick, but Noble counters into a powerbomb - only for Tajiri to counter back into a slingshot to setup the Buzzsaw. He covers, but Nidia kisses the referee to stop the count (poor referee), and that allows Jamie to double-underhook powerbomb his challenger for two. Jamie flips out and stomps the hell out of him to setup another powerbomb, but Tajiri counters into a victory roll, so Nidia holds Jamie's ankle - allowing Noble to counter the roll into a cradle to retain at 8:15. Fun stuff, as both guys let it hang out with some unique, fast paced sequences - though the attempts at psychology went absolutely nowhere. ** ¼

Unification Match: World Heavyweight Title v WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Triple H v Kane: Kane has a weird mask/goatee thing going on here, presumably in celebration of blowing off the epic Katie Vick storyline. Kane powers him into the corner for some choking out of the initial lockup. Backdrop sends HHH out to the floor, and right back in, Kane clotheslines him for two. We're only a couple of minutes into this one, and already it's noticeably awkward and clumsy. Kane with a cross corner clothesline, but an avalanche misses, and Hunter hits a neckbreaker. HHH with a kneeling facebuster, and he clotheslines back to the floor for a high knee into the post, then back in, he stomps the face. Hunter with a swinging neckbreaker on the way back in for two, and then adds another pair for two. That's four neckbreakers thus far, for those keeping score at home. He could have at least modified it into some kind of rolling neckbreakers spot, but no, it was literally just a series of neckbreakers with nothing going on in between. Spinebuster gets two for the champion, and he snaps Kane's throat across the middle rope with a slingshot. The announcers get so bored, they start discussing Pete Rose. Lawler: 'I'm lost here.' Yeah, well, don't feel too badly, King... so are the wrestlers. Hunter slaps on a sleeper, but Kane side suplexes his way out, and big boots him. Cross corner clothesline sets up a sidewalk slam, and he hits a flying clothesline. That draws Ric Flair in, and Kane gets walloped with the title belt to give Hunter a two count. Flair comes back to finish the job, but Hurricane runs out to stop him, so HHH Pedigrees him on the floor to stop that effort. That allows Kane enough time to recover with a powerslam for two, but HHH blocks a chokeslam, and backdrops him out of the ring. He follows, but ends up taking a chokeslam through the Spanish announce table. No referee to count as they re-enter, so Flair comes in with a sledgehammer, but Kane gets it away from him - only for Hunter to blow him low to avoid getting whacked with it. HHH uses the hammer, but gets chokeslammed, but there's still no one to count. That was one of the more annoying things about Triple H in this era, as he would give guys pointless visual pinfalls to show what a team player he was, but never gave them actual ones. Flair interferes again, and that allows Hunter the Pedigree to unify the belts at 16:14. For two guys who've worked together before, this was really awkward and clumsy throughout, and then eventually felt like they were just going through the motions once the overbooking kicked into high gear. ½*

WWE Tag Team Title Match: Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit v Edge and Rey Mysterio: This is a tournament final to determine the first champions. Kurt starts with Rey, and takes him down with an armdrag, then toys with him on the mat. He casually slams him into the corner to force a tag to Edge, but Rey marches right back to center ring and tells him to hit harder. That's fucking awesome. Kurt continues to taunt him by actually chuckling as he controls a waistlock, but it backfires when Mysterio stomps his foot to escape, and snaps off a quick fireman’s carry. Quick dropkick sets up a seated version, and Rey keeps it going with a flying headscissors. Angry Angle charges, but Rey blocks him with a drop-toehold, then smacks him around on the mat in his own bit of taunting. This is just awesome thus far. NOW he's ready to tag out, and Kurt is so distracted by Rey that Edge actually manages to control on the mat until Kurt gets sick of it and tags. Edge manages to keep it going by grounding Benoit in an armbar, but Chris quickly counters into a mat-based side-headlock. Edge escapes and manages a stomachbreaker for two, then adds a backbreaker for two. Into the corner, Edge chops him, but that's crossing the line, and Benoit destroys him in response - only to walk into a flapjack, which Edge punctuates with an Oklahoma roll for two. Nice bit there, as even the pinfall attempts go the extra mile. Cheapshot from Angle looks to turn things around, but Edge ducks a clothesline from Chris, and uses the momentum to spear Kurt off the apron! Benoit grabs him from behind for a German, but Edge counters into a rollup for two - only for Kurt to snap his neck across the top rope to cut him off, and Benoit to lariat him down. Now in control, Benoit hits a neckbreaker, and passes back to Kurt with a kneelift for two. Angle cuts the ring in half with a chinlock, and overhead suplexes him to stop an escape. Back to Benoit, and Edge takes the Bret Hart chest-first cross corner bump - twice, since Benoit's feeling dickish. That sets up a three-alarm rolling German, and Chris calls for the flying headbutt - making sure to stop and take Mysterio out before climbing, to avoid a potential run in. Tag team wrestling really is a lost art, but this guy gets it. He goes up for the headbutt, but Edge rushes him in the corner, and superplexes him down! That's enough to allow the tag to Mysterio, and Rey is a bite size of fire! Rey gets overwhelmed two-on-one, so Edge takes Angle out to the floor to give him some breathing room. Rey tries a bulldog, but Chris counters into the Crippler Crossface, so Edge saves. That allows Rey to dropkick Benoit to setup the 619, but Chris counters the swing into a powerslam - only to have Edge missile dropkick Rey's back - knocking Benoit over with Rey on top of him for two. Rey goes up to finish Benoit, but Kurt cuts him off with his pop-up overhead superplex, and Chris gets two off of it after Kurt takes Edge out to prevent a breakup. The referee restores order, and Benoit whips Rey into the corner, then tags Angle in to destroy him - Kurt relishing tossing him around after getting embarrassed earlier. They cut the ring in half on their new victim, with Rey's well timed comeback attempts all getting cutoff with high impact suplex variations. Rey manages to block a cross corner whip with a headscissors to allow the tag back to Edge - just as Benoit gets to Angle. Edge comes in hot with a backdrop for Kurt, and a half-nelson bulldog for Chris. Edge-o-Matic on Angle gets two, and Rey recovers enough to bronco bust Benoit. Edge sets Angle on the top turnbuckle and alleyoops Rey into bringing him down with a well executed rana, so Benoit tries breaking up the count with a flying headbutt - only for Edge to move, and Chris to hit Kurt with it! That gets Edge two, and he's so shocked, Angle manages to release German suplex him - leading to another awesome tandem sequence where Angle sets up the Olympic Slam on Edge, so Rey charges Edge for Edge to overhead suplex Mysterio INTO Angle. This is just bonkers! That sets up a spear on Angle, but Benoit cuts it off with the Crossface, so Rey saves with the 619 - Benoit unable to block it this time, since he's holding Edge in the Crossface. Kurt sneaks up and takes Rey out with the Olympic Slam anyway, and slaps the Anklelock on Edge, but Edge cradles for two to escape, then spears him for two - saved by Benoit. Rey takes him out with a baseball slide, and follows with a moonsault to the floor to keep Chris occupied, but Edge falls prey to the Anklelock again as he goes for the Impaler. The ropes are too far, so Edge fights to reverse the hold - only for Kurt to reverse back, and win the titles at a heart pounding 22:00. This was easily one of the best tag team matches I've ever seen in my life. Twenty-two minutes of non-stop awesome, with all four guys turning in thrilling, career defining performances. Not surprisingly, this won the Observers Match of the Year award for 2002. *****

WWE Women's Title Match: Trish Stratus v Victoria: Victoria wins a lockup battle by paint brushing the champ, and she grabs a standing side-headlock. Victoria takes her down in the hold when Trish tries countering, but Trish powers up, and clotheslines her for two. Kick to the head gets two, and Victoria bails, but Trish is right on her with a clothesline, so Victoria posts her to cutoff the attack, then drops her across the rail for good measure. Victoria with a slingshot somersault legdrop (to the tits!) on the way back in for two, and a monkeyflip follows. Second try gets blocked, and Trish hits a rana for two, but gets cutoff again when Victoria slaps on an overhead backbreaker. Trish escapes with a backdrop for two, but gets slammed before she can follow-up, and Victoria delivers a sidewalk slam to setup a moonsault, so Trish brings her down off the ropes with an electric chair for two. Chick Kick gets two, and two swinging neckbreakers setup Stratusfaction, but Victoria blocks, so Trish reroutes to a rollup to retain at 5:34. Lots of good effort here, but it fell apart in the sloppy execution. ½*

Main Event: WWE Title Hell in a Cell Match: Brock Lesnar v The Undertaker: Undertaker's sporting a cast here, and tries to use it to beat Brock with, but gets caught in a takedown, and Brock powerslams him for two. Brock misses a charge to allow 'Taker a gutpunch (sold nicely with a somersault by the champ), but Brock manages to slide out of the ring to avoid a chokeslam. He tries escaping the cell, but runs into the padlocked door, as Undertaker stalks him. Guess Brock didn't spend a whole lot of time book learnin' at the University of Minnesota, but really, Heyman should have explained the concept of the match better then. Back into the ring, Brock goes after the cast covered arm with a wristlock, but 'Taker nails him with the cast to draw blood. That's got to be some kind of record... we're only, like, five minutes into the match. They spill out to the floor for Undertaker to abuse him with the cell, and a clothesline with the cast out there is worth two. Undertaker with a guillotine legdrop across the apron as they head back in, and then he busts out a flying kneedrop on the apron for two. Looked bad, but the effort was there, and you can't fault that. Cute spot, as Heyman tries to reach through a hole in the cage to grab Undertaker (what he planned to do if he could reach is still a mystery though), but 'Taker big boots him away, then uses his tie to slam him into the cage a few times - drawing blood. From the manager. The distraction allows Brock to ram Undertaker into the post quite brutally, and Paul passes his champion a leather belt - Brock tying Undertaker to the cell via his casted wrist with it. That leaves the challenger prone to some wrist abuse with a chair, but trying to rip the cast clear off is taking it too far, and 'Taker slugs him off. Unfortunately for him, that only briefly slows Lesnar down, and he pounds Undertaker onto his back again, then goes back after the cast again. Undertaker manages to save himself via a kick to the head, but again, only temporarily, as Brock stalks him back into the ring, and stomps the hell out of the casted hand. With Undertaker subdued, Brock finally manages to tear the cast off, and he starts pounding the ever loving fuck out of the exposed wrist. Lesnar sets him up on the top turnbuckle, then follows him up there - reaching up to grab the ceiling of the cell, and swinging into a series of kicks in 'Taker's face until Undertaker manages to blow him low, and hit a flying elbowdrop for two. Brock bails, but there's nowhere to hide in the cell, and Undertaker big boots him off the apron and into it - then follows with a tope. Undertaker is just bringing the good stuff tonight... he usually didn't show this much fire before his career renaissance much later in the decade. Heyman, to his credit, is also still selling the beating from earlier out on the floor - still a bloody mess. And speaking of bloody messes, Brock wallops Undertaker with the steps, and triggers an alarming bladejob - which Brock responds to be throwing the steps at him a second time. Back in, Brock wins a slugfest with a spinebuster for two, then starts hammering 'Taker with closed fists - the challenger held up by only the ropes. Undertaker manages to slug back and hit a clothesline, then starts stomping Brock's hand to pay him back for earlier. Ropewalk forearm, but Brock slams him down to block, and goes for the F5 - only to have 'Taker counter into a chokeslam for two. And, holy shit, is this bladejob disgusting - the close-ups not helping. Brock tries a powerbomb, but gets backdropped, and Undertaker follows with the jumping DDT for two. Last Ride, but Brock railroads him into the corner to block, then stupidly tries a ten-punch - and gets promptly countered into the Ride for two. 'Taker decides to finish him with the Tombstone, but Brock impressively counters into the F5 (manhandling 'Taker like he's a cruiserweight) to retain at 27:15. Would it have killed them to have the bad hand play into the finish? But still, that's gotta be the biggest discrepancy between a match/rematch ever, because the Unforgiven match was all sorts of terrible, while this was quite awesome. It's also different than most other Cell matches (and certainly all the Cell matches before it), in that the focus was shifted from crazy bumps to simply an intense brawl in a no rules environment. Both styles have their benefits, but this was certainly a welcome change of pace - though the blood was too much for me personally, even if I understand the reasoning behind it. *** ¼

BUExperience: God, no wonder Triple H was so insecure in 2002. Everyone else was changing with the times and turning in crowd thrilling, career defining performances, while he was still using his knees and neckbreakers.

As for the show, it’s got something for everyone: bloody brawls, workrate exhibitions, old school tag team wrestling, cruiserweights, Torrie Wilson. And yes, even Triple H.

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