411’s Instant Access 10.05.08: WWE No Mercy 2008

Hey kids, I’m Scott, and this is 411’s Instant Access: WWE No Mercy 2008. Instant Access is a new experiment here at 411 Wrestling that will feature immediate reaction to wrestling pay-per-views. The focus here is going to be on first thoughts and snap judgments instead of play-by-play with the goal of providing you with instant access to one two THREE writers’ thoughts on the show. That’s right, Instant Access will now feature multiple analysts for all WWE pay-per-views. Here’s the team for No Mercy:

• Scott Slimmer, author of 411’s WWE Heat Report.
• Jeff Small, author of the Thursday Small-For-All News Report.
• Chris Lansdell, author of the all-new Lansdell’s Sunday Brunch News Report.

Okay kids, enough with the explanations. Let’s get to the wrestling.

ECW Championship Match
Matt Hardy (Champion) vs. Mark Henry
Match Result: Matt Hardy defeats Mark Henry with the Twist of Fate.
Match Length: 8:09
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: WWE understands how to pick just the right match to open the show, and they proved that again tonight. No one expected Matt Hardy and Mark Henry to set the world on fire, so you certainly wouldn’t want to put them too high on the card. But you can also damn near guarantee that the crowd is going to pop for Matt Hardy regardless of the quality of his match, so you can count on him to get a crowd energized right from the start. This wasn’t a great match but it was passable, and that’s more than you can say for the vast majority of the one-on-one ECW Championship matches we’ve seen on pay-per-view this year. Matt Hardy definitely deserved to retain the belt, and we can only hope that this was Mark Henry’s last shot at the ECW Championship. And if Matt Hardy is in the market for a new Number One Contender, I might suggest either John Morrison or The Miz. And hey, what the hell ever happened to Elijah Burke?
Small: At first I laughed at the fact that the ECW Championship Match was opening another PPV, but judging by the crowd response to the match, it was the correct call. The fans absolutely loved Matt Hardy and even made the most boring of Henry’s offense seem deadly. The match itself was nothing to write home about but the correct man won cleanly and decisively. I’m not sure who will be Hardy’s next challenger, which I guess is convenient heading into Cyber Sunday (where the fans get to decide).
Lansdell: Surprisingly good for a big man-little man match. I’d go so far as to say that this was the best match I’ve ever seen out of Henry. He sold the leg brilliantly in places where lesser men would have ignored it, and it made him look strong in the loss. Hardy’s win over a huge threat of a man does wonders for his push. The question is, who else can he fight? Miz and Morrison need to stay together, leaving Mike Knox and not a whole lot else.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: **
Small: **
Lansdell: **¾
Average Match Rating: **¼

WWE Women’s Championship Match
Beth Phoenix (Champion) vs. Candice Michelle
Match Result: Beth Phoenix defeats Candice Michelle with the Double Chicken Wing Facebuster.
Match Length: 4:49
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: I’ve been saying for the better part of two years that Beth Phoenix and Candice Michelle have phenomenal chemistry together, but unfortunately we’ve have precious few chances to see them on a big stage due to Candice’s injuries. But I saw these two Divas put on damn near a four star match at a house show in Champaign last year, so I’m always excited when they have a match on pay-per-view. This match was criminally short, but I give Beth and Candice credit for making the most of the time they were allotted. The near-fall off of the Santino distraction was very effective, and I loved Beth countering the Candy Wrapper into the Double Chicken Wing Facebuster. Candice certainly has a case for a rematch if she wants one, but I’d also like to see Mickie get back into the title picture as well.
Small: Ever since Candice returned she’s been very sloppy in matches which led me to low expectations in this match. Thankfully, the women, especially Candice, performed much better than I expected which led to a fun five minute match. The storyline for this match was fundamentally sound and outside of a few awkward moments, everything came off well.
Lansdell: Going in to this match, I had fears that Candice would make her own Botchamania reel. She did very well, being all high-energy and stuff, while Phoenix showed the right power in the right places. Good result, good finish sequence and the tension continues to grow for Glamarella. Oh and plenty of gratuitous sideboob, which is never bad.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: *½
Small: *½
Lansdell: **
Average Match Rating: *¾

Rey Mysterio’s Mask Match
Rey Mysterio vs. Kane
Match Result: Rey Mysterio defeats Kane by disqualification.
Match Length: 10:11
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: I’ll be the first to admit that I was more than a bit surprised at how good this match was. I literally can’t remember the last time Kane put on a memorable match, and Mysterio has been more than a bit hit-or-miss over the last few years. But tonight these two guys really clicked and put on a hot little big man / little man match. The tilt-o-whirl into an inverted DDT spot was hella sweet, and the chair shot at the finish was brutal in all the right ways. I’m usually one to bitch and moan about disqualifications on pay-per-view, but this one seemed to make sense and was one of the more impressive disqualifications we’ve seen in quite some time. It looks like Mysterio and Kane have more than a bit of unfinished business, and judging by this match I can’t wait to seem them do battle again.
Small: Like the previous match, this also exceeded my expectations. Kane definitely has better chemistry with smaller wrestlers than he does with super heavyweights so the two meshed quite well. While I’m not too happy with a DQ finish especially since Kane wanted to unmask Rey (which means he needed the win), the chairshot spot was sick enough to end the match (and prolong the feud). And hey, if the two can continue to produce solid matches like this, I won’t complain.
Lansdell: Another match for which I had much fear. Big-little, as I said earlier, can be tough to pull off, and huge-tiny is nigh impossible. They did a good job with it, Rey doing his runny things and Kane doing his hurty things, and the DQ worked in the context of the feud. Kane wants to hurt Rey, he doesn’t need a match stip to take the mask. He’ll take it when he’s ready. The chair shot was timed well and sounded tremendous, but the whole “I can’t feel my legs” thing has me…not intrigued, but at least curious.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ***¼
Small: **¾
Lansdell: **½
Average Match Rating: **¾

Pay-Per-View Promo Time!
MVP vs. Randy Orton vs. Simply Priceless w/ Manu vs. CM Punk & Kofi Kingston
Slimmer: I hate long, drawn-out promos on pay-per-view. I really do. I mean, that’s why the good Lord and Vince McMahon created weekly programming. But as much as I tried to hate this segment… I just couldn’t. I’ve been a big fan of the strange dynamic between Randy Orton and Simply Priceless, and adding MVP into the mix was intriguing. But the real fun started when Punk and Kingston came to say hello. Small and I honestly thought that we were watching MVP turn face, and then I damn near fell out of my chair when Punk and Kingston pulled up short and let MVP get thrown to the wolves. In a perfect world I would have liked to have seen this segment on Raw or Smackdown, but I also understand the desire to get seven more guys on a pay-per-view, especially when they’re all young stars who could potentially play a big role in the promotion for years to come.
Small: Good shit. God, I’m such a mark sometimes. Seriously though, I always like it when wrestlers from opposing brand interact and it only helps when both MVP and Orton are good on the mic. Throw in a solid burn from Ted Dibiase Jr. and the hilarity of Punk and Kingston setting up MVP to fail and this was an entertaining ten minutes. Could it have happened on Raw? Yeah, but there’s plenty of worse ways to waste ten minutes (see the next match).
Lansdell: SO MVP’s new gimmick is the same as his old one: being TO? Wah wah wah, I’m underused. I half-expected him to talk about practice. Practice? Anyway, soon-to-be-face Mr. Orton tried to put MVP in his place, and they had a nice little back and forth going. When Priceless came out, I mentioned to my buddy that they all exuded charisma and confidence, but especially Cody. Their verbal beatdown of everyone was fun, and I wouldn’t be too sure that Punk is going to pick Kingston. An unhappy MVP could move to Raw and be chosen (maybe after Kofi gets beaten down?) or they might even go with RKO. I enjoyed the segment, much promise.

Number One Contender’s Match for the World Heavyweight Championship
Batista vs. John “Bradshaw” Layfield
Match Result: Batista defeated John “Bradshaw” Layfield with the Batista Bomb.
Match Length: 5:18
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: Well, that was certainly… short. Decisive, but short. But when you think about it, short was definitely the way to go in this case. Batista has admitted that he and JBL had absolutely no chemistry when they feuded in 2005, and there was just no way to expect them to do any better this time around. Going short allowed the match to avoid becoming slow and plodding, and the squeaky clean finished continued to reinforce Batista’s credibility. And sure, maybe the main point of this match was to make Dave look like a beast and keep him happy and content with his place on the card, but sometimes you have to play those kinds of games. Batista will certainly make a better, more compelling Number One Contender than JBL, so I can’t argue with the booking. Dave has history with both HBK and Y2J, so things should get quite interesting no matter who comes out victorious in the main event.
Small: Well it was short and there weren’t any rest holds. And the right man won. Outside of those three points, I have nothing else to say about the match. I guess that’s a good thing though. As for the aftermatch promo/Cryme Tyme skit, thank God, the crowd is still hot. Any other crowd would have died from the lack of wrestling in the last thirty minutes.
Lansdell: I could almost call this a squash. It was a train wreck. It was so bad, people were leaving for extra popcorn after JBL’s entrance. The match got 1 minute more than TAKER’S FREAKING ENTRANCE. I have nothing to add here, other than both these men could disappear from my TV and not offend me in the slightest.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: **
Small: *½
Lansdell: DUD
Average Match Rating: *¼

The Undertaker vs. The Big Show
Match Result: Big Show defeats The Undertaker by TKO.
Match Length: 9:54
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: Holy crap, I was expecting this match to be a special kind of slow, but these two guys were working their asses off tonight. Show probably couldn’t have put on that kind of effort before he lost the weight, and I continue to be amazed at how well Taker can work at this stage in his career, especially given the recent reports of his nagging injuries. This is the kind of match that big men need to watch if they want to be a success in this industry. Normally I’d complain about the screwy finish, but much like in the Mysterio / Kane match, I actually thought that it worked quite well in this case. Having Show pin Taker clean would have done too much damage to Taker, but by the same token you want to keep Show strong in order to continue this feud. The TKO thus allowed Show to win while not really requiring Taker to do the job. You know that Taker is going to want to exact some revenge on Show, so I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that this feud must continue…
Small: Kudos to the Portland crowd for making it through a DQ finish, a 15 minute segment, a longwinded JBL promo/Cryme Tyme skit, and now a knockout finish without losing its steam. The match itself wasn’t anything too special; however, it was probably the best Show/Taker match I’ve seen. Considering the weeks of buildup have been lacking, I’m glad these two men had a good match with the correct winner to continue this feud through the fall.
Lansdell: Taker seems to save his best matches for the big 4, and this was no exception. I cannot normally enjoy a Big Show match, and once again this was no exception. There was nothing actively wrong with it, the pace was decent for the 700+ pounds in the ring and they did some good things. The finish was almost clean but the feud will go on, which makes me a panda who is not happy. Show’s punches look wrong somehow. Oh, and it feels wrong to watch a Taker match without hearing “Best pure striker…” and “Vintage Undertaker!”
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ***¼
Small: ***
Lansdell: **¼
Average Match Rating: **¾

WWE Championship Match
Triple H (Champion) vs. Jeff Hardy
Match Result: Triple H defeats Jeff Hardy with a crucifix pin after Hardy hit a Swanton Bomb.
Match Length: 17:00
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: Triple H did all that he could to make Jeff Hardy look like a star in this match, and he was incredibly successful. But as I was watching the match, I couldn’t figure out if Triple H was building credibility for a man that was about to win the title or if he was just giving out a consolation prize to a man that was about to miss yet another chance at glory. Turns out that later was the case, but in truth I can’t blame WWE for not going all the way with Jeff Hardy. He’s just too much of a risk. But this feud did make Jeff Hardy look like a main event player, and that’s really the most he can hope for at this stage in his career. I’d guess that this was Jeff’s one big one-on-one match for the title in the foreseeable future, because it looks like Vladimir Kozlov may have already stepped into the Number One Contender spot.
Small: What a match. A few weeks ago, I stated that Hardy was all set to win the championship here and up until the final pin cover, I totally bought into it. However, it was not meant to be and frankly, I’m okay with it. Unlike at the Royal Rumble when Hardy had all the momentum in the world at his side, the buildup to this match was extremely lacking. Hell, it appeared as if Kozlov had the title shot and not Hardy. Thankfully, Kozlov was nowhere to be seen during this match which allowed the two veterans to put on a great show. I’m glad within the first thirty seconds, Triple H already decided to play the heel as it kept the storyline in the match simple but effective. The continuity with the planchas, the many near falls, and non-stop action for the entire counter makes this match one of the year’s best.
Lansdell: Going into this, nobody gave Hardy a chance. I knew it, the guys I watched with at the cinema knew it, you knew it. And yet I thought Hardy had it off the Swanton. Really thought he had it. These two worked a GREAT match and HHH finally showed again that he IS capable of great things when he’s not fighting Khali. People tend to forget he’s one of the best in the business. Hardy took the big step to the next level and showed he IS ready for a title run, probably at Survivor Series. Having watched so much wrestling it’s hard to keep me excited and on the edge of my seat, but these two did it. I would have liked to see more recognition from HHH after the match, but that’s minor.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ****¼
Small: ****½
Lansdell: ****
Average Match Rating: ****¼

Ladder Match for the World Heavyweight Championship
Chris Jericho (Champion) vs. Shawn Michaels
Match Result: Chris Jericho defeats Shawn Michaels.
Match Length: 22:25
Match Analysis:
Slimmer: This has been the best feud that WWE has produced in years, and while I’d love to see it continue forever, I can also accept this match as the grand finale if that’s what it proves to be. This feud started as a person issue between two men and escalated, quite literally, to the top of the business. I give both guys credit for trying some new spots even if they didn’t all work quite as planned, and I loved how they found an exciting finish to a ladder match that I don’t recall ever having seen in the past. Some people may say that this match fell a bit short of expectations, but that’s only because Michaels and Jericho have built up such phenomenal expectations during the course of this feud. Batista is now in line to challenge Jericho for the belt, but Michaels has history with Batista as well. Could we see some sort of three-way match at Cyber Sunday?
Small: Very good ladder match with an extremely creative finish. Considering ladder matches have almost become passe, I’m glad we witnessed some unique and memorable spots. Of course, there were some spots that will be remembered for the wrong reasons (Jericho’s fall to the outside was way too dangerous) but that’s unfortunately to be expected in matches like this. What bothers me most about this match is that it really doesn’t fit in with the rest of the feud as outside of some unprotected ladder shots, it wasn’t brutal enough. It’s almost as if Unforgiven had the blow-off to the storyline we all loved while No Mercy was just the two men involved in a standard championship match. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take any Jericho/Michaels match above many others but I think it’s time to let this feud simmer for a while.
Lansdell: There have been so many ladder matches in professional wrestling that it’s now almost impossible to innovate. With that in mind I didn’t expect anything new out of this, but I got it. These two managed to combine a ladder match, which is normally about high spots and flying, with a match that sold the hatred of the feud. A spotfest would have been out of place here, and although we got some jaw-dropping spots, this was more about the brutality. Shame they had to get Cade in there for the finish, but the actual closing sequence was great. I thought right at the end, when they dropped and Shawn was holding the belt, that maybe the ref might not award the match to Jericho, and we may see something along those lines on Raw as he paused a long time before giving the belt to Jericho. Regardless, great match.
Match Rating:
Slimmer: ****½
Small: ****
Lansdell: ****¼
Average Match Rating: ****¼

Final Thoughts

Match of the Night:
Slimmer: Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (****¼)
This was a great way to end an overall solid card. Triple H and Jeff Hardy put on a great one-on-one match, but the amazing caliber of this feud coupled with some inventive and memorable spots in this match are enough for me to give the nod to the main event. Hell, that finish with Jericho and Michaels both hanging from the belt was so classic that it alone could have could have earned Match of the Night for an average match, and the twenty minutes leading up to it were in no way average.
Small: Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy (****½)
Kudos to Triple H for making Jeff Hardy look like a million dollars in their epic encounter. While Hardy was just one pin away from winning the championship, this match shows that Hardy is back in the upper card after losing some of his momentum in the spring/summer. For seventeen minutes, we witnessed a well-executed match that kept the crowd involved and never let up. An easy MOTYC.
Lansdell: Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (****¼)
How could it be anything else? Best feud in wrestling this year.

Trash of the Night:
Slimmer: NONE.
There were some matches that were better than others, but there’s no way that I can call anything on this card “trash.” The short matches were short for a reason, and the screwy finishes made sense in the context of their respective matches. Hell, even the pay-per-view promo was far more entertaining that it had any right to be.
Small: Batista vs. John “Bradshaw” Layfield (*½)
After their 2005 feud, both men admitted in interviews that they had no chemistry. I do not know why the WWE thought that three years later, the matchup would be any better. Thankfully, the match was short.
Lansdell: Batista vs. John “Bradshaw” Layfield (DUD)
I think I’d rather watch Batista-Umaga again.

Final Analysis:
Slimmer: This was a solid show from start to finish. As I said above, there were short matches and there were screwy finished, but they were all done for the right reasons. The show build steadily from good to great, and the two main event championship matches were both extremely memorable. This show may not have been as flashy as some of the big name pay-per-views, but it is exactly the kind of solid effort that WWE should strive to produce each month.
Small: If No Mercy had a running theme, it would be “better than I expected.” Coming in, this show looked like a one-trick pony as everything was banked on the ladder match. Hardy/HHH suffered from a lackluster build while I’m not sure anyone expected much from Kane/Mysterio or Big Show/Taker. However, almost every match exceeded my expectations which led to an enjoyable experience. I can see why some would be down on this show as there was lots of talking early on and a somewhat weak undercard but at the very least both main events delivered. Overall, No Mercy was a solid show and a worthy addition to quality PPV year.
Lansdell: This was one of those events that was good to start and good to finish, but the middle was hollow. Kind of like a Westerfeld column: lots of pretty graphics, but it’s dead inside. It’s dead.

Verdict:
Slimmer: ***½
Small: ***¼
Lansdell: ***
Average Verdict: ***¼