Kevin’s Random Reviews: WWF No Mercy 2000

WWF No Mercy 2000
October 22nd, 2000 | Pepsi Arena in Albany, New York | Attendance: 14,342

I’ve openly discussed my love for the WWF in 2000. October was probably the last month in that year that I’d call great. The WWF was in a transition period here, moving Raw from USA Network to TNN, bringing Steve Austin back for the first time in nearly a year and pushing guys like Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle towards the top. For now, at least. Speaking of Austin, this was his first PPV back after the infamous whodunit angle where it was revealed that Rikishi ran him over with a car the previous November. This was the second No Mercy PPV.

The opening video package focused exclusively on Austin talking about getting payback. You wouldn’t even think there was a WWF Title match on this show. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler were on commentary.

Dudley Invitational Table Gauntlet: The Dudley Boyz vs. Lo Down vs. Raven and Tazz vs. Right to Censor vs. Too Cool
So, this was a gauntlet match, but eliminations occurred when someone went through a table. Too Cool started against Lo Down. Man, once Vince Russo left, D-Lo’s career went downhill. Lo Down surprisingly dominated a fair portion of this, but it made sense since Too Cool were popular and the crowd popped for their comeback. Everyone fought on opposite turnbuckles. Scotty shoved Chas through a table, while D-Lo missed a splash and went through one as well, ending that segment at 3:54. Tazz and Raven were next. Raven had just debuted at the prior PPV and is already doing nothing. Too Cool got the advantage quickly. They did a spot where Scott did the WORM under a table. The ECW guys had enough of that and double suplexed him through it to eliminate them at 7:41. The Dudleys joined, getting loud “ECW” chants. Their brawl was the highlight of this match. D-Von put Tazz through the table with a diving leg drop at 10:32. Bull Buchanan and Goodfather represented RTC. Bull accidentally took out the ref, leading to shenanigans. Bubba powerbombed him through the table, but there was no ref. Goodfather took them out and put Bubba on the broken table. The ref awoke and declared them the winners. A second ref showed up to tell the truth. The match got restarted and Goodfather ate a 3D through a table at 13:38. Fine idea for an opener, but a lot of it was punch-kick stuff and the false finish felt rushed. [*¾]

Backstage, T&A talked with Trish, who has a strategy that she may let something slip to distract the APA.

We’re supposed to get Lita and the APA against T&A and Trish Stratus, but T&A jumped the APA backstage. Lita tried heading backstage to help, but T&A cut her off in the aisle. Trish, in the tiniest of shorts, helped them beat up Lita until the Hardys made the save. This felt like something I’d see on Raw, not a PPV.

Backstage, Edge and Christian cut their infamous “out nuts are fine for consumption” promo.

Steel Cage Match: Chris Jericho vs. X-Pac
Considering the pop for his faux WWF Title win in April, Jericho should be doing much more than this. At this PPV last year, he was feuding with X-Pac. Jericho ran down DX and how X-Pac can’t seem to let them go. That led to a brawl outside before X-Pac hit Jericho with the cage door and took things inside. Once there, they traded offense and attempts to escape. Jericho had the best spot of the match, hitting a SUPERBOMB like his name was Pitbull #2. X-Pac got close to winning and was pulled back, but whacked Jericho with a chair. Jericho came back and applied the Walls atop the cage, only to get thrown off. X-Pac thought he had it won and climbed down onto the door. Jericho dropkicked the cage, causing him to get crotched on the door and Jericho escaped at 10:37. Solid match. Good back and forth, with a creative finish. [***]

In WWF New York, Steve Blackman showed off his martial arts skills.

In the back, Rikishi was pissed that Steve Austin hadn’t arrived yet.

Chyna and Mr. Ass vs. Steve Richards and Val Venis
Eddie Guerrero was injured on Raw and couldn’t defend his Intercontinental Title against Billy Gunn, so we got this instead. Goddammit. I guess Chyna and Billy like to show off their asses, which the RTC don’t like. Val worked Billy’s arm because he was coming off surgery. Chyna was easily the most over person in this match, so it made sense to build the hot tag to her. She got it and did her thing, with Billy throwing in a Fameasser. Chyna set up for the Pedigree but Eddie ran out and hit her with a lead pipe. Val stole the pin at 7:17. They tried to have a match that went logical places, but it was just way uninteresting. [½*]

Backstage, Stephanie wanted to accompany Triple H to ringside, but he declined. Rightfully so too, since his opponent is Chris Benoit. She gave him a tape of Benoit applying the Crippler Crossface to study, before leaving to help Kurt Angle prepare for the main event.

No Holds Barred: Rikishi vs. Steve Austin
Rikishi came out with a sledgehammer and what looked like a giant Hawaiian nightgown. Austin hadn’t arrived, so Mick Foley was brought out to declare him the loser via forfeit. Austin pulled in, all the way into the arena before it could be announced. They brawled outside and through the crowd. Back to the ring and Austin hung Rikishi with a noose. Wow. He then attempted murder again with a sledgehammer but missed. He put Rikishi in the back of the pickup truck and drove him outside. Austin sat him down by a short wall. Austin tried running him down but a police car got in the way. YOU CAN’T ATTEMPT VEHICULAR HOMICIDE STEVE! The cops arrested Austin for the lame finish around 10:00. They didn’t want to job out either guy (though Rikishi got his ass kicked here anyway), so we got this. Not really a match, so I won’t rate it. [NR]

WWF European Championship: William Regal (c) vs. Naked Mideon
Regal requested that Mideon wrestle with clothes, so he came out with an Undertaker shirt and breakaway pants. Hilariously, Regal was disgusted at touching Mideon at any point. Mideon is awful, so his offense looked as bad as his body. OFF CAME THE SHIRT AND THE PANTS SOON FOLLOWED! In his fanny pack and thong, he kissed Regal. HE’S A MADMAN! Regal refused to do the Regal Stretch because he didn’t want get on top of Mideon, so he finished him with the Regal Cutter at 6:10. This lasted too long and the joke died out quickly. Only entertaining for Regal’s reactions to everything.[¼*]

The excellent Kurt Angle “interview” with the Rock aired. If you’ve never seen it before, go do so right now. Angle’s comedic skills were on full display here.

Los Conquistadors were interviewed and were also hilarious.

WWF Tag Team Championship: The Hardy Boyz (c) vs. Los Conquistadors
When Edge and Christian ran out of Tag Team Title shots, Los Conquistadors mysteriously returned and won a shot. Everyone believed they were E&C. They rolled around the ring to prove their lucha skills and it was highly entertaining. Jeff took a bit of a beating, with the Hardys getting a few spots because Los Conquistadors had some miscommunication issues. They did just enough typical E&C spots to give JR the ammo to call them out throughout the match. Matt removed Uno’s mask, only to reveal ANOTHER MASK! Dos came in and hit the Unprettier, giving Uno the win at 10:51. Nowhere near their best work, but the gimmick made things fun. I also got a kick out of the double mask stuff. [**½]

Backstage, HHH watched the Crossface video and seemed to figure something out.

Chris Benoit vs. Triple H
This is during that weird period where HHH was a babyface. He’d realize that being the top heel is better than being the #3 babyface, and turn again. He was over, evidenced by big “Triple H” chants. HHH went right after the knee and viciously attacked it. It’s the kind of stuff he tries in the present day and it doesn’t work nearly as well. He even brought out the Mutalock. Benoit finally turned the tide and targeted the arm. Both guys made sure their offense focused on those body parts, like Benoit using a hammerlock back suplex and his diving headbutt hitting HHH’s arm. HHH dug deep, busting out an inverted suplex, but Benoit still connected with the rolling Germans and a dragon suplex. Just when HHH fought back, Benoit applied the Crossface. Did HHH’s tape come in handy? It kind of did as he powered up and broke it with a DVD! Stephanie showed up and slapped Benoit. That nearly led to a Pedigree, but Benoit countered to a near Crossface. They continued to try hitting their finish and countering, until HHH nailed a low blow. Pedigree hit and that’s all at 19:44. Their best match together ever. Tremendous psychology throughout, showing people that HHH was more than a brawler. Even Stephanie’s interference made sense. [****¼]

Backstage, a tired Edge and Christian brought celebratory drinks to Los Conquistadors, who they face for the titles on Raw. Of course, they brought Coronas for the champs.

WWF Championship No Disqualifications Match: The Rock (c) vs. Kurt Angle w/ Stephanie McMahon
The No DQ announcement confused commentary as it was a late addition. Stephanie proved helpful early, distracting Rock and giving Angle the early upper hand. Rock made a comeback and they fought towards the stage. Angle got his ass handed to him up there, even getting thrown through the flimsy set. Once back by the ring, another Stephanie distraction allowed Angle to snap off a belly to belly suplex. Angle took to wearing down the Rock for a bit. He tried using the title as a weapon, complete with Stephanie distraction (IT’S NO DQ YOU BUFFOON), but nearly got caught in a Rock Bottom. He fought it off and used it for a near fall. Angle missed the moonsault that killed Hardcore Holly and Rock set up for the People’s Elbow. Stephanie got involved, so she took a Rock Bottom. Angle cut off the People’s Elbow, but out came HHH to beat his ass for allowing it to happen. Rock also ate a Pedigree for hitting Steph. Crowd totally bought Angle covering him as the finish. Rock got his own near fall before a bandaged Rikishi strolled out. He brawled with Angle, leading to a Rock Bottom near fall. Rikishi attempted to squash Angle with his ass in the corner, but Angle pulled Rock in the way so he took the brunt of it. Rikishi also accidentally superkicked Rock. Angle hit both men with Olympic Slams to earn the title at 21:50. Eleven months into his career and he’s the WWF Champion. Dramatic match that screamed Attitude Era style main event. A bit too overbooked to be great, but still a damn good main event. [***¾]

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

From a pure in-ring standpoint, this probably doesn’t look like a good show. The undercard is very flat, outside of a solid Jericho/X-Pac match. However, the show flies by thanks to several entertaining bits, including the Angle/Rock interview and everything Conquistadors related. HHH/Benoit is excellent and Angle/Rock was a strong main event, putting the show a bit over the “above average” level. Unfortunately, the WWF’s hot streak would end here as writer Chris Kreski left and Stephanie took over.