Jack-Hammer
YOU WILL RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH!!!!
No Mercy is the next Raw brand ppv event so keep all speculation, fantasy booking, etc. in here.
WWE No Mercy General Discussion & Reviews
- Thread starter Jack-Hammer
- Start date
AegonTargaryen
Championship Contender
Well after tonight you have to wonder, are they going to give us one or the other of the dream match at No Mercy?
Seeing how Joe doesn't seem to be done with Roman, they could have Roman vs Joe. On the other hand, it also seems likely that Joe will face Cena, sooner or later, may be at No Mercy.
The possibilities are three: -
Cena vs Roman(which they could do any time now, in case Roman and Brock Lesnar is a lock for the WM34 mainevent).
Cena vs Joe, or
Joe vs Roman.
In case they go with Cena vs Joe for No Mercy, it leaves Roman without an opponent, since he's done with Braun, Bray Wyatt will possibly be facing Finn Balor in a rematch with some stipulation, and there's no one on the roster really, apart from the Miz.
So that'd make the card look like:-
Lesnar vs Strowman for the Universal title.
Roman Reigns vs The Miz for the IC title.
John Cena vs Samoa Joe(dream match).
Bray Wyatt vs Finn Balor, with some stipulation or gimmick match perhaps.
And then the undercard featuring tag team, women's and cruiserweight divisions.
Seeing how Joe doesn't seem to be done with Roman, they could have Roman vs Joe. On the other hand, it also seems likely that Joe will face Cena, sooner or later, may be at No Mercy.
The possibilities are three: -
Cena vs Roman(which they could do any time now, in case Roman and Brock Lesnar is a lock for the WM34 mainevent).
Cena vs Joe, or
Joe vs Roman.
In case they go with Cena vs Joe for No Mercy, it leaves Roman without an opponent, since he's done with Braun, Bray Wyatt will possibly be facing Finn Balor in a rematch with some stipulation, and there's no one on the roster really, apart from the Miz.
So that'd make the card look like:-
Lesnar vs Strowman for the Universal title.
Roman Reigns vs The Miz for the IC title.
John Cena vs Samoa Joe(dream match).
Bray Wyatt vs Finn Balor, with some stipulation or gimmick match perhaps.
And then the undercard featuring tag team, women's and cruiserweight divisions.
I think we should wait a little with all of the Cena dream matches - Strowman, Reigns, Joe etc.. Keep them for bigger PPV's (Reigns or Joe possibly for WM34)
I also hope that the whole Balor vs Wyatt feud is done - because as much as I love these 2 workers, it is really bad.
I think the card should look as follows:
Universal Title Match
Brock Lesnar (C) vs Braun Strowman
No Disqualification Match to determinate the No.1 Contender for the WWE Universal Championship
Roman Reigns vs Samoa Joe
Singles Match
John Cena vs Finn Balor
Steel Cage Match for the WWE Raw Womens Championship
Sasha Banks (C) vs Alexa Bliss
Singles Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
The Miz (C) vs Jason Jordan
Triple Tag Team Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship
Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins (C) vs The Hardy Boys vs Sheamus and Cesaro
Bray Wyatt should be facing someone new who will be moved after the superstar shake up or instead fill in for a superstar who is moved to the SmackDown brand (possibly Finn Balor - but if that's the case we will need to do a different card structure as we have seen Wyatt vs Cena enought already).
I also hope that the whole Balor vs Wyatt feud is done - because as much as I love these 2 workers, it is really bad.
I think the card should look as follows:
Universal Title Match
Brock Lesnar (C) vs Braun Strowman
No Disqualification Match to determinate the No.1 Contender for the WWE Universal Championship
Roman Reigns vs Samoa Joe
Singles Match
John Cena vs Finn Balor
Steel Cage Match for the WWE Raw Womens Championship
Sasha Banks (C) vs Alexa Bliss
Singles Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
The Miz (C) vs Jason Jordan
Triple Tag Team Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship
Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins (C) vs The Hardy Boys vs Sheamus and Cesaro
Bray Wyatt should be facing someone new who will be moved after the superstar shake up or instead fill in for a superstar who is moved to the SmackDown brand (possibly Finn Balor - but if that's the case we will need to do a different card structure as we have seen Wyatt vs Cena enought already).
AegonTargaryen
Championship Contender
This is perhaps how the card will be and ought to be. It only leaves out Bray Wyatt, and that is fine.
The card I suggested was too good for No Mercy, with a dream match like John Cena vs Samoa Joe.
The triple threat ladder match is likely to happen, and seeing how it's three strong teams battling for supremacy on Raw, they should remain entangled for a while, and have ladder matches and cage matches, sort of like Hardys, Edge and Christian and Dudleys.
As for Finn Balor, I feel like I have no interest in anything about him, any of his feuds, and I don't care for Bray Wyatt either.
But still, I think he has nothing to gain from a feud with John Cena, not at this stage at any rate.
To begin with, he's a cruiserweight, too tiny and too skinny to be taken seriously, isn't glorious on the mic, doesn't have a character, and just comes across as cold and boring. Sort of like Chris Benoit, except that Benoit was so intense with his chops and suplexes, a superb technical wrestler, and certainly a heavyweight at 220 lbs.
Secondly, if he loses to John Cena, what does he gain? On the other hand, even if he wins a match against John Cena, a random match on a PPV, it isn't going to make him a huge star(owing to the fact that he is cold and boring and uninspiring) .
And if John Cena puts him 'over', how does it make anyone else on the roster great? John Cena put AJ Styles over, and he'll certainly put Samoa Joe over, and we would love to see that, to see Joe make him submit, and pin him.
But would it be a valuable victory for Joe(as it was for AJ Styles) if John Cena were to just put every one over, like Finn Balor?
So you see, he ought to stay away from Balor.
I don't mind seeing John Cena vs Samoa Joe in a series of matches as of now, because that'll lead us to Wrestlemania, where he could be facing Roman Reigns.
I think even as a full-timer(which he is not), John Cena would need a year to have feuds with Joe, Roman, Dean Ambrose(which I want to see, especially a heel Dean Ambrose), and Seth Rollins, and there's still Braun Strowman.
He shouldn't rekindle his feuds with Miz and Wyatt certainly, and also not feud with Balor.
The aforementioned 4 in Joe, Roman, Ambrose and Rollins should keep him occupied, as well as Strowman, and there's always someone from SDL, considering John being a "Free Agent".
Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.
Kamehamehaaaaa!!
Card right now seems like this:
Strowman vs Lesnar
Reigns vs Miz
Cena vs Joe
Shield vs Hardys vs Cesaro and Sheamus
Wyatt is definately not finished with Balor. But we will have to wait and see.
Strowman vs Lesnar
Reigns vs Miz
Cena vs Joe
Shield vs Hardys vs Cesaro and Sheamus
Wyatt is definately not finished with Balor. But we will have to wait and see.
The card looks very good as of now. It could actually outclass Summerslam considering the big match-ups No Mercy has. And even become the best PPV of this year.
I'm actually glad to see No Mercy get such big match-ups. At least, it doesn't feel like filler. God knows that how majority of stuff in even Big PPVs is filler. Looking forward to No Mercy.
I'm actually glad to see No Mercy get such big match-ups. At least, it doesn't feel like filler. God knows that how majority of stuff in even Big PPVs is filler. Looking forward to No Mercy.
Tonight was the first Raw exclusive PPV event since Great Balls Of Fire back in July. I went into the event with somewhat low expectations as I wasn't fully sure what to think. On paper the card looked pretty good. In the end it ended up being two good matches stuck in between a layer of bad and a layer of disappointing. Let's take a look.
Pre-Show: Apollo Crews VS Elias
Nothing special. Since it was on the pre-show it served its purpose. I spent most of it ordering pizza, as I often do when pre-show matches are on.
Jason Jordan VS The Miz [Intercontinental Championship]
I was glad this went on first so that we could get it over with. Jordan's not ready for a title yet and this match simply just didn't do it for me. I miss Jordan being in American Alpha. This idiotic "Kurt Angle's son" storyline is ruining his career. While I'm not the biggest Miz fan him retaining was the right call here.
Bray Wyatt VS Finn Balor
This would have been ok, had it happened before their Summerslam encounter. Why would you have Finn go from using the Demon persona to not using it? He's far more entertaining in the Demon persona so this was a big step down from the Summerslam match for me. Finn got the win at least. He can move on to better things while Bray can go lose to someone else.
Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins VS Sheamus & Cesaro [Raw Tag Team Championships]
Match of the night by far. Cesaro is one tough guy. To continue with the match tonight after THAT and still go on to put on the best match on the show was something else. Awesome. All four guys did a great job in this match. I do want to see Seth and Dean move on to another team after this, however.
Alexa Bliss VS Bayley VS Emma VS Nia Jax VS Sasha Banks [Raw Women's Championship]
I've got a friend who hates "Fatal Fiveway" matches. I on the other hand really enjoyed this one. Even though ANY outcome that saw Nia Jax NOT leave as the Raw Women's Champion would have sufficed, I wanted Alexa to retain so this made me happy. Emma's new song sucks. What was wrong with her old one? I'm somewhat shocked that Emma wasn't the one to get pinned. Maybe she can get a one on one shot, although based off Alexa's comments on Raw Talk the next title shot probably goes to Mickie before Asuka debuts. Second best match of the night here.
John Cena VS Roman Reigns
This was nowhere near as good as the WWE is trying to make it out to be. I honestly was kind of bored by it. Cena tried to carry Roman to a good match and I give him credit. Reigns is nowhere NEAR Cena's level and he never will be. I just wish Vince would stop this forced push already. I felt really bad for Cena to have to say all those bogus things on Raw Talk about Roman. This won't make fans like him. On the contrary. It will make people hate Roman even more. How about giving someone a chance who the fans actually LIKE? Is that really so much to ask?
Enzo Amore VS Neville [Cruiserweight Championship]
This was real bad. Enzo's outfit was really stupid. It looked like he had escaped from a jail or something. His promos both before the match and on Raw Talk weren't funny at all. This is coming from an Enzo fan by the way. Glad he won his first major championship, despite the disappointment that surrounded the win. I think it's time to end the Cruiserweight division and 205 Live if this is the best they can do.
Brock Lesnar VS Braun Strowman [Universal Championship]
Extremely disappointed by this. WWE had something special in Strowman and this was a perfect opportunity to see if he could be the next big monster at the main event level. Brock undid all the momentum Braun had. And for what? So Roman Reigns can "save us" from Lesnar at Wrestlemania? Idiocy like this makes me wonder why I keep watching. Horrible decision by the WWE here.
Overall Thoughts
This show was a step down from Summerslam and I predict that Smackdown will have a better show at Hell In A Cell than this event. When there's only two good matches on a card, something's wrong. For those who missed the event watch the Raw Tag Team Championship match and the Raw Women's Championship match. Skip everything else. Well, unless you're an Enzo fan then watch the Cruiserweight Championship match too. I really REALLY hope we aren't going to be stuck for the next several months with no champion again. I hate this. WWE ruined the perfect opportunity to make a new championship tier star tonight with Strowman. And I hate Roman Reigns more than ever before. This show comes in 7th out of 12 so far for the year. It would have been lower, but the two good matches saved it from being down there with Fastlane.
Dagger's 2017 WWE PPV Rankings
1. Wrestlemania 33
2. Great Balls Of Fire 2017
3. Summerslam 2017
4. Money In The Bank 2017
5. Elimination Chamber 2017
6. Royal Rumble 2017
7. No Mercy 2017
8. Backlash 2017
9. Payback 2017
10. Extreme Rules 2017
11. Battleground 2017
12. Fastlane 2017
Pre-Show: Apollo Crews VS Elias
Nothing special. Since it was on the pre-show it served its purpose. I spent most of it ordering pizza, as I often do when pre-show matches are on.
Jason Jordan VS The Miz [Intercontinental Championship]
I was glad this went on first so that we could get it over with. Jordan's not ready for a title yet and this match simply just didn't do it for me. I miss Jordan being in American Alpha. This idiotic "Kurt Angle's son" storyline is ruining his career. While I'm not the biggest Miz fan him retaining was the right call here.
Bray Wyatt VS Finn Balor
This would have been ok, had it happened before their Summerslam encounter. Why would you have Finn go from using the Demon persona to not using it? He's far more entertaining in the Demon persona so this was a big step down from the Summerslam match for me. Finn got the win at least. He can move on to better things while Bray can go lose to someone else.
Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins VS Sheamus & Cesaro [Raw Tag Team Championships]
Match of the night by far. Cesaro is one tough guy. To continue with the match tonight after THAT and still go on to put on the best match on the show was something else. Awesome. All four guys did a great job in this match. I do want to see Seth and Dean move on to another team after this, however.
Alexa Bliss VS Bayley VS Emma VS Nia Jax VS Sasha Banks [Raw Women's Championship]
I've got a friend who hates "Fatal Fiveway" matches. I on the other hand really enjoyed this one. Even though ANY outcome that saw Nia Jax NOT leave as the Raw Women's Champion would have sufficed, I wanted Alexa to retain so this made me happy. Emma's new song sucks. What was wrong with her old one? I'm somewhat shocked that Emma wasn't the one to get pinned. Maybe she can get a one on one shot, although based off Alexa's comments on Raw Talk the next title shot probably goes to Mickie before Asuka debuts. Second best match of the night here.
John Cena VS Roman Reigns
This was nowhere near as good as the WWE is trying to make it out to be. I honestly was kind of bored by it. Cena tried to carry Roman to a good match and I give him credit. Reigns is nowhere NEAR Cena's level and he never will be. I just wish Vince would stop this forced push already. I felt really bad for Cena to have to say all those bogus things on Raw Talk about Roman. This won't make fans like him. On the contrary. It will make people hate Roman even more. How about giving someone a chance who the fans actually LIKE? Is that really so much to ask?
Enzo Amore VS Neville [Cruiserweight Championship]
This was real bad. Enzo's outfit was really stupid. It looked like he had escaped from a jail or something. His promos both before the match and on Raw Talk weren't funny at all. This is coming from an Enzo fan by the way. Glad he won his first major championship, despite the disappointment that surrounded the win. I think it's time to end the Cruiserweight division and 205 Live if this is the best they can do.
Brock Lesnar VS Braun Strowman [Universal Championship]
Extremely disappointed by this. WWE had something special in Strowman and this was a perfect opportunity to see if he could be the next big monster at the main event level. Brock undid all the momentum Braun had. And for what? So Roman Reigns can "save us" from Lesnar at Wrestlemania? Idiocy like this makes me wonder why I keep watching. Horrible decision by the WWE here.
Overall Thoughts
This show was a step down from Summerslam and I predict that Smackdown will have a better show at Hell In A Cell than this event. When there's only two good matches on a card, something's wrong. For those who missed the event watch the Raw Tag Team Championship match and the Raw Women's Championship match. Skip everything else. Well, unless you're an Enzo fan then watch the Cruiserweight Championship match too. I really REALLY hope we aren't going to be stuck for the next several months with no champion again. I hate this. WWE ruined the perfect opportunity to make a new championship tier star tonight with Strowman. And I hate Roman Reigns more than ever before. This show comes in 7th out of 12 so far for the year. It would have been lower, but the two good matches saved it from being down there with Fastlane.
Dagger's 2017 WWE PPV Rankings
1. Wrestlemania 33
2. Great Balls Of Fire 2017
3. Summerslam 2017
4. Money In The Bank 2017
5. Elimination Chamber 2017
6. Royal Rumble 2017
7. No Mercy 2017
8. Backlash 2017
9. Payback 2017
10. Extreme Rules 2017
11. Battleground 2017
12. Fastlane 2017
The Perfect Max
I Am Jericho
While I can agree that Braun Strowman isn't quite moulded yet into the superstar he truly can be, I think the decision to have the match end this way was rather dumb. I would much rather have seen a disqualification ending or something to that effect if the plan was never to give Strowman the title. Whether he was ready for the big time or not, he had more momentum than any other active member of both Raw and SmackDown rosters. And now it is gone. There's no business decision that can excuse that, in my opinion. I understand that Lesnar is the beast, and he can do these amazing things. But realistically speaking, and even in the world of kayfabe, this was supposedly the biggest threat to Lesnar, well, ever. If a match with Reigns is going to happen at WrestleMania, it should end in about five minutes with Reigns on his back. Why? Lesnar beats Strowman who beats Reigns. That trail has already been established. Okay, that might be childish, but that's how the booking left me immediately feeling.
The rest of the card was alright. As I anticipated, the Tag Team Championship match was a real highlight for me. I thoroughly enjoy what the Raw tag teams are doing right now. I'll also agree that Cena vs. Reigns was somewhat boring. But maybe it will age better. I remember Cena vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 22 was slated for being "boring", but I actually really enjoy that match now. So we shall see. And Enzo Amore is the Cruiserweight Champion. He actually beat Neville. I think that result stunned me more than anything. That punishment that Enzo is getting is ruthless! Seriously though, I'm shocked in one sense because it happened so quickly, but then again, he probably brings more attention to the 205 Live brand than anybody else (other than perhaps Neville). Everything else played out as anticipated for me.
I don't think No Mercy was any better or worse than previous Raw events this year. I just think that this was one had some serious anticipation and excitement leading into it, and people were left disappointed and confused by some decisions (me included).
The rest of the card was alright. As I anticipated, the Tag Team Championship match was a real highlight for me. I thoroughly enjoy what the Raw tag teams are doing right now. I'll also agree that Cena vs. Reigns was somewhat boring. But maybe it will age better. I remember Cena vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 22 was slated for being "boring", but I actually really enjoy that match now. So we shall see. And Enzo Amore is the Cruiserweight Champion. He actually beat Neville. I think that result stunned me more than anything. That punishment that Enzo is getting is ruthless! Seriously though, I'm shocked in one sense because it happened so quickly, but then again, he probably brings more attention to the 205 Live brand than anybody else (other than perhaps Neville). Everything else played out as anticipated for me.
I don't think No Mercy was any better or worse than previous Raw events this year. I just think that this was one had some serious anticipation and excitement leading into it, and people were left disappointed and confused by some decisions (me included).
Personally, after seeing the show, I would have switch the lesnar vs strowman match with the cena vs reigns show because the cena vs reigns match stoled the show and burned out the crowd. It not hat the lesnar strowman match was bad is just that cena vs reigns hooked the fans and where so into that match that the didn't have any energy for the rest of the show.
As for the rest of the show. I would say it felt like what I would watch on raw every week. Long matches that we're booked to fill time with nothing really happening. The ic title match was a god opener but was your typical heel cheats to win scenario.
The tag title match was just too long, I felt like they we're filling time.
Finn vs wyatt was better then I expected even throught the result wad predictable.
The women's match was good but again, I'm just tired of seeing the same women's in the title picture and it got boring really quickly.
Cena vs reigns was probably the match of the night for me, mostly because of how hot the crowd was for these guys and they told a great story which is a lost art in modern wrestling.
Enzo vs neville was really bad and the end result was even worst.
Lesnar vs strowman was descent but shouldn't have been in the main event spot in my opinion.
In the end, this was a descent special edition of raw with one match that stood out from the pack and the rest we're just tv matches.
As for the rest of the show. I would say it felt like what I would watch on raw every week. Long matches that we're booked to fill time with nothing really happening. The ic title match was a god opener but was your typical heel cheats to win scenario.
The tag title match was just too long, I felt like they we're filling time.
Finn vs wyatt was better then I expected even throught the result wad predictable.
The women's match was good but again, I'm just tired of seeing the same women's in the title picture and it got boring really quickly.
Cena vs reigns was probably the match of the night for me, mostly because of how hot the crowd was for these guys and they told a great story which is a lost art in modern wrestling.
Enzo vs neville was really bad and the end result was even worst.
Lesnar vs strowman was descent but shouldn't have been in the main event spot in my opinion.
In the end, this was a descent special edition of raw with one match that stood out from the pack and the rest we're just tv matches.
Aeon Mathix
Has Ascended
WWE No Mercy 2017
I never really rate the pre show matches so I will be skipping it again
[/WWE Intercontinental Championship - The Miz (c) vs Jason JordanB]
This was a solid opener, but it furthered my theory that Jason isn't going to be anything huge and will fit nicely in a Shelton Benjamin style role for years to come unless they just put him back with Chad Gable which wouldn't be the worst decision ever. I was wanting Miz to move up to the WWE title scene on Smackdown Live as he certainly deserves it and it would have been entertaining, but I like how he's trying to hard to make the IC title relevant and has been on the mission for years now. Jason shouldn't have won just yet and I hope this isn't just leading to Reigns beating Miz for the title or the Shield vs Miztourage.
**1/2
[/Finn Balor vs Bray WyattB]
Ok seriously, who would have benefited from losing here? If Bray loses like he did, it shows it was a waste of time for him to call out the "man" rather than the demon and he even jumped him for the first 5 minutes and still came out on the losing end. That makes Bray look AWFUL and even more of a loser than before which is difficult to do. Balor loses he looks like he can't beat someone without the Demon. Pretty bad booking which is a theme with Bray but Finn definitely should have gotten the win here no matter how shitty the circumstances were going in for Bray. Hopefully it ends the feud and Bray can go back to attacking another random target and losing. It has to be a running joke on creatives end at this point. I can't think of any other reason.
[/**1/2B]
[/Raw Tag Team Championship - AmbRollins (c) vs Sheamus & CesaroB]
Outstanding match with some brilliant psychology displayed throughout by both teams. Loved the part where Seth tried the hurricanrana into white noise at SummerSlam but Cesaro countered it into a powerbomb onto Ambrose. That's great thinking in the ring and I love it when matches do a throwback to previous ones. Cesaro was hard sight to watch with half his teeth being fucked up. Major respect to him for continuing and performing like he did. I really liked how Ambrose took so much punishment only to survive in the end, I feel that's how he should have been booked his entire face run as he's not someone you look at and think he could win a match but he does the Shawn Michaels formula greatly where he looks like hes dead but has you believe he can pull off the upset. Tremendous effort from both sides.
****
[/Raw Women's Championship - Alexa Bliss (c) vs Bayley vs Sasha Banks vs Emma vs Nia JaxB]
How many times have we seen multi women matches since the brand split on both shows? It's getting tiring as even though there's not much of a division on either show (which will change with Paige and Asuka coming and the amount of NXT girls that will be called up soon enough), there's still no excuse not to build rivalries with 2 people. Wasn't a big fan of this match, but it wasn't awful just nothing I haven't seen before. Glad Alexa got the win as shes pretty easily the best part of Raw though Emma might have taken that spot for me with her shorts last night. Still waiting on that Bayley vs Sasha tension that is sure to come hopefully for a one on one match at WrestleMania. They already had the best women's match of all time so why not do it on the big stage?
[/***B]
[/John Cena vs Roman ReignsB]
So weird watching this match at a pay per view like No Mercy. This could have easily headlined WrestleMania and still might someday but it wasn't that interesting. It wasn't a bad match by any stretch it just didn't seem like they hit that gear that they were hoping for. It could be a chemistry thing but something just felt off all match. I was hoping for Cena to win as I felt it could have worked wonders for Reigns' character as someone like him needs adversity due to the only character he has being "I'm samoan and the guy". It was strange seeing Cena almost get the retirement treatment afterwards. It's not the case but man that's going to suck when it finally does come. A lot of people have taken John Cena for granted over the last decade and I don't think realize how much they will miss him when he's gone. He has a 5 star match record unparalleled by everyone not named Shawn Michaels and always delivers.
[/***I]
[/WWE Cruiserweight Championship - Neville (c) vs Enzo AmoreU]
We all knew it would happen and is pretty much the nail in the coffin of the already awful Cruiserweight division. This isn't quite Hornswoggle winning the title, but it goes completely against what WWE (or Triple H I should say) was shooting for with reviving the division. It went from amazing wrestling matches like the Cruiserweight Classic to Enzo Amore using a low blow to become champion. The only good thing I hope that comes out of this is Neville getting far away from this division and going after the IC or US titles. Neville vs Styles anyone? There's no reason to think he couldn't whoop half the midcarder's asses on either show.
[/**B]
[/Universal Championship - Brock Lesnar (c) vs Braun StrowmanB]
Not often do I find myself asking why I still watch WWE as I've been with them through some very dark television times but that's what I ended up asking myself after this match last night. What in god's name were they thinking? Braun was built up over the summer as this unstoppable monster and all signs pointed toward him becoming the champ. I knew as soon as Lesnar hit him with the F5 it was over. I straight up threw my arms in the air and counted the 1-2-3. Absolutely shitting booking decision. If you have to keep the title on Lesnar for Reigns to save us at Mania at least make the fall a little more interesting by having Strowman beat him and holding until the Rumble or so. Also 8 minutes? Really? That is bullshit. I'm sorry I hated this match and the outcome and it clearly shows.
*1/2
I never really rate the pre show matches so I will be skipping it again
[/WWE Intercontinental Championship - The Miz (c) vs Jason JordanB]
This was a solid opener, but it furthered my theory that Jason isn't going to be anything huge and will fit nicely in a Shelton Benjamin style role for years to come unless they just put him back with Chad Gable which wouldn't be the worst decision ever. I was wanting Miz to move up to the WWE title scene on Smackdown Live as he certainly deserves it and it would have been entertaining, but I like how he's trying to hard to make the IC title relevant and has been on the mission for years now. Jason shouldn't have won just yet and I hope this isn't just leading to Reigns beating Miz for the title or the Shield vs Miztourage.
**1/2
[/Finn Balor vs Bray WyattB]
Ok seriously, who would have benefited from losing here? If Bray loses like he did, it shows it was a waste of time for him to call out the "man" rather than the demon and he even jumped him for the first 5 minutes and still came out on the losing end. That makes Bray look AWFUL and even more of a loser than before which is difficult to do. Balor loses he looks like he can't beat someone without the Demon. Pretty bad booking which is a theme with Bray but Finn definitely should have gotten the win here no matter how shitty the circumstances were going in for Bray. Hopefully it ends the feud and Bray can go back to attacking another random target and losing. It has to be a running joke on creatives end at this point. I can't think of any other reason.
[/**1/2B]
[/Raw Tag Team Championship - AmbRollins (c) vs Sheamus & CesaroB]
Outstanding match with some brilliant psychology displayed throughout by both teams. Loved the part where Seth tried the hurricanrana into white noise at SummerSlam but Cesaro countered it into a powerbomb onto Ambrose. That's great thinking in the ring and I love it when matches do a throwback to previous ones. Cesaro was hard sight to watch with half his teeth being fucked up. Major respect to him for continuing and performing like he did. I really liked how Ambrose took so much punishment only to survive in the end, I feel that's how he should have been booked his entire face run as he's not someone you look at and think he could win a match but he does the Shawn Michaels formula greatly where he looks like hes dead but has you believe he can pull off the upset. Tremendous effort from both sides.
****
[/Raw Women's Championship - Alexa Bliss (c) vs Bayley vs Sasha Banks vs Emma vs Nia JaxB]
How many times have we seen multi women matches since the brand split on both shows? It's getting tiring as even though there's not much of a division on either show (which will change with Paige and Asuka coming and the amount of NXT girls that will be called up soon enough), there's still no excuse not to build rivalries with 2 people. Wasn't a big fan of this match, but it wasn't awful just nothing I haven't seen before. Glad Alexa got the win as shes pretty easily the best part of Raw though Emma might have taken that spot for me with her shorts last night. Still waiting on that Bayley vs Sasha tension that is sure to come hopefully for a one on one match at WrestleMania. They already had the best women's match of all time so why not do it on the big stage?
[/***B]
[/John Cena vs Roman ReignsB]
So weird watching this match at a pay per view like No Mercy. This could have easily headlined WrestleMania and still might someday but it wasn't that interesting. It wasn't a bad match by any stretch it just didn't seem like they hit that gear that they were hoping for. It could be a chemistry thing but something just felt off all match. I was hoping for Cena to win as I felt it could have worked wonders for Reigns' character as someone like him needs adversity due to the only character he has being "I'm samoan and the guy". It was strange seeing Cena almost get the retirement treatment afterwards. It's not the case but man that's going to suck when it finally does come. A lot of people have taken John Cena for granted over the last decade and I don't think realize how much they will miss him when he's gone. He has a 5 star match record unparalleled by everyone not named Shawn Michaels and always delivers.
[/***I]
[/WWE Cruiserweight Championship - Neville (c) vs Enzo AmoreU]
We all knew it would happen and is pretty much the nail in the coffin of the already awful Cruiserweight division. This isn't quite Hornswoggle winning the title, but it goes completely against what WWE (or Triple H I should say) was shooting for with reviving the division. It went from amazing wrestling matches like the Cruiserweight Classic to Enzo Amore using a low blow to become champion. The only good thing I hope that comes out of this is Neville getting far away from this division and going after the IC or US titles. Neville vs Styles anyone? There's no reason to think he couldn't whoop half the midcarder's asses on either show.
[/**B]
[/Universal Championship - Brock Lesnar (c) vs Braun StrowmanB]
Not often do I find myself asking why I still watch WWE as I've been with them through some very dark television times but that's what I ended up asking myself after this match last night. What in god's name were they thinking? Braun was built up over the summer as this unstoppable monster and all signs pointed toward him becoming the champ. I knew as soon as Lesnar hit him with the F5 it was over. I straight up threw my arms in the air and counted the 1-2-3. Absolutely shitting booking decision. If you have to keep the title on Lesnar for Reigns to save us at Mania at least make the fall a little more interesting by having Strowman beat him and holding until the Rumble or so. Also 8 minutes? Really? That is bullshit. I'm sorry I hated this match and the outcome and it clearly shows.
*1/2
Jack-Hammer
YOU WILL RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH!!!!
1. WWE Intercontinental Championship: The Miz vs. Jason Jordan - This was a fun opener that ultimately went about how I figured it would. Jordan is an impressive athlete and his suplex offense is always fun to watch, but he's eventually going to have to develop a persona besides simply being Kurt Angle's "son." The crowd was engaged throughout, though they were all over the place; sometimes they were cheering for Jordan, sometimes for Miz and sometimes they were both getting the business from the fans. I'm not really sure the interference from the Miztourage was needed, but it was pretty minimal all around and did give Jordan some protection. Miz picks up the win and retains the IC title a bit past the 10 minute mark and the right man won as Jordan's not ready. ***
2. Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt - This match was much more entertaining than I was expecting. Their earlier matches were solid but just lacked the energy that this match had. The crowd was engaged and Balor did a really nice job of playing the underdog after being attacked before the match started, he also did a good job of constantly selling the ribs that were "injured' during said attack. There was a good deal more physicality here than in their previous outings and they were able to generate some doubt for me as to whether or not Wyatt would win or lose, not a huge amount but enough to make me wonder after Wyatt kicked out of the version of the Coup de Grace Balor hit on him while he was standing, which I thought looks a lot more devastating than how the stomp is usually performed. I also liked how they teased Bray hitting Sister Abigail just a few times without going overboard. Eventually, Balor does rally and hits the Coup de Grace for the win a little past the 11.5 minute mark. ***1/4
3. WWE Raw Tag Team Championship: Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose vs. Cesaro & Sheamus - This was a helluva tag title match, as I'd hoped it'd be, and was a really physical outing. I've read that Cesaro received a standing ovation backstage for continuing the match after genuinely losing at least a couple of teeth when he hit the ring post and deservedly so as it's pretty skin crawling to see it. All four men worked really hard and made a 16 minute match feel a good deal longer, but in a great way, as there was a lot of energy and the crowd was hot for it. The spot in which Cesaro powerbombs Seth Rollins off the turnbuckles into a prone Dean Ambrose looked great and generated a great near fall, it was a fun spot in that it looked really good but was also pretty damn safe. There was some really nice storytelling going on and both teams looked like stars win or lose. The end does come after Rollins & Ambrose both hit their finishers on Sheamus. Whether it's Raw or SmackDown, both brands have been delivering some fantastic, show stealing tag matches over the past couple of months. ****1/2
4. WWE Raw Women's Championship Fatal Fiveway - A very nice effort from the ladies here who made the most out of only about 9 minutes. They packed a lot of action into what they were given, told a nice story and all the women were given chances to look good, which they ultimately succeeded. The star of the match was Nia Jax as she displayed a lot of dominance and took the biggest bumps in the match, being powerbombed off the apron looked great and the way she hit the ring post later in the match just looked really physical as it genuinely looked like she made a whole lot of contact with the post. If I changed anything in the match, I'd have probably had Emma take the fall rather than Bayley though, at the same time, Bayley has only just returned from injury and Emma has been putting forth good efforts despite not being given much to work with. I also liked how Alexa Bliss was portrayed in the match as she took it to Nia Jax instead of spending the entire match running away from her, Nia beat the snot out of her just likthe rest of the women but Alexa got her shots in and looked spunky. Alexa manages to hit her DDT finisher on Bayley to retain the title, which was the right call in my opinion. ***1/4
5. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns - I thought this was a good match, but not the earth shattering orgasm that WWE is going to play it off as tonight. There was some fun action and good storytelling inf ront of a jacked crowd, but this match wasn't nearly as good as it could've been. During the first half of the match, I thought they went overboard with Cena selling Reigns' offense like he was being hit by a series of Mack trucks one after the other; I also thought Reigns' posturing was too much as it brought the pace down to a crawl, it just got kind of old watching Reigns sort of strut around the ring with a cocky grin on his face. The other thing that hurt the match for me is they went so overboard with Cena hitting the Attitude Adjustment; four times is excessive and it kills the suspense the move generates. I think they should've held off until really, really close to the end before Cena hit the AA for the 2nd time, this one being the one he performed off the middle ropes, because Reigns kicking out of that all but guaranteed he was winning the match. If they'd have just gone for another couple of minutes and not had Cena hit the move two more times, I don't think it would've taken as much wind out of the match's sails as it did. As I said, it was good, but this match felt like it had Vince's fingerprints all over it; I just got the notion that Vince wanted to go all out and give Reigns another ultimate alpha male moment by having him kick out of a plethora of Cena's finishers. ***3/4
6. WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Neville vs. Enzo Amore - This was easily the low point of the show as I think it shows just how ultimately little Vince thinks of the CW Division and firmly establishes that the division is his vision and not Triple H's. They also took what should've been a 5 minute match and stretched it out to about 11 minutes with the results being a dull bout. I get the story they were telling with Neville just dominating Enzo, not taking him seriously and all that, but it just wasn't all that compelling. I've said since before Enzo came to the main roster that I think he'd be better off as a manager/mouthpiece to someone as he's just not that good of a wrestler. Enzo winds up winning the CW Championship after kicking Neville in the balls while the ref's back was turned. If this leads to Neville being boosted further up the card and being eventually in the IC or US title scene, then this could turn out to be a blessing as he's shown himself to have too much overall potential to just be stuck in the Cruiserweight Division as long as it operates under Vince McMahon's and Kevin Dunn's control.*1/2
7. WWE Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman - Not a great match but one I thought was perfectly fine when you get right down to it. I very much enjoy WWE making Lesnar look vulnerable over the past few months and I hope it continues because if we're going to be stuck with Lesnar as champ until WrestleMania, then we should at least get some competitively entertaining matches out of his opponents. I can honestly say I never really thought Lesnar would lose, booking 101 during the build to this match made it pretty obvious. The match did lose some of the drama once it became obvious that Lesnar wasn't going to be put down by Strowman's powerslams, sorta like what we saw with Cena hitting the AA so many times in his match with Roman Reigns. Lesnar does eventually score the win about the 9 minute mark after hitting the F5. **3/4
Final Thoughts - No Mercy was a very solid show due in large part to a highly entertaining undercard where the matches all delivered. The show started to lose some steam in the Cena vs. Reigns' match as how it played out really diminished the drama and potential it had. The CW Championship match was the low point of the show as it just didn't click for me. Lesnar vs. Strowman was perfectly fine for me, though it's long become obvious that Lesnar works best in multi man matches as he simply doesn't have the juice for 1 on 1 matches the way he once did. It wouldn't have bothered me to see Strowman win the title, but I never had any genuine belief that he would. I thought both main event matches didn't live up to their full potential, especially Cena vs. Reigns, and that did hurt the event overall. However, I thought it was still an entertaining and fun 3 hours of wrestling.
Grade: B
2. Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt - This match was much more entertaining than I was expecting. Their earlier matches were solid but just lacked the energy that this match had. The crowd was engaged and Balor did a really nice job of playing the underdog after being attacked before the match started, he also did a good job of constantly selling the ribs that were "injured' during said attack. There was a good deal more physicality here than in their previous outings and they were able to generate some doubt for me as to whether or not Wyatt would win or lose, not a huge amount but enough to make me wonder after Wyatt kicked out of the version of the Coup de Grace Balor hit on him while he was standing, which I thought looks a lot more devastating than how the stomp is usually performed. I also liked how they teased Bray hitting Sister Abigail just a few times without going overboard. Eventually, Balor does rally and hits the Coup de Grace for the win a little past the 11.5 minute mark. ***1/4
3. WWE Raw Tag Team Championship: Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose vs. Cesaro & Sheamus - This was a helluva tag title match, as I'd hoped it'd be, and was a really physical outing. I've read that Cesaro received a standing ovation backstage for continuing the match after genuinely losing at least a couple of teeth when he hit the ring post and deservedly so as it's pretty skin crawling to see it. All four men worked really hard and made a 16 minute match feel a good deal longer, but in a great way, as there was a lot of energy and the crowd was hot for it. The spot in which Cesaro powerbombs Seth Rollins off the turnbuckles into a prone Dean Ambrose looked great and generated a great near fall, it was a fun spot in that it looked really good but was also pretty damn safe. There was some really nice storytelling going on and both teams looked like stars win or lose. The end does come after Rollins & Ambrose both hit their finishers on Sheamus. Whether it's Raw or SmackDown, both brands have been delivering some fantastic, show stealing tag matches over the past couple of months. ****1/2
4. WWE Raw Women's Championship Fatal Fiveway - A very nice effort from the ladies here who made the most out of only about 9 minutes. They packed a lot of action into what they were given, told a nice story and all the women were given chances to look good, which they ultimately succeeded. The star of the match was Nia Jax as she displayed a lot of dominance and took the biggest bumps in the match, being powerbombed off the apron looked great and the way she hit the ring post later in the match just looked really physical as it genuinely looked like she made a whole lot of contact with the post. If I changed anything in the match, I'd have probably had Emma take the fall rather than Bayley though, at the same time, Bayley has only just returned from injury and Emma has been putting forth good efforts despite not being given much to work with. I also liked how Alexa Bliss was portrayed in the match as she took it to Nia Jax instead of spending the entire match running away from her, Nia beat the snot out of her just likthe rest of the women but Alexa got her shots in and looked spunky. Alexa manages to hit her DDT finisher on Bayley to retain the title, which was the right call in my opinion. ***1/4
5. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns - I thought this was a good match, but not the earth shattering orgasm that WWE is going to play it off as tonight. There was some fun action and good storytelling inf ront of a jacked crowd, but this match wasn't nearly as good as it could've been. During the first half of the match, I thought they went overboard with Cena selling Reigns' offense like he was being hit by a series of Mack trucks one after the other; I also thought Reigns' posturing was too much as it brought the pace down to a crawl, it just got kind of old watching Reigns sort of strut around the ring with a cocky grin on his face. The other thing that hurt the match for me is they went so overboard with Cena hitting the Attitude Adjustment; four times is excessive and it kills the suspense the move generates. I think they should've held off until really, really close to the end before Cena hit the AA for the 2nd time, this one being the one he performed off the middle ropes, because Reigns kicking out of that all but guaranteed he was winning the match. If they'd have just gone for another couple of minutes and not had Cena hit the move two more times, I don't think it would've taken as much wind out of the match's sails as it did. As I said, it was good, but this match felt like it had Vince's fingerprints all over it; I just got the notion that Vince wanted to go all out and give Reigns another ultimate alpha male moment by having him kick out of a plethora of Cena's finishers. ***3/4
6. WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Neville vs. Enzo Amore - This was easily the low point of the show as I think it shows just how ultimately little Vince thinks of the CW Division and firmly establishes that the division is his vision and not Triple H's. They also took what should've been a 5 minute match and stretched it out to about 11 minutes with the results being a dull bout. I get the story they were telling with Neville just dominating Enzo, not taking him seriously and all that, but it just wasn't all that compelling. I've said since before Enzo came to the main roster that I think he'd be better off as a manager/mouthpiece to someone as he's just not that good of a wrestler. Enzo winds up winning the CW Championship after kicking Neville in the balls while the ref's back was turned. If this leads to Neville being boosted further up the card and being eventually in the IC or US title scene, then this could turn out to be a blessing as he's shown himself to have too much overall potential to just be stuck in the Cruiserweight Division as long as it operates under Vince McMahon's and Kevin Dunn's control.*1/2
7. WWE Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman - Not a great match but one I thought was perfectly fine when you get right down to it. I very much enjoy WWE making Lesnar look vulnerable over the past few months and I hope it continues because if we're going to be stuck with Lesnar as champ until WrestleMania, then we should at least get some competitively entertaining matches out of his opponents. I can honestly say I never really thought Lesnar would lose, booking 101 during the build to this match made it pretty obvious. The match did lose some of the drama once it became obvious that Lesnar wasn't going to be put down by Strowman's powerslams, sorta like what we saw with Cena hitting the AA so many times in his match with Roman Reigns. Lesnar does eventually score the win about the 9 minute mark after hitting the F5. **3/4
Final Thoughts - No Mercy was a very solid show due in large part to a highly entertaining undercard where the matches all delivered. The show started to lose some steam in the Cena vs. Reigns' match as how it played out really diminished the drama and potential it had. The CW Championship match was the low point of the show as it just didn't click for me. Lesnar vs. Strowman was perfectly fine for me, though it's long become obvious that Lesnar works best in multi man matches as he simply doesn't have the juice for 1 on 1 matches the way he once did. It wouldn't have bothered me to see Strowman win the title, but I never had any genuine belief that he would. I thought both main event matches didn't live up to their full potential, especially Cena vs. Reigns, and that did hurt the event overall. However, I thought it was still an entertaining and fun 3 hours of wrestling.
Grade: B
Wow you guys really don't get pro wrestling if you don't understand what happened in the Cruiserweight match with Enzo winning with a low blow.
I could understand you not liking that Enzo won - that's because that's kind of how you are SUPPOSED to feel about him winning in a heel fashion even though he gets a face pop. It's supposed to make you have mixed feelings.
But if you don't understand WHY that's a smart move then I'm not sure how you've been pro wrestling fans this long if you don't understand why it happened and it makes sense given the situation.
I could understand you not liking that Enzo won - that's because that's kind of how you are SUPPOSED to feel about him winning in a heel fashion even though he gets a face pop. It's supposed to make you have mixed feelings.
But if you don't understand WHY that's a smart move then I'm not sure how you've been pro wrestling fans this long if you don't understand why it happened and it makes sense given the situation.
