WWE No Mercy 2007- The Age Of Orton Begins

[Mitch Henessey]

Location- Rosemont, Illinois

Venue- Allstate Arena

Date- October 7, 2007

Attendance- 12,500

Commentators:

Raw- Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross

Smackdown- John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole

ECW- Tazz, Joey Styles​

John Cena suffered a torn pectoral muscle during a match with Mr. Kennedy on Raw shortly before this pay per view. This injury would keep Cena on the shelf for a while, and he wouldn’t return until the Royal Rumble in 2008. Cena was stripped of the WWE Championship, and the Championship Last Man Standing match with Randy Orton would not take place. The WWE Championship is vacant, and Vince McMahon must make a decision.


Randy Orton Is Awarded The WWE Championship

We start off with Raw GM William Regal and Vince McMahon in the ring. The vacant WWE Championship is on a pedestal. Vince guarantees the crowd that history will be made tonight. He says he will gave the fans what they want. Vince decides to award the WWE Championship to Randy Orton. Orton comes to the ring to accept his very rich prize. He actually gets a positive reaction from the crowd. Orton celebrates with the WWE Championship. He receives a huge fireworks celebration. Regal congratulates Orton. He tells him he must defend the Title tonight, but Regal gives The Viper the honor of selecting his first opponent. Orton runs down John Cena. We get a nice wave of “Cena! Cena!” chants. McMahon tells the crowd to shut up. Orton says nobody is on his level. Triple H’s music hits. The Game comes to the ring with a purpose. He challenges Orton to a Championship match. Orton says no of course. McMahon backs Orton. HHH calls Vince gutless. He says the Chairman has no balls. HHH continues to goad Vince until he agrees to grant him his WWE Championship match . The match will take place right now.

Randy Orton(Champion) VS Triple H- WWE Championship

Triple H starts out dominating early. Orton tries to escape with his Championship, but HHH brings him back in the ring. Orton gains the upper hand with stomps and punches. We get a boo/cheer slugfest from HHH and Orton. Orton hits a powerslam. He goes for a cover, but he only gets a one count. Orton hits his flying knee attack. He goes for the cover again, but HHH kicks out at two. The Game fights out of a sleeper hold. He wears Orton down with a series of hard clotheslines. HHH goes for a cover, but he only gets two. HHH hits a superplex from the top rope. It looks like this one might be over, but Orton kicks out of another attempted HHH pinfall. Orton tries to fight back. HHH counters with a spinebuster. Orton escapes to the outside again. HHH gets him back in the ring. As HHH steps through the ropes, Orton kicks him in the mid section. Orton hits his DDT through the ropes. Orton goes for a pinfall, but HHH kicks out at two. Orton sets up for the RKO. Orton almost has HHH, but The Game manages to push him off. HHH tries to hit the Pedigree. Orton reverses it with a back body drop. HHH locks in the Figure Four, but Orton manages to get to the ropes pretty quickly. Orton tries to buy himself some time by throwing HHH to the outside. HHH tries to come back in by going to the top rope, but Orton catches him, and HHH is crotched on the top rope. HHH is still in the corner. Orton charges at him from the other side of the ring, but HHH slides out of the way. Orton hits the ring post shoulder first. HHH catches Orton in a roll up, and he gets the three count to win the WWE Championship and become an 11 time World Champion.

Match Rating 5/10: This was a decent match. This one was pretty physical, and there was some nice back and forth action here. Triple H winning was kind of a shock, and I do think this was a great way to start off the show. HHH winning the WWE Championship in the first match of the night was a nice little surprise, and the crowd did give him a huge pop here. After the match, HHH celebrates with the crowd.

We’re backstage. Orton is beside himself. Vince McMahon gives him a look of disgust.

A video package for Wrestlemania 24 is shown.

Brian Kendrick, Paul London, & Jeff Hardy(Intercontinental champion) VS Mr. Kennedy, Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch(World Tag Team Champions)

Cade says Hardy, Kendrick, and London we’re lucky in the match on the previous Raw. Murdoch says they have a new tag team partner. It’s Mr. Kennedy.

Cade and Kendrick start this match. They mix it up for a little while, and then London tags Kendrick. He tries to get a pinfall with a sunset flip, but Cade kicks out at two. Murdoch gets the tag. London is able to hold his own against the big man. Hardy gets the tag. London sets Hardy up for the Poetry In Motion. Hardy hits it. He goes for the cover, but he only gets a two count. There’s a lot of quick tags from both teams. Eventually, Kendrick gets caught in no man’s land, as the team of Murdoch, Cade, and Kennedy keep him isolated in their corner. The three men deliver a viscous beating to Kendrick. Kendrick gets some breathing room, and he makes a leaping tag to Jeff. Hardy comes in on fire, as he takes out all three men. Hardy hits the Swanton Bomb on Trevor Murdoch. Hardy goes for the pinfall, but it’s broken up by Cade. London uses a Hurricanrana to send Cade to the outside. Kennedy gets the tag. Hardy tags in London. These two go back and forth. On the outside, Hardy tries to catch Cade with a fist shot to the back, as he jumps off the barricade. Hardy doesn’t get all of it, but he does make some contact with Cade. Although, Cade doesn’t react to the contact at all. This looks like a real big miscue on both sides. We’re back in the ring. London and Kennedy are still the legal men. Murdoch tries to help Kennedy, but Kendrick takes him out with a cross body. Kendrick’s sacrifice wasn’t enough, because Kennedy manages to hit the Green Bay Plunge on London from the top rope, and Kennedy picks up the three count for the win.

Match Rating 5/10: This match was entertaining. There was plenty of action in this one, the pace was very quick, and the teamwork from both teams was very good.

We’re backstage again. Batista congrulates Triple H on his Title win. Vince McMahon shows up. He tells HHH he will defend his Title tonight against Umaga. Originally it was supposed to be Umaga VS HHH in a regular one on one match.

CM Punk(Champion) VS Big Daddy V/With Matt Striker- ECW Championship

We’re in Chicago, so of course CM Punk gets a HUGE pop.

This match was supposed to be Punk VS Tommy Dreamer. Dreamer won the #1 Contender’s spot for the ECW Championship during the Elimination Chase to No Mercy contest, but Big Daddy V was a late edition to the match. He took care of Dreamer, and here we are.

Punk tries to out maneuver Big Daddy V. BDV eventually catches Punk. He smothers him on the mat. He clobbers him with punches. Punk tries to fight back with kicks, but BDV swats him away. Punk goes to the top rope. He hits a missile dropkick, and this move FINALLY manages to knock BDV off of his feet. Punk tries to start an attack, but Striker steps in the ring. He hits Punk in the back with a forearm shot, and this one ends in a DQ. After the match, BDV sends a message to Punk. He hits a Samoan Drop, and he crushes Punk with a series of elbows. BDV holds up the ECW Championship, as he stands over Punk. Punk shows signs of internal bleeding. The refs help him to the back as blood runs from his mouth.

Match Rating 1/10: What the fuck was this? This match was VERY short, and nothing really happened here. BDV dominated Punk for a little while, and then the Champ managed to take the big man down with a dropkick. Striker interfered, and this one was over after that.

A video promo for an Undertaker/Kane reunion is shown. The Brothers Of Destruction will face MVP and Matt Hardy on the upcoming episode of Smackdown.

Matt Hardy VS MVP-Pizza Eating Contest

The very lackluster “I’m better than you!” MVP/Matt Hardy feud is still going on. The odd couple are still WWE Tag Team Champions, and MVP continues to hold on to the US Championship. Tazz is in charge of this contest, and Melina and Maria are the judges.

MVP gets on the mic. He runs down Chicago for being one of the fattest cities in America. MVP and Hardy trade insults. The rules are pretty simple here. MVP and Hardy have two minutes to eat as much pizza as they can. Both men start shoving as much pizza as they can into their mouths. Hardy is getting the best of MVP. Matt wins the contest 2-0. Matt vomits on MVP after the contest is over.

Rating??????: Umm, this was just a pizza eating contest, so there’s not too much I can say about this. This was another way to advance the MVP/Matt Hardy odd couple storyline, but seeing a pizza eating contest on a pay per view was kind of weird.

Triple H(Champion) VS Umaga- WWE Championship

Vince grew tired of being disrespected. HHH took things to another level when he laughed in McMahon’s face. He made sure to mock the Chairman, as his bastard son Hornswoggle was revealed. This match is HHH’s punishment.

Triple H and Umaga start out by trading punches. HHH hits a DDT, but Umaga pops right back up. Umaga charges HHH. HHH pulls the top rope down. Umaga’s own momentum sends him to the outside. Umaga gets back in the ring. HHH tries to mount some offense, but Umaga delivers a hard kick to HHH’s chest. Umaga goes for a diving head butt from the second rope, but HHH moves out of the way. HHH throws a series of punches at Umaga, but the Samoan Bulldozer pushes him off. HHH comes right back with a facebuster, but this move has no affect on Umaga. Umaga goes for the Samoan Spike. HHH reverses it into the Pedigree, but Umaga manages to reverse it into a back body drop. Umaga tries to attack again, but HHH hits a spinebuster. HHH goes for another Pedigree. Umaga reverses it into a Samoan Drop. HHH shows signs of us serious pain, as he clutches his ribs. HHH rolls to the outside. Umaga follows him He continues to work on the ribs and torso. HHH gets back in the ring. Umaga catches him in a bear hug. HHH rakes the eyes to escape. Umaga comes right back with a hard slam. Umaga goes for the cover, but HHH kicks out at two. Umaga continues to punish HHH’s ribs. He pummels HHH into the corner. Umaga heads to the other side of the ring. He charges HHH, but The Game manages to escape. HHH is still holding his ribs. HHH is still near the corner. Umaga dives towards him. HHH avoids contact again. Umaga’s head slams into the ring post. He turns around, and HHH delivers a quick kick to the gut. He finally hits the Pedigree, and HHH picks up the three count for the win. After the match, HHH clutches his ribs, as he holds up the WWE Championship with pride.

Match Rating 7/10: Umaga dished out a lot of punishment here, and HHH sold the rib injury so well. This match had a steady pace, and there was some awesome back and forth action throughout the entire match.

A Save Us.222 video is shown. These videos hyped Chris Jericho’s big “secret” return.

Khali is shown meditating. He’s preparing for the Punjabi Prison match. Ranjin Singh explains the entire process.

Finaly VS Rey Mysterio

They lock up. Finaly shoves Rey into the corner. The ref calls for a break. They lock up again. Rey gets Finaly in a wrist lock. Finaly eventually escapes. Rey and Finaly trade blows. Rey hits a high cross body. He goes for the cover, but Finaly kicks out at two. Finaly gets caught on the ring apron. Rey attacks his legs with a series of kicks. Rey tries to throw Finaly to the ground, but he manages to hold on to the ropes. Fianly covers Rey in the ring apron. He clobbers him with a series of punches. Finaly gets Rey back in the ring. He throws Rey into the ring post, and Rey’s shoulder smacks the steel hard. Finaly goes to work on the injured shoulder. He relentlessly attacks the injured body part. Rey eventually gets some breathing room, as he flips Finaly into the turnbuckle head first. Rey hits the Seated Senton. He comes right back with a running dropkick to the face. Rey goes for a pin, but Finaly kicks out at two. Rey goes for a 619, but Finaly counters with a hard clothesline. Finaly takes off a turnbuckle pad. The ref warns him about foul play, but as he goes to replace the turnbuckle pad, Finaly grabs his Shillelagh. He tries to use it, but Rey hits a dropkick to the mid section. Rey is still showing sings of the injured shoulder. Rey sends Finaly to the outside with a head scissors. Finaly is trying to get through the ropes. Rey goes for a another 619. Finaly avoids it, but Rey comes right back with a hard kick to the head. Rey goes to the top rope. He hits a leg drop to the back of the head. Finaly lands hard on the outside, as the back of his head slams into the ground. The ref is checking on Finaly. He’s not responding, so the ref throws up the X signal. The doctors and trainers come out to check on him. Finaly is put on a stretcher. He has the support of the crowd. They roll him to the back…..AND FINALY JUMPS OFF OF THE STRETCHER!!!!!!!!!!! He viscously attacks Rey. Finaly is eventually restrained, and this one ends in a no contest.

Match Rating 6/10: I enjoyed this match. This one was pretty physical, there was some nice back and forth action, and Rey did a good job of selling the shoulder injury. I did like the “Final fakes an injury” stuff. The crowd was in a stunned silence when Finaly was placed on the stretcher. They even cheered for him. The fans seriously thought Finaly was hurt, and they were furious when he attacked Mysterio. Good stuff.

Triple H is in the back. He’s trying to rest his injured ribs. Vince McMahon shows up again. He says HHH will defend his WWE Championship again. It will be a Last Man Standing match versus Randy Orton.

Beth Phoenix VS Candice Michelle(Champion)- Women’s Championship

Beth dominates Candice. Candice manages to catch Beth with a pin cover, but she kicks out at two. Beth hits a hard kick to the mid section. She pins Candice in the corner. Beth begins her attack with a series of hard shoulder blocks. Candice escapes from the corner. She hits a low dropkick. Candice goes for another cover. Beth kicks out at two. Candice locks on a short arm scissors submission. Beth fights out of the hold. Candice tries a cross body from the second rope. Beth catches her. She throws Candice down with a hard slam. Beth goes for a cover. Candice kicks out at two. Candice is taking a beating to the mid section, and she has an ugly look of pain on her face. Candice fights back with a series of punches and kicks. Candice goes for another cross body. She hits it this time around, but Beth kicks out of another pinfall attempt. Beth hits a hard back breaker on Candice. She follows this up with a cradle suplex. Beth gets the three count to become the new WWE Women’s Champion. After the match, Beth asks for a microphone. Jerry Lawler provides her with one. Beth says she is perfect. She says the era of The Glamazon has begun.

Match Rating 4/10: This was better than the match at Unforgiven. There was actually some nice back and forth action here, and Candice actually put up a fight in this one. She did a nice job of selling Beth’s attack to the mid section. Although, the pace here was still slow, and this match really didn’t have a good flow to it. I was happy to see Beth win the Championship again in this match. Having Beth as champion was something new and fresh, because she didn’t fit into the regular “hot diva” mold in WWE’s womens division.

Batista(Champion) VS The Great Khali- World Heavyweight Championship- Punjabi Prison Match

It's been a while since WWE has had one of these matches, so here's a pic to remind you of how the Punjabi Prison looks:

Spoiler

And here are the rules:

The inner cage has a four foot (1.2 m) by four foot door on each of its sides, with a referee standing by to open them at a wrestler's request. Each door may only be opened once and is only allowed to remain open for sixty seconds, after which it is padlocked. Should all four doors end up locked before the wrestlers escapes, they are forced to climb out over the top, where the bamboo is fashioned into spikes. Between the two cages are sometimes placed two tables, upon which are weapons (both "medieval" and "bamboo" variations of standard wrestling weapons). Once a wrestler has escaped the first cage, they must climb over and out of the second cage, with the first wrestler having both of their feet touch the arena floor being declared the winner.

There were no tables in this match.

Khali lost the WHC to Batista at Unforgiven. This is the rematch, and Khali is inside his comfort zone here. The Punjabi Prison is supposed to be like home field advantage for Khali, so he should win this? Right?

Batista gets Khali tied up in the ropes. He gets a few shots in on the tangled Khali. Khali hits Batista with a boot to the face. He escapes from the ropes, and then Khali knocks Batista down with a chop to the head. Khali calls for a door to be opened. He tries to escape, but Batista clings to his legs. Neither man can make it through the door, the time runs out, and the first door is locked. Khali wears Batista down with a series of strikes. Batista is able to knock Khali down with a spear. Batista calls for a door to be opened. Batista heads for the door, but Khali catches up with him. He pins him against the first structure. The time runs out, and another door is locked. Khali uses rope to choke Batista. Khali grabs a thick leather strap. He whips Batista. Khali calls for another door to be opened. Batista restrains him again. He hits a spinebuster on Khali. Batista calls for another door to be opened. He tries to crawl out, but Khali stops him. The door closes, and now both men only have one door left to use. Batista grabs the leather strap. He whips Khali. Batista tries to climb out of the first structure. Khali follows him. Khali beats Batista into the corner. Khali mounts The Animal. He pounds Batista, and the giant manages to fight out of an attempted powerbomb. Khali locks on the Vice Grip. Khali brings Batista to his knees. Khali calls for the last door to be opened, but as he does this, Batista hits a low blow. Batista tries to crawl through the last door. Khali catches up with him. He slams the door into Batista’s back. He pulls the Champion inside, and the final door closes. Khali is pissed. He shoves the ref down. Both men are trying to climb out of the interior structure. Khali pulls Batista down. He hits the mat hard. Khali climbs out of the first structure. He begins to climb the bigger and taller structure. Batista is back up. He makes it to the top of the first structure. Khali is almost at the top of the second structure. BATISTA LEAPS TO THE MIDDLE OF THE SECOND STRUCTURE. Wow. This was an impressive feat of athleticism for a man of Batista’s size. Both men are climbing down the outside of the second structure. Batista drops to the floor first to retain his World Heavyweight Championship.

Match Rating 3/10: This match was pretty underwhelming. It was slow, boring, this one never got into a rhythm, and things didn’t pick up until the very end, as both men raced to exit the Punjabi Prison. Batista’s leap is the highlight of this match. Thankfully, this was the last Batista/Khali Championship match we would have to see.

Todd Grisham interviews Triple H. HHH says The Game isn’t over. He says he will hurt Randy Orton.

Randy Orton VS Triple H(Champion)- WWE Championship- Last Man Standing Match

Orton and HHH start out by throwing hard punches at each other. Orton strikes HHH in the ribs. HHH falls to his knees. He’s clutching the injured ribs again. Orton goes to work on The Game’s weakness. HHH escapes to the outside. Orton follows him. Orton continues pummeling HHH. The Game hits a kick to the gut. He goes for a Pedigree, but Orton throws him into the steel ramp. Orton gets HHH back in the ring. He continues his attack on HHH’s ribs. Orton hits a hard stomp to HHH’s mid section. Orton knocks HHH to the outside with a hard punch. Orton continues to target HHH’s ribs, as he slams him on the security barrier. HHH is down. He makes it to his feet at the count of six. HHH tries to fight back, but Orton throws him into the steel steps. HHH is down again. He makes it to his feet at six. Orton gets HHH back in the ring. Orton hits a nice standing dropkick. HHH is flat on his back. He makes it to his feet at the count of eight. HHH hits a facebuster. Orton comes right back with a backbreaker. HHH goes down again. He makes it to his feet at the count of five. Orton grabs a TV cable. He locks a body scissors hold on HHH, while choking him with the cable. Orton releases the hold, and HHH appears to be out. HHH makes it to his feet at nine. Orton throws HHH to the outside. He clocks HHH with a monitor from one of the announce tables. Orton tries to RKO HHH through the Raw announce table, but HHH pushes him off. Orton goes through the ECW announce table. Orton is down for the first time in this match. He makes to his feet at the count of nine. HHH hits Orton in the head with the steel steps. Orton is laying on the ground with a dazed look in his eyes. He makes it to his feet at the count of nine. HHH throws Orton back in the ring. HHH grabs a chair. He tries to use it, but Orton counters with a kick to the gut. Orton DDTs HHH on the chair. Both men are down. HHH and Orton make it to their feet at nine. Orton opens up the chair. He sets it up in the middle of the ring, and then Orton hits a nasty RKO on HHH, as The Game’s face slams into the chair. HHH is down again. The Game is bleeding, but he makes it to his feet at nine. HHH shows his defiance with a crotch chop. HHH falls to the ground. HHH is trying to stand up, but as he does this, Orton is preparing for a punt. Orton charges HHH, but he manages to block the punt by grabbing Orton’s leg. HHH whacks Orton with a hard clothesline. He throws Orton to the outside. HHH has an adrenaline rush, as he repeatedly slams Orton’s head into the Smackdown announce table. HHH goes for a Pedigree, but Orton counters it with a slingshot catapult. HHH is thrown into the ring post. He goes down again. Orton tries to throw the steel steps at HHH, but HHH counters this with a low blow. Orton is on the ground, and his head is caught in the middle of the steel steps. HHH smashes a chair on top of Orton’s head. Orton is in a daze, as he lays on the ground. He makes it to his feet at the count of nine. HHH tries to end it with a Pedigree on the Raw announce table, but Orton quickly counters it into an RKO. HHH tries to make it to his feet again, but he stumbles to the ground for the ten count, and Randy Orton regains the WWE Championship.

Match Rating 7/10: This one started out kind of slow, and Orton just dominated the match early on, but things really picked up halfway through this one. Orton and HHH were constantly going back and forth, and there were plenty of brutal spots in this match. Also, Orton looked like a real monster, as he viscously attacked HHH’s injured ribs. This was a hard fought contest, and the struggle towards the end was fun to watch. Randy Orton’s quick RKO at the very end was a nice touch on this match, because this move did look devastating.

Overall Show Rating 5/10: The Randy Orton/Triple H rivalry would be put on hold for a while, because this would happen the very next night………

[YOUTUBE]7CtTL4IiVzM&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]​

That’s right. After a brief hiatus from WWE, Shawn Michaels would return to get revenge on Randy Orton for the attack at Judgment Day. The attack put Michaels on the shelf, but in real life, HBK had to take time off to heal from knee surgery. These two would face off at Cyber Sunday for the WWE Championship.

As far as this show goes, I think it was pretty okay. The wrestling wasn’t all that great, but not every match was bad. As far as HHH being involved in three WWE Championship matches in one night goes…yeah, I know there are a lot of people out there who might hate the idea of seeing HHH in three matches on a pay per view in one night, but who else could be a reliable option? Triple H is a reliable big name veteran who is over with the crowd, and you can count on him to deliver in the ring. Cena’s injury put WWE in a tough spot, and I do think HHH was a good option to go with on this night. The fans went nuts when he pinned Orton in the first match of the night, and they were rooting for him throughout the entire pay per view. As far as Vince boasting about history being made, I really didn’t feel amazed when I watched this pay per view again. Yeah, it was unreal to witness two title changes in one night, and it’s VERY rare to see someone be awarded with a World Title, but I just didn’t feel the special moments during this pay per view. I didn’t think the Orton/HHH matches were bad, but this pay per view wasn’t epic. Nothing from this show will be burned in my memory forever. Cena went down with an injury, and Orton’s big moment happened in a very bizarre way. His time to run with the WWE Championship came, and the Age Of Orton began. But No Mercy 2007 wasn’t a great show.