No Mercy (2007)
No Mercy (2007)
No Mercy (2007) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the ninth annual (tenth overall) No Mercy event and took place on October 7, 2007 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. The event featured wrestlers and other talent from all WWE's three brands: (Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW).
The main event was a Last Man Standing match, (a match where the only way to win is to beat up your opponent so much, they can not get to their feet before the referee counts to ten) for the WWE Championship between Triple H (Paul Levesque) and Randy Orton. Orton won the match and the WWE Championship after Triple H failed to get to his feet before the referee counted to ten. The primary match on the SmackDown! brand was a Punjabi Prison match, (a match where the only way you can win is to escape the structure) for the World Heavyweight Championship between Batista (Dave Bautista Jr.) and The Great Khali (Dalip Singh Rana). Batista won the match and retained the World Heavyweight Championship after escaping the cage first. The featured match on the ECW brand was a standard wrestling match, in which ECW Champion CM Punk (Phil Brooks) defeated Big Daddy V (Nelsion Frazier Jr.) by disquallification to retain his title.
The event received 271,000 pay-per-view buys. When the event was released on DVD, it reached a peak position of nineteenth on Billboard's DVD sales chart for recreational sports. It remained on the chart for eight consecutive weeks.
Background
No Mercy event featured a card, which contained matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots and storylines. The name of a wrestler's character was not always the person's birth name, as wrestlers often used a stage name to portray their character. Wrestlers portrayed either a villainous or fan favorite gimmick, an on-screen character, for the entertainment of the audience.The main leading rivalry written into the event on the Raw brand was between John Cena and Randy Orton over the WWE Championship. At SummerSlam, WWE's August pay-per-view, Cena defeated Orton to retain his title. The next night on Raw, one of three main television programs of WWE (along with SmackDown and Extreme Championship Wrestling or ECW), Cena faced King Booker (Booker Huffman) in a non-title match. When Cena appeared close to winning, Orton interfered and attacked him, causing Booker to lose by disqualification. After the match ended, Orton attacked Cena's father, Mr. Cena who was sitting at ringside, and kicked him in the head. The two faced each other in a rematch at Unforgiven for the WWE Championship. Cena was disqualified in the match for continuously punching Orton in a corner, which meant that due to WWE rules, a title can only change hands via pinfall or submission, so Orton was not awarded the title. Afterwards, Cena's father kicked Orton in the head, the same way Orton had kicked his one month prior. Immediately after the match, acting Raw General Manager Jonathan Coachman, a miscellaneous on-screen authority figure of Raw, a portrayed match maker and rules enforcer, made a rematch between the two at No Mercy in a Last Man Standing match. On the October 1 edition of Raw, after Cena won a match against Mr. Kennedy (Kenneth Anderson), Orton attacked Cena and executed a Jumping cutter onto the announce table. During the match and prior to Orton's attack, Cena legitimately tore his right pectoral muscle. Due to the severity of his injury, Cena was forced to vacate the title. Although Cena's match against Orton was canceled, Vince McMahon stated that there would be "a new WWE Champion crowned at No Mercy".
The main storyline on the SmackDown! brand was between Batista (Dave Bautista Jr.) and The Great Khali (Dalip Singh Rana) over the World Heavyweight Championship. The feud began in July when Khali issued a challenge to the SmackDown roster. Batista answered the challenge and a match was made for the The Great American Bash. Edge (Adam Copeland), who was the World Heavyweight Champion, suffered an injury and was forced to vacate the title. The same night, Theodore Long, a portrayed match maker and rules enforcer announced that there would be a 20-man over the top rope battle royal, an elimination style match where the last person in the ring is the winner to determine the World Heavyweight Champion. Khali won the match and the title after eliminating Batista and Kane at the same time. A standard wrestling match involving three wrestlers, match was scheduled, for the World Heavyweight Championship between Khali, Batista and Kane at the Great American Bash. At the Great American Bash, Khali defeated Batista and Kane after pinning Kane to retain the title. At SummerSlam, Khali faced Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship. Batista won the match by disqualification, but not win the title because in the WWE a title can only change hands via pinfall or submission. The following month at Unforgiven, Khali faced off against Batista and the adding of Rey Mysterio, (Oscar Gutierrez). Batista won the match after pinning Khali by lifting him up and slamming him to the mat to win the championship. The same week on SmackDown, Khali then announced that his rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship would take place at in the Punjabi Prison match.
The predominant staged rivalry from the ECW brand was between CM Punk (Phil Brooks) and Big Daddy V (Nelsion Frazier Jr.) over the ECW Championship. The feud began when General Manager Armando Estrada (Hazem Ali) announced an "Elimination Chase to No Mercy", involving Elijah Burke, Tommy Dreamer, Kevin Thorn (Kevin Fertig), and Stevie Richards. All four competitors competed in a match together. The person who was defeated was eliminated from the chase. The remaining wrestlers then competed again, and the process continued until one superstar remained, with the winner challenging Punk for the title at No Mercy. Over a three-week period, Richards, Thorn, and Burke were eliminated, with Dreamer winning the number one contendership, until Estrada announced that there was one more contender in the chase. The person was then revealed to be Big Daddy V. Big Daddy V quickly defeated Dreamer, winning the number one contendership for the title at No Mercy against CM Punk.
Event
Pre-show
Before the event went live on pay-per-view, a dark match was held, with Hardcore Holly (Bob Howard) facing Cody Rhodes. Holly won the match after placing Rhodes head between his knees then standing up, throwing Rhodes back-first to the mat.Preliminary matches
The event began with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and Raw General Manager William Regal (Darren Matthews) coming to the ring. McMahon reiterated that former champion John Cena would be out of action from six months to a year. He then announced that the new WWE Champion was Randy Orton. After a brief celebration, Regal gave Orton the choice of facing anyone he wanted that night for the championship. Before he could name an opponent, Triple H (Paul Levesque) came out, and demanded a championship match for that moment. After suggesting that he “didn't have the guts", McMahon ordered the match to begin.
The first match of the event was for the WWE Championship between Randy Orton and Triple H. The match began with Orton trying to walk out on the match several times, but was thrown back into the ring each time. Orton then locked in the chinlock, but Triple H escapes it. Triple H then hit a superplex, followed by lifting Orton up and slamming Orton to the ground, but only gets a two. Orton then falls down to drive Triple H's head into the mat. Orton then goes to perform an Jumping cutter, but was countered by Triple H. Triple H then goes to perform a move where he tucked Orton's head between his knees and lifted him up to slam his head to the mat, a move Triple H calls the Pedigree, but was countered by Orton into lifting Triple H up and throwing him down. Triple H then threw Orton into the turnbackle, followed by Triple H rolling Orton so that his legs are above their head and pressing down to pin his shoulders. Triple H won the WWE Championship and Orton's reign lasted a little under a half-an-hour. The match that followed was a bonus 6-man tag team match between Jeff Hardy, Brian Kendrick and Paul London versus Mr. Kennedy (Ken Anderson), and Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch. The match went back and fourth with high-flying action. Near the end of the match, Kennedy put London on his shoulders and executed a Second rope rolling fireman's carry slam to London. Kennedy then pinned London to win the match for his team. Backstage, Mr. McMahon told Triple H that his match against Umaga (Eddie Fatu) would be still on, but this time the WWE Championship would be on the line.
The next match of the event was for the ECW Championship between CM Punk and Big Daddy V, who was accompanied by Matt Striker (Matthew Kaye). Punk took it to Big Daddy V, by jumping up and kicking Big Daddy V with the soles of both feet, which knocked down Big Daddy V. Striker then jumped in the ring and nailed Punk, which caused a disquallification. Punk retained the championship. Next was a Pizza eating contest between Matt Hardy and Montel Vontavious Porter (Alvin Burke Jr.). The judges for the contest were Maria and Melina. The way to win the match is whoever eats the most pizzas in two minutes wins. Hardy won the challenge after eating two pizzas.
Main event matches
The following match saw Triple H defend the WWE Championship against Umaga. Both men started brawling, but Umaga took control with a Fireman's carry drop. Umaga ran at Triple H, but was met with a boot to the face. Near the end of the match, Umaga tried a splash, but Triple H moved and Umaga went flying head first into the ring post. Triple H then tucked Umaga's head between his knees and lifted him up to slam his head to the mat for the three count and retained the title. The next match was Finlay (Dave Finlay) versus Rey Mysterio. Near the end, Mysterio hit a kick on Finlay as he hung on the ropes. Mysterio then jumped and land his leg across Finlay's face that sent Finlay to the floor from the ring mat right onto the back of his head. As Finlay gets taken out on a stretcher, he jumps up and attacks Mysterio. The match then gets ruled as a no-contest.
Backstage, as Triple H is getting his ribs iced, Mr. McMahon informs him that Orton is exercising his rematch clause for the WWE Championship in a match later that night. In addition, the match would be a Last Man Standing match, Orton's originally scheduled match against John Cena. The fourth championship match of the night was a rematch from Unforgiven, with Women's Champion Candice Michelle defending the title against Beth Phoenix. There was nothing really to see in this match. Phoenix pinned Michelle after a cradled suplex, as a result, Phoenix won the Women's Championship for the first time.
The next match was SmackDown's main event, which saw Batista defend the World Heavyweight Championship against The Great Khali in a Punjabi Prison match. While locked in the inner cage, neither competitor was able to escape through one of the four trap doors. Khali was able to escape the inner cage first. However, while climbing the outer cage, Batista, who had by this time reached the top of the inner cage, jumped to the outer cage to pull even with Khali. In a head-to-head race, Batista was able to reach the floor first, winning the match, and retaining his championship.
The main event of the evening saw a rematch from the start of the show, with Triple H defending the WWE Championship against former champion Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match. This was Triple H's third match of the evening, and Orton's second. The only way to win the match was to beat up your opponent so much that they could not answer the referee's ten-count. The match started with Orton taking control on Triple H's ribs. They then move onto the ECW announce table where Orton hits Triple H in the head with a monitor. Orton then goes to execute a jumping cutter, but Triple H pushes Orton onto another announce table. Orton gets up on a nine count, but Triple H lifts him up and slams him to the ground. Triple H then picks up and hits Orton in the head with the steel steps. Orton then performs a kick to the midsection and falls down to drive Triple H's head into the mat. Triple H throws Orton back into the ring and grabs a folding chair, but Orton counters with a Jumping cutter onto the chair. Orton goes for a running punt to the head, but Triple H grabs his foot. Triple H then ran towards Orton and expanded his arm and hit Orton in the chest, knocking him over. Triple H then put Orton up on the Raw table, but Orton hits a Jumping cutter on the announce table. Triple H failed to make the ten count, and Orton was crowned the new WWE Champion for the second time.
Aftermath
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Jerry "The King" Lawler |
| Jim Ross | |
| Michael Cole | |
| John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) | |
| Joey Styles | |
| Tazz | |
| Interviewer | Todd Grisham |
| Ring announcer | Tony Chimel |
| Lilian Garcia | |
| Justin Roberts |
On the November 16 edition of SmackDown!, Montel Vontavious Porter and Matt Hardy defended the WWE Tag Team Championships against John Morrison and The Miz. Hardy and MVP lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to Miz and Morrison. Hardy returned to the WWE on March 30, 2008 at WrestleMania XXIV, when he interfered in the Money in the Bank ladder match and costed MVP the match.
Umaga lost the WWE Intercontinental Championship to Jeff Hardy on the September 3 edition of Raw. Afterwards, Umaga started a feud with Triple H and faced off against him in a Street Fight a month later at Cyber Sunday. At Cyber Sunday, CM Punk retained the title after defeating The Miz. The following month, at Survivor Series, Punk defeated Morrison and The Miz in a Triple Threat match to retain the ECW Championship.
Batista resumed his feud with The Undertaker (Mark Calaway) after The Undertaker interfered in a number one contenders match between Finlay and Rey Mysterio. He was subsequently named the top contender, which saw a booked match between Batista and The Undertaker at Cyber Sunday, with Steve Austin winning a fan poll to become the special guest referee. Batista won the match and retained the title. After Cyber Sunday, The Undertaker challenged Batista to a Hell in a Cell match at Survivor Series. Batista won the match following interference from Edge. Edge then became part of the feud and it became a Triple Threat match at Armageddon. Edge won the match and the championship. After the pay-per-view, their feud ended.
Candice Michelle used her rematch clause for the WWE Women's Championship on the October 22 edition of Raw in a Two out of three falls match against Beth Phoenix. Phoenix got the upperhand and the first pinfall. Candice eventually gained control in the match, but lost it after a botched move from the top rope, causing her to fall on her neck, shoulder and face. As a result, Candice suffered a cracked clavicle and Phoenix retained the title.
Reception
The event helped the promotion's revenue of $19.9 million, which was greater the previous year's revenue of $18.7 million. Canadian Online Explorer, rated the overall event, a 7.5 out of ten. The main event was given a 9.5 out of ten. None of the matches received a match rating higher the nine out of ten. The match between CM Punk and Big Daddy V was rated the lowest overall—a three out of ten. The pay-per-view had 271,000 buys, which greater than the 196,000 buys the previous year's event received.The event was released on DVD on November 6, 2007. The DVD reached a peak position of nineteenth on Billboard's DVD sales chart for recreational sports on January 19, 2008. The DVD was also reviewed by costumers; the average costumer rating from Amazon.com was four out of five stars.
Results
| # | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark | Hardcore Holly defeated Cody Rhodes | Singles match | 05:00 |
| 1 | Triple H defeated Randy Orton (c). | Singles match for the WWE Championship | 11:06 |
| 2 | Mr. Kennedy, Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch defeated Jeff Hardy, Paul London and Brian Kendrick. | 6 Man Tag team match | 08:05 |
| 3 | CM Punk (c) defeated Big Daddy V (with Matt Striker) by disqualification. | Singles match for the ECW Championship | 01:37 |
| 4 | Triple H (c) defeated Umaga. | Singles match for the WWE Championship | 06:33 |
| 5 | Finlay fought Rey Mysterio to a no-contest. | Singles match | 09:00 |
| 6 | Beth Phoenix defeated Candice Michelle (c). | Singles match for the WWE Women's Championship | 04:32 |
| 7 | Batista (c) defeated The Great Khali (with Ranjin Singh). | Punjabi Prison match for the World Heavyweight Championship | 14:47 |
| 8 | Randy Orton defeated Triple H (c). | Last Man Standing match for the WWE Championship | 20:25 |
See also
References
External links
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Last updated on Saturday October 11, 2008 at 14:29:30 PDT (GMT -0700)
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