WWE No Mercy 2008
WWE No Mercy 2008 (10/5/2008)- Portland, OR
ECW TITLE MATCH: Matt Hardy(c) vs. Mark Henry (w/Tony Atlas)- 5.75/10
There were times when Mark Henry looked a bit weaker than Mark Henry every probably should (taking a Side Effect?!) but they told a good story and Mark sold his leg well. It would have been better if the finish had actually played into the story of Matt working over Henry’s leg, though.
WWE WOMEN’S TITLE MATCH: Beth Phoenix(c) (w/Santino Marella) vs. Candice Michelle- 3.25/10
IF MYSTERIO LOSES, HE MUST UNMASK: Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Kane- 4.25/10
Was going slowly but well enough until Kane gets himself DQed via blatant use of a chair. And it’s not like he stayed to beat up on Rey some more. He just decided to forget about wanting to make Rey unmask and got himself DQed.
WINNER BECOMES # CONTENDER TO THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE: JBL vs. Batista- 2.25/10
HUGE pop for Batista here. That was the only noteworthy thing about this match. It was WAY too short and they didn’t even do anything in the time they had. The match barely went five minutes, and about a minute of it was taken up by one rear chinlock.
THE UNDERTAKER vs. BIG SHOW (w/Vickie Guerrero)- 7/10
The crowd didn’t like it, but I thought the finish was fantastic. That’s the problem with never doing (or even teasing) ref stoppages. When you actually use them, the people don’t know how to react, so they poop on it.
WWE TITLE MATCH: Triple H(c) vs. Jeff Hardy- 8/10
Hunter works over Jeff’s back, and Jeff sold very well. They really got you behind Jeff here. The reaction to Jeff feels like an important step in WWE’s decision to put the belt on him in December.
LADDER MATCH FOR THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE: Chris Jericho(c) vs. Shawn Michaels- 9.5/10
F*CKING AMAZING! They didn’t do too much compared to many other ladder matches, but they made every last thing that they did count. They made great use of the ladder and did a lot of new, interesting spots, too.
A good show from WWE. The strong top of the card definitely makes up for the weak undercard, but I really can’t recommend that you ever sit through the whole thing. Hardy vs. Henry is enjoyable, but after that point, you should just skip right to the Taker vs. Big Show match. Pick this one up at a discount if you can.
STUPID ANNOUNCER QUOTES:
1. For some unknown reason, Michael Cole described one of Rey’s standard Lucha moves as â€"swashbuckling.â€
ECW TITLE MATCH: Matt Hardy(c) vs. Mark Henry (w/Tony Atlas)- 5.75/10
There were times when Mark Henry looked a bit weaker than Mark Henry every probably should (taking a Side Effect?!) but they told a good story and Mark sold his leg well. It would have been better if the finish had actually played into the story of Matt working over Henry’s leg, though.
WWE WOMEN’S TITLE MATCH: Beth Phoenix(c) (w/Santino Marella) vs. Candice Michelle- 3.25/10
IF MYSTERIO LOSES, HE MUST UNMASK: Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Kane- 4.25/10
Was going slowly but well enough until Kane gets himself DQed via blatant use of a chair. And it’s not like he stayed to beat up on Rey some more. He just decided to forget about wanting to make Rey unmask and got himself DQed.
WINNER BECOMES # CONTENDER TO THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE: JBL vs. Batista- 2.25/10
HUGE pop for Batista here. That was the only noteworthy thing about this match. It was WAY too short and they didn’t even do anything in the time they had. The match barely went five minutes, and about a minute of it was taken up by one rear chinlock.
THE UNDERTAKER vs. BIG SHOW (w/Vickie Guerrero)- 7/10
The crowd didn’t like it, but I thought the finish was fantastic. That’s the problem with never doing (or even teasing) ref stoppages. When you actually use them, the people don’t know how to react, so they poop on it.
WWE TITLE MATCH: Triple H(c) vs. Jeff Hardy- 8/10
Hunter works over Jeff’s back, and Jeff sold very well. They really got you behind Jeff here. The reaction to Jeff feels like an important step in WWE’s decision to put the belt on him in December.
LADDER MATCH FOR THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE: Chris Jericho(c) vs. Shawn Michaels- 9.5/10
F*CKING AMAZING! They didn’t do too much compared to many other ladder matches, but they made every last thing that they did count. They made great use of the ladder and did a lot of new, interesting spots, too.
A good show from WWE. The strong top of the card definitely makes up for the weak undercard, but I really can’t recommend that you ever sit through the whole thing. Hardy vs. Henry is enjoyable, but after that point, you should just skip right to the Taker vs. Big Show match. Pick this one up at a discount if you can.
STUPID ANNOUNCER QUOTES:
1. For some unknown reason, Michael Cole described one of Rey’s standard Lucha moves as â€"swashbuckling.â€