No Mercy 2002 Review

This was a bad time for the Raw brand. HHH was at his most overbearing, overexposed boring peak at this point. Kane returned just after Summerslam and HHH completely anihilated him and made him look like a joke culminating with this show. This was during the horrible Katie Vick story. Your hosts are JR and King for Raw and Tazz and Cole for Smackdown.


Match #1

Raw Tag Team Championship Match

Chris Jericho And Christian Vs Booker T And Goldust


The Un Americans fell apart and instead of giving the belts to Booker and Goldust who were the best thing going as far as the tag division for the past 5 months, they give the belts to Kane and Huricane then have them drop the belts to Jericho and Christian. The tag division is deader than dead at this point as Stephanie McMahon is going to crown the first ever Smackdown tag champs tonight. The Raw belts are the original and only legitimate WWE tag belts IMHO. The Smackdown division got off to a good start but ultimately both titles wound up getting unified just this year. So now the WWE has TWO tag divisions without one single damn legitimate tag team to use for either brand, except 3 Minute Warning who never got the belts and Billy And Chuck who were gone this month because of another Billy Gunn injury. Booker and Christian start. Booker gets a sidekick for 2 then Goldust comes in and so does Jericho. Jericho gets hit with a buttbutt, and he’s slingshot out of the ring. Back in, he gets a missile dropkick for 2 and the heels beat up GD. Christian gets a legsweep for 2. Goldust comes back with a clothesline on Jericho, but gets sent into the heel corner again. He gets a fluke rollup on Christian for 2 and a powerslam. Hot tag Booker, and he kicks ass. Forearm for Jericho and superkick for Christian, but Jericho dodges the axe kick but a spinebuster gets 2 for Booker. Rollup gets 2. Booker crotches himself on a harlem sidekick attempt, but Goldust comes back in and hits Christian with shattered dreams. Jericho reverses the curtain call into the walls, but Booker breaks it up with the axe kick, and Goldust gets 2. Booker gets a missile dropkick on Jericho before doing spinarooni, but Jericho tries to take advantage with a lionsault and the rope breaks almost dropping him on his head. Jericho attempts a bulldog of GD on a tag belt but there's no connection and a lionsault ends it at 8:47. 2 stars for a generic tag match for meaningless belts and 1/2 bonus for the rope breaking.


Now we go to another shty storyline, the Dawn Marie/Al Wilson/Torrie Wilson story. Stupid storyline with bad matches for the next 3 or 4 months. We review the storyline while the techs fix the ring.


Match #2

Womens Match

Torrie Wilson Vs Dawn Marie


Torrie attacks Marie first then lands some weak clothelsines. Sunset flip gets 2. Dawn uses a necksnap on the apron but Torrie baseball slides her off the apron and they fight outside. Dawn works hte back then a catfight breaks out and Torrie gets a suplex for 2 then finishes with a swinging neckbreaker at 4:40. Usual boring **** from the women. Thank god Victoria was on her way in at this time. 1/2 star.


RVD cuts a bad promo on Flair and we go to:


Match #3

Singles Match

The Nature Boy Ric Flair Vs Rob Van Dam


RVD wants revenge for last months ppv when HHH's newest butt boy Flair cost RVD the title match. Rob attacks on the floor, and Flair ends up in the front row. Rob gets the guillotine legdrop on Flair on the guardrail and they go inside. Rob with a missile dropkick and handspring moonsault for 2. Flair comes back with chops, but gets whipped to the corner and botches the flair flip. Rob pounds away and gets a springboard dropkick for 2. Flair goes low, and clips him, and goes to work on the knee. Flair does awhole lot of chopping. Which seems to be his basic moveset or 75% of his arsenal from 2002-retirement. Rob battles back and Flair kicks the knee to stop him. Figure four, but Rob escapes and gets a sunset flip for 2. Backslide gets 2. Dropkick misses and Flair tries another figure four but Rob packages for 2. Flair goes up, and gets slammed off as usual then Rob hits rolling thunder for 2. Rob takes Flair down with a spinkick, goes up top and hits the five star frog splash for the pin at 7:59. This didn't do anything for me. 2 stars.


Match #4

Cruiserweight Championship Match

Jamie Noble w Nidia Vs Tajiri


Tajiri is a face again because he was getting too cozy with Noble's girl or something. Tajiri blocks a sunset flip and kicks Noble down for a 2 count. Noble blocks a victory roll with an electric chair drop for 2. Backbreaker gets 2. Noble goes to the surfboard, but Tajiri counters. Tajirir tries a crucifix but Noble drops down on that for 2. Noble beats Tajiri down then Tajiri gets a sunset flip for 2. Noble attacks the back and gets the surfboard this time. Noble works on the back in the corner and they head up. Tajiri knocks him off then misses a moonsault. Tajiri gets a tornado ddt and they are both out. Tajiri makes the comeback and gets a combo of martial arts kicks then does the handspring elbow and a thrust kick for 2 1/2. Tajiri does his spinning gory special thingy. Tarantula and Tajiri goes for the buzzkick but Noble ducks and tries a powerbomb but Tajiri reverses and gets the buzzkick anyway. The ref is tied up with Nidia. A tiger bomb gets 2 for Noble. He tries another one and Tajiri counters that and Tajiri tries a victory roll but Nidia trips him up and helps hold down Tajiri so Noble gets the pin at 8:15. 2 1/2 stars.


Match #5

Winner Take All Match

HHH Vs Kane


So. RVD beat Jeff Hardy for the Euro title to unify it with the IC title, then he beat Dreamer to unify the hardcore title with the IC title then lost it to Jericho who dropped it to Kane and now theyre gonna unify the IC title to HHH's fake Raw belt so he can be the only singles champion on Raw. What an arrogant ass:( Kane beats up HHH and he bails. Back inside Kane gets a clothesline for 2. Kane with a corner clothesline then misses a blind charge and HHH gets a neckbreaker. Kane nosells and gets a powerslam for 2. HHH gets the facebuster and Kane is in Jason Vorhees mode. They head outside and Kane gets posted. Back inside another neckbreaker gets 2. Another one gets 2. HHH punches Kane in the corner and runs into an elbow. HHH spinebuster for 2. HHH sleeper and Kane gets a belly to back to break it. Kane goes up and gets the flying clothesline. Flair comes down to set in motion the inevitable screw win for HHH. Kane hits HHH with the big boot and decks Flair but HHH plasters him with the belt for 2. Huricane shows up to help his buddy but HHH pedigrees him on the floor pretty quick to end his night. Back inside Kane gets a powerslam for 2 1/2. HHH stops him with an elbow on a charge and goes up but jumps off onto a boot. Kane ends up kicking the ref by accident and he's gone. The guys fight outside and Kane chokeslams HHH through a table. Back in, Kane stops Flair who has the hammer then HHH manages to get a lowblow on Kane. HHH hits him with the hammer and Kane shrugs it off and chokeslams HHH but there is no ref. Another ref runs down and Flair decks him. Kane chokeslams Flair and HHH gives Kane the pedigree and unifies the titles and monopolizes Raw as his own playground at 16:16. Yeesh. 2 stars.


Match #6


Smackdown Tag Team Championship Match

Kurt Angle And Chris Benoit Vs Edge And Rey Mysterio


Angle starts with Rey and controls with mat wrestling. Rey gets a seated dropkick and a flying headscissors. Edge tags in and hiptosses him and dropkicks him, and Angle is bent out of shape. Benoit and Edge tangle and they both use armbars. Benoit runs into a knee and takes a gutbuster for 2. Backbreaker gets 2. Edge works him in the corner, but gets the Benoit knife edges. Edge flapjacks him and an oklahoma roll gets 2. Angle cheapshots Edge to break the momentum, but Edge spears him off the apron. Rollup on Benoit gets 2, but Angle gets a necksnap that allows Benoit to clothesline Edge for 2. Edge fights back. Kneelift gets 2 for Angle. Angle uses a chinlock/bodyscissors combo to keep Edge down, and hits a belly to belly. Edge gets whooped in the heel corner. Benoit goes up but Edge catches him with a superplex and hottags Rey. Rey with a headscissors on Benoit to set up a seated dropkick in the corner, and a dropkick that sends Angle out. He guillotines Benoit between the ropes, for 2. Edge and Angle slug it out and fight to the floor, as Benoit blocks mysterio bulldog on the crossface. Edge saves, but Angle knocks him outside. Benoit gets sent into the ropes, but the 619 is blocked by Benoit, but Edge nails him with a missile dropkick for 2. Rey heads up but falls victim to Angle's possum superplex, and Benoit gets 2. Rey gets beat up for the next session. Backbreaker gets 2 for Angle. Angle gets an overhead suplex for 2. Benoit gets a backdrop for 2 on Rey. Backdrop suplex gets 2. Benoit goes for a blind charge and eats shoe. Rey uses a headscissors to send him into the turnbuckles, and it’s hot tag to Edge. Backdrop for Angle, faceplant for Benoit, edge o matic for Angle. Edge spears Benoit in the corner to set up a broncobuster from Rey, and Edge puts Angle on top and alley oops Rey into a top rope rana. Spear gets 2. Angle hits Edge with a german and Benoit goes for the crossface, but Edge makes the ropes. Rey breaks that up with the 619, but gets hit with the Angle Slam, were down to Edge and Angle now. Angle lock is reversed to a rollup for 2. Spear gets 2. Edge tosses Rey onto Benoit from a powerbomb position, but walks into the Angle lock. Edge counters into his own then Angle counters BACK into the anglelock and gets the submission at a lengthy 22:03 to win the vacant Smackdown Tag Team Championship. The only match on this ppv so far really worth a ****. 4 stars.

Backstage Taker gets a shot from a medic to numb the pain in his broken hand.

Match #7

Womens Championship Match

Trish Stratus Vs Victoria


Two womens matches on the same show? Victoria uses a headlock to and overpowers Trish, but gets clotheslined for 2. Chick kick gets 2 for Trish. Victoria heads outside and gets dropped by a clothesline. Victoria drops her on the railing, and they head back in. Victoria gets a slingshot legdrop for 2. A goofy monkey flip and they head up top where Trish gets the handstand rana for 2. Victoria gets a body vice, but Trish reverses to a bridge for 2. Victoria smacks her down and gets a weird sideslam and goes up top and gets caught in an electric chair drop. Neckbreaker and rollup get the pin for Trish to retain at 5:31. Sucky womens match, but not as bad as the first one. 1 star.


Match #8

WWE Championship Hell In A Cell Match

Brock lesnar w Paul Heyman Vs The Undertaker


Brock gets a powerslam for 2. Undertaker uses the cast on his broken hand to fight back. Brock bails, but pounds away on Taker. He goes after the hand and goes to an armbar, but gets nailed with the cast again. Brock is busted open. They head out and Taker sends him into the cage and stomps his head. Taker gets 2 on the floor and bangs Brock headfirst into the cage. Paul tries to reach through the cage and help, but Taker shoves him off into the barricade and he gets busted open somehow. Brock gets sent to the stairs but manages to send Taker into the cage and takes over. Brock whails on Taker with a chair and smashes the cast with it. Brock manages to get the cast off and works it over. They fight on a superplex and Taker fights Brock off and hits the ropewalk. Brock gets pitched outside and Taker follows with a dive. Brock hits him in the face with the stairs a couple of times pretty good, and Taker is REALLY busted open, looks like he's been hit in the face with a paintbrush full of red. Back in, Brock gets a spinebuster for 2. Brock slugs away, but Taker fights back with his broken hand, showing no pain. Taker tries another ropewalk but Brock yanks him off. Brock goes for the F5, which Taker counters to the chokeslam WITH the broken hand for 2. Taker charges and hits boot, but Brock’s attempt at a powerbomb is reversed. DDT gets 2 for UT. Brock goes for a 10 punch in the corner and gets last ridden out of it but it's only a 2 count. Taker is bleeding all over the place which helps make up for him punching with his supposidly broken hand. Tombstone is reversed to the F5 and Brock retains at 27:18. I always heard this HITC sucked. I thought it was pretty good. Taker bleeding buckets was cool, but him pretty much ignoring the broken hand bit which was supposed to be the main storyline hurts it so they cancel eachother out. That aside im going 3 stars for the match. HITC was becoming watered down at this point I think. Taker/Bossman is still the worst HITC ive seen.


Overall Opinion: Alot of meaningless crap with a kickass Smackdown tag title match and a pretty good main event. Naturally it was the Smackdown roster that put on the good stuff tonight. Smackdown was definately the better brand in the fall of 2002.


Final Score: Using my scorecard. This show gets a 5.5. I was expecting alot worse from what the critics said.