WWE: No Mercy
October 8, 2006
Raleigh, NC
RBC Center

The current Smackdown champions are as follows:
World Heavyweight Champion: King Booker (7/23/2006)
WWE United States Champion: Mr. Kennedy (9/1/2006)
WWE Tag Team Champions: Paul London & Brian Kendrick (5/21/2006)
WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Gregory Helms (1/29/2006)

Your hosts are Michael Cole and JBL.

• Matt Hardy vs. Gregory Helms
  

These two guys have been feuding for the last three months now? Sheesh. Headlocks and shoulderblocks to start. Helms drives Hardy down to the mat so he can put the boots to him. Hardy reverses a suplex and sends Helms to the floor for a pescado. Back in, Helms hotshots Hardy in the corner and delivers a neckbreaker across the knee for two. Hardy tries to go up top, but Helms brings him down with a Russian legsweep. Pretty sweet move there. Some MMA knees gets two. Helms hits a Codebreaker on Hardy for two. I suppose Chris Jericho has seen this match. He locks in an abdominal stretch on the mat for a bit. Hardy fights out and hits a Reverse DDT. He wins a slugfest and delivers the running clothesline and bulldog out of the corner for 1-2-NO! The AHHH flying legdrop gets a nearfall as well. Time for the Twist of Fate, but Helms counters to a straight jacket Edge-O-Matic for 1-2-NO! He delivers another one for two. How about a third one! Helms comes off the top, but flies down into a fist. Side Effect! Cover, 1-2-NO! Hardy gives him another one. Cover, 1-2-NO! Hardy gives him a third and comes off the top for a Flying Moonsault, but hits knees! Helms looks for the Shining Wizard, but Hardy ducks and rolls him up for 1-2-NO! Helms backdrops the Twist of Fate and hits the SHINING WIZARD! Cover, 1-2-NO! Hardy headbutts away a superplex, but gets pulled onto the top rope. Ouch. Helms then gives Hardy another SHINING WIZARD to knock him down to the mat. He covers Hardy, but Matt gets his feet on the bottom rope at the count of two. Finisher attempts are traded some more, but Hardy lands the TWIST OF FATE and gets the win. (13:08) Heck of a match there. ***

King Booker wants total seclusion to prepare for his four-way match. Before that can happen, Regal stops by to see if there is anything he can do to help the champ. He asks him to find Finlay and convince him to be Booker’s ally. SUCKAAAAAA!

• WWE Tag Team Championship: Paul London & Brian Kendrick (c) (w/Ashley Massaro) vs. KC James & Idol Stevens (w/Michelle McCool)
  

If you’re watching along with this, you may recognize Idol Stevens since he is none other than a younger Damien Sandow. KC James has a Bobby Eaton look to him. He starts off with London as they trade shots in the corner. London explodes on Stevens with a headscissors. Kendrick and London then tag in and out working over the arm of Stevens. Rocket Launcher gets two. Kendrick gets caught in the corner of the challengers, but he flips out of a back suplex from KC and tags London for a double forearm smash. Blind tag to Stevens, but London sees it coming and kicks Stevens as he comes off the top. London and Kendrick clean house and delivers STEREO PLANCHAS to KC and Stevens. Back inside, KC shoves London from the top rope causing London to take a NASTY bump on the floor. Back inside, London becomes *your* face in peril. Stevens drapes London over the ropes while KC knee drops the spine. When London tries escaping a chinlock, KC delivers a backbreaker for two. Stevens stretches London some more and cuts off the tag to Kendrick. He holds onto London’s leg while KC gives him with an elbow drop. Tag team wrestling 101. Stevens manages to yank Kendrick off the apron to prevent the hot tag. London fights off a double-team anyways, kicks away KC, tilt-a-whirls away from Stevens, and then rolls towards Kendrick for the hot tag. Forearm smashes and dropkicks abound! Stevens interrupts Sliced Bread #2 on KC, but then gets wiped out by a suicide dive from London. Meanwhile, KC gives Kendrick a superplex for 1-2-NO! We get some heel miscommunication allowing Kendrick to kick off Stevens to deliver a tornado DDT to KC! McCool puts KC’s boot on the bottom rope to break the count though. While Ashley talks to the ref, Stevens gives Kendrick a GIANT Billy Robinson backbreaker. KC covers for 1-2-NO! Michelle grabs Kendrick’s foot – causing Ashley to get pissed and knock her down like a ton of bricks. CATFIGHT! Meanwhile, London helps his partner out from a double-team suplex and then launches Kendrick into a double dropkick on the heels. SLICED BREAD #2 to KC! Running SSP off Kendrick on all fours from London! Kendrick jumps on the cover for the win. (9:36) Good formula match. Too bad they didn’t give KC James and Idol Stevens much of a chance after this because London and Kendrick had no more challengers. **½

While Regal is out looking for Finlay, he stumbles upon Vito jumping rope the WRONG way. After Regal shows him how it’s done, Vito lifts his skirt to wipe the sweat off his face to reveal his rather large Italian sausage stuck in the tightest thong possible. After being so disgusted, Regal turns around to leave and runs into a condiment cart. Why can’t you just use the little packs like everybody else, WWE?

Smackdown GM Teddy Long comes out to the ring to celebrate The Miz’s 26th birthday! There’s a BIG gift-wrapped box in the ring, balloons, and a cake! JBL HATES this guy. Apparently, Miz has been hitting on that new chick Layla – whom I also very attracted to. To show Miz how she’s changed her mind about him, she comes out to give him a lap dance. The trouble starts once she blindfolds him and out from the box comes Big Dick Johnson. When Miz starts to feel on the stripper guy’s chest, he realizes those aren’t Layla’s boobs. Naturally, Miz freaks out and runs away.

• MVP vs. Marty Garner
  

Montel Vontavious Porter looks like a skinnier Godfather in a Power Ranger outfit. Garner is nothing more than a skinny jobber, which Cole and JBL find ridiculous considering MVP talked of beating all the major-tier stars. MVP screws around with Garner until he starts punching back. MVP ducks a punch and drives Garner back into the corner. Garner flips out of the corner off a whip, but gets nailed with a clothesline. MVP pounds Garner on the mat before delivering the PLAY OF THE DAY for the win. (2:31) MVP actually does have the attitude of the modern athlete. He’s an overconfident jackass. Very Odell Beckham-like. ½*

After Regal and Vito take their showers, they dry off together. Vito sneaks a peek of Regal and can’t stop laughing, so Regal storms out of the locker room with his towel covering his twig and berries, leaving his butt cheeks accessible for everyone to see. He runs into Teddy Long in the hall way and gets punished for his horseplay with a match. If anybody is playing with a horse, it’s Vito.

• The Undertaker vs. Mr. Kennedy
  

When Kennedy felt he had beaten everybody on Smackdown and wanted to be traded to RAW, that’s when Teddy Long suggested he go through the Undertaker. So here we are. Taker looks like he uses the same tanning products as Donald Trump. Kennedy ducks a running boot to start and punches back on Taker. Taker ends up catching him with the big boot anyways. He wears down the arm and looks for Old School, but Kennedy gets away and runs to the floor. Taker follows him out and slams his hand on the steps. Back in, Taker applies the knucklelock and lifts Kennedy up in the air. That’s gotta tear your elbow out. Again, Kennedy bails and Taker stalks him to run his shoulder into the post. Back inside, Taker tries Old School again and this time gets pulled down from the top. Taker tries a third time and connects. Flatliner gets two. Kennedy unties a turnbuckle pad to be used later. Taker beats Kennedy from corner to corner and then misses a running boot to crotch himself. Kennedy knocks Taker off the apron onto the barricade. Kennedy messes up though as he flies off the apron into the arms of Taker only to be backed into the post. Back inside, that gets two. He yanks Taker out to the floor and when Taker returns, Kennedy jumps on him coming through the ropes with a DDT. That gets two. Bossman straddle gets a nearfall as well. Kennedy beats Taker down into a corner and delivers the Ole Kick. He hammers on Taker some more, but Taker hammers back and clotheslines Kennedy to the floor. Taker puts Kennedy on the apron for the legdrop. Back in, Kennedy explodes on Taker with a PILEDRIVER for 1-2-NO! Taker sits up! Kennedy tries to chinlock him, but Taker escapes with a back suplex. Taker wins a slugfest and drills Kennedy with the jumping lariat. VINTAGE UNDERTAKER~! Corner clotheslines, Snake Eyes, and the running boot leads to the legdrop for two. Kennedy grabs ref Charles Robinson to prevent the Chokeslam and delivers a swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall. An enziguri from Kennedy misses and Taker hits the CHOKESLAM. Kennedy avoids the LAST RIDE though and nearly sandwiches Robinson in the corner. When he gets pulled aside, Kennedy runs Taker’s head into the exposed corner. KENTON BOMB! Cover, 1-2-NO! Getting desperate, Kennedy brings the US title into the ring. Taker punches him down and hits him with the belt instead right in front of the ref for the DQ. (20:35) Great match as I liked this more than most and would’ve been rated higher had there been a better finish. It would make more sense for Kennedy to hit Taker with the belt and get DQ’ed leaving him in a bloody mess setting up the rematch at Survivor Series than what they went with here. With that said, I do think Kennedy showed signs of chemistry working with the Undertaker here. Before Taker leaves, he’s got TOMBSTONES for both Kennedy and Robinson. ***¼

• Falls Count Anywhere: Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero (w/Vickie Guerrero)
  

Oh boy, this feud. Vickie turned on Rey with a chairshot and decided to stick with her family. If that’s not a heat generator, I don’t know what is. Anyways, these two trade shots on each other to start. When they fight up to the top rope, they end up punching each other down to the floor. They brawl up to the stage where Rey uses the set and headscissors Chavo. Guerrero fights back with a Gory Bomb onto the hockey board. Rey whips Guerrero into a standalone barricade and then drapes him on the barricade so he can land a legdrop off the hockey board. Rey continues to do his lucha-style attacks and Chavo counters a wheelbarrow move by swinging him into the boards. That gets two. More wheelbarrow swinging as Rey gets his head smacked off the boards and a row of chairs. Well, that’s just brutal. They fight up the steps, but Mysterio kicks Chavo back down. Rey runs down the hockey boards and hits Chavo with a Seated Senton. Chavo hits a wicked short clothesline. Now to one of the portals to the back where Chavo whips Rey into the railing. Rey knocks him away and uses the railing to hit a 619! He then one-ups himself with a flying crossbody off the railing to the floor! Awesome. That’s enough to score the pinfall as Rey picks up the win. (12:11) Afterwards, Rey tries to get at Chavo again, but Vickie covers Chavo to protect him. This was a wild brawl, but this needed more time to build to a crescendo. As it is, it’s just a lot of violence with no real back and forth to create a coherent storyline. The intensity and creativity of some of the spots though lift it well above average. ***¼

• Chris Benoit vs. William Regal
  

This is the return of Chris Benoit since he took time off back in May to let an injury heal. Huge reaction from the crowd here. Super strong tie-up to start. Regal tries to twist on the arm and Benoit fires back with a chop, but Regal brings his arms up to block. Regal takes Benoit down into a headlock. Benoit escapes and whips Regal down on his shoulder. Kind of, not really. Regal goes to a single leg. Benoit tries an overhead wristlock, but Regal picks the leg again and tries to hold down Benoit with a knucklelock. Benoit fights up and bridges Regal. There’s a monkey flip and Regal rolls back into a body scissors. Regal powers his way out, but still holds onto Benoit’s wrists. Benoit gets a hand free, hammers on Regal’s hands, and then chops him real good. Regal fires back with elbows, but his elbows aren’t working as well as those chops. Regal stops a Hat Trick of Germans and takes a series of headbutts (busting both guys open) before taking the third German suplex. Here comes the Swandive Headbutt! Cover, 1-2-NO! They try to suplex each other off the apron, but Regal settles for a DDT instead. Back in, Regal gets aggressive with a few shots and knees dropped on Benoit. Once Benoit gets up, he chops Regal down and tries the Sharpshooter, but Regal kicks him away. A running knee to the head by Regal gets two. Regal applies a Kawada-style stretch plum hold with blood pouring down his face. Benoit knees Regal back and chops him on the open wound. AWESOME. Regal gets fired up and hits a couple T-bone suplexes followed by a Brody knee drop for two. Benoit reverses the Regal Stretch for a Fujiwara armbar, but Regal gets the ropes. Regal shoot kicks Benoit in the face and gets two. Really wanting to make Benoit suffer, Regal applies surfboard dragon sleeper. Benoit pounds his way out though. Regal wants the Half Nelson Suplex, but Benoit counters to the Dragon Suplex. Benoit struggles to apply the CRIPPLER CROSSFACE, but ultimately wins out with that struggle to get the tapout. (11:16) It’s hard to take the Regal character seriously lately and then he pulls out a great match like this. It’s like he’s Basil Fawlty backstage, and Lord Steven Regal in the ring. Much like the Benoit/Finlay stuff earlier in the year, this was GOLD. ***¾

King Booker stops Regal in the hallway to ask him if he’s found Finlay, but all Regal has to show for is a bunch of excuses. Finlay finds Booker however, and gets in his face to tell him that he’s here to FIGHT and take Booker’s belt. So, I’m guessing there’s no alliance there. Booker blames Regal for what just went down. Regal tries to respond, but Booker doesn’t want to hear it and slaps him in the face and tells Regal to get out of his sight. Regal staggers back and then WALLOPS Booker with a left! Tell me he didn’t just do that, SUCKAAAAAA!

Seriously, what kind of mind-altering substance is Lashley on? This guy has ZERO personality. He and Batista share a moment in the back. Tonight, they are not friends. But after the show, they might go and have a couple cold ones.

• World Heavyweight Championship: King Booker (c) (w/Queen Sharmell) vs. Batista vs. Finlay vs. Bobby Lashley
  

So Lashley isn’t ready for a main event match and now he’s hidden away in a four-way match with two other top contenders. Finlay ducks out so that Bats and Lashley can double-team Booker. Finlay then jumps Lashley from behind and throws him to the floor. Batista gets jumped and Finlay suggests to Booker that they work together. HA! Lashley remains on the floor while Booker and Finlay beat on Bats in the corner. Lashley saves the day for Batista, dumps out Finlay, and gives Booker a Spinebuster for two. Finlay pulls Booker out to safety and baits Lashley to the floor so they can run him into the apron. Back to work on Bats. Just when things are going their way, Finlay pulls Booker into a short-arm clothesline. He throws Batista to the floor and sends him into the steps. With Bats and Lashley down on the floor, Finlay can take control of Booker. He smashes Booker on the apron and lays in a sharp elbow across the throat. Lashley gets knocked back down to remain on the floor. Finlay hits a senton on Booker and in comes Bats to break up the pin. Finlay takes Batista down and works the arm. He powers Finlay up on his shoulders for a Samoan drop hoping to break the hold, but Finlay sticks to it. Lashley helps out Bats, but gets his leg clipped and taken down into a half crab. Booker breaks up the hold with a superkick for two. Batista gets in some shots on Booker, but takes a jumping heel kick. Side slam by Bats on Booker though gets two. Lashley then sends Bats and Booker to the floor and kicks a chair back in Finlay’s face. A bunch of clotheslines and a press slam drops Finlay down into a gutbuster. Time for the SPEAR, but the Little Bastard appears and low blows Lashley! Finlay grabs his shillelagh and decks Lashley for 1-2-NO! Booker saves the day. Lots of strikes traded from guys not named Bobby. Bats hits Booker with the Jackhammer and he has to give up on the pinfall to knock down Finlay. When Lashley comes to, he and Bats share looks like this is a WrestleMania match anyone would want to see. Batista runs him over with a spear of his own for a few two-counts. Lashley slips out of a powerslam from Batista and gives him a Spinebuster. Don’t know how, but Bats is bleeding hardway for sure. Lashley delivers a bunch of clotheslines and a belly to belly suplex. Lashley starts throwing Bats and Finlay out, but forgets about Booker and takes a BOOK END for 1-2-NO! There’s an awkward suplex spot that ends with Lashley getting a nearfall off a small package. Booker comes back with the Jumping Forearm for two. Finlay cuts off the AXE KICK with a hard clothesline, but misses a corner charge on Lashley and runs into the post. Bats goes into Spinebuster Mode. He hits Finlay with the DEMON BOMB, but Lashley SPEARS Batista before he can cover Finlay. Now Booker crawls over to Finlay and gets the pinfall to retain the world title. (16:54) Finlay’s role as the wild card made this more interesting than the usual 4-way because he knew how to play the role. He was certainly the MVP of the match. Batista and Lashley did what they do best – power moves and intimidating looks. And of course, Booker had to manage it all and still win the match. ***¼

Final Thoughts: In spite of poor promotion and uninteresting storylines, this PPV managed to deliver. Michael Hayes – who recently took over Smackdown as head writer – has a deep talent pool and all he needs to do is find a better way to exploit it than his predecessor. All the right people went over and not a bad match on the card. There’s not too much more you can ask for here. No MOTYC, but I doubt anyone expected there would be. The only knock is that nothing terribly exciting happened. Slight thumbs up for No Mercy 2006.