| No Mercy (2008) | ||||
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Promotional poster featuring Jeff Hardy |
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| Theme song(s) |
"All Nightmare Long" by Metallica[1] | |||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | World Wrestling Entertainment | |||
| Date | October 5, 2008 | |||
| Attendance | 9,527[2] | |||
| Venue | Rose Garden | |||
| City | Portland, Oregon | |||
| Pay-per-view chronology | ||||
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| No Mercy chronology | ||||
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No Mercy (2008) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which took place on October 5, 2008 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon.[3] It was the 11th and final annual No Mercy event and starred wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown and ECW brands.
Eight professional wrestling matches were scheduled on the event's card, which featured a supercard, a scheduling of more than one main event. The first featured wrestlers from the Raw brand, in which defending World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho defeated Shawn Michaels in a ladder match. The other main event featured wrestlers from the SmackDown! brand, in which defending WWE Champion Triple H defeated challenger Jeff Hardy in a standard wrestling match. Three featured bouts were scheduled on the undercard. In a standard wrestling match between wrestlers from the Raw brand, Batista defeated John "Bradshaw" Layfield to become the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. The second was a standard match between wrestlers from the SmackDown! brand in which the Big Show defeated The Undertaker. The third was the predominant match from the ECW brand, a standard match for the ECW Championship, in which the champion Matt Hardy defeated Mark Henry.
No Mercy (2008) had an approximate attendance of 9,527. When the event was released on DVD, it reached a peak position of second on Billboard's Recreational Sports DVD Sales Chart.[4] The event received 261,000 pay-per-view buys, less than the previous year's event.[5]
Contents |
The event featured eight professional wrestling matches with outcomes predetermined by WWE script writers. The matches featured wrestlers portraying their characters in planned storylines that took place before, during and after the event. All wrestlers were from one of the WWE's three brands - SmackDown, Raw, or ECW - the three storyline divisions in which WWE assigned its employees.
Wrestlers from the Raw brand were featured in the main event at No Mercy: a ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship, in which the title belt was suspended above the ring and the first man to climb the ladder and retrieve the belt would win. The match was contested between World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels. The build up to the match began at Unforgiven, when Jericho replaced then World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk in a Championship Scramble match, a 20-minute time limit bout, during which participants can become the temporary champion via pinfall or submission. Punk had, earlier in the night, been attacked by Randy Orton, in storyline, and could not compete, leading to Jericho being his replacement and winning the World Heavyweight Championship.[6] On the September 15 episode of Raw, it was announced that Shawn Michaels would wrestle Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship at No Mercy in a ladder match.[7][8]
The leading staged rivalry scripted into the pay-per-view on the SmackDown brand was between Triple H and Jeff Hardy over the WWE Championship. It was announced on the September 12, 2008 episode of SmackDown that there would be a Fatal-Four Way match, a standard wrestling match involving four competitors. The winner of the match would challenge Triple H for the WWE Championship at No Mercy. The Brian Kendrick, Shelton Benjamin, Montel Vontavious Porter, and Jeff Hardy were the four participants in the match, which Hardy won.[9]
It was also announced that Batista would face John "Bradshaw" Layfield in a standard wrestling match, dubbed in professional wrestling as a singles match, to determine the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship.[10]
During the September 17, 2008 episode of ECW, it was announced that Matt Hardy would defend the ECW Championship against Mark Henry.[11]
It was announced on the September 22, 2008 edition of Raw that Kane would receive a singles match against Rey Mysterio.[12] On the following week on an episode of Raw, an extra stipulation was added, in which if Kane won at No Mercy, Mysterio would be forced to unmask after the match.[13]
It was also announced that The Big Show and The Undertaker would have a match, following the events that occurred at Unforgiven.
The first match was a dark match, between The Colóns (Carlito and Primo) and John Morrison and The Miz, which The Colóns won.
The first televised match was for the ECW Championship, featuring the champion Matt Hardy versus Mark Henry, who was accompanied by his manager Tony Atlas. During the start of the match Henry overpowered Matt Hardy with attacks. One point of the match involved Hardy taking down Henry with a running chop block. Hardy then focused on attacking Henry's knee. Another point was Hardy trying to lock in a Figure-Four Leglock only to be pushed face first onto the second turnbuckle. Since then Henry gained control over Hardy again. During the match Henry was able to lock in the Bearhug but Hardy countered into a sunset flip only for Henry to attempt a Banzai Drop but Hardy moving out of the way. Hardy was able to hit the Side Effect and went for the Twist of Fate only to be dropped chest first onto the mat. The end of the match involved Henry going for the World's Strongest Slam only to have Hardy counter it with a Twist of Fate.
The next match was Beth Phoenix versus Candice Michelle for the WWE Women's Championship which Phoenix came with to the match. The match started out with Candice taking Phoenix down with various type of kicks. Phoenix then gained control of the match by slamming Candice back first onto the corner. Phoenix then focused on Candice's shoulder with a running kick and slamming it onto the turnbuckle. Phoenix continued to focus on Candice's shoulder by locking in an armbar on her. After being in the armbar for a long time Candice was able to counter into a pin only to have Phoenix kick out. Candice then again got the upper hand on The Glamazon, Beth Phoenix with a jawbreaker. Candice was able to hit a high impact spinning wheel kick and again go for the pin but Phoenix kicked out again. Phoenix was able to gain advantage by dropping Candice face first onto the mat only to quickly have Candice knock her down from the top rope. A spot in the match was Santino Marella pulling Phoenix out of the ring while Candice went for the pin only to have Candice baseball slide "Glamarella". However that distraction allowed Phoenix to take Candice. The end of the match involved Candice go for the Candywrapper only to have Phoenix counter it into a "Glam Slam" and pin Candice Michelle for the win.
The next match of the night was Rey Mysterio versus Kane with the stipulation that if Mysterio loses he will have to unmask. The start of the match had Mysterio springboard dropkick Kane out of the ring. Also during the start of the match Mysterio went for a running attack only to be big booted by Kane. Kane tried to rip Mysterio's mask off only for Mysterio to roll out of the ring. During the match Kane kneed Mysterio in the gut and attempted to throw him out of the ring but having Rey shoulder thrust him and hit a springboard dropkick to the spine of Kane. Kane landed on the second rope and Mysterio went for his signature 619 but Kane countered with a clothesline. A spot in the match was Mysterio going for a diving hurracanrana only to be caught by Kane who went for a powerbomb only to be headscissored over the top rope. Also Mysterio locking in a sleeper on Kane on the outside only to be thrown over a barricade. Another spot was Mysterio roundhouse kicking a kneeling Kane and following up with a "Droppin' Da Dime". The end of the match was Mysterio looking to dive to the outside onto Kane but Kane hitting him with a chair shot in mid-air causing the disqualification.
The feud between Triple H and Jeff Hardy continued to Cyber Sunday. The fans voted Jeff Hardy to be the contender for the WWE Championship Match. At the PPV Triple H retained his title by pinning Hardy. Jeff was supposed to be in the triple threat match at Survivor Series, but was found knocked out on the stairwell, and was replaced by Edge. Jeff Hardy got another chance at the title and was placed in the triple threat match at Armageddon. At the PPV Jeff won his first ever World Championship by pinning Edge.
At Cyber Sunday Batista defeated Chris Jericho to win the World Heavyweight Championship.The next Raw Episode Chris Jericho received a rematch against Batista in a Steel Cage Match. That night Chris Jericho regained the title and became a three time world champion. But he would lose the championship at Survivor Series against John Cena which the Raw fans choose for the main event. He got another rematch at Armageddon, but failed to regain the title.
The Undertaker and The Big Show feud continued to Cyber Sunday and Survivor Series. At Cyber Sunday The Undertaker defeated The Big Show in a Last Man Standing Match which was chosen by the fans for the match. Their feud would come to a end at Survivor Series when The Undertaker defeated The Big Show in a Casket Match. This set The Big Show one and The Undertaker two, to make Undertaker the winner of the feud.
The event was generally well received by critics. The Sun, in their review praised the main events as two of the best you will ever see, with particular praise on the chemistry of both Triple H/Jeff Hardy & Jericho/HBK. They rated the event an 8.5 out of 10.[14]
| # | Match | Stipulation | Times[2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark | The Colóns (Carlito and Primo) defeated John Morrison and The Miz | Tag team match | Unknown |
| 1 | Matt Hardy (c) defeated Mark Henry (with Tony Atlas)[15] | Singles match for the ECW Championship | 08:08 |
| 2 | Beth Phoenix (c) (with Santino Marella) defeated Candice Michelle[16] | Singles match for the WWE Women's Championship | 04:40 |
| 3 | Rey Mysterio defeated Kane by disqualification[17] | Singles match, in which if Mysterio had lost, he would remove his mask | 10:10 |
| 4 | Batista defeated John "Bradshaw" Layfield[18] | Number one contender's match for the World Heavyweight Championship | 05:18 |
| 5 | The Big Show defeated The Undertaker by knockout[19] | Singles match | 10:04 |
| 6 | Triple H (c) defeated Jeff Hardy[20] | Singles match for the WWE Championship | 17:01 |
| 7 | Chris Jericho (c) defeated Shawn Michaels[21] | Ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship | 22:20 |
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(c) - refers to the champion heading into the match
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