No Mercy (2006)

With anger comes aggression. With aggression comes mayhem. And each SmackDown Superstar knows that no one is safe from the carnage. Rage will rule the day and only one thing is certain: No Mercy will be shown to all who dare answer the call.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: SPORTS/GAMES UPC: 651191945610 Manufacturer No: 94561 Product Description

The Rejuvenation of SmackDown

"Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it", so said a great man once.

WWE's "B Show" has had its ups and downs, just like any form of pro wrestling. But once Batista got drafted to SMACKDOWN back in July of 2005, this show really went to the toilet for a long time, and barely kept hardcore fans like me hooked.

The 2006 NO MERCY was a special event to me, because I think this was when the "B Show" cut the crap, and got back to work.

But enough history. Let's see how well North Carolina's festivites held our attention for 3 hours:

1) Matt Hardy v. Gregory Helms (Cruiserweight champion)
---The first of TWO non-title matches for the evening, this one showcasing two hometown superstars. Helms and Hardy had an impressive series of matches for several months going into this PPV, and tonight they were just as good as they'd ever been together. I would argue that while Matt Hardy had been over as a singles competitor, this time period was a bigger push than his Edge/Lita angle. Helms is an underrated performer; just listen to his own state boo him. Overall, a solid match with plenty of time given for both men to do their thing.
"7.0 / 10"
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2) WWE Tag Team Championships
Paul London & Brian Kendrick (champions) v. KC James & Idol Stevens
---It's too bad that the challengers were so unknown that they've disappeared from WWE since this PPV. If more fans got to see these four men work together like they did on this PPV, James and Stevens might've become something more. But as it stands, this has been their biggest WWE showcase to date, and it's a heck of a good one. Both teams looked very good, and worthy of championship gold. Kendrick and London had an awesome 9-month title reign, and this was one of their best PPV matches.
"7.5 / 10"
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3) The Debut of Montel Vontavious Porter
---Wanna know why I haven't listed MVP's opponent? Because it's Marty Garner? You know who Garner is? The only thing I know about him (thanks to YouTube) is that he took a nasty Pedigree from Triple H back in 1995 or 1996. Well, at least JBL and Michael Cole talked smack about MVP's ridiculous character and outfit. Don't get me wrong, Porter has worked his tail off to become one of SMACKDOWN's biggest stars, and grown to be one of my favorite heels. But this debut was just a basic squash that impressed nobody.
"3.0 / 10"
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4) Mr. Kennedy (United States champion) v. The Undertaker
---Like MVP, Kennedy has also come a long way since this night. But also like MVP, Kennedy failed to impress me tonight. I never once believed that Taker wouldn't just use his size to wipe the floor with him. The match was just so darn slow, and I don't mean 'slow in a good way'. JBL's the guy to push newer talent for audiences, but that wasn't enough. Taker's the guy to make newer superstars look good, but that wasn't enough either. Sadly, just a dull plodding 20 minutes. This rivalry was so uneven that it didn't produce one decent match for two more months.
"5.5 / 10"
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5) Falls Count Anywhere
Chavo Guerrero v. Rey Mysterio
---Seeing Chavo and Rey advertised is all you need to get my attention. But seeing these two lucha libre masters do nothing but brawl all over the arena is all you need to tick me off. Why in the world would anybody watch these two in a "punch-kick" fight? It's not as if the match was hardcore, or anything like that! A decent brawl, I admit, but not stylish or violent enough to satisfy me. Plus, the finish was stupid!
"6.0 / 10"
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6) William Regal v. Chris Benoit
---The buildup to this match was hilarious, as Regal kept getting in trouble backstage before Teddy Long punished him with an impromptu match against an unknown opponent. So what's the end result? - easily one of the best impromptu matches in PPV history! I wouldn't be surprised if every Amazon reviewer gave this brutal technical display nothing but praise! If you've seen the Regal/Benoit match on the HARD KNOCKS DVD, it's actually very similar. The only difference is that this NO MERCY fight was much shorter. Michael Cole has his critics, but he knows how to call a technical masterpiece as good as anybody. JBL might not be the "Wrestling God", but he's a genius talker. To quote the color commentator, "This is a throwback, and it is a throwback that is good!"
"8.5 / 10"
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7) World Heavyweight Championship
Finlay v. Bobby Lashley v. Batista v. King Booker (champion)
---This was supposed to actually be Booker/Lashley, with Finlay and Batista having their own grudge match. I don't know why the two contests got thrown together 2 days prior, but thankfully the main event was decent. Everyone got a chance to shine, especially the tough veteran Finlay. I guess things worked well enough, but there the storytelling failed to give me a "big match feel". I seriously felt like 4 of SMACKDOWN's top guys just got thrown together for an all-star showcase. I don't think anybody's gonna remember this main event years from now, but if you check it out on DVD, it's mostly entertaining.
"6.5 / 10"
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That was a pretty rough review of a "special event", wasn't it? NO MERCY 2006 is an overall entertaining PPV, but it really sags for about 70 straight minutes. Most PPVs have some good, then some bad, then some more good. Once NO MERCY 2006 hits a snag, it doesn't recover until the 2-hour mark. There are a few good matches on here for viewers who just skip to the good parts, but I'd bet people who watch PPVs from start to finish (like me) will be disappointed. June 28, 2008

NO MERCY OCTOBER 8,2006

1.GREGORY V MATT HARDY 8/10 WINNER MATT HARDY

2.WWE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
BRIAN KENDRICK AND PAUL LONDON V KC JAMES AND IDOL STEVENS 7/10 WINNER STILL CHAMPIONS LONDON AND KENDRICK

3.MVP DEBUT 0/10 WINNER MVP

4.MR.KENNEDY V THE UNDERTAKER 9/10 WINNER KENNEDY BY DQ

5.FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE MATCH
REY MYSTERIO V CHAVO GUERRERO 8/10 WINNER REY MYSTERIO

6.WILLAM REGAL V CHRIS BENOIT 9.3/10 WINNER CHRIS BENOIT

7.FATAL 4 WAY MATCH FOR THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
KING BOOKER WITH QUEEN SHARMELL V FINLAY V BOBBY LASHEY V BATISTA 9.2/10 WINNER STILL CHAMPION KING BOOKER May 28, 2007

One of the Best Shows of the year

Matt Hardy v. Gregory Helms-- I never really 'got' this rivalry and what was so great about it, or even why I should care, but their matches were consistently average and entirely watchable. This is no different. The home town crowd really ate these two up and while it's not my cup of tea, it served it's purpose. **1/4

WWE Tag Team Championship
London & Kendrick v. Idol & Stevens-- I LOVE Londrick, but this was one of their lesser matches. It wasn't for a lack of effort that's for sure, but this was one of those tag matches that just when it seemed like it was going to 'release' itself from low gears, it never really did. This is far from terrible, just very average. **1/4

MVP v. Marty Gartner-- I love the whole concept of MVP's character. The absolutely terrible squash match was done purposely. *******3/4's. No really, this was a squash, * but still fun.

Undertaker v. Mr. Kennedy-- Yowzers, this was pretty great. Kennedy, while playing the semi-chicken sh_t heel for most of the program snaps a little bit and feeds it right back to Taker after taking a pretty nasty beating early in the match. Very similar to the Cena-Taker match at Vengeance 03. If you liked that match, you'll love this. Solid stuff ***.

Falls Count Anywhere
Rey Mysterio v. Chavo Guererro-- A year after Eddie Guererro's death we're still watching this crap. This was pretty entertaining and followed the stip well, which WWE matches tend to not do, but there's nothing really that really sets it apart from the average falls count anywhere match. Again, decent and consistent with the stip, but not anything to really write home about. **1/2

Chris Benoit v. William Regal-- Oh joy. William Regal stole the show in this pay per view. He got punched in the zoinks and then chopped someone in the head. Honestly, this was excellent and from a quality standpoint, the match of the night. I could watch these two kill each other forever. Great way to bring Benoit back and Regal is his usually awesome self. ***1/2

World Heavyweight Championship-- Fatal Four Way
King Booker v. Batista v. Finlay v. Lashley-- Easily the biggest surprise of the night. Everyone got a chance to do their thing and look good. Finlay's sections were particularly awesome. Lashley played the plucky and game green horn well while Batista looked to be entirely desperate to win his belt back. King Booker is... just aweseome in this. Just looking for any opportunity to cheat and retain his belt. Great heelish stuff. And this was the first time he broke out the pinky on the entrance... Oh, the pinky. Super fun fatal four way match. ***

Overall-- Loved this show. All I ask when I plop my money down is that I am entertained. Smackdown's shows, even when their matches stink, you can at least take SOMETHING fun away from them. Super fun main event, great Kennedy-Taker match and we also got treated to Benoit-Regal without knowing about it prior to. Everything else is entirely passable and No Mercy's a show you might want to consider picking up. March 17, 2007

wwe no mercy 2006

matt hardy vs. gregory helms
winner: matt hardy 8/10

wwe tag team championship
london/kendrick vs. james/stevens
winners: london/kendrick 8/10

mvp vs. marty garner
winner: mvp 3/10

undertaker vs. mr. kennedy
winner: mr. kennedy (dq) 7.5/10

falls count anywhere match
rey mysterio vs. chavo guerrero
winner: rey mysterio 7/10

chris benoit vs. william regal
winner: chris benoit 8/10

world heavyweight championship
king booker vs. finlay vs. batista vs. lashley
winner: king booker 7/10 March 8, 2007

A Surprisingly good PPV

Helms vs. Hardy

3 1/2 star match. Fast paced and really competitive, with some good false endings. Starts off a little slow, but by the end of this match I was hooked. Hats off to Hardy and Helms for also pulling off some innovative moves. It's good to see these two get a proper amount of time to show how they can operate together.

London & Kendrick (C) vs. James & Stevens for the Tag Team Titles

2 1/4 star match. This is actually a very basic tag match, but London & Kendrick are always fun to see go to action in the ring. KC James and Idol Stevens have potential as a team, though it now being a few months since this PPV originally aired, I can say that James and Stevens haven't done much since, unfortunately.

MVP's debut match vs. Some jobber

DUD. This wasn't much of a match. Pretty much just a squash, but still not a very entertaining one. However, this is MVP's first in ring appearance, which may be worth something seeing as MVP has gone on to show some actual in ring talent (which isn't displayed much here), and looks to have quite a future ahead of him.

Mr. Kennedy vs. The Undertaker

2 1/2 star match. These two have had better matches (including the Last Ride match they would have a couple months after this PPV originally aired) but this still isn't a bad match by any means. Taker's offense is actually pretty basic 'Taker stuff, which isn't really that bad, and Kennedy gets a chance to shine against an accomplished main eventer. The ending is a bit of a cop out, but it was obvious that this match was just the beginning of the feud between these two.

Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero Falls Count Anywhere

A solid 3 1/2 stars. I really enjoyed this match. These two are pretty much guaranteed to have a great match against each other and this match didn't disappoint. It's fairly brutal, as FCA matches should be. Rey Mysterio shows some pretty innovative offense, modifying his signature moves like the hurricarana and the 619 to work outside the ring.

Benoit vs. Regal

3 1/2 stars. These two could have an infinite number of matches and every single one of them would be good. This match was a great surprise addition to the card. Regal and Benoit put on a physical, intense match with some nicely done moves. And it gets a pretty good amount of time, so you can see these two go pretty much full on.

Fatal Four Way for the World Heavyweight Championship:
Finlay vs. King Booker (C) vs. Batista vs. Lashley

3 stars. A really fun match. As with WWE's usual multi-man matches, you don't see all four men in the ring at once very often in this match, but each of the four men involved get their chance to shine, and none of them have disappointing performances. January 10, 2007

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