Geektified's WWE No Mercy Review 10.10.16

Geektified's WWE No Mercy Review 10.10.16

By Anton Ware

Official Results

-Kickoff Match: The Hype Bros & American Alpha vs. The Ascension & The Vaudevillians: Nice little contest between the former NXT tag division mainstays. Finish came when Jason Jordan got the hot tag and showcased his power game while things broke down into finishers from everyone in the match. American Alpha would hit their patented Grand Amplitude finisher for the win.

Random Preshow Thought: Mojo Rawley’s running turnbuckle punch > Reigns’ Superman Punch

-No Mercy is LIVE from Sacramento, California

-Mauro Ranallo, JBL and David Otunga are your hosts for this evening.

-WWE World Championship Match: AJ Styles(c) vs. Dean Ambrose vs. John Cena: In a rare case for WWE, the World Title Match is opening the show. At SummerSlam, AJ Styles defeated John Cena and at Backlash, Styles defeated Dean Ambrose for the WWE Title. Cena demanded a rematch to prove he could beat Styles and Ambrose wanted to invoke his rematch clause to regain the championship. To calm all the hysteria, General Manager Daniel Bryan would go on to make this triple threat match to see who truly belongs at the top on Smackdown. As expected, this was a GREAT match from three world-class performers. Lots of fun moments as we got a double German Suplex spot, Styles hitting a moonsault neckbreaker/DDT combo and Ambrose and Cena putting Styles in a STF/Calf Crusher combination submission. During the submission, Styles would tap out, but since the referee couldn’t declare a clear winner, the match continued. The finish came with Cena hitting a Super AA on Ambrose and just as Cena was about to get the pin, Styles hit Cena with two chair shots (No DQ), leading to the victory. Styles retained his title and is still “The Champ That Runs the Camp.” Just a tremendous effort from all three participants and at the time was destined to get match of the night honors, but another title match would surpass this later in the show.

-WWE Hell In A Cell is LIVE October 30th on the WWE Network.

-Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt Package video appears.

-Nikki Bella vs. Carmella: This rivalry is the result of the young rookie trying to use the established veteran as a stepping stone to success. The match was decent, but it lacked the intensity shown from both ladies in the weeks leading up to the bout. Carmella worked on Nikki’s surgically repaired neck throughout the match as she put Nikki in the Code of Silence twice. The Dean of Fearless University showed resilience by striking Carmella with her Bella Forearm (a personal favorite of mine) and the Rack Attack 2.0 (TKO) for the win.

Random Thought: I wonder what I’m gonna get tired of seeing first? Carmella’s moonwalking or TJ Perkins dabbing?

-Backstage with Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon as they discuss the No Mercy PPV. The Miz and Maryse come in to put down Dolph Ziggler and to once again remind Bryan that he’s retired. He’ll end Ziggler’s career and continue his world tour of being Intercontinental Champion.

-A breast cancer awareness promo video appears. WEAR THAT PINK!

-Smackdown Tag Title Match: Heath Slater & Rhyno © vs. The Usos: This is a rematch from Backlash. A good match where the crowd was behind Slater & Rhyno as they cheered for them throughout the bout. The Usos wore these obnoxiously loud neon green sneakers that were distracting to say the least. Rhyno would hit the GORE for the victory and Slater gets to keep his double wide.

-WWE2K17 Promo video appears. This is probably the best video game commercial they’ve ever done, which is saying a lot.

-We cut to Bray Wyatt at an undisclosed location as he sat in his rocking chair, spoke in tongues, and hummed “He’s Got The Whole World in His Hands.” That's it.

-Jack Swagger vs. Baron Corbin: This is a rematch because their bout on SmackDown this past Tuesday ended in controversy when the referee gave Swagger the win after Corbin “tapped out” to the Patriot Lock. Corbin denied that he tapped and the rematch was set. Swagger was in control for the most part until Corbin smashed Swagger’s hand in the steel steps and took over on offense. A damaged hand means a limited arsenal and when Swagger attempted to put Corbin in the Patriot Lock, he lost his grip because of the pain. The ending came when Swagger finally locked in the Patriot Lock, but Corbin grabbed the rope to break the hold. While the referee was distracted, Corbin thumbed Swagger in the eye and hit his End of Days finisher for the win.

-WWE Three Count Crushers toys promo video appears.

-Total Bellas promo video appears.

-Intercontinental Title vs. Career Match: The Miz(c) vs. Dolph Ziggler: At Backlash, The Miz defeated Dolph Ziggler to retain his Intercontinental Title and would defeat him again two weeks later on an episode of Smackdown. Being the arrogant star that he is, he would gloat about his victory over Ziggler, which didn’t sit well with The Show Off. Ziggler proclaimed that he could defeat Miz and wanted a rematch, but Miz declined by saying there was nothing left for him to prove. Ziggler offered to put his career on the line for another chance at the gold and Miz accepted his challenge. This was the match of the night, ladies and gentlemen. It featured great near falls as Ziggler showed relentless urgency throughout the contest while Miz was being his usual disrespectful, arrogant self as he used Daniel Bryan’s trademark moves throughout the match. In a great show of continuity, Maryse sprayed mace in Ziggler’s eyes (shades of Backlash) which allowed Miz to nail him with the Skull Crushing Finale. However, Ziggler managed to kick out at two to keep his career alive. When Plan A didn’t work, Miz and Maryse went to Plan B and brought out Ziggler’s former friends The Spirit Squad to help run interference. They would help Miz hit another Skull Crushing Finale on Ziggler, only for The Show Off to kick out at the last second once again. The referee finally noticed that this wasn’t a fair contest and removed Maryse and The Spirit Squad from ringside to the delight of the crowd. Ziggler immediately capitalized with a superkick and won his fifth Intercontinental Title. Just excellent storytelling by both men as they delivered a definite match of the year contender.

-WWE Network Promo video appears.

-Backstage with Randy Orton as he prepares for his match against Bray Wyatt. He stares into the mirror and sees his face altering in his reflection. The mind games seem to be working.

-WWE Kickoff Panel with Renee Young, Lita, Booker T and Jerry “The King” Lawler as they discussed what has transpired on the show so far.

-Alexa Bliss comes out and takes credit for Becky Lynch’s absence when in actuality, she’s out due to a medical condition. She says no woman can beat her and Naomi answers her to a challenge match.

-Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss: This was uneventful and not the best effort from both ladies. They didn’t mesh well with each other in the ring. Not only were they given a limited amount of time to work, but the match ended abruptly. It felt like a random Smackdown match except it was on PPV. The finish saw Bliss lock Naomi in an armbar with Naomi countering it into a pin for the win. Naomi defeated the #1 contender for the Smackdown Women’s Title. Will we see a triple threat in the future?

-Orton vs. Wyatt video package appears.

-Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt: At Backlash, Bray Wyatt attacked Randy Orton before their match. Later that night, Wyatt was forced to compete against Kane and came up on the losing end due to Orton hitting Wyatt with an RKO. In the weeks leading up to the match, the two would play mind games on each other to see who the true Apex Predator in WWE was. This match was just...there. The crowd sat on their hands for the most part until Orton teased an RKO. When Orton finally had Wyatt where he wanted him, the lights went out and when they came back on, a man in a hoodie was in the ring with Orton revealing himself to be the returning Luke Harper. Harper distracted Orton long enough for Wyatt to take advantage and hit Sister Abigail for the win. After the match, Wyatt and Harper embraced as Wyatt basked in his victory. End Scene.

Random Thought: People have always ask why Bray Wyatt hasn’t won the top prize in WWE yet and tonight was a clear example why. When it comes to his in-ring work, he’s not main event material. I say this because we had two title matches that belonged in the main event and would have sent fans home happy and instead we got Orton vs. Wyatt that was just...a match. I felt this show could have been Wyatt’s big chance to show that he can be trusted as a top-tier talent and not a one-dimensional brawler. He can talk-the-talk, but not walk-the-walk. That’s a shame because he has the potential to be a huge asset for the company.  I am not saying that Wyatt is a “bad” wrestler. His in-ring work is solid, but it’s not enough for him to be consistently in the main event scene without chairs, tables, trash cans, and other weapons used in every other match.

Overall Thoughts: This PPV was much better than Backlash. There were two awesome title matches that deserve praise. Plus, we had the return of Luke Harper who’s a strong addition to the roster and will add to the wrestling side of the things on Smackdown. I wouldn’t mind if Harper and Ziggler revisit their Intercontinental Title rivalry once Ziggler is done with The Miz. One thing to note is that the Smackdown crew was plagued with another injury as Becky Lynch had to sit this PPV out. Hopefully, her situation is only minor and she’ll be back in no time. The question now coming out of this show is whether or not the WWE World and Smackdown Tag Champions get new challengers at the next PPV? If so, who will they be?

Personal Enjoyment: Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler. If you can find the time, WATCH THIS MATCH. Even though the triple threat had nonstop action and fun spots, this match had edge-of-your-seat storytelling. It demonstrated what pro wrestling is all about. The hero is in a do or die situation against the dastardly villain as the villain throws every obstacle at him only for the hero to overcome the odds and defeat his nemesis. In today’s wrestling, moments like Ziggler’s win is rare because of the lack of emotional investment in BOTH the hero and villain not playing their parts perfectly.

Fortunately, Miz and Ziggler pulled it off successfully and put on one of the best Intercontinental Title matches in the modern era. Dolph Ziggler keeps his job (and relevancy) and hopefully The Miz gets rewarded with another shot in the main event scene over the next few months. He’s had a great 2016. Ever since he won the Intercontinental Title and brought his wife Maryse back to WWE as his valet, his character and presentation has improved immensely. I’ve said it time and time again, The Miz is at his best when he has someone to play off of and share the spotlight with. Maryse gives his character so much more legitimacy and adds to his Hollywood snob persona. Like Lita did with Edge and Sharmell did with King Booker, Maryse could be the determining factor that makes The Miz a two-time world champion.

-What are your thoughts Geektified family? Thumbs up? Thumbs down? Let me know in the comment section. Thanks for reading!

-Anton