RATING LEVELS:
Curt Hennig – A
“GOAT” show, as Perfect as possible
Watch It All – A
consistently good show worth watching in its entirety
Watch It…With Remote
in Hand – 3 or more above-average ratings
High Risk Maneuver –
Mostly filler, inessential, but 1-2 good matches
DUDleyville –
Zero redeeming qualities, chore to watch
No Mercy 2001 –
October 2001
St. Louis, Missouri
CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN:
Coming into tonight's show, Steve Austin is the WWE World Champion, The Rock
holds the WCW World Championship, the US Champion is Rhyno, the European Champion
is Hurricane Helms, the Intercontinental Champion is Christian, the
Cruiserweight Champion is Billy Kidman, the Hardcore Champion is Rob Van Dam,
the WCW Tag Team Champions are Matt and Jeff Hardy, and the WWE Tag Team
Champions are The Dudley Boys. The Women’s Champion is Chyna, though, she was essentially out of the company by this point.
COMMENTATORS: Jim
Ross and Paul Heyman
Kicking off the show we get WCW Tag Team Champions, The Hardy Boys, defending their titles
against Lance Storm and Greg
"Hurricane" Helms (the European Champion, no less). This one has a quick pace with lots of
spirited work from all four. Helms' character was still fresh and I like the juxtaposition in teaming with the super serious Storm. Fun match
with a solid finish that popped the crowd huge. I’m not
going to give it the extra quarter-star that Dave Meltzer did in the Observer, but only because I don't do quarter-stars. (3/5)
Vince McMahon arrives and says he's here to make an impact.
Test vs. Kane is
next. Test and Booker T of the Alliance were in the midst of feuding with the Brothers
of Destruction at the time, which set up this contest. As one might expect, this isn't any sort of
wrestling clinic, though both men try hard and
generally keep the fans engaged. As this one goes on, small flaws
pop up left and right, whether its lazy covers or minor miscommunications, thus tainting what is an otherwise "Best That It Could Be" type of match. The blatant use of weaponry is ridiculous, but at least we get an actual finish instead of the non-finish I
expected. (2/5)
Before their "match," we get a video package
detailing the rivalry between Torrie
Wilson and Stacy Keibler. This is a Lingerie Match, which means the combatants will be wearing bras and panties just to reaffirm that they're not athletes and are wholly unworthy of any sort of
respect. Miraculously, there is at least one spot that is kind of fun - a series of nearfalls
and reversals that are so sexually charged, you can tell someone got a raise from
Vince for coming up with it. Even better, it doesn't go
longer than 4 or so minutes. (1.5/5)
Kurt Angle and Christian cut some promos, hyping their
matches tonight. At this point, Christian
and Edge were still referred to as
brothers, with one part of their feud based on Christian tricking his
"brother" into an ambush by falsely reporting that their mother was
involved in an accident. The Ladder Match they have is full of painful looking bumps, these two emphatically trying to steal the
show. Christian, in particular, seems super eager to put his body on the line
in order to get huge pops, though, I kind of wish this match had more of a
plot than two guys just throwing caution to the wind and nearly paralyzing
themselves to prove who the better brother is. If you're
looking for an action-packed 10+ minutes, this will scratch the itch, but Christian nor Edge were at their peak and it shows. (3.5/5)
From here, the WWE World Tag Team Championships are on the
line in a battle between the reigning Dudley
Boys and Big Show with Tajiri.
Tajiri has been excellent in every match I've seen him in during my journey
through 2001 and he's easily the best part of this match. The Dudleys are good too - by this point, they were no longer getting the annoying "We Want Tables"
chants every time they went on offense, making things a bit more bearable as a viewer. A well-executed finish puts this one firmly in the average or better range. (2.5/5)
Booker T
challenges The Undertaker next. I'm
fairly positive this is their first match against each other on PPV and it is
remarkable just how much chemistry these two Houstonites have. At this point in
Taker's career, he was respected, but not adored unconditionally the way he's revered now. I note this because watching him go, you see that he has to work for the crowd's engagement way
more than he's had to in the past half-decade and that, in the right situation, he was willing and able to do so. Booker T was the fresher talent and the fans
clearly enjoy his schtick, further helping the entertainment level of this one. While not a technical masterpiece, there is lots of solid back-and-forth and the Undertaker makes his opponent look dangerous in a way he didn't bother to do for DDP in the summer. (3.5/5)
The WCW World Championship is on the line in our next bout -
reigning champion The Rock defending
against Chris Jericho. Coming into
the match, both guys are babyfaces, though Jericho would tease his heelish
nature in small bits throughout the contest. Unlike The Rock's matches with Booker T at the
previous two shows, The Rock looks a bit more comfortable working with Y2J. Meanwhile, Jericho comes into the match, built on the idea that he couldn't win "The Big One," energetic and eager for the spotlight. Aside from his clashes with Shawn Michaels in 2009, I'm
not sure there was ever a time Jericho was as confident as he appears here -
you really get the feeling that, at this time, he believed he was the best wrestler in the world. As for the match itself, it's hard fought and well-paced, a good example of WWE "main event
style" but with significantly more athleticism than The Rock or Austin
would have been doing two years prior. While the finish is a bit cheap,
everything leading up to it and after packs an emotional punch that's impossible to ignore. Very, very good match. (4/5)
Speaking of very, very good matches, I'm not usually one to
rave about a Triple Threat match, but the night's main event is worth praising:
WWE Champion Steve Austin defending
the strap against longtime rival Kurt
Angle and Alliance ally Rob Van Dam.
What I really enjoy about this match is how, despite very different styles, all three mix it up quite well. From the very first second, there is urgency and
high-impact offense and the pace never slackens. These
days, in most triangle matches, you are guaranteed to see at least one participant take a mini-siesta outside of the ring for a lengthy stretch, but in this match, there are no such breaks.
All three are involved in nearly every sequence, whether that means Angle dishing
out German Suplexes to anyone moving or Rob Van Dam flying off whatever elevated
surface is around to do some damage to his opponents. Austin does a remarkable job as the
match's crafty heel too. While Angle and RVD's offense dazzles the crowd, Austin provides the drama. The arrival of
Vince McMahon (and later Shane McMahon) in the closing moments adds more suspense, but like the previous bout, it almost seems like an
unfortunate necessity of the storyline rather than the best conclusion possible. Austin, Angle, and Van
Dam had the audience captivated and willing to accept any man as the winner. (4/5)
After months of so-so shows, No Mercy 2001 is a highly enjoyable and easy-to-recommend show. With
an average match rating of 3.00-out-of-5,
the quality of action throughout is mostly better-than-average, the
only snoozers being the Test/Kane and Lingerie Match, one of which runs less than the length of your favorite Thin Lizzy song. The two title matches are arguably the best matches the company
had produced in months, only tarnished by the involvement
of the McMahons. Booker/Taker and Christian/Edge deliver too - the former with an
engaging story and strong character work, the latter with death-defying spots
and "Let's Steal the Show" effort. See? I'm not a total hater!
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