PPV REVIEW: WWE No Mercy 2002

WWE No Mercy 2002 Review - Event poster
October 20, 2002, 
Alltel Arena, North Little Rock, Arkansas

WWE No Mercy 2002 came to us in the midst of storyline that has since gone down in history as one of the worst of all time:


As if anybody needs reminding, this was a time when Triple H decided that he didn't like Kane being happy, so accused him of murdering a girl called Katie Vick as a result of drunk driving. 

Not content with that, The Game proceeded to shag a mannequin that was supposed to be Katie, a moment few wrestling fans who saw it have ever forgotten.

The dumbest part of all this was that it was entirely unnecessary.

The Cerebral Assasin and The Big Red Machine were set to meet tonight at No Mercy in a match that would unify the World Heavyweight Championship, a story that itself was steeped in enough significance that it could have surely been enough to give the two men a compelling reason to meet.

Regardless, this is where we found ourselves tonight as No Mercy came live from North Little Rock, Arkansas.




Winner Take All

WWE No Mercy 2002 Review - Kane and The Undertaker
No Mercy 2002 began with a cold open featuring The Undertaker sitting in the locker room looking at his injured hand.

At that point, his brother Kane walked in, took a seat, and asked “so, how’s your week been?”

It was a pretty funny moment despite the fact that the two had been in some pretty intense storylines.

The obligatory opening video then showed us that Kane had been at war with Triple H during the infamous Katie Vick debacle.

The two would face off tonight in a winner-take-all match with Kane’s Intercontinental title and The Game’s World Heavyweight Championship both on the line.

Meanwhile, ‘Taker was still engaged in a bitter rivalry with WWE Champion Brock Lesnar after the two failed to settle things last month at Unforgiven 2002.

Tonight, they’d look to end things once and for all in a Hell in a Cell.

With that, we got crowd shots and pyro (but nothing from The World which was new) as Jim Ross and Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler welcomed us to the show.

From there, it was down to ringside for our opening contest.

WWE World Tag Team Championship
WWE Tag Team Champions Chris Jericho & Christian vs. Booker T & Goldust

WWE No Mercy 2002 Review - Booker T teamed with Goldust to face Christian & Chris Jericho
So, does Christian have the distinction of being the only man to have separate tag team title reigns with both members of The Thrillseekers?

I think so. I also haven’t been watching the ‘tween-PPV tv shows as of late so I’ve no idea how Christian’s alliance with Lance Storm came to an end, but here we are.

Regardless of how they got together, Christian and Chris Jericho entered into a spirited performance with Booker T & Goldust, the result of which was a very fun opening match.

The champs cut Goldust off for the first part of the match before Booker T got involved to the delight of the live crowd.

We then got several moments of wild action before Jericho attempted a springboard dropkick on Booker only for the middle rope to completely snap, causing Y2J to collapse in a heap.

The former Undisputed Champion recovered well, hurling Book out of the ring then polishing off Goldust with a DDT onto the title belt and a top rope moonsault that was even more impressive given that he had no middle rope to help him up to the top.

Even with the scary moment when the rope broke, this was a great opener.
Your Winners and Still Tag Team Champions: Chris Jericho & Christian

WWE No Mercy 2002 Review - Funaki interviews Al Wilson
Backstage, Smackdown’s Number One Announcer, Funaki questioned Al Wilson about his goings-on with Dawn Marie.

Funaki showed Wilson two separate instances in which Marie had given him a peak at her body and asked how those peaks made him feel.

Wilson ummed and ah’d but never answered the question, so Funaki then showed him footage of Torrie Wilson catching her dad in the shower with Dawn.

In slow, broken English the man with the microphone asked:

So, Funaki have one question: Why you wear your clothes in the shower?”

Wilson ignored that and simply gave a very dated Bill Clinton reference by insisting that he did not have sexual relations with that woman.

Way to keep it relevant, Al.

Mr. Wilson may not have been much good here, but Funaki was good, especially when he gave us the punchline to the whole segment, speaking in further slow, broken English as he said:

It seems...that Al...Wilson...does not understand English.”

Brilliant. I laughed so damn hard at that.

Dawn Marie vs. Torrie Wilson

WWE No Mercy 2002 Review - Dawn Marie faced Torrie WIlson

Dawn Marie made her way to the ring as the crew were still fixing the ropes.

The match was never going to be a classic, but it was the best it could be given each woman’s skill level and it certainly didn’t stink.

Dawn Marie spent most of the match mauling Torrie before they went into the same old tired spot that got done in every match involving two hot women:

Both girls get in a cat fight, end up rolling around on top of the referee and the referee likes it too much.

Yawn.

That was lame, but the rest of the match was OK for what it was.

After spending most of the time getting her butt whooped, Wilson pulled off a swinging neck breaker to score the fall.
Your Winner: Torrie Wilson

WWE No Mercy 2002 Review - Coach interviews Rob Van Dam

Backstage, Rob Van Dam gave an entertaining interview to Jonathan Coachman about his rivalry and upcoming match with Ric Flair.

Flair had turned heel on RVD by costing him a title match against HHH back at Unforgiven. The two would lock up later, but for now Mr. PPV claimed that he not time for styling, profiling, limos or jets as he was a chair smashing, frog splashing, ying-yanging man named Rob Van Dam.

That was good stuff from RVD. What wasn’t so good was that Coach then saw Paul Heyman, Brock Lesnar and Undertaker’s ex, Tracy, all heading through the back.

Lesnar and Heyman had nothing to say but Tracy wanted Coach to know that ‘Taker was a scumbag and would get what was coming to him tonight.

Nature Boy Ric Flair vs. Rob Van Dam

WWE No Mercy 2002 Review - Ric Flair battles Rob Van Dam
This was neither man’s greatest ever match, but it was still a solid effort with a lot to enjoy.

Ever the veteran, Flair spent time attacking RVD’s greatest weapon, his two legs, and even locked him in the figure four.

Van Dam made a comeback and one frog splash later picked up a big victory following a decent contest.
Your Winner: Rob Van Dam

Backstage, Big Show was seen venting his frustrations to Stephanie McMahon, much to the chagrin of Raw GM Eric Bischoff.

As Show’s boss, Easy E wanted to know just what was going on, so the giant let him have it, bemoaning the fact that he hadn’t been featured on a PPV since July and hadn’t headlined a show in ages despite the fact that he was 7ft, 500 pounds and a former WWE and WCW champion.

Bischoff berated his employee for daring to take that kind of tone with him, so Big Show grabbed hold of him and threatened to break his neck if things didn’t change.

How Awesome Was the Intercontinental Championship?

Tonight’s winner-take-all match meant that this would be the last time the Intercontinental Championship would be defended as it got absorbed with the world title.

As a final farewell, WWE gave us an awesome video package highlighting the history of the prestigious title and showcasing just about every man to ever hold the title.

It was very good, not least because it gave us a few shots of the much-missed Owen Hart.

Honestly, this made you question why ok earth WWE would get rid of the belt in the first place.

The video made it look like HHH vs. Kane was next, but it wasn’t.

Instead we got this:

WWE Cruiserweight Championship
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Jamie Noble (w/ Nidia) vs. Tajiri

WWE No Mercy 2002 Review - Tajiri gets set to face Jamie Noble
This was as solid a Cruiserweight match as you were going to get from WWE, an exciting back and forth with lots of unique spots and plenty to enjoy.

After a compelling battle, Tajiri looked to have the match won, but Nidia snogged the referee’s face off so that he couldn’t count the fall.

She then prevented the challenger from executing a roll-up, allowing her man to retain the gold.
Your Winner and Still Cruiserweight Champion: Jamie Noble

Post-match, Tajiri kissed Nidia. Irate, Noble then went to show his rival how it was done but got kicked in the back of the head by the Japanese Buzz Saw.”

Chavo Gets His Butt Handed to Him

Out in the back, Chris Benoit warned Eddie Guerrero that Kurt Angle was whooping Chavo Guerrero’s butt.

Concerned, Uncle Eddie raced to the rescue but then stopped short of entering the room where the assault was taking place.

As Chavo screamed for help from behind closed doors, Eddie reached the conclusion that it had all been a rouse and, in a hilarious moment, mistook his nephew’s voice for that of a little girl.

When Chavo was finally sent hurling through the door, Eddie pounced on Angle but was immediately stopped by two officials, which begs the question as to why said officials did nothing to stop Angle destroying Chavo.

Winner Take All
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Triple H vs. Kane

WWE No Mercy 2002 Review - Kane vs. Triple H
On any other night, a title unification match for the World Heavyweight Championship and the Intercontinental Championship would have been a big enough story in its own right.

WWE being what they were (and many would say, still are), they all but ignored the significance of such an event and instead focused on a dumb story involving Kane’s friend Katie Vick dying in a car accident while he was at the wheel and Triple H shagging a mannequin in a coffin while wearing a Kane mask.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the first half of this match was pretty lifeless.

Things picked up when Ric Flair got involved to start running interference for his protégé. We even got the briefest of cameos from Kane’s tag team partner Hurricane who got immediately pedigreed and spent the rest of the match napping on the outside.

Flair’s shenanigans did liven things up a bit and gave us a finishing sequence that was at least more exciting than the first part of the match, but it was nothing out of the ordinary for a PPV title match.

After an underwhelming match, The Game scored the pinfall thanks to the pedigree.
Your Winner and Still World Heavyweight Champion: Triple H

So long IC title...for now.

Tracy Confesses

Back in Stephanie McMahon’s office, Tracy confessed to the Smackdown GM that she’d made up having an affair with The Undertaker at Paul Heyman’s request and had gone along with it because she wanted “Mark” back.

Unbeknownst to her, Mark had been listening in from behind the door and heard the whole thing. He walked in, called her a lying bitch, and left again.

WWE Tag Team Championship
Rey Mysterio & Edge vs. Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit

WWE No Mercy 2002 Review - Edge & Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle & Chris Jericho
This was just such a tremendous match I’m almost tempted to go back and rewatch it.

Stephanie McMahon had created the WWE Tag Team Championship to give Smackdown its own duos title only to realise that she had no real tag teams on her roster.

Make shift teams like Edge & Rey Mysterio and Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit had been formed and had gone on to duke it out in a tournament to determine the first ever champions.

This was the final, and what a final it was.

Exceptional wrestling, jaw-dropping high spots, Rey Mysterio getting thrown 500ft in the air by Benoit and Angle, this match had it all...

...OK, so 500ft may be an exaggeration, but it’s no exaggeration to say that this was a truly excellent match, one which ended when Angle made Edge tap to the ankle lock.
Your Winners and first ever WWE tag team Champions: Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit

01.58.26 - TAKER

Backstage, Undertaker bullied a medic into giving him a shot. In a rare moment of vulnerability, ‘Taker admitted that without a shot to help him with his injured hand, he wouldn’t survive Hell in a Cell.

WWE Women’s Championship
WWE Women’s Champion Trish Stratus vs. Victoria

As Victoria made her way out for her debut PPV match, Jim Ross described her as being “permanently pre-menstrual,” a comment that was so problematic even Jerry Lawler of all people called him out on it.

Questionable commentary aside, this was a decent match, not great by any stretch, but competently performed and inoffensive.

After a few minutes of getting battered by the challenger, Trish Stratus picked up the three count to retain her title.
Your Winner and Still Women’s Champion: Trish Stratus

Before the main event, we went over to The World, where Rikishi told us about that time Undertaker pushed him off the top of the cell at Armageddon 2000 in a spot that was nowhere near as impressive as WWE made it out to be.

We then got one final video package for Taker vs. Brock and then it was on with the match.

Hell in a Cell Match for the WWE Championship
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar (w/ Paul Heyman) vs. The Undertaker

WWE No Mercy 2002 Review - Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar
This incredible match was proof positive that sometimes less really is so much more and that Hell in a Cell match didn’t need insane, Foleyesque stunts to be effective.

In fact, neither ‘Taker nor Brock ever left the cell, instead choosing to destroy each other -and I mean utterly *destroy* each other- inside the structure.

Lesnar immediately went after his opponent's injured hand but the challenger fought back and battered Brock to a bloody pulp outside the ring.

‘Taker was even able to get his hands on Paul Heyman and attack him to the point that Lesnar’s manager bled beautifully.

The sight and sound of Heyman, his face dripping with blood, screaming desperately from outside the cage, begging ‘Taker to show mercy and then begging Brock to fight back, really added something special to what was already an amazing match.

The tides turned once again and Brock took charge, ensuring his rival also donned the proverbial crimson mask...except it wasn’t so much a mask for Undertaker. He bled so much that it was more like a crimson all-over body suit.

Anyway, things went back and forth in an awesome display of brutality until finally, the champion countered a Tombstone with an F5 to retain the gold.
Your Winner and Still WWE Champion: Brock Lesnar

As the show went off the air, Lesnar grabbed his title and stood atop the cage as a battered, bloody, and defeated Dead Man looked on in despair.

Honestly, that was one of the most compelling matches I’ve ever seen in all my years as a wrestling fan and one I’m definitely adding to my favourites.






If you fast forward through the World Heavyweight Championship match and don’t set your expectations too high for the women’s matches, No Mercy 2002 proved to be a very enjoyable show from start to finish.

The opening tag match, Cruiserweight Championship and, to a lesser extent, RVD/Flair all delivered, and while the Smackdown tag title match was so good that it seemed certain to steal the show, it was topped by a brutal, bloody, and utterly enthralling main event that has to be considered one of the best Hell in a Cell matches of all time.


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