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No Mercy (2003)
Encyclopedia
No Mercy was a professional wrestling
pay-per-view
(PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment
(WWE), which took place on October 19, 2003 at the 1st Mariner Arena
in Baltimore, Maryland
. It was the sixth event under the No Mercy
chronology and starred wrestlers from the SmackDown! brand
.
Nine professional wrestling matches
were scheduled on the event's card
. The main event saw WWE Champion
Brock Lesnar
defeat The Undertaker to retain his championship in a match where a chain was hung from a pole and the first man to reach it could use it as a legal weapon in what was called a Biker Chain match. Two featured bouts were scheduled on the undercard. In a standard match for the WWE United States Championship
, the Big Show
defeated Eddie Guerrero
to win the title. The other was also a standard match, in which Kurt Angle
defeated John Cena
.
No Mercy had an attendance of approximately 8,500 and received about 254,000 PPV buys, more than the following year's event
. This event helped WWE increase its PPV revenue by $
6.2 million from the previous year. When the event was released on DVD, it reached a peak position of seventh on Billboard's
DVD Sales Chart.
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 the SmackDown brand, a storyline division
in which WWE assigned its employees.
The main event at No Mercy was a Biker Chain match for the WWE Championship. In this match, a chain was hung on a pole above the ring, and when it was retrieved it could be used as a legal weapon. The match was between WWE Champion Brock Lesnar
, who defended against The Undertaker. This title match would mark the third pay per view between Lesnar and The Undertaker for the championship. The first being September of 2002 at Unforgiven
where Lesnar and Undertaker fought to a double disqualification then the second event being the following month at No Mercy
where Lesnar successfully defended the WWE title over the Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match. The build up to the match began on the August 28 episode of SmackDown, when the Undertaker defeated Lesnar and The Big Show
in a Triple Threat match, earning a title shot against then WWE Champion Kurt Angle
. The following week on the September 4 episode of SmackDown, Angle defended the championship against the Undertaker, however, the match ended in a no contest after Lesnar interfered and attacked them both with a steel folding chair
; Angle retained the championship as a result of Lesnar's interference. Two weeks later on SmackDown, Angle defended the title against Lesnar in a match in which the wrestler with the most scoring conditions by a set period of time would win the title in what is called an Iron Man match
. Lesnar scored five falls, while Angle scored four in the encounter, thus, Lesnar won the match and became the new WWE Champion. The following week on SmackDown, legitimate WWE Chairman Vince McMahon
held a ceremony to introduce the new WWE Champion Lesnar, but was interrupted by the Undertaker and SmackDown General Manager Stephanie McMahon, who announced that Lesnar would face the Undertaker at No Mercy for the WWE Championship. On the October 9 episode of SmackDown, Lesnar defended the title against Paul London
. The match was interrupted by the Undertaker, who had a meeting with Stephanie earlier that night. He announced that his match with Lesnar at No Mercy would be a Biker Chain Match rather than a standard match.
One of the featured bouts on the undercard saw the WWE United States Champion
Eddie Guerrero
defending the championship against the Big Show. The events leading up to this match began on the October 9 episode of SmackDown, when it was announced that Guerrero would face the Big Show at No Mercy for the title. Later in the night, Chavo Guerrero (Salvador Guerrero IV
) brought the Big Show out to the ring, followed by Eddie Guerrero bringing a sewage
truck into the arena and spraying the Big Show with raw sewage. The next week on SmackDown, Guerrero defeated Rhyno (Terry Gerin
) in a non-title match. Afterwards, the Big Show attacked Guerrero by using his signature lowrider
as a weapon.
Another featured bout on the undercard pitted Kurt Angle against John Cena
. On the September 18 episode of SmackDown, Angle lost an Iron Man match to Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. The match marked the third time that Angle defended the title against Lesnar with the first being WrestleMania XIX
where Lesnar won the title and the second being SummerSlam
which Angle retained. The next week on SmackDown, Angle tried to call Lesnar out to the ring, demanding a rematch, but instead Cena came to the ring and attacked Angle. On the October 2 episode of SmackDown, two of the primary rivalries on SmackDown intertwined in a tag team
match, where Lesnar and Cena faced the team of Angle and the Undertaker, which Cena and Lesnar won after Cena struck Angle with a chain. The next week on SmackDown, a rap
battle took place between Cena and Angle, in which both men performed raps insulting each other. The battle ended with Angle attacking Cena and the two proceeding to fight in the ring.
Another prominent match on the card was an "I Quit" match between Vince McMahon and his daughter, Stephanie McMahon. At the No Mercy event, however, Vince announced that Stephanie could score a pinfall or submission to win the match. The match build up began on the September 25 episode of SmackDown, when Stephanie interrupted her father's ceremony honoring the new WWE Champion Brock Lesnar to announce that the Undertaker would face Lesnar at No Mercy for the championship. Vince, angered by this, demanded that she retract the decision. When Stephanie did not, Vince announced that the two of them would face each other in an "I Quit" match at No Mercy. The next week on SmackDown, Vince offered Stephanie another chance to rescind the title match, which she refused and as a result Vince added the stipulation that if she lost, she would be forced to resign as authority figure of SmackDown!. The following week, Linda McMahon
, Vince's wife and Stephanie's mother, made Vince agree that if he lost the match, he would resign as WWE Chairman.
on PPV, an episode of Sunday Night Heat
, one of the secondary television programs for WWE, was taped live. The only scheduled match was a standard match between Billy Kidman and Shannon Moore
, which Kidman won via pinfall after a spinebuster on Moore.
where the champion, Tajiri
defended his title against Rey Mysterio. Throughout the match both men performed many offensive maneuvers, but Mysterio gained the upper hand when he performed a 619 and rofessional wrestling aerial techniques#Springboard hurricanrana|West Coast Pop). Before Mysterio could cover Tajiri, however, two "fans" (later revealed to be Ryan Sakoda
and James Yun
) interfered and distracted Mysterio. Following the distraction, Tajiri recovered and performed a Buzzsaw kick on Mysterio, followed by a cover and a pinfall to retain his championship.
The following bout was Chris Benoit
versus A-Train in a standard match. Both men wrestled inconclusively in the early stages of the match, until Chris Benoit performed a dragon screw legwhip on A-Train to the ground and then placed him a Sharpshooter forcing A-Train to submit.
The third contest had Zach Gowen
facing Matt Hardy
in a standard match. Both men performed a variety of moves on one another until Gowen performed a springboard moonsault with one leg (Gowen has only one leg) on Hardy and covered him for a pinfall. This was the first singles match that Gowen had won while in the WWE.
The next match was the Basham Brothers
(Doug
and Danny Basham) versus the Acolytes Protection Agency
(Bradshaw
and Farooq
) in a standard match. After both teams performed a number of offensive maneuvers on each other, Shaniqua (Linda Miles
), the Basham Brothers' valet, struck Bradshaw with a club and (kayfabe) knocked him out. Doug then covered Bradshaw for a pinfall.
, escorted by Sable
, and SmackDown General Manager Stephanie McMahon, his daughter. Stephanie was accompanied to the ring by her mother, Linda McMahon
. Vince had altered the rules of the match, including the stipulation that Stephanie could defeat him by pinfall or submission, but he had to force her to quit. Furthermore, the loser of the match had to surrender their position in the company (Chairman or General Manager for Vince and Stephanie, respectively). The match ended when Vince choked Stephanie with a lead pipe, and Linda McMahon quit the match for Stephanie. As a result, Stephanie was removed from the position of General Manager of SmackDown.
The first featured bout on the undercard was a standard match between Kurt Angle
and John Cena
. Kurt Angle began bleeding after Cena performed a swinging reverse DDT on the ring apron on him. Later in the match, Cena attempted a FU but Angle reversed it into an unsuccessful cover attempt. Following this, Angle attempted a Angle Slam but Cena countered the maneuver. Angle then countered Cena and placed him in an ankle lock, which led to Cena submitting.
The second featured bout on the undercard was a standard match for the WWE United States Championship
where the champion, Eddie Guerrero
, defended against The Big Show. Guerrero used a variety of tactics including forcing the Big Show's head into an exposed steel turnbuckle, striking him with a trash can lid, punching him with brass knuckles
and striking him with the United States Championship belt. After hitting the Big Show with the belt, Guerrero performed a Frog splash onto the Big Show. Guerrero attempted a cover, but only received a count of two. The Big Show then performed a Chokeslam
and attempted to pin Guerrero, but he placed his foot on the rope, which voided the cover. The Big Show then performed another chokeslam on Guerrero and covered him for a pinfall, winning the WWE United States Championship.
The main event was a Biker Chain match for the WWE Championship
, where WWE Champion Brock Lesnar
defended his title against The Undertaker. During the match, a chain was hung on a pole above the ring, and once it was retrieved it could be used as a legal weapon. After enduring a series of punches from Lesnar, the Undertaker attempted to take the chain down, but the lights in the arena went out and he climbed back down to the ring. The Undertaker then Tombstone piledriver Lensar onto the ring steps. The Undertaker put Lesnar in a dragon sleeper. After getting out of the sleeper hold, Lesnar F-5 The Undertaker. Lesnar made an attempt to go for the chain, but the Undertaker performed a chokeslam on him off the top rope. Following this, the Full Blooded Italians
interfered in the match, trying to attack the Undertaker. The Undertaker threw them out of the ring and did a suicide dive onto them. He then retrieved the chain off the pole and wrapped it around it his fist, planning to strike Lesnar with it. Vince McMahon interfered, however, and pushed the Undertaker off the top rope onto the mat. Lesnar then took the chain, wrapped it around his fist, and punched the Undertaker in the face, followed by a cover for a pinfall.
As a result of losing her match against her father, Stephanie McMahon was forced to resign as SmackDown! General Manager. On the SmackDown following No Mercy, Vince McMahon announced Paul Heyman
as the new General Manager. Heyman booked a Handicap match, in which the Undertaker faced Brock Lesnar and the Big Show. Heyman stated that should Undertaker win, he could face anyone he wished at Survivor Series
. During the match, there were several opportunities in which the Undertaker would have won the match, but Heyman restarted the contest three times. The Undertaker did, however, win the contest, and announced he wanted a match in which a competitor must bury their opponent in a mound of dirt to win, otherwise known as a Buried Alive match, against Vince McMahon. McMahon would go on to win the match.
The feud between Kurt Angle and Cena ended shortly after No Mercy. On the November 6 edition of SmackDown, John Cena was offered an opportunity to become the final member of Team Lesnar for the traditional five-on-five elimination tag match at Survivor Series. Cena rejected the offer, however, and was attacked by the other members of Team Lesnar. The members of Team Angle fought alongside Cena, and the following week on SmackDown, Cena turned into fan favorite
and joined Kurt Angle's Survivor Series team. The feud between the Big Show and Eddie Guerrero ended after No Mercy, with Guerrero going on to compete for the WWE Tag Team Championship
with Chavo Guerrero. Guerrero went on to win a tag team title shot by defeating the Basham Brothers in a Handicap match, but he did not win the title.
usually can accommodate 14,000, but the capacity was reduced for No Mercy. This event had an approximate attendance of 8,500 and received 254,000 PPV buys. The promotion's PPV revenue was $24.7 million. The professional wrestling section of the Canadian Online Explorer
website rated the entire event a 4 out of 10 stars. The rating was lower than the 2004 event's
rating of 5 out of 10 stars. The encounter between Kurt Angle and John Cena was given the highest rating of any match on the card with a 7.5 out of 10 stars, while the United States Championship match was rated a 3 out of 10 stars. The main event match for the WWE Championship was rated a 7 out of 10 stars.
The event was released on DVD on November 18, 2003 by Sony Music Entertainment
. The DVD reached seventh on Billboard's
DVD Sales Chart for recreational sports during the week of December 13, 2003, although falling thereafter. It remained on the chart until the week of December 20, ranking twelfth.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
(PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWE), which took place on October 19, 2003 at the 1st Mariner Arena
1st Mariner Arena
1st Mariner Arena is an arena located in Baltimore, Maryland. In 2003, it was renamed by 1st Mariner Bank, which purchased naming rights to the arena for 10 years. It was reported that 1st Mariner Bank will need to pay the city $75,000 for the next ten years to keep the naming rights to the complex...
in Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
. It was the sixth event under the No Mercy
WWE No Mercy
No Mercy was an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . The first No Mercy was held on May 16, 1999 in Manchester, England. No Mercy was held every year in October and from 2003 to 2006 the event was exclusive to the SmackDown! brand...
chronology and starred wrestlers from the SmackDown! brand
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
.
Nine professional wrestling matches
Mock combat
Mock combat involves the execution of combative actions without intent to harm. Participants can engage in such sparring for ritual, training, recreational or performance reasons...
were scheduled on the event's card
Card (sports)
In sports, a card comprises a listing of the matches taking place in a title-match combat-sport event. Organizers divide overall cards into a main-event match and the undercard, which encompasses the rest of the matches. One can also further subdivide the undercard into midcard and lower card,...
. The main event saw WWE Champion
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar
Brock Edward Lesnar is an American mixed martial artist, actor and a former professional and amateur wrestler. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and is ranked the No.5 Heavyweight in the world by Sherdog...
defeat The Undertaker to retain his championship in a match where a chain was hung from a pole and the first man to reach it could use it as a legal weapon in what was called a Biker Chain match. Two featured bouts were scheduled on the undercard. In a standard match for the WWE United States Championship
WWE United States Championship
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
, the Big Show
Paul Wight
Paul Donald Wight, Jr. , better known by his ring name, Big Show, is an American professional wrestler and actor, currently signed to WWE on its Raw brand....
defeated Eddie Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero
Eduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions...
to win the title. The other was also a standard match, in which Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...
defeated John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
.
No Mercy had an attendance of approximately 8,500 and received about 254,000 PPV buys, more than the following year's event
No Mercy (2004)
No Mercy was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on October 3, 2004 at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It was the fifth annual No Mercy event, and featured eight professional wrestling matches...
. This event helped WWE increase its PPV revenue by $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
6.2 million from the previous year. When the event was released on DVD, it reached a peak position of seventh on Billboard's
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
DVD Sales Chart.
Background
The event featured nine professional wrestling matchesMock combat
Mock combat involves the execution of combative actions without intent to harm. Participants can engage in such sparring for ritual, training, recreational or performance reasons...
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 the SmackDown brand, a storyline division
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
in which WWE assigned its employees.
Brock Lesnar
Brock Edward Lesnar is an American mixed martial artist, actor and a former professional and amateur wrestler. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and is ranked the No.5 Heavyweight in the world by Sherdog...
, who defended against The Undertaker. This title match would mark the third pay per view between Lesnar and The Undertaker for the championship. The first being September of 2002 at Unforgiven
Unforgiven (2002)
Unforgiven was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that took place on September 22, 2002, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California...
where Lesnar and Undertaker fought to a double disqualification then the second event being the following month at No Mercy
No Mercy (2002)
No Mercy was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that took place on October 20, 2002, at the Alltel Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas. It was the fifth annual WWE No Mercy event and featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown! brand.The event...
where Lesnar successfully defended the WWE title over the Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match. The build up to the match began on the August 28 episode of SmackDown, when the Undertaker defeated Lesnar and The Big Show
Paul Wight
Paul Donald Wight, Jr. , better known by his ring name, Big Show, is an American professional wrestler and actor, currently signed to WWE on its Raw brand....
in a Triple Threat match, earning a title shot against then WWE Champion Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...
. The following week on the September 4 episode of SmackDown, Angle defended the championship against the Undertaker, however, the match ended in a no contest after Lesnar interfered and attacked them both with a steel folding chair
Folding chair
A folding chair is a light, portable chair that that folds flat, and can be stored in a stack, row, or on a cart.-Uses:Folding chairs are generally used for seating in areas where permanent seating is not possible or practical. This includes outdoor and indoor events such as funerals, college...
; Angle retained the championship as a result of Lesnar's interference. Two weeks later on SmackDown, Angle defended the title against Lesnar in a match in which the wrestler with the most scoring conditions by a set period of time would win the title in what is called an Iron Man match
Iron Man match
An Iron Man match is a professional wrestling match type that is set to go a specific amount of time, usually 30 or 60 minutes, with the competitor with the most falls at the end of that time named the victor...
. Lesnar scored five falls, while Angle scored four in the encounter, thus, Lesnar won the match and became the new WWE Champion. The following week on SmackDown, legitimate WWE Chairman Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
held a ceremony to introduce the new WWE Champion Lesnar, but was interrupted by the Undertaker and SmackDown General Manager Stephanie McMahon, who announced that Lesnar would face the Undertaker at No Mercy for the WWE Championship. On the October 9 episode of SmackDown, Lesnar defended the title against Paul London
Paul London
Paul Michael London is an American professional wrestler best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment ....
. The match was interrupted by the Undertaker, who had a meeting with Stephanie earlier that night. He announced that his match with Lesnar at No Mercy would be a Biker Chain Match rather than a standard match.
One of the featured bouts on the undercard saw the WWE United States Champion
WWE United States Championship
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
Eddie Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero
Eduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions...
defending the championship against the Big Show. The events leading up to this match began on the October 9 episode of SmackDown, when it was announced that Guerrero would face the Big Show at No Mercy for the title. Later in the night, Chavo Guerrero (Salvador Guerrero IV
Chavo Guerrero, Jr.
Salvador "Chavo" Guerrero IV also known as Chavo Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero, Jr., is a third generation Mexican-American professional wrestler and member of the famed Guerrero wrestling family who was well known for working with World Wrestling Entertainment and World Championship Wrestling...
) brought the Big Show out to the ring, followed by Eddie Guerrero bringing a sewage
Sewage
Sewage is water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known as wastewater, it is more than 99% water and is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical constituents and the bacteriological organisms that it contains...
truck into the arena and spraying the Big Show with raw sewage. The next week on SmackDown, Guerrero defeated Rhyno (Terry Gerin
Terry Gerin
Terrance "Terry" Gerin is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by the ring name Rhino . He is best known for his career in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
) in a non-title match. Afterwards, the Big Show attacked Guerrero by using his signature lowrider
Lowrider
]A lowrider is a style of car originated by Chicano communities that sits lower to the ground than most other cars. Many lowriders have their suspension systems modified so that their ride can change height at the flip of a switch...
as a weapon.
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
. On the September 18 episode of SmackDown, Angle lost an Iron Man match to Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. The match marked the third time that Angle defended the title against Lesnar with the first being WrestleMania XIX
WrestleMania XIX
WrestleMania XIX was the nineteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on March 30, 2003 at Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington. The event was the first WrestleMania held in the state of Washington, and the first...
where Lesnar won the title and the second being SummerSlam
SummerSlam (2003)
SummerSlam was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on August 24, 2003 at the America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona...
which Angle retained. The next week on SmackDown, Angle tried to call Lesnar out to the ring, demanding a rematch, but instead Cena came to the ring and attacked Angle. On the October 2 episode of SmackDown, two of the primary rivalries on SmackDown intertwined in a tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
match, where Lesnar and Cena faced the team of Angle and the Undertaker, which Cena and Lesnar won after Cena struck Angle with a chain. The next week on SmackDown, a rap
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
battle took place between Cena and Angle, in which both men performed raps insulting each other. The battle ended with Angle attacking Cena and the two proceeding to fight in the ring.
Another prominent match on the card was an "I Quit" match between Vince McMahon and his daughter, Stephanie McMahon. At the No Mercy event, however, Vince announced that Stephanie could score a pinfall or submission to win the match. The match build up began on the September 25 episode of SmackDown, when Stephanie interrupted her father's ceremony honoring the new WWE Champion Brock Lesnar to announce that the Undertaker would face Lesnar at No Mercy for the championship. Vince, angered by this, demanded that she retract the decision. When Stephanie did not, Vince announced that the two of them would face each other in an "I Quit" match at No Mercy. The next week on SmackDown, Vince offered Stephanie another chance to rescind the title match, which she refused and as a result Vince added the stipulation that if she lost, she would be forced to resign as authority figure of SmackDown!. The following week, Linda McMahon
Linda McMahon
Linda Marie McMahon is an American professional wrestling magnate and politician. She is notable for her career developing WWE with her husband Vince McMahon. She was in the company from 1980 to 2009. During this time, WWE grew from a small regional business in New York to a large multinational...
, Vince's wife and Stephanie's mother, made Vince agree that if he lost the match, he would resign as WWE Chairman.
Event
Before No Mercy began and aired liveLive television
Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...
on PPV, an episode of Sunday Night Heat
WWE HEAT
WWE Heat was a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...
, one of the secondary television programs for WWE, was taped live. The only scheduled match was a standard match between Billy Kidman and Shannon Moore
Shannon Moore
Shannon Moore is an American professional wrestler, who is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . He is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling between 1999 and 2001 and with World Wrestling Entertainment for several years in the 2000s.Moore befriended Matt and Jeff Hardy...
, which Kidman won via pinfall after a spinebuster on Moore.
Preliminary matches
After Sunday Night Heat, the event began with a standard match for the WWE Cruiserweight ChampionshipWWE Cruiserweight Championship
The World Wrestling Entertainment Cruiserweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and was originally a World Championship Wrestling title. It was challenged by cruiserweights at a maximum weight of 215 lbs...
where the champion, Tajiri
Yoshihiro Tajiri
, is a Japanese professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment. He is currently competing in SMASH as TAJIRI.-Early years :...
defended his title against Rey Mysterio. Throughout the match both men performed many offensive maneuvers, but Mysterio gained the upper hand when he performed a 619 and rofessional wrestling aerial techniques#Springboard hurricanrana|West Coast Pop). Before Mysterio could cover Tajiri, however, two "fans" (later revealed to be Ryan Sakoda
Ryan Sakoda
Ryan Sakoda is a Japanese American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in World Wrestling Entertainment and current work for Ultimate Pro Wrestling as a part-time trainer for the wrestlers, as well as working in the independents as Ryan Sakoda.-Professional wrestling...
and James Yun
James Yun
James Carson Yun is an American professional wrestler and actor, best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Jimmy Wang Yang, in World Championship Wrestling as one-third of the Jung Dragons as Yang, and in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and the independent circuit...
) interfered and distracted Mysterio. Following the distraction, Tajiri recovered and performed a Buzzsaw kick on Mysterio, followed by a cover and a pinfall to retain his championship.
The following bout was Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...
versus A-Train in a standard match. Both men wrestled inconclusively in the early stages of the match, until Chris Benoit performed a dragon screw legwhip on A-Train to the ground and then placed him a Sharpshooter forcing A-Train to submit.
The third contest had Zach Gowen
Zach Gowen
Zach Gowen is an American professional wrestler. Gowen has competed for World Wrestling Entertainment on their SmackDown! brand, as well as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
facing Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy
Matthew Moore "Matt" Hardy is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
in a standard match. Both men performed a variety of moves on one another until Gowen performed a springboard moonsault with one leg (Gowen has only one leg) on Hardy and covered him for a pinfall. This was the first singles match that Gowen had won while in the WWE.
The next match was the Basham Brothers
Basham Brothers
The Basham Brothers, Doug and Danny , are a professional wrestling tag team, who formerly worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment .-History:...
(Doug
Doug Basham
This article is about the wrestler, for the talk show host see Doug Basham Lyle Douglas "Doug" Basham, Jr. is an American professional wrestler, He is best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment between 2002 and 2007, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name...
and Danny Basham) versus the Acolytes Protection Agency
Acolytes Protection Agency
The Acolytes Protection Agency , was a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of Bradshaw and Faarooq. They wrestled for the American promotion World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment between October 1998 and March 2004....
(Bradshaw
John Layfield
John Charles Layfield is a former American professional wrestler, a former commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League and financial analyst for Fox News...
and Farooq
Ron Simmons
Ronald "Ron" Simmons is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and retired American football player. He is recognised as being the first Black world heavyweight champion in professional wrestling and the first of only two African Americans to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship,...
) in a standard match. After both teams performed a number of offensive maneuvers on each other, Shaniqua (Linda Miles
Linda Miles
Linda M. Miles is an American former professional wrestler and manager. She worked under the ring name Shaniqua for World Wrestling Entertainment's SmackDown! brand between 2002 and 2004. Miles was one of two female winners from WWE Tough Enough season two.-Basketball:Miles was a member of the...
), the Basham Brothers' valet, struck Bradshaw with a club and (kayfabe) knocked him out. Doug then covered Bradshaw for a pinfall.
Main event matches
The fifth contest was an "I Quit" match, where in order to win one competitor must force the other to say "I Quit", between WWE Chairman Vince McMahonVince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
, escorted by Sable
Rena Mero
Rena Marlette Mero Lesnar , better known as Sable, is an American model, actress, and former professional wrestler. She is primarily known for her stints in World Wrestling Entertainment....
, and SmackDown General Manager Stephanie McMahon, his daughter. Stephanie was accompanied to the ring by her mother, Linda McMahon
Linda McMahon
Linda Marie McMahon is an American professional wrestling magnate and politician. She is notable for her career developing WWE with her husband Vince McMahon. She was in the company from 1980 to 2009. During this time, WWE grew from a small regional business in New York to a large multinational...
. Vince had altered the rules of the match, including the stipulation that Stephanie could defeat him by pinfall or submission, but he had to force her to quit. Furthermore, the loser of the match had to surrender their position in the company (Chairman or General Manager for Vince and Stephanie, respectively). The match ended when Vince choked Stephanie with a lead pipe, and Linda McMahon quit the match for Stephanie. As a result, Stephanie was removed from the position of General Manager of SmackDown.
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...
and John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
. Kurt Angle began bleeding after Cena performed a swinging reverse DDT on the ring apron on him. Later in the match, Cena attempted a FU but Angle reversed it into an unsuccessful cover attempt. Following this, Angle attempted a Angle Slam but Cena countered the maneuver. Angle then countered Cena and placed him in an ankle lock, which led to Cena submitting.
The second featured bout on the undercard was a standard match for the WWE United States Championship
WWE United States Championship
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
where the champion, Eddie Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero
Eduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions...
, defended against The Big Show. Guerrero used a variety of tactics including forcing the Big Show's head into an exposed steel turnbuckle, striking him with a trash can lid, punching him with brass knuckles
Brass knuckles
Brass knuckles, also sometimes called knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, or knuckledusters, are weapons used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles are pieces of metal, usually steel despite their name, shaped to fit around the knuckles...
and striking him with the United States Championship belt. After hitting the Big Show with the belt, Guerrero performed a Frog splash onto the Big Show. Guerrero attempted a cover, but only received a count of two. The Big Show then performed a Chokeslam
Chokeslam
A chokeslam refers to a type of body slam in professional wrestling in which the wrestler grasps their opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks powerful on camera...
and attempted to pin Guerrero, but he placed his foot on the rope, which voided the cover. The Big Show then performed another chokeslam on Guerrero and covered him for a pinfall, winning the WWE United States Championship.
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
, where WWE Champion Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar
Brock Edward Lesnar is an American mixed martial artist, actor and a former professional and amateur wrestler. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and is ranked the No.5 Heavyweight in the world by Sherdog...
defended his title against The Undertaker. During the match, a chain was hung on a pole above the ring, and once it was retrieved it could be used as a legal weapon. After enduring a series of punches from Lesnar, the Undertaker attempted to take the chain down, but the lights in the arena went out and he climbed back down to the ring. The Undertaker then Tombstone piledriver Lensar onto the ring steps. The Undertaker put Lesnar in a dragon sleeper. After getting out of the sleeper hold, Lesnar F-5 The Undertaker. Lesnar made an attempt to go for the chain, but the Undertaker performed a chokeslam on him off the top rope. Following this, the Full Blooded Italians
Full Blooded Italians
The Full Blooded Italians is a professional wrestling stable and tag team that wrestled for Extreme Championship Wrestling in the late 1990s and for World Wrestling Entertainment during the mid-2000s.-Extreme Championship Wrestling:...
interfered in the match, trying to attack the Undertaker. The Undertaker threw them out of the ring and did a suicide dive onto them. He then retrieved the chain off the pole and wrapped it around it his fist, planning to strike Lesnar with it. Vince McMahon interfered, however, and pushed the Undertaker off the top rope onto the mat. Lesnar then took the chain, wrapped it around his fist, and punched the Undertaker in the face, followed by a cover for a pinfall.
Aftermath
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Michael Cole Michael Cole Michael Sean Coulthard , better known by his ring name Michael Cole, is an American professional wrestling commentator, currently signed to WWE on both its Rawand SmackDown brands. Coulthard is a former news journalist.... |
| Tazz Tazz Peter Senerchia is a retired American professional wrestler and current color commentator best known by his ring name Tazz, originally Tazmaniac and later shortened to simply Taz... |
|
| Carlos Cabrera Carlos Cabrera Carlos Rodrigo Cabrera is a former newsman and currently employed with WWE, where he is one half of the company's Spanish announce team in which he is the play-by-play announcer. His longtime broadcast partner was the former Ecuadorian professional wrestler Hugo Savinovich, who was the color... |
|
| Hugo Savinovich Hugo Savinovich Hugo Savinovich is a former Ecuadorian professional wrestler, formerly employed with WWE, where he was one half of the Spanish announce team for the company's TV shows and pay-per-view events. He was a color commentator and partner of Carlos Cabrera and occasionally Marcelo Rodríguez. When he... |
|
| Interviewer | Josh Mathews |
| Referee | Brian Hebner |
| Jimmy Korderas | |
| Nick Patrick Nick Hamilton Joseph Nicholas "Nick" Patrick Hamilton Jr. , better known by his ring name Nick Patrick, is a professional wrestling referee. He is a former referee for World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment... |
|
| Mike Sparks | |
| Mark Yeaton | |
| Ring announcer Ring announcer A ring announcer is a paid in-ring employee for a boxing, professional wrestling, or mixed martial arts event or promotion... |
Tony Chimel Tony Chimel Anthony "Tony" Chimel is an American professional wrestling ring announcer, currently employed by WWE working as the ring announcer for SmackDown brand.-WWE :... |
As a result of losing her match against her father, Stephanie McMahon was forced to resign as SmackDown! General Manager. On the SmackDown following No Mercy, Vince McMahon announced Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman is an American entertainment producer, best known for his career in professional wrestling as a promoter, manager, commentator and journalist. He is also an occasional actor in film....
as the new General Manager. Heyman booked a Handicap match, in which the Undertaker faced Brock Lesnar and the Big Show. Heyman stated that should Undertaker win, he could face anyone he wished at Survivor Series
Survivor Series (2003)
Survivor Series was the seventeenth annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...
. During the match, there were several opportunities in which the Undertaker would have won the match, but Heyman restarted the contest three times. The Undertaker did, however, win the contest, and announced he wanted a match in which a competitor must bury their opponent in a mound of dirt to win, otherwise known as a Buried Alive match, against Vince McMahon. McMahon would go on to win the match.
The feud between Kurt Angle and Cena ended shortly after No Mercy. On the November 6 edition of SmackDown, John Cena was offered an opportunity to become the final member of Team Lesnar for the traditional five-on-five elimination tag match at Survivor Series. Cena rejected the offer, however, and was attacked by the other members of Team Lesnar. The members of Team Angle fought alongside Cena, and the following week on SmackDown, Cena turned into fan favorite
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
and joined Kurt Angle's Survivor Series team. The feud between the Big Show and Eddie Guerrero ended after No Mercy, with Guerrero going on to compete for the WWE Tag Team Championship
WWE Tag Team Championship
The WWE Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship in WWE. It was established as a second title for tag teams in WWE in 2002 to complement the original World Tag Team Championship...
with Chavo Guerrero. Guerrero went on to win a tag team title shot by defeating the Basham Brothers in a Handicap match, but he did not win the title.
Reception
The 1st Mariner Arena1st Mariner Arena
1st Mariner Arena is an arena located in Baltimore, Maryland. In 2003, it was renamed by 1st Mariner Bank, which purchased naming rights to the arena for 10 years. It was reported that 1st Mariner Bank will need to pay the city $75,000 for the next ten years to keep the naming rights to the complex...
usually can accommodate 14,000, but the capacity was reduced for No Mercy. This event had an approximate attendance of 8,500 and received 254,000 PPV buys. The promotion's PPV revenue was $24.7 million. The professional wrestling section of the Canadian Online Explorer
Canadian Online Explorer
Canadian Online Explorer is a bilingual online news and information site from Canada.A subsidiary of Quebecor Media, Canoe.ca is a leading local and national interactive media provider of news, entertainment and services, helping to inform and connect Canadians...
website rated the entire event a 4 out of 10 stars. The rating was lower than the 2004 event's
No Mercy (2004)
No Mercy was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on October 3, 2004 at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It was the fifth annual No Mercy event, and featured eight professional wrestling matches...
rating of 5 out of 10 stars. The encounter between Kurt Angle and John Cena was given the highest rating of any match on the card with a 7.5 out of 10 stars, while the United States Championship match was rated a 3 out of 10 stars. The main event match for the WWE Championship was rated a 7 out of 10 stars.
The event was released on DVD on November 18, 2003 by Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
. The DVD reached seventh on Billboard's
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
DVD Sales Chart for recreational sports during the week of December 13, 2003, although falling thereafter. It remained on the chart until the week of December 20, ranking twelfth.
Results
| # | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Kidman defeated Shannon Moore Shannon Moore Shannon Moore is an American professional wrestler, who is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . He is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling between 1999 and 2001 and with World Wrestling Entertainment for several years in the 2000s.Moore befriended Matt and Jeff Hardy... |
Singles match | 05:12 | |
| Tajiri Yoshihiro Tajiri , is a Japanese professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment. He is currently competing in SMASH as TAJIRI.-Early years :... (c) defeated Rey Mysterio |
Singles match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship WWE Cruiserweight Championship The World Wrestling Entertainment Cruiserweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and was originally a World Championship Wrestling title. It was challenged by cruiserweights at a maximum weight of 215 lbs... |
11:40 | |
| Chris Benoit Chris Benoit Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide... defeated A-Train |
Singles match | 12:24 | |
| Zach Gowen Zach Gowen Zach Gowen is an American professional wrestler. Gowen has competed for World Wrestling Entertainment on their SmackDown! brand, as well as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling .... defeated Matt Hardy Matt Hardy Matthew Moore "Matt" Hardy is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling .... |
Singles match | 05:33 | |
| The Basham Brothers Basham Brothers The Basham Brothers, Doug and Danny , are a professional wrestling tag team, who formerly worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment .-History:... (Doug Doug Basham This article is about the wrestler, for the talk show host see Doug Basham Lyle Douglas "Doug" Basham, Jr. is an American professional wrestler, He is best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment between 2002 and 2007, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name... and Danny Basham) defeated the Acolytes Protection Agency Acolytes Protection Agency The Acolytes Protection Agency , was a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of Bradshaw and Faarooq. They wrestled for the American promotion World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment between October 1998 and March 2004.... (Faarooq Ron Simmons Ronald "Ron" Simmons is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and retired American football player. He is recognised as being the first Black world heavyweight champion in professional wrestling and the first of only two African Americans to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship,... and Bradshaw John Layfield John Charles Layfield is a former American professional wrestler, a former commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League and financial analyst for Fox News... ) |
Tag team match Professional wrestling tag team match types Much like singles matches, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace... |
08:55 | |
| Vince McMahon Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE... (with Sable Rena Mero Rena Marlette Mero Lesnar , better known as Sable, is an American model, actress, and former professional wrestler. She is primarily known for her stints in World Wrestling Entertainment.... ) defeated Stephanie McMahon (with Linda McMahon Linda McMahon Linda Marie McMahon is an American professional wrestling magnate and politician. She is notable for her career developing WWE with her husband Vince McMahon. She was in the company from 1980 to 2009. During this time, WWE grew from a small regional business in New York to a large multinational... ) |
"I Quit" match in which Stephanie could also win by pinfall and the loser was forced to resign their job. | 09:24 | |
| Kurt Angle Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion... defeated John Cena John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand.... |
Singles match | 18:28 | |
| The Big Show defeated Eddie Guerrero Eddie Guerrero Eduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions... (c) |
Singles match for the WWE United States Championship WWE United States Championship The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand.... |
11:27 | |
| Brock Lesnar Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar is an American mixed martial artist, actor and a former professional and amateur wrestler. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and is ranked the No.5 Heavyweight in the world by Sherdog... (c) defeated The Undertaker |
Biker Chain match for the WWE Championship WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963... |
24:14 | |