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No Mercy (2007)
Encyclopedia
No Mercy was a professional wrestling
pay-per-view
(PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment
(WWE), which took place on October 7, 2007 at the Allstate Arena
in Rosemont, Illinois
. It was the 10th annual No Mercy
event and starred wrestlers from the Raw
, SmackDown! and ECW brands
.
Nine professional wrestling matches
were scheduled on the event's card
, which featured a supercard, a scheduling of more than one main event. The first main event featured wrestlers from the Raw brand in a Last Man Standing match—a match where the first person unable to respond to a ten count by the referee lost—between WWE Champion
Triple H
and Randy Orton
. Orton won the match and became the WWE Champion. The other main event featured wrestlers from the SmackDown! brand, in which defending World Heavyweight Champion
Batista defeated challenger The Great Khali in a match in which a large wooden structure known as a Punjabi Prison surrounded the ring. Two featured bouts were scheduled on the undercard. In a standard wrestling match between wrestlers from the Raw brand, WWE Champion Triple H defeated Umaga
to retain his title. The other was a standard match between wrestlers from the SmackDown! brand in which Finlay
and Rey Mysterio fought to a no contest.
The 2007 No Mercy event had an approximate attendance of 12,500 and received approximately 271,000 pay-per-view buys. This event helped WWE obtain a pay-per-view revenue of $19.9 million. When the event was released on DVD
, it reached a peak position of nineteenth on Billboard
s DVD Sales Chart.
were featured on the event's card
. Matches were planned with predetermined outcomes by WWE's creative staff and featured wrestlers playing characters for the entertainment of the audience. All wrestlers were from either Raw
, SmackDown, or ECW—the three brand divisions
to which WWE assigned its employees.
The main leading rivalry
scripted into the event on the Raw brand was between John Cena
and Randy Orton
over the WWE Championship
. At WWE's August pay-per-view (PPV) event SummerSlam
, Cena successfully defended the championship against Orton, and the following night on Raw, one of WWE's primary television programs, Orton interfered in Cena's match with King Booker
and cost him the match. After the match ended, Orton attacked Cena's real-life father, in storyline, by kicking him in the head. As a result of Orton's actions, the two met in a championship match at WWE's September pay-per-view (PPV) event Unforgiven
, in which Cena was disqualified for ignoring the referee's
commands; as per WWE rules, a title can only change hands via pinfall or submission, Orton was not awarded the title. Following their match, Cena's father gained revenge on Orton by kicking him in the head the same way Orton had done to him earlier. Later in the night after the event went off the air, authority figure Jonathan Coachman
made a rematch between the two at No Mercy in a Last Man Standing match, which involves two competitors fighting until one can not stand up on his feet before the referee counts to ten. On the October 1 episode of Raw, Cena legitimately tore his right pectoral muscle
during a match with Mr. Kennedy and attack by Orton. Due to the severity of his injury, Cena was forced to vacate the title. Although Cena's match against Orton was canceled, World Wrestling Entertainment Chairman Vince McMahon
stated that there would be "a new WWE Champion crowned at No Mercy".
The main storyline on the SmackDown! brand was between Dave Batista and The Great Khali over the World Heavyweight Championship. Their rivalry began in July when Khali issued a challenge to the SmackDown roster, which Batista answered. Khali won the World Heavyweight Championship, he interfered in a match pitting Batista against Kane for the chance to fight Khali at The Great American Bash
for the championship, which caused the match to end in a no-contest. As a result of Khali's actions, Long announced that at The Great American Bash, Khali would defend the championship against Batista and Kane in a Triple Threat match, in which Khali was victorious and retained the championship. At SummerSlam, Batista defeated Khali by disqualification, however, as per WWE rules, he did not win the title. The following month at Unforgiven, Khali faced off against Batista and Rey Mysterio in another Triple Threat match in which Batista pinned Khali to win the championship. The same week on SmackDown!, Khali announced that his rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship would take place at No Mercy in two giant wooden structures that make up what is known as a Punjabi Prison; the winner in the match is the first to climb out of the structures.
Another staged rivalry was on the ECW brand between CM Punk
and Big Daddy V
over the ECW Championship. This rivalry began when ECW authority figure Armando Estrada announced an "Elimination Chase to No Mercy", involving Elijah Burke
, Tommy Dreamer
, Kevin Thorn
, and Stevie Richards
. Over a three-week period, Richards, Thorn, and Burke were eliminated, with Dreamer winning the number one contendership. Estrada, however, revealed that Big Daddy V was also a contender, and he quickly defeated Dreamer to earn the chance to fight Punk for the title.
Before the event began and aired live
on pay-per-view
, a dark match was contested between Hardcore Holly
and Cody Rhodes. Holly defeated Rhodes via pinfall to win the match.
After the dark match, the pay-per-view event began with an in-ring segment featuring Raw
General Manager William Regal
and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon
, who awarded the WWE Championship to Randy Orton
due to John Cena
's injury, which had caused Cena to vacate the title. McMahon informed Orton that he would have to defend the title that night; Triple H
then came to the ring and challenged Orton to a match for the title, which Orton rejected. McMahon, however, relented to Triple H's request and made the match, which became the opening contest of the event. The first match of the night, therefore, featured WWE Champion Randy Orton defending his title against Triple H. During the match, Orton attempted to perform a jumping cutter, called the RKO, but the move was countered by Triple H into an attempt to a modified facebuster, referred to as the Pedigree. This move was countered by Orton, who used a back body drop. The match ended shortly after when Orton placed Triple H in the ring turnbuckle and missed an attempt to tackle him, which allowed Triple H to perform a roll up pinning maneuver, which allowed a cover for a pinfall. As a result, Triple H won the WWE Championship.
The following bout was a six-man tag team match between Jeff Hardy
, Brian Kendrick
, and Paul London
and Mr. Kennedy, Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch. In the early stages of the match, both teams wrestled inconclusively until Kennedy put London on his shoulders and executed a second rope rolling fireman's carry slam, a move referred to as a Green Bay Plunge. Kennedy then covered London for a pinfall, winning the match for his team.
A backstage segment then occurred, where Vince McMahon announced that as Triple H had previously been booked for a match against Umaga
, the match would still take place that night, with the added stipulation of being for the WWE Championship.
The third contest was a standard match for the ECW Championship in which the champion, CM Punk
defended against Big Daddy V
, who was accompanied by Matt Striker. Soon after the match began, Punk dropkick
ed Big Daddy V with the soles of both feet, which knocked Big Daddy V down. Striker then jumped in the ring and attacked Punk, which caused a disqualification victory for Punk, by which he retained his championship. Following the disqualification, Big Daddy V attacked CM Punk before leaving the ring.
An in-ring segment then took place—a pizza
eating contest
between WWE Tag Team Champions Matt Hardy
and Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP). The competition was hosted by Tazz
and judged by Maria
and Melina
. In order to win the competition, one competitor had to eat more slices of pizza than the opponent in a two minute time limit. Hardy finished two slices in the time limit and then proceeded to vomit on MVP, who did not finish any, which won Hardy the competition.
The next match was the featured preliminary match from the Raw brand: a standard match for the WWE Championship, where Triple H defended the title against Umaga. The match saw both men perform a variety of wrestling maneuvers, including a DDT
from Triple H onto Umaga, and a Fireman's carry drop from Umaga onto Triple H. Umaga attacked Triple H's ribs throughout the match, but Triple H gained an advantage when Umaga missed a hip attack. Umaga attempted to jump belly first on Triple H, but Triple H moved and Umaga was sent into the ring post. Triple H then performed a Pedigree on him, which allowed him to cover Umaga for a pinfall, thereby retaining his championship.
The fifth contest was the featured preliminary match from the SmackDown brand, which saw Finlay
versus Rey Mysterio. Both men performed many offensive maneuvers through the match, but Mysterio gained the advantage when he kicked Finlay as he hung from the ropes, followed by jumping and landing his leg across Finlay's face
, a move called a leg drop, sending Finlay to ringside area and striking his head. As a result of a staged
injury, Finlay was placed on a stretcher and brought away from the ring, and Mysterio followed. Finlay, however, got up and attacked Mysterio, ending the match in a no contest.
A backstage segment took place, with Triple H seen having his ribs iced. Vince McMahon then made the announcement that Randy Orton was using his rematch clause to allow him a rematch for the WWE Championship that night. He also added that it would be a Last Man Standing match, a match in which the goal is to incapacitate the opponent long enough for a full 10-count.
The next bout was for the WWE Women's Championship
, in which the champion, Candice Michelle
, defended against Beth Phoenix
. The match ended when Phoenix slammed Michelle to the mat, followed by a cover for the pinfall, winning Phoenix the Women's Championship.
The seventh match was the main event from the SmackDown brand, a Punjabi Prison match for the World Heavyweight Championship
, in which the champion, Batista, defended his title against The Great Khali. In the match, two giant wooden cages surrounded the ring, and, in order to win, a competitor had to escape both structures. After both men prevented the other from escaping, Khali utilized a leather strap as a weapon. Batista later used the leather strap and attempted to climb over the first cage structure, but Khali stopped him and squeezed Batista's head with both hands, known as a Vise Grip. The Great Khali then called for a door to be opened but was stopped from going through when Batista struck him with a low blow
. The match ended when Khali climbed over the first structure and began climbing the second. Batista then climbed the first structure, and as Khali climbed the outer cage, Batista jumped from the first cage to the second. Batista then climbed over the outer cage to the ground below and retained the championship.
The main event from the Raw brand was a Last Man Standing match for the WWE Championship, in which the champion, Triple H, defended his title against Randy Orton in his third match of the night. The two men fought extensively on the outside of the ring, both taking advantage of the stipulations regarding the Last Man Standing match, in which there are no countouts or disqualifications. At one point, the two men were positioned on top of one of the announcer's tables, where Orton attempted to execute an RKO on Triple H, who countered the move and sent Orton through another of the announcers' tables. Triple H followed this by striking Orton with the steel ring steps. The men returned to the ring, and Orton performed a DDT and an RKO on Triple H, both of the moves involved Triple H's head striking a steel chair. The competitors returned to the outside of the ring again, and Triple H struck Orton with a steel chair. They returned to the top of the announcer's table, and Triple H attempted to perform a Pedigree through the table on Orton. Orton countered this into an RKO onto the table. The referee began a count and reached ten before Triple H could rise; as a result Orton won the match and subsequently regained the WWE Championship.
returned from a five-month hiatus and superkicked Orton in the face to end the show. At Survivor Series
in November, Orton defeated Michaels in a match to retain his WWE Championship. That same month, on the November 16 edition of SmackDown!, Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) and Matt Hardy lost the WWE Tag Team Championship in a match against John Morrison and The Miz
.
Umaga lost the WWE Intercontinental Championship to Jeff Hardy
on the September 3 edition of Raw. Afterward, Umaga started a feud with Triple H, and they faced off in a Street Fight a month later at Cyber Sunday
. At Cyber Sunday, CM Punk retained his title after defeating The Miz. The following month, at Survivor Series, Punk defeated Morrison and The Miz in a Triple Threat match to retain the ECW Championship.
Batista resumed his feud with The Undertaker, which led to a match against Batista at Cyber Sunday
, with Steve Austin
winning a fan poll to become the special guest referee. Batista won the match and retained the title. After Cyber Sunday, The Undertaker challenged Batista to a Hell in a Cell match at Survivor Series. Batista won the match following interference from Edge. As a result, Edge then became part of the rivalry, and the three men faced each other in a match at Armageddon. Edge won the match, and the championship, to end the feud.
Candice Michelle used her rematch clause for the Women's Championship on the October 22 edition of Raw in a two out of three falls match against Beth Phoenix. After Phoenix won the first pinfall, Candice failed to execute a move correctly
from the top rope, causing her to fall on her neck, shoulder and face. As a result, Candice suffered a legitimate cracked clavicle
, and Phoenix retained the title.
's professional wrestling section rated the entire event 7.5 out of 10 stars. The rating was higher than the No Mercy event in 2004
, which was rated a 6 out of 10 stars. The Last Man Standing main event match from the Raw brand was rated a 9 out of 10 stars. The SmackDown! brand's main event, a Punjabi Prison match for the World Heavyweight Championship, was rated a 6 out of 10 stars.
The event was released on DVD
on November 6, 2007. The DVD reached a peak position of nineteenth on Billboard
s DVD sales chart for recreational sports on January 19, 2008. The average customer rating for the DVD from Amazon.com
was four out of five stars.
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 7, 2007 at the Allstate Arena
Allstate Arena
Allstate Arena is a multi-purpose arena, in Rosemont, Illinois.It is home to the Chicago Rush, of the Arena Football League, DePaul University's men's basketball team, the Chicago Wolves, of the AHL, and the Chicago Sky, of the WNBA.It is located near the intersection of Mannheim Road and...
in Rosemont, Illinois
Rosemont, Illinois
Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States located immediately northwest of Chicago. The village was incorporated in 1956, though it had been settled long before that...
. It was the 10th annual 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...
event and starred wrestlers from the Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, SmackDown! and ECW brands
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,...
, which featured a supercard, a scheduling of more than one main event. The first main event featured wrestlers from the Raw brand in a Last Man Standing match—a match where the first person unable to respond to a ten count by the referee lost—between 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...
Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
and Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
. Orton won the match and became the WWE Champion. The other main event featured wrestlers from the SmackDown! brand, in which defending World Heavyweight Champion
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
Batista defeated challenger The Great Khali in a match in which a large wooden structure known as a Punjabi Prison surrounded the ring. Two featured bouts were scheduled on the undercard. In a standard wrestling match between wrestlers from the Raw brand, WWE Champion Triple H defeated Umaga
Eddie Fatu
Edward Smith "Eki" Fatu was a Samoan-American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Umaga...
to retain his title. The other was a standard match between wrestlers from the SmackDown! brand in which Finlay
Dave Finlay
David John "Fit" Finlay Jr. is a Northern Irish professional wrestler and road agent. He is perhaps best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling and WWE as an active wrestler and later as a road agent...
and Rey Mysterio fought to a no contest.
The 2007 No Mercy event had an approximate attendance of 12,500 and received approximately 271,000 pay-per-view buys. This event helped WWE obtain a pay-per-view revenue of $19.9 million. When the event was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, it reached a peak position of nineteenth on Billboard
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...
s DVD Sales Chart.
Background
Eight 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...
were featured 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,...
. Matches were planned with predetermined outcomes by WWE's creative staff and featured wrestlers playing characters for the entertainment of the audience. All wrestlers were from either Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, SmackDown, or ECW—the three brand divisions
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...
to which WWE assigned its employees.
The main leading rivalry
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
scripted into the event on the Raw brand was between 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....
and Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
over 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...
. At WWE's August pay-per-view (PPV) event SummerSlam
SummerSlam (2007)
SummerSlam was the twentieth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on August 26, 2007 at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey and featured talent from each of WWE's three brands: Raw,...
, Cena successfully defended the championship against Orton, and the following night on Raw, one of WWE's primary television programs, Orton interfered in Cena's match with King Booker
Booker Huffman
Robert Booker Tio Huffman , better known by his ring name Booker T, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and currently signed to WWE, on its SmackDown brand, as part of the announcing team. Booker is best known for his time in both the World Wrestling Entertainment and World...
and cost him the match. After the match ended, Orton attacked Cena's real-life father, in storyline, by kicking him in the head. As a result of Orton's actions, the two met in a championship match at WWE's September pay-per-view (PPV) event Unforgiven
Unforgiven (2007)
Unforgiven was the tenth annual Unforgiven pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on September 16, 2007 from the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands.The main match on the SmackDown brand was The...
, in which Cena was disqualified for ignoring the referee's
Referee (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling referee is the official figure that makes sure that wrestling matches move smoothly in an attempt to maintain kayfabe. The referee also has the ultimate power in the ring...
commands; as per WWE rules, a title can only change hands via pinfall or submission, Orton was not awarded the title. Following their match, Cena's father gained revenge on Orton by kicking him in the head the same way Orton had done to him earlier. Later in the night after the event went off the air, authority figure Jonathan Coachman
Jonathan Coachman
Jonathan William Coachman , also known as "The Coach", is a former professional wrestling color commentator and authority figure. He is also a former college basketball player, and football play-by-play announcer...
made a rematch between the two at No Mercy in a Last Man Standing match, which involves two competitors fighting until one can not stand up on his feet before the referee counts to ten. On the October 1 episode of Raw, Cena legitimately tore his right pectoral muscle
Pectoralis major muscle
The pectoralis major is a thick, fan-shaped muscle, situated at the chest of the body. It makes up the bulk of the chest muscles in the male and lies under the breast in the female...
during a match with Mr. Kennedy and attack by Orton. Due to the severity of his injury, Cena was forced to vacate the title. Although Cena's match against Orton was canceled, World Wrestling Entertainment 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...
stated that there would be "a new WWE Champion crowned at No Mercy".
The Great American Bash (2007)
The Great American Bash was the fourth annual Great American Bash professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...
for the championship, which caused the match to end in a no-contest. As a result of Khali's actions, Long announced that at The Great American Bash, Khali would defend the championship against Batista and Kane in a Triple Threat match, in which Khali was victorious and retained the championship. At SummerSlam, Batista defeated Khali by disqualification, however, as per WWE rules, he did not win the title. The following month at Unforgiven, Khali faced off against Batista and Rey Mysterio in another Triple Threat match in which Batista pinned Khali to win the championship. The same week on SmackDown!, Khali announced that his rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship would take place at No Mercy in two giant wooden structures that make up what is known as a Punjabi Prison; the winner in the match is the first to climb out of the structures.
Another staged rivalry was on the ECW brand between CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
and Big Daddy V
Nelson Frazier, Jr.
Nelson Frazier, Jr. is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring names Mabel, Viscera, Big Daddy V, and King V. He is best known for his work with World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment...
over the ECW Championship. This rivalry began when ECW authority figure Armando Estrada announced an "Elimination Chase to No Mercy", involving Elijah Burke
Elijah Burke
Elijah Samuel Burke is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the name of "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero; a gimmick in which he portrays a Harlem street preacher...
, Tommy Dreamer
Tommy Dreamer
Thomas James "Tom" Laughlin is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is currently working for various promotions on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time spent with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
, Kevin Thorn
Kevin Fertig
Kevin Matthew Fertig is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for working with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring names Mordecai and Kevin Thorn....
, and Stevie Richards
Stevie Richards
Michael Manna is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Stevie Richards. Also known by his ring names, Steven Richards and Dr...
. Over a three-week period, Richards, Thorn, and Burke were eliminated, with Dreamer winning the number one contendership. Estrada, however, revealed that Big Daddy V was also a contender, and he quickly defeated Dreamer to earn the chance to fight Punk for the title.
Event
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Jerry "The King" Lawler Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional... |
| Jim Ross Jim Ross James William "Jim" Ross is a professional wrestling commentator, former professional wrestling referee, restaurateur, occasional wrestler, and former company executive of WWE, where he currently works as a commentator on the WWE Raw brand... |
|
| 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.... |
|
| John "Bradshaw" Layfield 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... (JBL) |
|
| Joey Styles Joey Styles Joseph Carmine Bonsignore better known by his ring name Joey Styles, is an American professional wrestling play-by-play commentator and former professional in the field of advertising sales... |
|
| 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... |
|
| Interviewer | Todd Grisham Todd Grisham Todd Grisham is an American presenter/announcer who is best known for his time in the WWE as a backstage interviewer, play-by-play commentator and occasional ring announcer... |
| Ring announcer | 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 :... |
| Lilian Garcia Lilian Garcia Lilian Annette García , is a Spanish-American singer. She is best known as the former ring announcer for WWE's Raw brand. During her time in WWE, she became the first Diva to remain with the promotion for ten years.-Early life and career:... |
|
| Justin Roberts Justin Roberts Justin Jason Roberts is an American professional wrestling ring announcer, currently working for WWE appearing on its Raw brand.-Career:... |
Before the event began and aired live
Live 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 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...
, a dark match was contested between Hardcore Holly
Bob Holly
Robert "Bob" Howard better known by his ring name Bob "Hardcore" Holly, is a American professional wrestler. He is best known for his 15-year stint with World Wrestling Entertainment ....
and Cody Rhodes. Holly defeated Rhodes via pinfall to win the match.
Preliminary matches
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
General Manager William Regal
Darren Matthews
Darren Kenneth Matthews , is an English professional wrestler, author and color commentator currently signed to WWE and competing on the SmackDown brand under the ring name William Regal. He is also known for his time in World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Steven Regal...
and 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...
, who awarded the WWE Championship to Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
due to 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....
's injury, which had caused Cena to vacate the title. McMahon informed Orton that he would have to defend the title that night; Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
then came to the ring and challenged Orton to a match for the title, which Orton rejected. McMahon, however, relented to Triple H's request and made the match, which became the opening contest of the event. The first match of the night, therefore, featured WWE Champion Randy Orton defending his title against Triple H. During the match, Orton attempted to perform a jumping cutter, called the RKO, but the move was countered by Triple H into an attempt to a modified facebuster, referred to as the Pedigree. This move was countered by Orton, who used a back body drop. The match ended shortly after when Orton placed Triple H in the ring turnbuckle and missed an attempt to tackle him, which allowed Triple H to perform a roll up pinning maneuver, which allowed a cover for a pinfall. As a result, Triple H won the WWE Championship.
The following bout was a six-man tag team match between Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy
Jeffrey Nero "Jeff" Hardy is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he is a former two–time TNA World Heavyweight Champion...
, Brian Kendrick
Brian Kendrick
Brian David Kendrick is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under his real name. Before joining TNA he spent several years wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment, where he wrestled under his name, as Spanky, and finally as "The" Brian Kendrick...
, and Paul London
Paul London
Paul Michael London is an American professional wrestler best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment ....
and Mr. Kennedy, Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch. In the early stages of the match, both teams wrestled inconclusively until Kennedy put London on his shoulders and executed a second rope rolling fireman's carry slam, a move referred to as a Green Bay Plunge. Kennedy then covered London for a pinfall, winning the match for his team.
A backstage segment then occurred, where Vince McMahon announced that as Triple H had previously been booked for a match against Umaga
Eddie Fatu
Edward Smith "Eki" Fatu was a Samoan-American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Umaga...
, the match would still take place that night, with the added stipulation of being for the WWE Championship.
The third contest was a standard match for the ECW Championship in which the champion, CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
defended against Big Daddy V
Nelson Frazier, Jr.
Nelson Frazier, Jr. is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring names Mabel, Viscera, Big Daddy V, and King V. He is best known for his work with World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment...
, who was accompanied by Matt Striker. Soon after the match began, Punk dropkick
Dropkick
A dropkick is an attacking maneuver in professional wrestling. It is defined as an attack where the wrestler jumps up and kicks the opponent with the soles of both feet; this sees the wrestler twist as he or she jumps so that when the feet connect with the opponent one foot is raised higher than...
ed Big Daddy V with the soles of both feet, which knocked Big Daddy V down. Striker then jumped in the ring and attacked Punk, which caused a disqualification victory for Punk, by which he retained his championship. Following the disqualification, Big Daddy V attacked CM Punk before leaving the ring.
An in-ring segment then took place—a pizza
Pizza
Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...
eating contest
Competitive eating
Competitive eating, or speed eating, is a sport in which participants compete against each other to consume large quantities of food in a short time period. Contests are typically less than 15 minutes in length, with the person consuming the most food being declared the winner...
between WWE Tag Team Champions 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 ....
and Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP). The competition was hosted by 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...
and judged by Maria
Maria Kanellis
Maria Louise Kanellis, , or simply Maria, is a singer-songwriter, actress, model, and professional wrestler, best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment. Kanellis's career began as a contestant on the reality show Outback Jack in 2004...
and Melina
Melina Perez
Melina Nava Perez is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Women Superstars Uncensored. She is best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring mononym Melina....
. In order to win the competition, one competitor had to eat more slices of pizza than the opponent in a two minute time limit. Hardy finished two slices in the time limit and then proceeded to vomit on MVP, who did not finish any, which won Hardy the competition.
Main event matches
DDT (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling a DDT is any move in which the wrestler has the opponent in a front facelock, and falls down or backwards to drive the opponent's head into the mat...
from Triple H onto Umaga, and a Fireman's carry drop from Umaga onto Triple H. Umaga attacked Triple H's ribs throughout the match, but Triple H gained an advantage when Umaga missed a hip attack. Umaga attempted to jump belly first on Triple H, but Triple H moved and Umaga was sent into the ring post. Triple H then performed a Pedigree on him, which allowed him to cover Umaga for a pinfall, thereby retaining his championship.
The fifth contest was the featured preliminary match from the SmackDown brand, which saw Finlay
Dave Finlay
David John "Fit" Finlay Jr. is a Northern Irish professional wrestler and road agent. He is perhaps best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling and WWE as an active wrestler and later as a road agent...
versus Rey Mysterio. Both men performed many offensive maneuvers through the match, but Mysterio gained the advantage when he kicked Finlay as he hung from the ropes, followed by jumping and landing his leg across Finlay's face
Leg drop
A leg drop or legdrop refers to an attack used in professional wrestling in which an attacking wrestler will jump and land his leg across a fallen opponent's chest, throat, face or head or in some cases, the groin/lower-abdominal area...
, a move called a leg drop, sending Finlay to ringside area and striking his head. As a result of a staged
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
injury, Finlay was placed on a stretcher and brought away from the ring, and Mysterio followed. Finlay, however, got up and attacked Mysterio, ending the match in a no contest.
A backstage segment took place, with Triple H seen having his ribs iced. Vince McMahon then made the announcement that Randy Orton was using his rematch clause to allow him a rematch for the WWE Championship that night. He also added that it would be a Last Man Standing match, a match in which the goal is to incapacitate the opponent long enough for a full 10-count.
The next bout was for the WWE Women's Championship
WWE Women's Championship
The WWE Women's Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment promotion. Created in 1956, it was the oldest active professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment history until its retirement in 2010 as a result from a unification...
, in which the champion, Candice Michelle
Candice Michelle
Candice Michelle Beckman-Ehrlich better known as Candice Michelle or just Candice, is an American model, actress, and professional wrestler best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment....
, defended against Beth Phoenix
Beth Phoenix
Elizabeth Kocianski is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE where she wrestles on the Raw brand under the ring name Beth Phoenix, where she is the reigning WWE Divas Champion....
. The match ended when Phoenix slammed Michelle to the mat, followed by a cover for the pinfall, winning Phoenix the Women's Championship.
The seventh match was the main event from the SmackDown brand, a Punjabi Prison match for the World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
, in which the champion, Batista, defended his title against The Great Khali. In the match, two giant wooden cages surrounded the ring, and, in order to win, a competitor had to escape both structures. After both men prevented the other from escaping, Khali utilized a leather strap as a weapon. Batista later used the leather strap and attempted to climb over the first cage structure, but Khali stopped him and squeezed Batista's head with both hands, known as a Vise Grip. The Great Khali then called for a door to be opened but was stopped from going through when Batista struck him with a low blow
Groin attack
A groin attack is an attempt to cause pain to the groin area of one's opponent. The technique can be quickly debilitating, due to the large number of sensitive nerve endings in the penis and testicles of males, as well as the highly innervated vulva of females. A sufficiently powerful blow may...
. The match ended when Khali climbed over the first structure and began climbing the second. Batista then climbed the first structure, and as Khali climbed the outer cage, Batista jumped from the first cage to the second. Batista then climbed over the outer cage to the ground below and retained the championship.
The main event from the Raw brand was a Last Man Standing match for the WWE Championship, in which the champion, Triple H, defended his title against Randy Orton in his third match of the night. The two men fought extensively on the outside of the ring, both taking advantage of the stipulations regarding the Last Man Standing match, in which there are no countouts or disqualifications. At one point, the two men were positioned on top of one of the announcer's tables, where Orton attempted to execute an RKO on Triple H, who countered the move and sent Orton through another of the announcers' tables. Triple H followed this by striking Orton with the steel ring steps. The men returned to the ring, and Orton performed a DDT and an RKO on Triple H, both of the moves involved Triple H's head striking a steel chair. The competitors returned to the outside of the ring again, and Triple H struck Orton with a steel chair. They returned to the top of the announcer's table, and Triple H attempted to perform a Pedigree through the table on Orton. Orton countered this into an RKO onto the table. The referee began a count and reached ten before Triple H could rise; as a result Orton won the match and subsequently regained the WWE Championship.
Aftermath
The next night on Raw, during an appreciation ceremony held by Vince McMahon for Randy Orton, Shawn MichaelsShawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
returned from a five-month hiatus and superkicked Orton in the face to end the show. At Survivor Series
Survivor Series (2007)
Survivor Series was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on November 18, 2007 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida...
in November, Orton defeated Michaels in a match to retain his WWE Championship. That same month, on the November 16 edition of SmackDown!, Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) and Matt Hardy lost the WWE Tag Team Championship in a match against John Morrison and The Miz
John Morrison and The Miz
John Morrison and The Miz were a professional wrestling tag team and former WWE Tough Enough contestants. The team worked for World Wrestling Entertainment on its ECW brand, but also appeared on the SmackDown and Raw brands due to ECW's talent exchanges with those brands during their tenure as a team...
.
Umaga lost the WWE Intercontinental Championship to Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy
Jeffrey Nero "Jeff" Hardy is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he is a former two–time TNA World Heavyweight Champion...
on the September 3 edition of Raw. Afterward, Umaga started a feud with Triple H, and they faced off in a Street Fight a month later at Cyber Sunday
Cyber Sunday (2007)
Cyber Sunday was the fourth annual Cyber Sunday professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on October 28, 2007 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C...
. At Cyber Sunday, CM Punk retained his title after defeating The Miz. The following month, at Survivor Series, Punk defeated Morrison and The Miz in a Triple Threat match to retain the ECW Championship.
Batista resumed his feud with The Undertaker, which led to a match against Batista at Cyber Sunday
Cyber Sunday (2007)
Cyber Sunday was the fourth annual Cyber Sunday professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on October 28, 2007 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C...
, with Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
winning a fan poll to become the special guest referee. Batista won the match and retained the title. After Cyber Sunday, The Undertaker challenged Batista to a Hell in a Cell match at Survivor Series. Batista won the match following interference from Edge. As a result, Edge then became part of the rivalry, and the three men faced each other in a match at Armageddon. Edge won the match, and the championship, to end the feud.
Candice Michelle used her rematch clause for the Women's Championship on the October 22 edition of Raw in a two out of three falls match against Beth Phoenix. After Phoenix won the first pinfall, Candice failed to execute a move correctly
Botch (professional wrestling)
To botch in professional wrestling means to attempt a scripted move that does not come out as it was originally planned due to a mistake, miscalculation, or a slip-up. Most botches are harmless but embarrassing, such as a wrestler simply flubbing a line or missing a cue, or falling before his...
from the top rope, causing her to fall on her neck, shoulder and face. As a result, Candice suffered a legitimate cracked clavicle
Clavicle
In human anatomy, the clavicle or collar bone is a long bone of short length that serves as a strut between the scapula and the sternum. It is the only long bone in body that lies horizontally...
, and Phoenix retained the title.
Reception
The event had an approximate attendance of 12,500, the maximum allowed. The event resulted in 271,000 pay-per-view buys, higher than the previous year's event. The promotion's pay-per-view revenue was $19.9 million. Canadian Online ExplorerCanadian 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...
's professional wrestling section rated the entire event 7.5 out of 10 stars. The rating was higher than the No Mercy event in 2004
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...
, which was rated a 6 out of 10 stars. The Last Man Standing main event match from the Raw brand was rated a 9 out of 10 stars. The SmackDown! brand's main event, a Punjabi Prison match for the World Heavyweight Championship, was rated a 6 out of 10 stars.
The event was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on November 6, 2007. The DVD reached a peak position of nineteenth on Billboard
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...
s DVD sales chart for recreational sports on January 19, 2008. The average customer rating for the DVD from Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
was four out of five stars.
Results
| # | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark match | Hardcore Holly Bob Holly Robert "Bob" Howard better known by his ring name Bob "Hardcore" Holly, is a American professional wrestler. He is best known for his 15-year stint with World Wrestling Entertainment .... defeated Cody Rhodes |
Singles match | 05:00 |
| 1 | Triple H Triple H Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley... defeated Randy Orton Randy Orton Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand... (c) |
Singles 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... . |
11:06 |
| 2 | Mr. Kennedy, Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch defeated Jeff Hardy Jeff Hardy Jeffrey Nero "Jeff" Hardy is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he is a former two–time TNA World Heavyweight Champion... , Paul London and Brian Kendrick Paul London and Brian Kendrick Paul London and Brian Kendrick are a professional wrestling tag team best known for their time together in World Wrestling Entertainment . The team never had an official team name, but were just referred to as "the tag team of London and Kendrick." In 2006 London and Kendrick put the tag team name... |
Six-Man Tag Team match. | 08:05 |
| 3 | CM Punk CM Punk Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion.... (c) defeated Big Daddy V Nelson Frazier, Jr. Nelson Frazier, Jr. is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring names Mabel, Viscera, Big Daddy V, and King V. He is best known for his work with World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment... (with Matt Striker) by disqualification |
Singles match for the ECW Championship. | 01:37 |
| 4 | Triple H (c) defeated Umaga Eddie Fatu Edward Smith "Eki" Fatu was a Samoan-American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Umaga... |
Singles match for the WWE Championship. | 06:33 |
| 5 | Finlay Dave Finlay David John "Fit" Finlay Jr. is a Northern Irish professional wrestler and road agent. He is perhaps best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling and WWE as an active wrestler and later as a road agent... fought Rey Mysterio to a no-contest |
Singles match | 09:00 |
| 6 | Beth Phoenix Beth Phoenix Elizabeth Kocianski is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE where she wrestles on the Raw brand under the ring name Beth Phoenix, where she is the reigning WWE Divas Champion.... defeated Candice Michelle Candice Michelle Candice Michelle Beckman-Ehrlich better known as Candice Michelle or just Candice, is an American model, actress, and professional wrestler best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment.... (c) |
Singles match for the WWE Women's Championship WWE Women's Championship The WWE Women's Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment promotion. Created in 1956, it was the oldest active professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment history until its retirement in 2010 as a result from a unification... . |
04:32 |
| 7 | Batista (c) defeated The Great Khali (with Ranjin Singh) | Punjabi Prison match for the World Heavyweight Championship World Heavyweight Championship (WWE) The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand... . |
14:47 |
| 8 | Randy Orton defeated Triple H (c) | Last Man Standing match for the WWE Championship. | 20:25 |
See also
- WWE No MercyWWE No MercyNo 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...
- List of WWE pay-per-view events