| No Mercy | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuringTriple H | |||
| Promotion | World Wrestling Federation | ||
| Date | October 22, 2000 | ||
| City | Albany, New York | ||
| Venue | Pepsi Arena | ||
| Attendance | 14,342 | ||
| Buy rate | 550,000[1] | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| No Mercy chronology | |||
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The 2000No Mercy was aprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced by theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the thirdNo Mercy, and took place on October 22, 2000, at thePepsi Arena inAlbany, New York.
Themain event was aNo Disqualification match for theWWF Championship.The Rock defended the title againstKurt Angle. Anglepinned Rock after anAngle Slam to win the title. The other main match was aNo Holds Barred Match between the returningStone Cold Steve Austin, andRikishi.
Theundercard featuredTriple H versusChris Benoit,Hardy Boyz (Matt Hardy andJeff Hardy) versusLos Conquistadores (Uno andDos) for theWWF Tag Team Championship,William Regal versusNaked Mideon for theWWF European Championship,Right to Censor (Val Venis andSteven Richards) versusChyna, andBilly Gunn in atag team match,Chris Jericho versusX-Pac in aSteel cage match,Acolytes Protection Agency (Bradshaw andFaarooq), andLita versusT & A (Test andAlbert), andTrish Stratus in asix-personmixed tag team match, and aDudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley)InvitationalTables match.
No Mercy was first held by theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) as a United Kingdom-exclusivepay-per-view (PPV) in May 1999.[2] A secondNo Mercy was then held later that same year in October, but in the United States.[3] A third event was then scheduled to be held on October 22, 2000, at thePepsi Arena inAlbany, New York. This third event in turn establishedNo Mercy as the annual October PPV for the WWF.[4][5]
No Mercy featuredprofessional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing feuds,plots, andstorylines that were played out onRaw is War, andSmackDown!—TheWorld Wrestling Federation's (WWF) television programs. Wrestlers portrayed avillain or ahero as they followed a series of events that built tension, and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[6]
Two predominantrivalries heading into No Mercy were created at the same time. The one was betweenThe Rock, andKurt Angle for theWWF Championship, and the other was betweenTriple H, andChris Benoit. AtUnforgiven, Triple H defeated Angle in aNo Disqualification match, and Rock retained the WWF Championship against Benoit,The Undertaker, andKane in aFatal Four-Way match.[7][8] On the September 28 edition ofSmackDown!, Angle, and Benoit defeated Rock, and Triple H in atag team match.[9][unreliable source] On the October 2 edition ofRaw is War, Benoit helped Angle in defeating Triple H to become the number one contender for the WWF title at No Mercy.[10][unreliable source] As a result, Triple H, and Benoit began feuding. On the October 9 edition ofRaw is War, theWWF CommissionerMick Foley announced that Triple H would wrestle Benoit at No Mercy.[11]
Another predominantstoryline heading into the event was over the attacker ofStone Cold Steve Austin as Austin continued his search for his attacker atSurvivor Series. On the October 9 episode ofRaw is War,Rikishi revealed that he had run down Austin with the car in the parking lot, and he did it forThe Rock; because WWF always held back theSamoans.[11][unreliable source] On the October 12 episode ofSmackDown!, Commissioner Mick Foley announced that Austin and Rikishi would wrestle in aNo Holds Barred match at No Mercy.[12][unreliable source]
At Unforgiven,Hardy Boyz (Matt Hardy andJeff Hardy) defeatedEdge and Christian in a Steel Cage match to win theWWF Tag Team Championship.[7] The next night onRaw is War, Hardy Boyz defeated Edge and Christian in aLadder match to retain the titles and the WWF Commissioner Mick Foley had stipulated before the match that it would be Edge and Christian's last title shot if they lost.[13][unreliable source] On the October 9 episode ofRaw is War, Edge and Christian interfered under the disguise ofLos Conquistadores in Hardy Boyz' Tag Team Championship defense againstTazz andRaven but failed in preventing Hardy Boyz from winning the match.[11] A week later onSmackDown!, Los Conquistadores won a tag teamBattle Royal, last eliminatingDudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley) to become the number one contenders for the Tag Team Championship at No Mercy.[14][unreliable source]
On the October 15 episode ofSunday Night Heat,Acolytes Protection Agency (Faarooq andBradshaw) were playing cards withT & A (Test andAlbert) in a backstage segment. T & A were losing in the game and even lost their entire money but continued to play the game until theirmanagerTrish Stratus entered and had a deal that if T & A lost one game, she would remove one portion of her clothes. It continued until she was forced to remove herbra. APA won another game but before Stratus could remove one more part, T & A attacked APA.[15][unreliable source] On the October 19 episode ofSmackDown!,Lita defended theWWF Women's Championship against Stratus. T & A interfered in the match and helped Stratus in attacking Lita, leading to APA making arun-in and rescuing Lita. This led to asix-personmixed tag team match pitting Lita and Acolytes against Stratus and T & A.[14]
On the September 25 episode ofRaw is War,Chyna started celebrating her posing forPlayboy magazine. However, her celebration was cut short byRight to Censor (Stevie Richards,Val Venis,The Goodfather andBull Buchanan), afaction that was against thenudity offemale wrestlers of WWF.[13] On the September 28 episode ofSmackDown!, Chyna stripped to her bra andpanties and defeated Richards in asingles match.[9] On the October 9 episode ofRaw is War, Chyna and heron-screen boyfriend, theWWF Intercontinental ChampionEddie Guerrero took on Richards and Venis in a tag team match. During the match, a video was played on the titantron showing Guerrero having a shower with two of The Godfather'shos. This distracted Chyna and she started crying while Venispinned Guerrero for the victory. After the match, Right to Censor attempted to attack Chyna untilBilly Gunn made the rescue.[11] On the October 16 episode ofRaw is War, the WWF Commissioner Mick Foley announced that Guerrero would defend the Intercontinental Championship against Mr. Ass at No Mercy.[16][unreliable source] On the October 19 episode ofSmackDown!, Guerrero finally broke away from Chyna by choking her with his crutch after Right to Censor attacked her. Mr. Ass came out to rescue Chyna but was attacked by Right to Censor.[14] On the October 22 episode ofSunday Night Heat, the Commissioner Mick Foley announced that Guerrero could not wrestle on the pay-per-view, due to injury and pitted Mr. Ass and Chyna against Richards and Venis later that night at No Mercy.[5]
At Unforgiven,Chris Jericho defeatedX-Pac.[7] The following night onRaw is War, X-Pac defeated Jericho in aFirst Blood match but Jericho attacked X-Pac after the match and forced him to submit to his submission maneuver,Walls of Jericho.[13] On the September 28 episode ofSmackDown!, X-Pac attacked Jericho during his tag team match withJerry Lawler against Tazz and Raven.[9] Jericho and X-Pac continued their rivalry and competed in several tag team matches with different partners, leading to a Steel Cage match between the two at No Mercy.[10][11]
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Englishcommentators | Jim Ross |
| Jerry Lawler | |
| Spanish commentators | Carlos Cabrera |
| Hugo Savinovich | |
| Interviewer | Kevin Kelly |
| Ring announcer | Howard Finkel |
| Referees | Mike Chioda |
| Jim Korderas | |
| Earl Hebner | |
| Jack Doan | |
| Tim White |
As the event commenced, the first match that aired was aDudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley)InvitationalTables match. The match was an open invitation to anytag team in the WWF. The match stipulated that a team would be eliminated if one of its members got knocked through a table. The first two teams were Lo Down (Chaz andD'Lo Brown), andToo Cool (Scotty 2 Hotty andGrand Master Sexay). Brown hit Sexay, put him on the table, and attempted to hit his finisher, aLo Down on Sexay through the table, but Sexay moved out of the way, and Brown went through the table. As a result, Lo Down was eliminated.Tazz, andRaven were the next participants. They eliminated Too Cool when theydouble suplexed Scotty through a table. Dudley Boyz entered next, and eliminated Tazz, and Raven when D-Von delivered aLeg Drop from the top rope on Tazz, who was lying on the table. As a result, Tazz went through a table, and he and Raven were eliminated. Next wasRight to Censor (The Goodfather andBull Buchanan), the final team to enter the match. Dudley Boyz had won the match when Bubba Raypowerbombed Buchanan through a table but thereferee was knocked out. This allowed Goodfather tonail Bubba with a chair. Goodfather positioned Bubba on the broken table and the referee got up. He thought that Bubba had been driven through the table, so he awarded Right to Censor, the victory but another referee came in and told the referee the actual story. As a result, the match continued and Dudley Boyz performed a3D on Goodfather through a table, thus eliminating Right to Censor and winning the match in the process.[4][5]
The next scheduled match was asix-personmixed tag team match pittingAcolytes Protection Agency (Bradshaw andFaarooq) andLita againstT & A (Test andAlbert) and theirmanagerTrish Stratus. APA was attacked by T & A backstage before they had a chance to make their entrance. On the other hand, Lita, who was already in the ring, was attacked by Stratus and T & A until theHardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy andMatt Hardy) made the rescue and prevented T & A and Stratus from attacking Lita. The match never took place.
The third match was aSteel Cage match betweenChris Jericho andX-Pac. JerichoSuperbombed X-Pac from the top rope. However, X-Pac recovered and tried to climb out of the cage. Jericho also climbed up and caught X-Pac and applied theWalls of Jericho on the top of the cage. X-Pac managed to break the hold. He tried to climb out of the cage and when he reached the top of the cage, Jericho dropkicked X-Pac crotch first on the cage door. This caused X-Pac to lose balance and crash down the ring. Jericho took advantage of the situation and climbed out of the cage and escaped it to win the match.[4][5]
The fourth match was atag team match pitting Right to Censor (Steven Richards andVal Venis) againstChyna andBilly Gunn. Both teams exchanged momentum over each other throughout the match until Billy Gunn started to dominate the match. However, the other members of Right to Censor distracted Billy Gunn.Eddie Guerrero interfered on behalf of Richards and Venis and nailed Chyna with a bouquet of roses, which had a lead pipe attached to them. Venispinned Chyna to win the match.
Next was aNo Holds Barred match betweenRikishi andStone Cold Steve Austin. Austin initially did not appear for the match and was nowhere to be seen in the arena. Rikishi demanded that theCommissionerMick Foley declare him the winner by forfeit but Austin entered the arena in his truck and drove it to the ring and entered the ring to start the match. Austin viciously attacked Rikishi and nailed him with several chair shots. Rikishi bled from his face but Austin continued to attack him and sent him into the back of his truck. He closed the truck and sat in it and drove the truck out of the arena. After reaching the parking lot of the arena, Austin dragged Rikishi out of the truck and tried to run him down with it but a police car came in the way to rescue Rikishi. Many police cars came in afterwards and Austin was arrested for trying to run down Rikishi with the truck. As a result, the match resulted in a no-contest.[4][5]
In the sixth match,William Regal defended theWWF European Championship againstNaked Mideon. Regal complained to Commissioner Mick Foley that he would not defend the title against a naked opponent. Foley ordered Mideon to wear attire for the match. However, as the match started, Mideon stripped off his clothes later on and dominated a disgusted Regal for much of the match. At the end of the match, Mideon climbed to the top rope but Regal knocked him down. Regal tried to apply aRegal Stretch on Mideon but eventually hit him with aRegal Cutter to win the match and thus retain the European Championship.[4][5]
The seventh match of the event pittedHardy Boyz (Matt Hardy andJeff Hardy) defending theWWF Tag Team Championship againstLos Conquistadores (Uno and Dos). Los Conquistadores were actuallyEdge and Christian in masks. Edge was wrestling as Conquistador Uno and Christian was wrestling as Conquistador Dos. As the match started, Hardy Boyz tried to pull off Conquistadores' masks but failed. One of the Conquistadores nearly had Matt pinned until Jeff performed aSwanton Bomb on Conquistador Dos. However, Conquistador Uno tossed Jeff out of the ring. Matt took advantage and hit Conquistador Uno with aTwist of Fate and pulled off his mask to reveal another mask. Matt pulled off that mask until Conquistador Dos took advantage and gave Matt anUnprettier to win the Tag Team Championships.[4][5]
The final match on theundercard was betweenTriple H andChris Benoit. As the match started, Triple H started attacking Benoit's injured left knee until injuring his left arm. Benoit started attacking Triple H's injured arm and performed adiving headbutt on the arm. The match went back and forth with Benoit working on Triple H's injured arm. He eventually applied aCrippler Crossface on Triple H. Triple H stood up after a while and got out of the move.Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley interfered in the match and slapped Benoit. McMahon distracted the referee, allowing Triple H to hit Benoit with aLow Blow. He followed it with aPedigree to pin Benoit for the victory.[4][5]
In themain event,The Rock defended theWWF Championship againstKurt Angle in aNo Disqualification match. Stephanie took advantage of the stipulations and started attacking The Rock. However, The Rock earned momentum and applied aSharpshooter on Angle. Angletapped out to the hold but the referee was distracted by Stephanie. Stephanie continued to interfere on Angle's behalf but The Rock dominated Angle for much of the match until Angle hit The Rock with the WWF Championship belt. Both men started bleeding. However, The Rock recovered and hit Angle with aSpinebuster. The Rock tried to hit aPeople's Elbow but Stephanie entered the ring. This angered The Rock and he performed aRock Bottom on Stephanie. The Rock tried to hit a People's Elbow on Stephanie but Angle interrupted and prevented The Rock from hitting the move. Triple H interfered in the match as he tossed Angle out of the ring, hit The Rock with a Pedigree, and carried Stephanie backstage. Angle and The Rock continued to battle each other until an injured Rikishi interfered in the match on The Rock's behalf. Rikishi started attacking Angle. The Rock and Angle returned to the ring where The Rock hit Angle with a Rock Bottom and attempted a pinfall but Angle kicked out at 2. Rikishi tried to do asplash on Angle in the ring but The Rock was also splashed. Rikishi tried to hit aSavate Kick on Angle but accidentally hit The Rock with it. Rikishi tried to perform another Savate Kick on Angle but Angle ducked and performed anAngle Slam on Rikishi. Angle focused on a knocked out The Rock and delivered him an Angle Slam to win the match and thus became the new WWF Champion.[17][4][5]
No Mercy 2000 received 550,000 buys, up from the 327,000 buys received byNo Mercy 1999. The main event match between Kurt Angle, and The Rock was the highest rated match of the night, rated 4.25 stars out of 5 byDave Meltzer of theWrestling Observer Newsletter. As for the other matches, Triple H vs. Chris Benoit was rated 4 stars, the Steel Cage Match was rated 3.5 stars, and the No Holds Barred Match between Steve Austin, and Rikishi received 2.25 stars. The European Championship match received a dismal rating of -0.5 stars.[18]
The next night onRaw is War,Rikishi apologized toThe Rock for costing him theWWF Championship againstKurt Angle at No Mercy, and told him that it was just accidental, but The Rock did not forgive Rikishi.[19][unreliable source] On the October 26 episode ofSmackDown!,Stone Cold Steve Austin was hit with a wrench as he headed to the ring to attack Rikishi after Rikishi'sHandicap match withToo Cool (Scotty 2 Hotty andGrand Master Sexay). However, Austin managed to make it to the ring, but was assaulted by Rikishi.[20][unreliable source] On the October 30 episode ofRaw is War, Austin defeated Rikishi in a No Mercy rematch contested inside asteel cage. Later that night, Rikishi attacked The Rock after The Rock won his number one contender's match againstChris Jericho. Following the assault, Rikishi revealed that The Rock knew about the attack, and had given Rikishi the keys to the truck to run down Austin at the previous year'sSurvivor Series event.[21][unreliable source] On the November 2 episode ofSmackDown!, Rikishi cost The Rock a title shot for the WWF Championship against Kurt Angle.[22][unreliable source] On the November 9 episode ofSmackDown!, theWWF CommissionerMick Foley announced that Rikishi, and The Rock would wrestle in a match atSurvivor Series, which The Rock won.[23][unreliable source][24][25]
On the other hand, Austin took on Angle, and Rikishi in a Handicap match on the November 6 episode ofRaw is War. Angle and Rikishi assaulted Austin throughout the match untilTriple H interfered to rescue Austin by forcing Angle and Rikishi to retreat. Triple H followed by assaulting Austin with asledgehammer and thus was revealed to be the mastermind behind Austin's attack at Survivor Series.[26][unreliable source] As a result, on the November 9 episode ofSmackDown!, Mick Foley announced that Triple H would wrestle Austin at Survivor Series.[23] The match would become aNo Disqualification match. It resulted in a no contest when Triple H tried to run down Austin with his car but Austin picked up the car and dropped it on the concrete floor.[27]
On the November 9 episode ofSmackDown!,The Undertaker defeated Chris Jericho,Kane andChris Benoit in aFatal Four-Way match to become the number one contender for the WWF Championship at Survivor Series.[23] At Survivor Series, Kurt Angle defeated The Undertaker to retain the title, after interference by hislegitimate brotherEric Angle.[24][25]
The next night on Raw is War, The Hardy Boyz dressed as the Los Conquistadores defeated Edge in a handicap match after Christian was taken out backstage to regain the WWF Tag Team Championship.
| No. | Results[4][5] | Stipulations | Times | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley) won by last eliminatingRight to Censor (The Goodfather andBull Buchanan) | Dudley Boyz InvitationalTables match | 12:18 | ||
| 2 | Chris Jericho defeatedX-Pac | Steel Cage match | 10:40 | ||
| 3 | Right to Censor (Steven Richards andVal Venis) defeatedChyna andBilly Gunn | Tag team match | 7:10 | ||
| 4 | Stone Cold Steve Austin vs.Rikishi ended in a no contest | No Holds Barred match | 10:30 | ||
| 5 | William Regal (c) defeatedNaked Mideon | Singles match for theWWF European Championship | 6:02 | ||
| 6 | Los Conquistadores (Uno andDos) defeatedThe Hardy Boyz (Matt Hardy andJeff Hardy) (c) | Tag team match for theWWF Tag Team Championship | 10:58 | ||
| 7 | Triple H defeatedChris Benoit | Singles match | 18:44 | ||
| 8 | Kurt Angle (withStephanie McMahon-Helmsley) defeatedThe Rock (c)[17] | No Disqualification match for theWWF Championship | 21:45 | ||
| |||||
| Elimination | Team | Eliminated by | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lo Down (Chaz andD'Lo Brown) | Too Cool (Grand Master Sexay andScotty 2 Hotty) | 3:54 |
| 2 | Too Cool | Raven andTazz | 7:10 |
| 3 | Tazz and Raven | Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley) | 9:18 |
| 4 | Right to Censor (The Goodfather andBull Buchanan) | The Dudley Boyz | 12:18 |
| Winner: | The Dudley Boyz | ||