TJR Retro: WWE No Mercy 2005 Review (Batista vs. Eddie Guerrero)

The Smackdown brand was the Batista show by late 2005 with “The Animal” dominating the main event scene as the long term World Champion. The best feud on Smackdown in 2005 was Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero. While Mysterio won all of their major matches on PPV, Guerrero won a Steel Cage match on Smackdown that led to Guerrero becoming the number one contender to the World Title, which meant Batista vs. Guerrero at No Mercy.

No Mercy did okay in terms PPV buyrates with 224,000 buys, which was the second lowest in WWE that year. It showed that October was not a hot period for WWE, which is usual for them.

I have been reviewing WWE PPVs from the mid-2000s over the last two years. You can check out my retro review archives on TJRWrestling as well as Rajah.com in case you want to find reviews of older shows too. Let’s get to it.

WWE No Mercy
Toyota Center in Houston, Texas
10/09/05

This show gets a TV14 rating plus the “S” for Sexual Content on WWE Network.

The opening video package featured Eddie Guerrero trying to convince Batista he wasn’t lying, cheating and stealing anymore, so the story was whether Batista could trust him. It also focused on Randy Orton’s rivalry with The Undertaker.

The pyro went off in the arena with the crowd cheering loudly.

The announce team of Michael Cole and Tazz welcomed us to the show from their seats at ringside. The Spanish announce team was also there hoping nobody breaks their precious table.

It’s a six-person mixed tag team match to start the show.

MNM (Johnny Nitro, Joey Mercury and Melina) vs. Legion of Doom (Heidenreich and Animal) and Christy Hemme

Pre-match notes: MNM were the heels that used to be WWE Tag Team Champions. LOD were the faces that won the WWE Tag Team Titles from MNM at Great American Bash a few months earlier. I was not a fan of this LOD reboot because of how bad Heidenreich was. Hemme is showing more cleavage than Melina in case you were wondering.

Animal with a boot to the face of Morrison. Animal had his left shoulder taped up to sell an injury from Smackdown. Heidenreich worked over Morrison with clothesline where Morrison did a flip bump to sell it. Animal tagged back in with a clothesline on Morrison, but when he did a charge, Morrison moved and Animal hit the turnbuckle. Mercury into the ring with kicks to the left arm of Animal. Mercury kicked Animal in the left arm repeatedly. Morrison into the ring leading to a double team Snapshot, but Animal kicked out since the ref was slow to make the count. Morrison and Mercury drove Animal’s left shoulder into the top rope a few times. Morrison with an arm wringer on Animal and Mercury went back into the ring with a double axe to the arm. The fans chanted “LOD” as Mercury who hit a neckbreaker for two on Animal. Mercury went up top, he jumped off, Animal caught him and hit a powerslam for two. Morrison dumped Heidenreich out of the ring. Animal shoved Mercury into the turnbuckle, Melina tagged in, she jumped, Animal caught her and Hemme got the tag. Good reaction for her. Hemme hit a running clothesline on Melina. Hemme with a kick to the face and Hemme hit a sloppy hurricanrana to send Melina across the ring. Animal put Melina on her shoulders, Christy went up top and hit the Doomsday Device clothesline on Melina for the pinfall win. Hemme didn’t cover Melina right at first and then she figured it out. It’s not that complicated. The crowd popped big for it. It went 6:28.

Winners by pinfall: Legion of Doom and Christy Hemme

Analysis: *1/2 Bad match with Hemme getting in some big spots although she looked sloppy doing them. This was two years after she won the first Diva Search. The best part of the match, other than Hemme’s outfit, was that Heidenreich was barely in the ring. They knew he sucked, so they limited his involvement. That’s smart.

Post match, Heidenreich and Animal put Hemme on their shoulders to celebrate.

Batista was in the locker room getting ready when Eddie Guerrero showed up for a chat. Eddie said he had one thing to say, he said “good luck” and left. Batista said good luck to him as well. That was it.

Simon Dean had a guy bring out a tray of cheeseburgers with him. The guy that brought out the tray was Chris DeJoseph, who you might know as Big Dick Johnson, who was a WWE writer at a time. Dean did a promo while he had a cast on his right head. Dean insulted Houston for being fat. Dean had 20 double cheeseburgers with him saying one is okay, but eating too many makes you fat and pathetic. Dean said if he doesn’t beat Bobby Lashley then he’ll eat all those double cheeseburgers.

Analysis: How did WWE come up with the name Simon Dean? It’s because Dean Malenko’s real name is Dean Simon. Malenko was a great wrestler that has also worked backstage for WWE as a producer for the past 15 years or so. As for DeJoseph, he’s currently one of the creative minds behind the Lucha Underground promotion.

Bobby Lashley made his entrance looking huge. Cole noted it was his pay-per-view debut while the announcers talked about his amateur wrestling career.

Bobby Lashley vs. Simon Dean

Pre-match notes: Lashley was the face and Dean was the heel. Lashley broke Dean’s hand prior to the match.

Lashley with a running forearm early on. Lashley hooked the arms and hit a double underhook suplex across the ring. Lashley with a shoulder tackle to the ribs of Dean. Lashley charged in the corner, Dean moved and Dean threw some burgers across the ring to distract the referee Jimmy Korderas. Dean had the metal tray and hit Lashley in the head with it, but Lashley no sold it. Lashley tried to set up Dean for the Dominator, but it slipped and then Lashley did it again. Lashley hit the Dominator for the pinfall win at 1:55.

Winner by pinfall: Bobby Lashley

Analysis: 1/2* It was an easy squash win for Lashley, who was new at the time, so he was booked strongly to try to get him over. Dean lost nearly every match he had.

Post match, Lashley stuffed a burger in Dean’s mouth.

John Bradshaw Layfield with Jillian Hall were interviewed by Steve Romero (I had to look up his name because I forgot) in the interview area. JBL talked about how if guys from Raw wanted to come to the show, they can come get them some. JBL ripped on Rey Mysterio saying that underdogs do not win. Mysterio showed up to the interview. Mysterio spoke in Spanish, the fans cheered because they understood it and JBL told him to speak English. Mysterio had a mask for JBL because after Mysterio beats him he thinks JBL will want to hide his face in shame. Mysterio said if he doesn’t need it, he knows somebody that will and handed it to Jillian, who was mad about it.

Analysis: This was when Jillian had the giant mole on the side of her head. It was ridiculous. They took it off in an angle with The Boogeyman in January 2006. I always liked Jillian, but feel like this mole gimmick and later the comedy singing gimmick hurt her. She could have been a lot more if they booked her in a serious way.

Sharmell did the introduction for her husband Booker T, who got a big pop since he’s from Houston. Christian was up next as a heel. Orlando Jordan didn’t get much of a reaction as a heel. The US Champion Chris Benoit was up last and he got a nice pop from the crowd.

Analysis: This was Christian’s last month in WWE during his first run because he signed with TNA after his deal expired. Christian came back to WWE in 2009.

United States Championship: Chris Benoit vs. Booker T (w/Sharmell) vs. Christian vs. Orlando Jordan

Pre-match notes: Benoit and Booker were the faces while Christian and Jordan were the heels. Benoit won the US Title from Jordan at SummerSlam two months earlier. The first pinfall or submission wins the match.

Christian and Jordan worked together to send Benoit out of the ring. Booker hit a leaping clothesline to take down Christian and Jordan. Booker sent Christian out of the ring. Booker with a back kick that knocked down Jordan. Christian had Booker out of the ring and Booker was sent into the steel steps. Benoit slapped the Crossface on Jordan, but Christian was there to break up the pin attempt. Benoit with a suplex on Jordan and then Benoit hit a suplex on Christian onto Jordan. Benoit got a rollup on Christian for two. Booker went up top and hit a missile dropkick to take out Christian. Booker with a slingshot that sent Jordan into Christian and Benoit took out Jordan with a clothesline that sent him out of the ring. Benoit and Booker had a staredown. Christian and Jordan got back into the ring, Benoit dumped Christian over the top to the floor and Jordan kicked Benoit out of the ring. Booker and Jordan hit clotheslines on eachother at the same time. Benoit up top, Christian went after him, Jordan whipped Benoit into them leading to Benoit and Christian bumping to the floor. Booker got a sunset flip on Jordan for a two count. The crowd popped like that was it and it was close, but only a two count. Booker with a running forearm on Jordan and a spinebuster for two. Booker kicked Christian to knock him out of the ring. Booker with a leaping kick to Benoit. Booker with a Spinarooni and an axe kick to the back of the head of Jordan for two as Christian pulled Booker off. Benoit collided with Booker on the apron to send Booker to the floor. Benoit with two German Suplexes on Christian and Jordan got hit a bit as Benoit delivered the moves. Benoit whipped Jordan out of the ring onto Booker on the floor. Benoit with a German Suplex on Christian. Benoit with three more German Suplexes on Christian. Benoit went up top and he jumped off with a headbutt, but Christian moved out of the way. Christian went for a rollup, Benoit with the Crippler Crossface, Christian was close to tapping, but Jordan broke it up. Booker back in with a clothesline that sent Jordan over the top to the floor. Benoit tripped up Christian and slapped on the Sharpshooter. Christian tapped out to give Benoit the win at 10:22.

Winner by submission: Chris Benoit

Analysis: **3/4 That was a pretty good four way with Benoit and Booker standing out as the two men that really had a chance to win. Jordan and Christian never looked like they had a chance to win the match. Benoit won some matches with the Sharpshooter, but most of his submission wins were with the Crippler Crossface. It was no surprise that Christian is the one that tapped out since he left the company a few weeks after this.

Post match, Sharmell yelled at Booker T telling him that Benoit is not his friend. Sharmell said that Booker needs to start listening to her. Booker’s music place as the couple walked to the back.

Analysis: This was the start of Booker turning heel, which ultimately led to the entertaining run as King Booker and he also became the World Champion in 2006. We’ll get to that as I finish off 2005 PPVs and go into 2006 shows.

There was a shot of Bobby Lashley and Simon Dean backstage with Bobby telling him to eat all the cheeseburgers. Dean didn’t want to eat them, but Lashley grabbed him and told him to eat the twenty double cheeseburgers.

Ken Kennedy made his entrance for a match against Bob Holly. Kennedy did his pre-match introduction for himself hyping his first WWE PPV appearance. Kennedy said he weighed 245 pounds, he hails from Green Bay, Wisconsin and he ended it with the usual bit Mr. Kennedy…Kennedy. Hardcore Holly made his entrance as a veteran that started in WWE in the mid-1990s.

Analysis: This was during a period where they were introducing new stars on the Smackdown brand like Lashley, Kennedy and MVP. Kennedy debuted in August 2005. I liked the gimmick a lot. He had so much potential.

Ken Kennedy vs. Hardcore Holly

Pre-match notes: Kennedy was the heel “rookie” that was undefeated on Smackdown while Holly was the veteran face.

Holly was aggressive early on with a suplex. Kennedy got in some punches and Holly hit a dropkick. Holly worked over Kennedy with chops. Kennedy came back with a headbutt to the ribs followed by a whip that sent Holly out of the ring. Kennedy drove Holly left arm first into the ring post. Back in the ring, Kennedy got a belly to back suplex for two. Kennedy grounded Holly with an armbar. When Holly broke free, Kennedy hit a clothesline for two. Holly with two chops, so Kennedy came back with an armbar into a single arm DDT for a two count. Holly with a back body drop on Kennedy. Holly with two running elbows followed by a Full Nelson Slam that got a two count. Holly with two corner clotheslines, then he picked up Kennedy and then just dropped him. That led to Kennedy assuming the position against the ropes with Holly kicking him in the lower abdomen for a two count. Kennedy went for a spin kick, Holly blocked it and kicked him for a two count. Holly went up top for something, Kennedy went after him, Kennedy punched and Kennedy put Holly on his shoulders. Kennedy hit the rolling senton later known as the Green Bay Plunge. It went 8:49.

Winner by pinfall: Ken Kennedy

Analysis: **1/4 It was an okay match. It seemed like they messed something up near the end of the match. It was what it needed to be with the veteran Holly putting over the newcomer Kennedy clean in the middle of the ring as he should have.

Post match, Kennedy announced himself as the winner of the match, which was a nice addition to his gimmick.

Analysis: Early on in this Kennedy run I was really impressed by him and thought he could become a main eventer. It was about 18 months later when he won Money in the Bank, but things unraveled for him after that.

Holly was shown in the ring selling a right arm injury and his ribs. Holly yelled at the trainers as well as referees that were trying to help him. Sylvan made his entrance. He was doing his model gimmick. Sylvan went into the ring and hit knee drops to Holly’s ribs. Sylvan stomped on the ribs. Sylvan picked up Holly and hit a front suplex style move to lay out Holly.

Analysis: I have no memory of this model gimmick of Sylvan Grenier. Holly just put over a young guy in Kennedy, so they fed him another young guy in Sylvan to try to put over.

Bobby Lashley and Simon Dean were backstage with Dean continuing to eat the burgers due to the pre-match promo he did. Dean found a hair in it.

Sharmell and Booker T were backstage with Sharmell telling him that Benoit was being interviewed by WWE.com because he was a winner. She said that Booker could have won, but his friend Chris Benoit stole the victory. Ken Kennedy showed up to brag about winning his first ever WWE pay-per-view match. Kennedy pointed to himself as a winner and called Booker a loser. Kennedy left. Sharmell told Booker that the problem isn’t Kennedy or Benoit – the problem is Booker.

Analysis: Like I mentioned earlier, this was done to set up the Booker T heel turn.

John Bradshaw Layfield made his entrance along with the lovely Jillian Hall plus the giant mole on the side of her face. Hall has a clipboard with her to make it look like she is working. Jillian’s official title was that she was the image consultant. The announcers kept talking about the mole on the face with Tazz saying he nearly threw up looking at it. Tazz: “She looks great otherwise.” That last observation is true.

Rey Mysterio got a nice ovation for his entrance as usual. There was a close up of the mole on Jillian’s face with the announcers freaking out about it.

John Bradshaw Layfield (w/Jillian Hall) vs. Rey Mysterio

Pre-matches: Mysterio was the face as usual. JBL was the heel bully that mocked the size of Mysterio.

JBL took down Mysterio with a headlock. The camera did a close up of Jillian’s left side to show the mole with Tazz said it was like a bumper of a car that had a possum on her face. That’s nice. JBL with a shoulder tackle, Mysterio back up and a kick sent JBL out of the ring. Mysterio left the ring, they ran around the ring, JBL chased after and Mysterio got back in the ring while JBL was tired from chasing after him. Mysterio hit a dropkick that knocked Mysterio to the floor. JBL took control with a forearm to the back followed by a neckbreaker. Mysterio with a dropkick to the knee followed by a snapmare into a neckbreaker of his own. Mysterio worked on the left knee of JBL that had a brace on it. Mysterio jumped onto the left knee of JBL. Eye poke by JBL. Mysterio with a headscissors, Rey went for 619, JBL moved and put Jillian in front of him, so Mysterio came back with a bulldog that sent JBL on the floor. That was a cool spot. Mysterio tried to walk back in, but JBL tripped him up to send Mysterio face first into the steel steps. Rey slapped the steps to make it sound loud. They battled by ropes with JBL hitting a fallaway slam off the middle ropes. JBL with another fallaway slam. Mysterio bailed to the floor, so JBL went after him. JBL hit another fallaway slam and this time it was on the floor. Back in the ring, JBL got a two count.

JBL remained in control with a bearhug with Cole doing a good job of pointing out that Mysterio’s back was hurting after the fallaway slams by JBL. It pains me to put over Cole for a good job. Mysterio came back with a Tornado DDT off the middle ropes. Mysterio with a springboard cross body block, dropkick and a headscissors. Mysterio hit the Bronco Buster against the turnbuckle. Hall jumped on the apron to distract. That skirt is really short. Just saying. JBL tried an attack, Rey moved and JBL charged again, but hit the turnbuckle. Mysterio with a moonsault off the top onto a standing JBL for a two count. That was a good nearfall. Mysterio ran the ropes leading to a JBL shoulder tackle. JBL ran the ropes, dropkick by Mysterio, 619 by Mysterio, springboard attack by Mysterio, JBL ducked it and JBL hit a massive Clothesline From Hell for the pinfall win at 13:24. Mysterio sold that well.

Winner by pinfall: John Bradshaw Layfield

Analysis: *** Good match that told the obvious story of JBL as the bigger heel while Mysterio was exciting making his comebacks. The crowd was into it. I think they went with that finish because JBL lost a lot of big matches earlier in 2005 against the likes of Cena and Batista, so it was a way to say that JBL was back on the right track. I think there were some moments where JBL looked tired. JBL was getting older by this point, Mysterio worked fast and it seemed like they were off a bit. The finish was well done. JBL avoided the 619 a few times, then Mysterio connected with it and JBL came back with that massive Clothesline from Hell for the win. I like how it was booked.

Post match, JBL got a big hug from Jillian Hall as they celebrated the win.

The video package aired for the Handicap Casket Match with The Undertaker vs. Randy Orton and Bob Orton. The Undertaker won at WrestleMania, Orton won at SummerSlam thanks to Bob in disguise and this was their third major match. On the build to the match, there was an Undertaker mannequin that Undertaker saw and then Undertaker was hiding when Orton thought it was the mannequin. Undertaker made a special casket for them that would fit two people and there were mannequins of the Ortons in the caskets.

The rules were explained that The Undertaker has to put both Ortons in the casket and close the lid to win. For the Ortons to win, they had to put The Undertaker in the casket and close the win.

Randy Orton and his dad Bob Orton entered first to the “hey nothing you can say” song. Randy was 25 years old at this point while Bob was 55 years old wrestling in a dress shirt and jeans.

The druids brought out a casket to the ringside area. The Undertaker made his entrance that took a few minutes. I didn’t time it.

Casket Match: The Undertaker vs. Randy Orton and Bob Orton

Pre-match notes: The Undertaker was the face while the Orton men were the heels. I’ll just use Randy and Bob to talk about the Ortons to avoid confusion while I tend to use “Taker” for Undertaker.

The Undertaker opened on offense with punches for both men. Bob came back with an uppercut punch to the groin to give the heels the advantage. Taker fought back with punches and elbows out of the corner. Taker tried to throw Randy into the casket, but Randy avoided it. Taker threw Bob into the casket, but Randy wasn’t there and Randy whipped Taker knees first into the steel steps. Randy sent Taker face first into the announce table. The Ortons worked together to put Taker in the casket, but Taker prevented it by punching both guys to break free. Taker with the arm wringer on Randy, Taker walked the ropes and hit the punch to the shoulder. Taker with a Flatliner on Randy, arm wringer to Bob and he wanted the Old School rope walk into the punch on Bob, but Randy got back up to trip up Taker. The Ortons teased a double superplex, Taker fought them off and both Ortons hit the double superplex off the middle rope. Tazz correctly pointed out that Bob made that move famous. Bob covered Taker because he’s old and forgot the rules to the match apparently. I’m not sure if that was booked or if Bob was forgetful. Taker hit a double DDT to take out both Ortons. Taker sent Bob into the casket, which was a comfortable place for the old guy to take a break. Taker sent Randy into the turnbuckle followed by the boot to the face. Clothesline by Taker on Randy. Bob had a fire extinguisher in his hands. Randy hit a modified backbreaker with fans chanting “Randy sucks” at him. Randy jumped off the apron, Undertaker caught him and drove Randy back first into the ring post. Taker sent Randy face first into the edge of the casket. Taker kicked Bob in the face. Taker hit Randy in the back with a chair to knock him into the casket. Taker put the Triangle Choke on Bob and put him in the casket. Taker tried to close the lid, but Randy got back up with punches. Randy and Taker fought out of the casket while Bob was asleep in the casket. Taker shut the lid on Bob.

Undertaker and Randy went back into the ring to battle it out. Randy hit a powerslam. Randy opened the casket, he looked into it and was shocked. Undertaker with an uppercut punch to the groin to drop Randy to his knees. The fans chanted “Rest in Peace” for Taker. Randy whipped Taker in, boot by Taker and Randy came back with a dropkick. Randy went for the corner punches, Taker wanted the Last Ride, Randy slipped out and Taker still managed to connect with the Last Ride Powerbomb. Taker tried to throw Randy into the casket, but Bob popped up with the fire extinguisher. Bob sprayed the white stuff from extinguisher into Taker’s eyes to bind him. Randy hit a RKO on Taker to put him down. Bob tried to roll Undertaker into the casket, Taker fought back and Orton hit Taker in the head with the fire extinguisher to knock him into the casket. Randy wanted to shut the lid, but Taker fought him off and both guys went into the casket with the lid closed. Bob wondered what was going on. Taker and Randy opened up the casket. Bob grabbed Taker from behind, Randy hit Taker in the head with a steel chair and Taker went into the casket again. Randy and Bob closed the lid to win the match at 19:16.

Winners: Randy and Bob Orton

Post match, the Ortons locked the lid of the casket to keep Undertaker inside.

Analysis: **1/2 They tried hard and it ended up being an average match. I don’t like handicap matches in general, so having it go nearly 20 minutes while having a Casket Match just isn’t that entertaining to me. It’s an example of why going long isn’t necessarily a good thing because sometimes it can get boring. I liked the psychology of the match with Undertaker taking out Bob early on and isolating on Randy, but it didn’t end up helping Undertaker win the match. The ending was a cheap win for the heels thanks to the use of the fire extinguisher and steel chair. Plus, it was a handicap match, so it’s not like it hurt Taker that much to do the job. Orton’s two big wins over Taker were this cheap win and the SummerSlam cheap win where Bob interfered to help him win.

Randy and Bob pulled the casket up the aisle. Bob went to the back to get an axe. Randy was given the axe. Randy used the axe to cut up the top of the casket. Bob brought out a gasoline canister. Randy poured gasoline onto the casket especially onto the hole that was cut at the top of the casket. Randy started a fire, threw it onto the casket and the casket was lit on fire with the announcers freaking out about it. The fire burned while the crowd booed it. Some dudes with fire extinguishers showed up to put out the fire.

Analysis: That’s a stunt they have done in the past as well, but not that often. The way they do the stunt is they would have Undertaker leave through the side or the bottom of the casket to go under the ring. This led to a Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon two months later.

The announcers were on camera talking about how Randy Orton went too far when he burned the casket with The Undertaker in it.

Juventud with the Mexicools and Nunzio with Vito made their entrances for the next match.

Cruiserweight Championship: Nunzio (w/Vito) vs. Juventud (w/Super Crazy and Psychosis)

Pre-match notes: There was no reaction to either man for their entrances. Juventud won a battle royal to earn the title shot on Velocity match, so it wasn’t even Smackdown. Nunzio was the champion for a little over two months going into this. The heel/face roles were not clearly defined, but Nunzio was more of the heel and Juvi was the face.

There were a lot of cover attempts early on. Juvi with a boot to the face followed by a headscissors for two. Juvi with a backbreaker that got a two count. Juvi up top, Nunzio popped back up and slammed him down for a two count. Nunzio pulled back on Juvi’s arms for a ground submission. The crowd was dead for this even with the guys on the floor trying to make some noise. Juvi got another rollup for two. Nunzio with a Russian leg sweep that got a two count. They battled on the top rope leading to a spot where they each hit a facebuster type move leading to both men being down. Each guy got a two count off that. Juvi with a jumping spin kick that knocked down Nunzio. Juvi rolled through a sunset flip attempt and hit a low dropkick for a two count. Juvi with a shining wizard knee attack. Juvi spun Nunzio in the air and slammed him stomach first into the mat for a two count. The crowd was dead for all of this. Nunzio went for the leg drop off the ropes, but Juvi moved out of the way. Vito grabbed Juvi while he was on the apron, Juvi kicked him and Juvi went for a rollup, but Nunzio avoided it. Juvi with a headscissors on Vito. Juvi up top with a cross body block, Nunzio rolled through and covered for two. Juvi hit a Northern Lights Suplex followed by the Juvi Driver (Michinoku Driver) for the pinfall win at 6:38.

Winner by pinfall and New Cruiserweight Champion: Juventud

Analysis: ** Decent match by two guys who were pretty good in the ring. Juvi was known for doing more aerial moves in his WCW days. During this WWE run he was a lot more conservative. Nunzio was more of a ground-based cruiserweight. It was tough to follow the match before it due to how it ended, so the crowd wasn’t into the match at all.

The Mexicools celebrated the win with Juventud. One of the Spanish announcers interviewed leading to Juventud speaking in Spanish with some of the crowd cheering. Psychosis said some in English: “Your ass is grass and we are the lawn mowers.” They all said “Mexicools” together to end it.

Bobby Lashley and Simon Dean were backstage in the room with Dean claiming he ate 20 double cheeseburgers. Lashley said there was one more and he handed a really big one to Dean. That led to Dean running into a room to puke.

Analysis: Weak comedy.

The video package aired for the World Heavyweight Championship match: Batista vs. Eddie Guerrero. The story was that Eddie was “new and improved” after being a heel for most of 2005, so he was trying to convince Batista that he was his friend. There was a moment where Eddie hit Batista in the back with a chair after Joey Mercury ducked. Batista warned him that he would hurt him if Eddie stabbed him in the back.

Eddie Guerrero entered wearing his “I’m Your Papi” shirt. He was in his heel run. Sign guy with the backwards red hat was shown with a “Full of Crap” sign along with a picture of Eddie on it. Some fans chanted “Eddie” for him when he got into the ring.

Batista, the World Heavyweight Champion, made his entrance to a huge ovation from the crowd. The fireworks went off for his entrance, which isn’t a thing in WWE today.

World Heavyweight Championship: Batista vs. Eddie Guerrero

Pre-match notes: Batista was the World Heavyweight Champion that was the top face on Smackdown. Eddie Guerrero was a heel. Batista was World Champion for six months going into this match.

The crowd was chanting for each man early in the match. Batista used his power early on with a body slam across the ring. Guerrero used his quickness to drive Batista ribs first into the turnbuckle. Batista slapped on a headlock for about one minute. Guerrero ran the ropes, Batista with a shoulder tackle and Batista hit two body slams leading to Guerrero bailing to the floor. The first five minutes of this match had a lot of stalling. Guerrero grabbed a chair at ringside and then he thought better of it, so he put it down. Batista brought Guerrero back into the ring, but Guerrero drove him throat first into the top rope. Guerrero up top with a Frog Splash to the back of Batista for a two count. That was a clever spot. Guerrero grounded Batista with a leg scissors around the waist. Batista got back up to his feet and drove Guerrero back first into the turnbuckle. Guerrero recovered with a dropkick to the back. Single leg Boston Crab submission by Guerrero as he continued to work over Batista’s back. Guerrero went to the turnbuckle and he pulled off the tag rope. Guerrero teased choking Batista with it, but he changed his mind and hit a dropkick. Guerrero slapped on another leg scissors on the back of Batista. Batista powered out of it and slapped on a bearhug, but Eddie slapped his way out of it.

Guerrero with a kick, Batista fired up, Guerrero kicked him in the kneecap and Guerrero tried a Texas Cloverleaf, but Batista turned it into an inside cradle for two. They did an exchange where there was a reversal into the turnbuckle and then Eddie backed into ref Nick Patrick, which knocked down Patrick. It was done to look accidental. Guerrero with a DDT on Batista. Guerrero had a grin on his face when he saw the ref was down. Guerrero brought a steel chair into the ring. Guerrero thought about hitting Batista in the back, but he stopped himself and Guerrero tossed the chair out of the ring. They got back into a slugfest with Batista driving Guerrero into the turnbuckle, two clotheslines and a back body drop. Batista hit a Spear that took down Guerrero. Batista set up for the Batista Bomb, Guerrero slipped out of it, he went for a sunset flip, Batista sold the back injury and Batista hit a huge spinebuster. Batista crawled over for the cover for the two count with Guerrero getting his shoulder up at the last moment. Batista went for an elbow drop and Guerrero drove his knees to the back of Batista. Guerrero hit the triple vertical suplexes known as the Three Amigos. Guerrero went up top, he jumped off, Batista moved and Batista hit a spinebuster. Batista covered for the three count. Really? A Spinebuster? Yes, that’s what won this match. It went 18:40.

Winner by pinfall: Batista

Analysis: **3/4 It was a notch below a three-star match, which is okay, but it was underwhelming considering the caliber of these wrestlers. The story was about Guerrero working on Batista’s back for most of it. I didn’t like the finish at all. A spinebuster was not a finishing move for Batista, yet it was able to get the job done in a PPV title match? It was a weak ending. The story of the match was about how Guerrero didn’t cheat when he could have even though that is something he has done in the past. Guerrero looked to be bigger than ever physically, which is not that surprising looking back on it since they found a lot of steroids in his body when he died. I don’t think this was the best of Eddie, which is why the match was a bit disappointing.

Post match, Batista celebrated with his World Title. Batista helped up Guerrero to his feet. Tazz suggested that people give Guerrero a break because he didn’t cheat.

Guerrero extended his hand for a shake. Batista thought it for a few moments and shook his hand. When Batista turned his back, Guerrero smiled at him as if to show that he could attack, but he didn’t. Guerrero left the ring while Batista continued his celebration.

Analysis: About a month after this, Batista was hurt with a muscle tear in his back and was going to have at triple threat with Guerrero and Orton on the Sunday night November 13, 2005 in Minneapolis. They were going to tape Smackdown that night because of the European tour. There were a lot of stories that Guerrero was going to win the title that night, but unfortunately, he passed away. In Batista’s book, which I did not read, he apparently wrote that it was going to be Orton, so I tend to believe him since he was involved in the storyline.

This event has a run time of 2:41:07 on WWE Network.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Show Rating (out of 10): 4.5

This was just an average show with nothing really standing out. The most memorable part of it visually was The Undertaker in that casket that was lit on fire, but that’s also a spot that WWE had done before. When the best match is only around three stars, that’s not good enough. No Mercy just wasn’t that interesting.

Best Match: John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Rey Mysterio (*** out of 5)

Worst Match: Bobby Lashley vs. Simon Dean (1/2*)

FIVE STARS

1. Rey Mysterio
2. John Bradshaw Layfield
3. Eddie Guerrero
4. Chris Benoit
5. Batista

Next up: Taboo Tuesday 2005, which was a Raw show featuring fan voting on all the matches.

Thanks for reading.

John Canton – mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter @johnreport

Check out my other retro WWE PPV reviews here as well.