Post by Dr. Wrestling on Sept 30, 2008 23:36:03 GMT -5
This week for That’s My Story and I’m Sticking To It, I’ll be telling you who I think the winners will be at No Mercy.
Before discussing the matches in detail, I have to say that while No Mercy has traditionally been one of the weaker PPVs and more of a build up to the main fall PPV, Survivor Series but this year the WWE is trying to make this PPV count. The WWE also tried this approach last year but let’s hope that this year’s No Mercy is better then the train wreck we seen last October on PPV. That being said, there’s a really solid card for the show and it will be interesting to see how things unfold during No Mercy. On a side note, Cyber Sunday is in just three weeks, which is totally pointless because that’s not really enough time to effectively build to a PPV but as long as Vince makes money we will see as many PPVs that the WWE can possibly produce. Now, let’s get to some matches for No Mercy.
The Kane/Rey Mysterio feud really has some cracks in the logic in terms of how started on Raw but it has become a decent feud with an interesting stipulation for the match at No Mercy. If Rey loses he must unmask and that is what makes this a tough one to predict a winner for because there’s two possible scenarios, which in a way could determine how Rey’s character is used in the future. The WWE could have Rey lose the mask as a way to evolve his character in some ways but his mask is basically what gives him a connection with the crowd and also sells merchandise, which seems to be the WWE’s top priority. If Rey keeps the mask it could be a way for the WWE to further his feud with Kane because Kane could continue to try to get Rey to unmask. I’ll predict that Rey wins the match and keeps the mask because I just don’t think the WWE would risk losing the potential merchandise sells that would be based around the mask or risk Rey being less over with the crowd because he doesn’t have the mask, which would effect T shirt sells or other Rey Mysterio merchandise. I guess it’s somewhat comical that T shirt sells would influence the WWE’s decision about the product but the WWE has shown in the past that marketing and merchandise sells are more important to them then the quality of the product.
The Women’s title match should be at least a decent match and I’d expect Beth Phoenix to retain the title for a few different reasons. Her current storyline with Santino is based around that they both have a title belt and there really wouldn’t be competition between the two if Beth lost the belt at this point so her retaining the title can really enhance her current storyline. Another reason I could see Beth Phoenix retaining the title is because there have been some reports online that Candice Michelle could possibly be leaving the WWE in the near future and it wouldn’t make much sense for her to win the title for only a few weeks if she’s leaving the company. You can’t really put too much stock into online reports so it’s possibly Candice Michelle could be remaining part of the WWE roster but it’s something to consider when predicting the winner for the Women’s title match. That being said, you have to give props to Beth Phoenix for her efforts and those efforts along with Mickie James’ skills it has filled the void left in the women’s division by Trish Stratus a few years ago.
The Big Show/The Undertaker is a feud and a match that I’d rather not see as it’s been done more then once before so I see no reason to recycle this feud. It would seem that The reason the WWE has decided to put this feud together is because they really have nothing else for The Undertaker or The Big Show to do at the moment. As far as a winner at No Mercy, I think Big Show somehow gets the victory here to push the feud to conclude at Survivor Series. The feud is based around The Undertaker getting revenge and if he wins at No Mercy then there’s no real reason for the feud to continue so since the feud will probably continue until Survivor Series. That’s why I predict The Big Show to win the match.
I don’t expect much from the Batista/JBL match and hopefully it’s kept short because I doubt you will see a thirty minute classic from JBL and Batista. I’ll pick JBL to get the win here simply because Batista has left JBL “unconscious” in the ring recently on Raw so I think it would be time for JBL to get an advantage in the feud. There’s no really a ton of steam on this feud and it seems to be one of the lower profile feuds for the PPV, which is another reason to keep it short but unfortunately, this feud will probably continue after No Mercy.
The ECW title match is fairly easy to predict that Matt Hardy will retain the title because Mark Henry had his time as champion. As I’ve said in the past, Matt Hardy has always had a very loyal cult type of following that fits well with the current ECW product. I could see Matt Hardy being a long term ECW champion very similar to Bobby Lashley during his time on the brand. While Hardy doesn’t really have the charisma to connect with the main stream audience the way his brother Jeff does, Matt has done well in his role as a mid level type of champion.
The WWE title match could steal the show in terms of in ring drama but I think the result of the match is fairly obvious, Triple H isn’t losing the title, which I’m sure is a shock to everyone reading this column. During the WWE championship scramble match at Unforgiven when Hardy was literally seconds from winning the title it was probably the moment of the show in terms of drama so there’s definitely intrigue with Jeff winning the title but I just don’t see it happening. As I’ve said before, Jeff has two wellness policy violations and because of that I think it will limit the time as well as the money the WWE is willing to invest in Jeff. I don’t think the WWE would risk Jeff being a main event champion on any brand because he could be fired from the company at any time if he violates the wellness policy again. Recent reports online of Jeff being seen stumbling around an air port don’t really help his case so I doubt you will see Jeff as a main event level champion in the WWE during his career.
The World Heavy Weight title ladder match should be great and I’m really looking forward to this match. The storyline building to it has been really good and the actually match itself could be a classic. With Jericho’s surprise win last month it really elevated him to the main event level but now he has to prove he can really carry the ball as champion so time will tell if this run as champion will be better then Jericho’s past attempts at being a solid main event star. As for the winner, I have to pick Jericho for two reasons with one being Jericho still needs to establish himself as a main event champion and two Shawn Micheals really doesn’t need to win the title at this point in his career because he doesn’t really have anything left to prove.
Overall I think No Mercy will be a good PPV.
Until next week
That’s My Story and I’m Sticking To It
Dr. Wrestling
If you have comments or questions e mail drwrestlingallpro@yahoo.com
On an unrelated note, legendary actor Paul Newman passed away last Friday at the age of 83 and he did many things for charity so I want to take this opportunity to send my condolences to his family.
RIP Paul Newman
Before discussing the matches in detail, I have to say that while No Mercy has traditionally been one of the weaker PPVs and more of a build up to the main fall PPV, Survivor Series but this year the WWE is trying to make this PPV count. The WWE also tried this approach last year but let’s hope that this year’s No Mercy is better then the train wreck we seen last October on PPV. That being said, there’s a really solid card for the show and it will be interesting to see how things unfold during No Mercy. On a side note, Cyber Sunday is in just three weeks, which is totally pointless because that’s not really enough time to effectively build to a PPV but as long as Vince makes money we will see as many PPVs that the WWE can possibly produce. Now, let’s get to some matches for No Mercy.
The Kane/Rey Mysterio feud really has some cracks in the logic in terms of how started on Raw but it has become a decent feud with an interesting stipulation for the match at No Mercy. If Rey loses he must unmask and that is what makes this a tough one to predict a winner for because there’s two possible scenarios, which in a way could determine how Rey’s character is used in the future. The WWE could have Rey lose the mask as a way to evolve his character in some ways but his mask is basically what gives him a connection with the crowd and also sells merchandise, which seems to be the WWE’s top priority. If Rey keeps the mask it could be a way for the WWE to further his feud with Kane because Kane could continue to try to get Rey to unmask. I’ll predict that Rey wins the match and keeps the mask because I just don’t think the WWE would risk losing the potential merchandise sells that would be based around the mask or risk Rey being less over with the crowd because he doesn’t have the mask, which would effect T shirt sells or other Rey Mysterio merchandise. I guess it’s somewhat comical that T shirt sells would influence the WWE’s decision about the product but the WWE has shown in the past that marketing and merchandise sells are more important to them then the quality of the product.
The Women’s title match should be at least a decent match and I’d expect Beth Phoenix to retain the title for a few different reasons. Her current storyline with Santino is based around that they both have a title belt and there really wouldn’t be competition between the two if Beth lost the belt at this point so her retaining the title can really enhance her current storyline. Another reason I could see Beth Phoenix retaining the title is because there have been some reports online that Candice Michelle could possibly be leaving the WWE in the near future and it wouldn’t make much sense for her to win the title for only a few weeks if she’s leaving the company. You can’t really put too much stock into online reports so it’s possibly Candice Michelle could be remaining part of the WWE roster but it’s something to consider when predicting the winner for the Women’s title match. That being said, you have to give props to Beth Phoenix for her efforts and those efforts along with Mickie James’ skills it has filled the void left in the women’s division by Trish Stratus a few years ago.
The Big Show/The Undertaker is a feud and a match that I’d rather not see as it’s been done more then once before so I see no reason to recycle this feud. It would seem that The reason the WWE has decided to put this feud together is because they really have nothing else for The Undertaker or The Big Show to do at the moment. As far as a winner at No Mercy, I think Big Show somehow gets the victory here to push the feud to conclude at Survivor Series. The feud is based around The Undertaker getting revenge and if he wins at No Mercy then there’s no real reason for the feud to continue so since the feud will probably continue until Survivor Series. That’s why I predict The Big Show to win the match.
I don’t expect much from the Batista/JBL match and hopefully it’s kept short because I doubt you will see a thirty minute classic from JBL and Batista. I’ll pick JBL to get the win here simply because Batista has left JBL “unconscious” in the ring recently on Raw so I think it would be time for JBL to get an advantage in the feud. There’s no really a ton of steam on this feud and it seems to be one of the lower profile feuds for the PPV, which is another reason to keep it short but unfortunately, this feud will probably continue after No Mercy.
The ECW title match is fairly easy to predict that Matt Hardy will retain the title because Mark Henry had his time as champion. As I’ve said in the past, Matt Hardy has always had a very loyal cult type of following that fits well with the current ECW product. I could see Matt Hardy being a long term ECW champion very similar to Bobby Lashley during his time on the brand. While Hardy doesn’t really have the charisma to connect with the main stream audience the way his brother Jeff does, Matt has done well in his role as a mid level type of champion.
The WWE title match could steal the show in terms of in ring drama but I think the result of the match is fairly obvious, Triple H isn’t losing the title, which I’m sure is a shock to everyone reading this column. During the WWE championship scramble match at Unforgiven when Hardy was literally seconds from winning the title it was probably the moment of the show in terms of drama so there’s definitely intrigue with Jeff winning the title but I just don’t see it happening. As I’ve said before, Jeff has two wellness policy violations and because of that I think it will limit the time as well as the money the WWE is willing to invest in Jeff. I don’t think the WWE would risk Jeff being a main event champion on any brand because he could be fired from the company at any time if he violates the wellness policy again. Recent reports online of Jeff being seen stumbling around an air port don’t really help his case so I doubt you will see Jeff as a main event level champion in the WWE during his career.
The World Heavy Weight title ladder match should be great and I’m really looking forward to this match. The storyline building to it has been really good and the actually match itself could be a classic. With Jericho’s surprise win last month it really elevated him to the main event level but now he has to prove he can really carry the ball as champion so time will tell if this run as champion will be better then Jericho’s past attempts at being a solid main event star. As for the winner, I have to pick Jericho for two reasons with one being Jericho still needs to establish himself as a main event champion and two Shawn Micheals really doesn’t need to win the title at this point in his career because he doesn’t really have anything left to prove.
Overall I think No Mercy will be a good PPV.
Until next week
That’s My Story and I’m Sticking To It
Dr. Wrestling
If you have comments or questions e mail drwrestlingallpro@yahoo.com
On an unrelated note, legendary actor Paul Newman passed away last Friday at the age of 83 and he did many things for charity so I want to take this opportunity to send my condolences to his family.
RIP Paul Newman