No Mercy Predictions:
Cruiserweight Championship Match:
Nunzio(c) vs. Juventud
These are two very capable atheles, two men who have proven themselves time and time again. But as two characters they are currently worthless. The cruiserweight title means nothing right now and neither do either of these men. With no hype going into a match it is hard to catch the fans’ enthusiasm. But nonetheless, these two could bring the house down. It’s been done before. William Regal and Chris Benoit haven’t been given much attention and their matches on Velocity haven’t been hyped at all, but they still remain on the top 10 matches of the year lists of many wrestling fans. This match too has potential to be a solid rollercoaster of excitement. Nunzio is very good at interacting with his opponent during a match and displaying rich emotions. Juventud is very good at counters and complex maneuvers. I would expect both the Mexicools and Big Vito to get involved in the match, so my guess is that the match will end in a No Disqualification. But if WWE gives these men at least 15 minutes, they could put on quite a show.
Winner: either man via DQ
Ken Kennedy vs. Hardcore Holly
I absolutely love the work of Ken Kennedy. Though he is not currently the best worker around, it seems obvious that he knows exactly what he needs to achieve in the wrestling business. His gimmick is packed full of attention to detail and more often than not, moments of expert comedy. Working a match with Bob Holly seems like good experience for Kennedy. How ever, I don’t think that this match will be exciting at all, and it’d be better to keep it short with Kennedy getting a quick win within 7 minutes.
Winner: Ken Kennedy
Simon Dean vs. Bobby Lashley
I honestly can not get into Simon Dean, but watching him getting his ass kicked is fun so I guess he’s doing his job as a heel. Bobby Lashley obviously has NO character right now and that really sucks. I think Lashley should spend more time working on his skills on Velocity and SmackDown before stepping up to Pay-Per-View status. Even though Simon is likely to try some dirty tactics, Bobby Lashley will have him squashed within 3 minutes.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
Road Warriors & Christy Hemme vs. MNM
I REALLY like Heidenreich being in the revived version of the Road Warriors. Animal is just an extra to me right now. I love seeing Heidenreich evolve more and more each week as he makes his gimmick stronger every time I see him. They put a lot of excitement into their match and it’s odd to see them use cheap tactics to start their matches, but it’s very unique and effective. MNM has a ton of talent and can sell pretty damn good. The two teams have different styles but they mix quite well. Christy Hemme and Melina might bring down this match unfortunately. Since this isn’t a title match, I expect Jillian Hall to gain the victory for MNM, possibly with help from JBL and/or Ken Kennedy?
Winners: MNM
Rey Mysterio vs. JBL
Rey Mysterio was on quite a roll with Eddie Guerrero and rumors said that Mysterio was getting “the big push” from Vince McMahon soon. But JBL is also starting a new victory streak so it seems that plans for Mysterio may be put on hold. The contrast in styles will be interesting, but JBL won’t be able to work as good as Mysterio can. I sincerely hope that this isn’t just a squash match. Again, with Jillian Hall at ringside, I fully expect JBL to win.
Winner: JBL
United States Championship Fatal Four Way:
Chris Benoit(c) vs. Orlando Jordan vs. Booker T vs. Christian
WWE is VERY good at booking triple threats and fatal four ways so I think that this match should be great if it is given sufficient time. Chris Benoit has been known to work great matches with Booker T, as both are sound workers. Christian can wrestle too but his main contribution to this match will probably be the comedy of his character. The same can be said for Orlando Jordan who has seemingly become the joke of this angle. I think that we’re going to see some pretty good back and forth action with minimal interference. I see this match possibly going in many directions. One would have Chris Benoit retaining the championship to continue a feud with one of the participants, most likely Booker T or Orlando Jordan. Another would have Orlando Jordan finally win and regain his championship title. Finally, I see Booker T turning heel and either disqualifying himself and ending the match or cheating to win the gold. I doubt that Christian will benefit much from this match. The most likely scenario for me is Booker T establishing heel status and building up heat with Chris Benoit.
Winner: Chris Benoit via DQ
Handicap Casket match:
Undertaker vs. Bob Orton and Randy Orton
To see an offensive wrestling cartoon about this match Click Here
As we approach our 3rd match featuring a man named Bob, I see things heating up. While I generally HATE handicap matches because they are just shitty squashes, and Bob Orton has never been a great worker and certainly isn’t one today, I think that this match will be significant. I didn’t enjoy Undertaker vs. Randy Orton at SummerSlam but I thoroughly enjoyed this match on SmackDown afterwards. Undertaker generally loses in matches he introduces, such as the casket match and the buried alive match, so this time should be no different. Thanks to a very informing e-mail I received, it seems that Undertaker will be losing this one and taking a leave of absence once again from WWE, only to return at Survivor Series. As cool as some of the things in this feud have been, I see no need to drag this storyline on. It is growing stale fast and both of these men need to go their separate ways and find new feuds to take part in. But for now, I think that this match will be interesting, with Undertaker having to fight off two men at once, showing how powerful he truly is. Bob Orton will end up winning the match for Randy how ever. I expect something very significant and eventful to occur at the conclusion of this battle as well.
Winner: Randy & Bob Orton
World Heavyweight Championship Match:
Batista(c) vs. Eddie Guerrero
I have loved the interaction between Eddie Guerrero and Batista, but Eddie better be careful or he’ll get over with the fans again as a babyface. Eddie Guerrero has shown his true talent as a well rounded world class wrestler. I would love nothing more right now than to see Eddie Guerrero become a Heavyweight Champion for the second time, solidifying him as a main eventer. This match will probably start off friendly, with Batista and Eddie displaying mutual respect. Then Eddie will take some cheap shots, pretending it’s an accident to keep Batista calm. Batista will match him by using the same tactics. Then all hell will break loose. The anger will flare up, Eddie will get nasty and cheat, Batista will show his full strength. Though Batista is no where near Eddie’s level as a wrestler, I feel that they can work together to put on a solid match, especially from a storytelling point of view. My hope is that Eddie will win this one, but I think Batista will retain. Maybe they’ll at least throw Eddie a bone and have the match end in a DQ to cause controversy over who really is better.
Winner: Batista
Overall I am not too enthused about No Mercy. With most ofthe matches on the card being iffy, I don’t expect too much. But weak cards have done very well in the past. The U.S. Championship match and the main event are the only matches that I am eager to see. The rest I will simply be content to read the results of on the internet.
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-Mike Steele
twvmikesteele@yahoo.com
