No Mercy 2008 Recap & Results

ECW Title: Champion Matt Hardy vs. Mark Henry - Matt worked on the leg of Mark Henry to try and nullify his power advantage. Towards the end of the match, Henry was able to hit his splash on Matt but his knee gave out and he wasn’t able to take advantage of the opportunity to get the pin. A few moments later, Mark attempted to slam Matt but Matt started to hit the injured leg. Matt then used the twist of fate to get the win. Winner: Matt Hardy

Women's Championship: Champion Beth Phoenix vs. Candice Michelle - Beth went to work on the clavicle of Candice in an attempt to aggravate the injury that kept Candice out of the ring for close to a year. Candice was able to fight back but was unable to win the title thanks to some interference from Santino Marella. Beth was able to hit her Glam Slam to get the win. Winner: Beth Phoenix

Rey's Mask on the Line: Rey Mysterio vs. Kane - Around ten minutes into the match, Kane was outside of the ring. Rey dove off the top rope and was greeted by a chair that Kane swung at his head. Kane was immediately disqualified. Winner: Rey Mysterio by DQ

-MVP was in the back. Angry at not being on this show, he went to Vickie Guerrero’s office. Big Show answered the door. When MVP complained about his career issues, Big Show threatened him and then slammed the door in his face.

- MVP went to the ring to complain that franchises don’t sit their star players. Randy Orton’s music hit. Randy and MVP traded some insults before Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes, and Manu came to the ring. After Orton left, the second-generation stars continued trading insults with MVP. As MVP was leaving the ringside area, CM Punk and Kofi Kingston came out. The three agreed to get into the ring to take out the second-generation stars. When it appeared they would all enter the ring, Punk and Kingston didn’t enter the ring and they allowed MVP to get triple teamed. Punk and Kingston then entered and cleared the ring.

#1 Contender's Match: JBL vs. Batista - Batista dominated this match and it only took him a few minutes before he hit the Batista Bomb to get the win. Winner: Batista

- After the match, JBL gets on the mic and says that because of all the turmoil in the financial markets that his mind wasn’t into the match. He then thanks Congress for approving the bailout so people like him could keep all of their money. Unfortunately for JBL, Cryme Tyme’s music hit and they appeared on the Titan Tron. They were using JBL’s limo for partying and were joined by a bunch of Divas and Sgt. Slaughter.

The Undertaker vs. The Big Show - When the referee wasn’t looking, Big Show was able to remove a turnbuckle pad from the ring. He then smashed Undertaker’s head into the exposed steel and followed that up with some dominating punches, including one to the back of Undertaker's head, which knocked Undertaker out. The referee stopped the match due to the knockout and awarded the match to Big Show. Winner: Big Show

WWE Championship: Champion Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy - Hardy was able to hit the twist of fate. He then went to the top rope and hit the Swanton Bomb. When he went for the pin, he lied on his back and hooked one of Triple H’s legs. Triple H was able to roll him over into the crucifix cradle to get the win. Winner: Triple H

- After the match, Triple H was greeted in the back by Vladimir Kozlov who congratulated Triple H on the win in Russian and then translated it into English. Kozlov walked away after a short stare down with Triple H.

Ladder Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Champion Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels - Towards the end of the match, it appeared that Chris injured his leg when he landed awkwardly. This led to Lance Cade coming out while Shawn and Chris were battling on the ladder. Jericho got his leg stuck in the ladder and was bent over backwards. When Cade grabbed Shawn's leg, Shawn got off the ladder and hit Cade with the Sweet Chin Music. Jericho freed himself and nearly won the match but Shawn raced up the ladder and the two men battled at the top of it and were both tugging at the title. During the struggle, their heads collided into one another which knocked Shawn off the ladder. Chris grabbed the belt to retain the title. Winner: Chris Jericho

What does this event mean for the future?
Three weeks from tonight is Cyber Sunday. the night of the year where your votes will determine the matches and stipulations for the evening. On the RAW side of things, it appears that we will be getting to see Batista battle Jericho for the title. The issues between these men have been simmering since Chris interjected himself into the Batista vs. Shawn feud several months ago.

On the SmackDown side of things, there is no clear number one contender for Triple H. Fans would pay to see a rematch between him and Jeff, Vladimir Kozlov looks like he might be starting a feud with Triple H, and Big Show’s dominating win over Undertaker and his allegiance to GM Vickie Guerrero might make him the new number one contender. I’m guessing that the decision to see who gets to fight Triple H will be up to your vote.

Overall Thoughts
I was quite pleasantly surprised by all the clean finishes tonight. I had expected this show to be filled with a bunch of DQ endings so there could be some logical stipulation choices for Cyber Sunday in three weeks. Overall, this was a really good show with two great matches to close it out.

Match Results

• ECW Championship: Champion Matt Hardy beat Mark Henry
  
• Women’s Championship: Champion Beth Phoenix beat Candice Michelle
  
• Rey's Mask on the Line: Rey Mysterio beat Kane by DQ
  
• #1 Contender’s Match: Batista beat JBL
  
• Big Show beat Undertaker
  
• WWE Championship: Champion Triple H beat Jeff Hardy
  
• Ladder Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Chris Jericho beat Shawn Michaels

_{Photo: © 2008 World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.}