The WWE made its way with the Raw brand to the Staples Center in Los Angeles for No Mercy. Not gonna lie….I haven’t watched a full episode of Raw or Smackdown since Summerslam. So, screw it! This should be fun!
Kickoff Match: Elias def. Apollo Crews – Elias has an extremely handsome song for LA, a city that he equates to hell itself. Cool. The crowd seems to love him. As for the match, it was pretty serviceable. I still say Crews is one of the more underutilized guys on the roster. He can go. But, Elias gets the W, as he’s the rising star here. Rating: 5/10.
Intercontinental Championship: The Miz def. Jason Jordan – Pretty fun little match, but it’s hindered by the fact that Jordan still can’t get over. The suplexes are wonderful, and the guy is as athletic as it gets, but it doesn’t mean anything if he can’t put the overall presentation. Shocking, I’m beginning to think the “Kurt Angle’s son” gimmick might not have been the best route to take. I thought they were going to start planting the seeds for a heel turn in the post-match interview, but nope…just hokey insults. Rating: 5.5/10.
Finn Balor def. Bray Wyatt: Wyatt attacks Balor before the bell rings, and apparently injures Balor’s ribs. For a split second, I thought we were going to get a legit injury angle. Like, maybe the match got scrapped ’cause they ran out of time or something. But, of course, Wyatt cuts a promo and calls Balor a coward which, as we all know, is the worst possible thing you can say to a man. Is there anything else someone can say to illicit a reaction so quickly? I don’t know. Overall, this was a good physical contest. Balor had some sweet ass new tights…and I get it. They tried to make this a story of overcoming the odds, and it effectively served that purpose. I’m ready for a new program for these two, though. Rating: 5/10.
Asuka promo! Cannot wait.
Raw Tag Team Championship: Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins def. Cesaro and Sheamus – I’m fully convinced that these two teams can do no wrong together. I’m diggin’ this mini-Shield reunion, and the quality of this feud has been stellar in their two pay-per-view matches. Props to Cesaro for getting his teeth knocked down his damn throat, and powering through. Ambrose takes a hell of a shot, being slingshot into the steel chairs early on. Amazing spot as Sheamus hits Ambrose with White Noise. Then, Cesaro powerbombs Rollins off the top rope onto Ambrose. Somehow, that didn’t end it. “THIS IS AWESOME” chants ensure. Ambrose and Rollins get the win after Sheamus accidentally hits Cesaro with a Brogue Kick. Dirty Deeds gets the 1-2-3, and so far, this is our match of the night. Rating: 8/10.
Raw Women’s Championship, Fatal 5-Way: Alexa Bliss def. Sasha Banks, Bayley, Emma, and Nia Jax – Wow. Bayley and Emma teaming up to powerbomb Nia Jax off the apron onto the floor was ridiculous. Alexa gets a miraculous win after a DDT on Bayley. Kind of surprised to see Bliss get a clean win here, but I like it. It makes her look even more untouchable. I couldn’t help but get the feeling that they may just be keeping the belt on Bliss for Asuka’s debut. We’ll see – all in all, this was a great contest. Rating: 8/10.
Roman Reigns def. John Cena: Talk about a big fight feel…this really is a Wrestlemania level match. But, let’s run it at No Mercy. Whatever. Gotta get those subscription numbers up. I get it. LA is hot for it, one way or the other…or no way. Hell, there was a “you both suck” chant. As for the match, meh…it got off to a slow start. Lots of theatrics with Cena playing to the crowd and Reigns talking shit after big moves, but a slow methodical pace. Reigns kicks out of approximately 200 AAs, before nailing Cena with a Superman Punch and a Spear. 1-2-3, he pins Cena clean. Wow. Nature Boy and I were talking about it during the match…this sure does feel like Cena’s swan song. Probably spend the next year or so putting over the future and calling it quits. Rating: 7/10.
The Miz is backstage and proposes to Kurt Angle that he schedule Miz TV with Roman Reigns for tomorrow night’s Raw. My God, they are going to do The Shield vs. The Miztourage, aren’t they?
Cruiserweight Championship: Enzo Amore def. Neville – Oh, look. This match is actually happening…and yeah….yeah, you read that correctly. Enzo’s the new Cruiserweight Champion, ending one of the most dominant title reigns of all time. The sad thing is that this was actually a pretty good match. I just can’t get behind Enzo as a singles competitor. Just doesn’t click for me, but as long as he’s moving merch, they’re going to get behind him. Not going to hate on the guy for that. The top rope DDT was phenomenal, and overall, thought these two put on a solid contest. Rating: 5.5/10
WWE Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar def. Braun Strowman – Time for the big beef war, folks. We got a real hoss fight on our hands tonight. I thought for a split second Strowman was going to win with a quick power slam, but nope. Not the case. Nothing in this match ever really sparked….it was fun seeing two gargantuan dudes bruise each other. But, in the end, another predictable Lesnar win and a dull finish. Last I read, this was probably going to be Lesnar’s last match of the year regardless. Not the best way to go out – I’m just not a fan of having the belt on Lesnar. Left a really bad taste in my mouth, and probably the worst match of the night. Rating: 4/10.
Overall: 6/10. All in all, I thought this was a pretty fun, enjoyable show. There weren’t any matches that really stunk up the joint, and having spent the last month or so on wrestling hiatus, they kind of reinvigorated my love for it. Eager to see where they start heading for TLC. That said, I lost steam for the last two matches and was ready to turn off the show. Bleh….whatever.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. A strong advocate of GSD (get shit done) and #BeBetter, he’s down to talk Tennessee Titans and Alabama Crimson Tide football over a beer any day. Check him out covering the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley, @WrestlingNewsCo
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