Results, Recap, Review of WWE No Mercy 2017

Before I begin with tonight’s thoughts I want to applaud the McMahon Family and WWE for always putting the fans first. I applaud them for staying out of the political drama that has plagued this country and giving the fans a form of entertainment. With that being said tonight was a big night for a  minor WWE pay-per-view. The two maost hyped matches going in were Roman Reigns versus John Cena and Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar.  These two matches are Wrestlemania quality matches and the undercard wasn’t half bad either. Here are the results from No Mercy before I dive into my analysis of the show.

-Preshow: Elias defeated Titus O’Neill
-The Miz defeated Jason Jordan to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship
-Finn Balor defeated Bray Wyatt
-Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins defeated Sheamus and Cesaro to retain the Raw Tag Team Championships
-Alexa Bliss defeated Bayley, Emma, Sasha Banks and Nia Jax to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
-Roman Reigns defeated John Cena
-Enzo Amore defeated Neville to win the WWE Cruiserweight Championship
-Brock Lesnar defeated Braun Strowman to retain the WWE Universal Championship

The opening match of the night was for the Intercontinental Championship between The Miz and challenger Jason Jordan. I really feel bad for Jordan because he’s a great talent that the crowd is not getting into. The Miz has gotten so good at being bad the fans have given him the respect he’s worked so hard to deserve. I also love the fact they are using Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas because before this storyline they were irrelevant. When someone does finally beat The Miz it’s going to be huge and it’s going to mean something. Following the title match we had Bray Wyatt versus Finn Balor in a different twist to their rivalry. Wyatt didn’t want to fight the Demon in this match. He wanted to fight the man Finn Balor. I really enjoy the chemistry and psychology these two have together. I am really glad to see Balor get a win because he deserves to be in the main event title picture. Hopefully within time he will be back where he was over a year ago.

It was a year ago this September that Cesaro and Sheamus were their final match of their Best of Seven series that ended in a draw. Since that time they have become one of the better tag teams in this decade with how well they have worked together. Putting The Shield partly back together has been good for Ambrose and Rollins. Both of them have been stuck since the Universal Title scene has been dominated by guys like Strowman, Joe and Reigns. In the middle of the match Cesaro appeared to have his two front teeth knocked out and looked pretty ugly. You definitely can’t question the heart and toughness of Cesaro but on this night two thirds of The Shield reigned supreme. The women of Raw reigned supreme in the ring tonight as part of the Raw Women’s Title match. This match showed why the women deserve to be in the spotlight. I was really surprised that Alexa retained the title against those odds. With Alexa retaining and Asuka coming to Raw I will be curious to see how the division shapes up.

Roman Reigns and John Cena both have careers of the similar path but I feel like Cena has done better under pressure. I have to say that this was the most entertaining start to a John Cena match I’ve ever seen. He started walking to the back when the crowd starting chanting “You both suck.” Cena really knows how to get the fans going whether it be a good or bad reaction. That is something Reigns needs to learn to do better in the future. I think this feud has brought the best out in Roman Reigns from an in ring and promo point of view. He’s finally being himself in his promos and they aren’t forced like they were. This match lived up to the hype and was a stellar match for both men. I am not surprised Reigns won because everyone knows he’s going to make another movie. It was a great show of respect after the match and Cena left with a classy exit. The filler match in between the two big matches was for the Cruiserweight Championship between Neville and Enzo Amore. I can honestly say that I am not thrilled about Enzo winning the Cruiserweight Championship. I believe it’s a huge slap in the face to guys like TJP, Cedric Alexander, Brian Kendrick and the rest of the division. I don’t know what WWE is trying to accomplish with him and the division but it’s going to backfire on them eventually.

We move on from that travesty to the Main Event for the WWE Universal Championship. This match was built up with so much hype it’s ridiculous. I do not understand how you let Braun Strowman lose after he’s been so dominant for so long. I knew if they did not pull the trigger tonight that this was going to ultimately going to hurt Strowman’s value and momentum. I don’t know what WWE is thinking some days and for that this pay-per-view failed very badly. Strowman should have kicked out of at least two F-5’s before being defeated. I am going to give No Mercy a 5.5 out of 10 because the last two matches completely sunk the show for me. Hopefully the next Raw pay-per-view they come up with better ideas. Until then we’re stuck with two undeserving champions.