[MEDIA] The Sun 10.29.03 Undi's taking liberties

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,3-2003490547,00.html

Undi's taking liberties

BROCK ... used a chain to beat Undertaker
By THE LILSBOYS

ALTHOUGH we were worried looking at the line-up for the No Mercy PPV,
we are pleased to say the WWE produced a good wrestling event on
Sunday night.

In Kurt Angle v John Cena the Smackdown crew put on the standout match
every show needs and all the other bouts were entertaining in
different ways.

But while the in-ring product delivered, the booking of the evening
was horrendous. WWE champion and supposed monster heel Brock Lesnar
needed the help of four men, a chain and an electrical fault to beat
the ageing Undertaker.

And two other rising stars whose careers should have been given a huge
boost at No Mercy, Eddie Guerrero and John Cena, both lost cleanly
despite plenty of cheating on their part.

Here is our full review of the show:

Match of the night – The feud we've most enjoyed in the run-up to No
Mercy was also the one which delivered the best bout on the night.

Kurt Angle v John Cena was a great free flowing contest, easily the
best performance of Cena's short career and further proof of Angle's
ability to consistently have great matches.

>>From the start the crowd were split down the middle with as many
chants for bad boy rapper John as American hero Kurt.

And everyone went wild when the two teased what would have been a
fantastic spot – with Angle posed to German suplex his opponent from
the apron to the floor outside. That didn't come off but Cena did
reverse it into an equally nasty looking DDT onto the side of the
ring.

The end of the bout was also well worked with both men kicking out of
each other's finishing moves, before Kurt locked on his Ankle Lock and
a leg lock to force the rapper to tap out.

Our only problem with this one was the wrong man won – Cena needs a
PPV victory over a top tier star and this was the perfect opportunity
for him to get one.

The main event – No Mercy's final match between Brock Lesnar and
Undertaker was fun to watch thanks to a combination of power moves,
submission holds and even a high-flying manoeuvre from Taker.

But we couldn't help shaking our heads at the crazy plot lines
throughout.

The whole point of this bout was one man had to climb a pole to grab a
'biker' chain – and you knew the match could not end until this
happened.

This meant that even when The Undertaker Tombstoned his opponent onto
the steel steps, in a great moment, we knew he wouldn't win because
the chain wasn't in play yet. And why a chain is more powerful than
the other weapons used is anyone's guess.

Lesnar also looked very weak as Undertaker had him soundly beaten on a
number of occasions but missed out for the following reasons - the
lights going out, him deciding to grab the chain rather than pin
Brock, the three-man FBI interfering and ultimately Vince McMahon
pushing him off the top rope.


WHO'S THE BOSS ... Vince v Steph
McMahon v McMahon – The build-up for this match between Vince and his
daughter Stephanie may have been grating, but their contest was better
than it had any right to be.

A no-holds barred I Quit match – what other type is there? – it was a
good brawl with Vince at his bad guy best and the crowd at their most
vocal.

The WWE owner won when Linda McMahon threw in the towel for her
daughter – as Vince choked Steph with a lead pipe – meaning The
Billion Dollar Princess has to leave her job as Smackdown GM, for a
few weeks at least.

But we have a big issue with this bout - it showed a man strangling
his daughter and then beating up his wife, as Vince did after the
bell.

We know the WWE is a cartoon style soap opera but domestic violence
isn't something that should be portrayed in a lighthearted way as it
was at No Mercy.

Tribute of the night – After a good match with the A Train which
involved him being dropped on his head, Chris Benoit finished off his
foe with a Sharpshooter in honour of former trainer Stu Hart.

We talk more about the death of Stu, and wrestling legend Hawk, in the
panel on the right.

In other bouts – Tajiri beat Rey Mysterio in an excellent opener to
retain his cruiserweight title. The ending was a let down though with
the Japanese Buzzsaw winning after two "fans" – actually WWE new
recruits Jimmy Yang and Ryan Sakoda – distracted Rey Rey.

Matt Hardy should get some good comedy storylines after losing cleanly
to 150lb one-legged Zach Gowen, but he can't be very happy about lying
down for Zach's first WWE singles victory.

The Basham Brothers beat the APA in a throwaway match when their valet
Shaniqua returned – with a great set of breast implants – to take out
Bradshaw with a club.

Finally Eddie Guerrero lost his US title to the Big Show in a good
David v Goliath contest. David should have slain The Giant, but if
this leads to a rematch and ultimate Guerrero victory it could be a
good thing. If, however, Eddie now becomes stuck in a mid-card feud
with his cousin Chavo it will be a real waste.

Overall – When you watch a PPV and even enjoy the matches featuring A
Train, Big Show and Stephanie McMahon you know the WWE are doing
something right.

But No Mercy was let down by dire booking summed up by the fact that
the two men who came out strongest were the federation's 58-year-old
owner and Undertaker, his longest serving wrestler.

We give No Mercy 7.5 out of 10.

And we got 5 out of 7 predictions correct.