WWE No Mercy 2017: 10 Greatest Matches in PPV's History

Perhaps no pay-per-view in WWE has so sneakily delivered such high-end professional wrestling as No Mercy.

Formerly an October staple, the show fell in the heart of the fall, when viewership was down because of football but desire to steal the show was apparently at a high.

From its inception in 1999 to the most recent event in 2016, No Mercy has repeatedly captivated audiences with strong in-ring product regardless of whether there was an elaborate story behind a given match.

In 1999, The Hardy Boyz, Edge and Christian stole the show in a ladder match that was little more than an excuse for one of the teams to acquire the managerial services of one Terri Runnels.

William Regal and Chris Benoit's underrated mat classic in 2006 was not even originally scheduled for the show but rather a last-minute addition to the card.

Others, like the Hell in a Cell match between Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker that headlined in 2002 and the ladder match between Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels from 2008, were months in the making.

Regardless of origin, the 10 matches you are about to relive helped shape the legacy of No Mercy, positioning it among the better pay-per-view offerings in the WWE Universe and as a breeding ground for excellent in-ring craftsmanship.

10. World Heavyweight Championship Match: Batista vs. Eddie Guerrero (2005)

Eddie Guerrero was one of the greatest wrestlers to ever lace a pair of boots. In 2005, he was riding a wave of momentum following a successful heel turn and series of matches with Rey Mysterio. In the wake of that program, he began an interesting story arc with Batista that saw him pledge loyalty and friendship despite being a villain.

The Animal, having lived through Triple H and Evolution, knew better than to trust Guerrero and was almost always suspicious of his intentions. Fully expecting Latino Heat to try something underhanded, Batista had his guard up while battling to retain his title.

In the toughest test of his first reign with the World Heavyweight Championship, Batista overcame Guerrero's tenacious in-ring onslaught, pinning him following a spinebuster.

This, without any sort of cheating from Guerrero.

It was a match that proved Batista could hang with the best in a contest without the bells and whistles of Hell in a Cell or the weaponry of No Disqualification.

Unfortunately, it would be the final pay-per-view match of Guerrero's Hall of Fame career as he died just over a month later.

9. Last Man Standing for the WWE Championship: Triple H vs. Randy Orton (2007)

When a John Cena injury forced a sudden change to the No Mercy 2007 card, Triple H was cast into the role of the lead babyface. Over the course of one night, he would defeat Randy Orton to capture the WWE Championship, successfully defend it against Umaga on the orders of Vince McMahon and have a rematch with Orton in a Last Man Standing contest to headline the show.

The Game, in his third performance of the evening, tore the house down with Orton in what was their finest match to date.

Orton has always done his best work in the gimmick matches that inspire creativity and allow for the use of weapons. Triple H, at that point in his career, was a similar type of performer. Together, they put together a compelling hardcore brawl in which Orton squeaked out a victory over his former Evolution teammate.

The contest capped off one of the greatest nights of Triple H's career and nearly made up for disappointment felt by the fans in Chicago who were desperate to see Chris Jericho return.

8. Chris Benoit vs. William Regal (2006)

The unadvertised battle between Chris Benoit and William Regal at No Mercy 2006 helped elevated that show beyond mediocrity. There was no build to the the match, no backstory and no overly complicated reason for its existence.

And that was not a bad thing.

The lack of frills allowed Benoit and Regal to go to the ring and deliver the hard-hitting and high-impact style of match with which they had become synonymous.

It was ground-based, the antithesis of what fans came to expect from WWE.

At a time when the product had become stale and unsatisfying, it was a welcome change.

Benoit scored the victory using the Crippler Crossface, reigniting a singles push that would carry him to the United States Championship.

A hidden gem, it is not nearly as remembered as it should be for its incredible physicality and pure wrestling appeal.

7. Hell in a Cell for the WWE Title: The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar (2002)

A heated rivalry born of championship desire and threats directed at the family of wrestling's greatest phenom culminated inside Hell in a Cell in 2002, when Undertaker challenged Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship.

The match was a brutal, violent and bloody war of attrition in which the title was at stake but not of the utmost importance. That was, instead, bringing an end to the intensely personal program that has spanned the entirety (to that point) of Lesnar's first Undisputed Championship reign.

Lesnar battered Undertaker, working over a broken hand he had previously injured on an episode of SmackDown. The Deadman forced Lesnar to taste his own blood for the first time, using the cast that protected that hand to bust the champion open.

In the end, The Beast Incarnate overcame the greatest challenge to his undefeated streak, defeating the veteran with an enormous F-5 and standing tall atop the cell.

It was a win greater in significance than the one over The Rock just months earlier and a defining moment in Lesnar's career.

6. Triple H vs. Chris Benoit (2000)

The year 2000 was a banner one for Triple H, who proved all of his doubters wrong and established himself as one of the best professional wrestlers in the industry. As the fall neared, he found himself in an unenviable position, trapped between being a hated heel and a face.

Neither an admirable babyface nor a despicable heel, he squared off with villain Chris Benoit in the second-most important match on the No Mercy card.

A technically sound bout that forced Triple H to fight from underneath, he meshed well with The Crippler and overcame him to pick up the win.

The match was less about continuing Benoit's steady ascent and more about providing a red herring for fans, getting them to see Triple H as a hero despite an impending heel turn.

Still, it was a prime example of The Game at his finest.

5. WWE Championship Match: Jeff Hardy vs. Triple H (2008)

Jeff Hardy desperately wanted to win the WWE Championship and etch his name in the history books in the fall of 2008.

A top SmackDown star, he found himself in the position to achieve his dream, defeat Triple H and win the one title that had eluded him over the course of his celebrated career. The Game was the measuring stick on the blue brand, though. He had beaten everyone and accomplished everything there was to accomplish.

He had yet to defend against a Superstar as hungry and determined as Hardy.

That was the story at the heart of the title bout at that October's No Mercy.

The Game controlled the pace of the match, keeping Hardy grounded and wearing him down with his power advantage. Hardy, resilient, stayed in the match and proved he was every bit Triple H's equal.

In a brilliant finish, Hardy had the crowd on its feet and in support of him when he launched himself off the top rope to hit a Swanton Bomb. Landing across the sternum of Triple H, it appeared as though he was three seconds from capturing the WWE Championship.

Unfortunately for him, The Cerebral Assassin grabbed an unsuspecting Hardy by the arms and rolled him up for a quick three count that not only served The Charismatic Enigma another crushing defeat but ended his championship aspirations.

A superb wrestling match with a relatable story to boot, Hardy vs. Triple H is another hidden gem produced at the No Mercy pay-per-view.

4. WCW Championship Match: The Rock vs. Chris Jericho (2001)

Chris Jericho had earned the reputation of a loser. He was the talented Superstar who could hang with anyone on the roster between bells but would fail to defeat them. Frustration mounted over time, and in the fall of 2001, Jericho started lashing out against The Rock in the midst of an interpromotional war with The Alliance (WCW and ECW).

Their WCW Championship match that October was not only the most anticipated bout on the No Mercy card, but it was also widely expected to be the best of the entire card.

It did not disappoint.

Jericho rose to the occasion, proving himself to be the equal of The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment. As frustration over his inability to put Rock away set in, though, he seized an opportunity presented by the meddlesome Stephanie McMahon and delivered a reverse Russian leg sweep on a steel chair.

Three seconds later, his big-match curse was lifted.

The bout elevated Jericho to the realm of the elite performers and set him up to become a lead heel and the first undisputed champion shortly thereafter.

3. Edge and Christian vs. The New Brood (1999)

The inaugural stateside No Mercy pay-per-view saw the first-ever tag team ladder match, which was between Edge and Christian and The New Brood. The final of the Terri Invitational Tournament, it was an opportunity for the two young, energetic teams to showcase their talents in a high-profile match.

The performances of Edge, Christian, Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy would catapult them to tag team prominence and forever alter the course of their careers.

They captivated the audience with a barrage of high-risk maneuvers and death-defying stunts that were both dangerous and incredibly artistic.

The New Brood, who would shed that horrific gimmick and emerge as The Hardy Boyz the next night on Raw, picked up the victory. But all four Superstars had broken through the proverbial glass ceiling and become enormously important to the company's revamped tag team division.

Without that match, they may have gone the way of several other midcard talents who never received opportunities they could capitalize on.

2. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho (2008)

Chris Jericho vowed to retire Shawn Michaels, and over the course of summer 2008, he nearly succeeded after attacking the eye of his inspiration-turned-rival. He even punched Michaels' wife, Rebecca, in the face, drawing shock from the WWE Universe.

At Unforgiven in September, Michaels appeared to have gained a measure of revenge, but Jericho sneaked a victory in the night's main event, winning the vacated World Heavyweight Championship.

One month later, at No Mercy, the title was up for grabs in Michaels' specialty: a ladder match.

More brutal and violent than any match of its type in WWE history, Jericho was left missing teeth and Michaels' body was a wreck following late-match interference from Lance Cade.

A match that felt every bit like the final battle between two men who hated each other, the contest was a fitting conclusion to their epic story.

1. Edge and Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle (2002)

The greatest match in No Mercy history, without hesitation, was the 2002 showdown to crown new WWE tag team champions that pitted Edge and Rey Mysterio against Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit.

Four members of the illustrious SmackDown Six that led to the finest television in the blue brand's history waged war in a match that wasted little time climbing to the illustrious five-star territory.

The counter wrestling and explosive near-falls kept the fans guessing about whether the dynamic duo of Mysterio and Edge would leave with gold or whether it would be the hard-nosed ground-and-pound duo of Benoit and Angle.

In the end, the 1996 Olympian was able to trap the future Rated R Superstar in an ankle lock and force a tapout, making history and bringing the all-time great bout to a fitting and fair end.

The match, the watershed bout for that crop of talent, once again proved Raw may have had recognition as the flagship show but that SmackDown was the undisputed wrestling brand.