WWE No Mercy 2017: Full Results and Star Ratings for Each Match

On paper, WWE No Mercy had all of the potential in the world to be one of the better pay-per-views of the year. With two high-profile main events and an undercard brimming with immensely talented in-ring performers, many expected a show that would rival WrestleMania and SummerSlam as the best of 2017.

It did thanks to a handful of matches that either lived up to expectations or exceeded them.

Such was the case in the Raw Tag Team Championships match, the war between John Cena and Roman Reigns and the surprisingly strong Fatal 5-Way contest for the Raw Women's Championship.

It was the failure of the night's marquee bout that hurt the overall quality of the show, though.

Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman failed to captivate fans, delivering a slow, lumbering match that can be considering nothing more than a disappointment.

In the wake of Sunday's WWE Network broadcast, find out which matches ranked among the best of the show and their star ratings in this recap of the night's in-ring contents.

Star Rating Explanation

Credit: WWE.com

Star ratings are a hot-button issue in the world of professional wrestling.

Some analysts are eager to break their scales while labeling a given match the best ever. Others invest too much in the opinions of one specific writer. Some use the objective system to determine whether a specific match is worth going out of their way to see.

Others let a few stars determine the legacy of the bout without taking into account the story around it or the lasting effects it may have on the product.

With that said, debating star ratings makes for fun and spirited discussions.

Before you take a look at the star ratings assigned to Sunday's No Mercy lineup, take a look at exactly what those stars represent—at least in this case:

• ZERO: A bad, irredeemable match.
• *: Just slightly above worthless.
• *½: Merely OK.
• **: Subpar.
• **½: An average wrestling match.
• ***: Above average.
• ***½: Very good.
• ****: Great.
• ****½: Match of the Year candidate.
• *****: Classic.

8. Elias Defeated Apollo Crews

The opening match of the night, occurring on the Kickoff, saw Elias defeat Apollo Crews.

The match was slow-paced and did little inspire excitement in the fans. Elias worked a mat-based style, grounding his athletically superior opponent and keeping him from using his speed to fight back into the contest.

Even when Crews did that, it was hardly enough to put Elias away.

The sinister songster delivered his Drift Away finisher and picked up the win in a rather one-dimensional match that did not overstay its welcome but hardly set the tone for the night's show, either.

Rating: *½

7. Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar

When a match is built on the idea of being a classic battle of the behemoths, a war to settle the score, there are certain expectations.

At SummerSlam, Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar brawled around ringside, ending with a massive powerslam through the announce table by the Monster Among Men. The chaotic nature of that Fatal 4-Way match, also involving Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe, rightly led fans to believe the clash between Strowman and Lesnar at No Mercy would follow suit.

Fans expected a brawl but were instead treated to a straight wrestling match that did not suit either man's strength.

A slow, plodding match whose main event aura dissipated the moment the bell rang, it failed to capture the imagination of the fans in Los Angeles.

Part of that can be attributed to a thoroughly disappointing performance from Lesnar. The Beast never appeared to be as invested in the match as he was during the build, while Strowman's weaknesses at this still relatively early point in his career were exposed.

That Strowman delivered three finishers of his own before falling to a single F-5 did not help matters, either.

A woefully booked match that hurt Strowman, did nothing to make Lesnar look any more beastly than he typically does and disappointed fans capped off what was otherwise a quality show.

Rating: *½

6. Enzo Amore vs. Neville

The worst match on the main card, by far, was not what most expected it to be.

Neville beat the unholy hell out of Enzo Amore throughout their clash Sunday night. He pummeled him from pillar to post but allowed his own hubris to get the best of him. He got cocky, took Amore lightly and ended up missing a big splash from the middle rope as a result.

The challenger followed up with a DDG that nearly ended The King of the Cruiserweight's reign as champion.

Then it happened.

The referee grabbed hold of the cruiserweight title Amore had introduced into the match and returned it to ringside. With his back turned, Amore capitalized, blasting Neville with a low blow and rolling him up to become champion.

The outcome was the least popular imaginable and essentially signified the end of the heavily flawed cruiserweight division as fans post-Cruiserweight Classic had known it.

Like or hate the decision, though, the finish made sense within the context of the story. So there's that, at least.

Rating: **

5. The Miz Defeated Jason Jordan

The Miz, as a worker, is getting to that point he can wrestle largely the same match against any babyface and deliver once the bell rings. He did it Sunday night, using the same formula he has employed against Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler to deliver a quality opener.

Jason Jordan is not the caliber of performer that The Lunatic Fringe or The Showoff is, so the contest never lived up to the lofty standards set by those Superstars.

Still, the athleticism shown by the former tag team specialist suggests he is able to carry his weight between the ropes. But from a character development standpoint, he is seriously lacking, as WWE officials found out after the match when the fans in Los Angeles booed him during a promo.

Miz won a competitive match, once again relying on the interference of The Miztourage to secure his victory, but it's one that few remembered past its conclusion.

Rating: **½

4. Finn Balor Defeated Bray Wyatt

Finn Balor was tasked with selling a rib injury following a cowardly sneak attack by Bray Wyatt. The assault set up the story of the match and gave The Reaper of Souls something to focus his attack on throughout the match.

Balor did an admirable job of selling his injury, but so much of his offensive skill set requires him to deliver moves and strikes he probably should not be able to given the state of his body.

Still, the story told throughout the match allowed for a little more suspension of disbelief.

Wyatt was ruthlessly aggressive, mean and nasty as he tossed Balor around. He delivered a series of uranage suplexes that probably should have finished the leader of Balor Club, but the Irishman continued to fight back.

Showing his own brand of intensity, he exploded across the ring with a massive dropkick and finished Wyatt off with the Coup de Grace to put the rivalry to bed.

Hopefully.

This was one of Wyatt's best matches in quite some time and proof that, while not a great bout, Balor can deliver against Superstars of all shapes, sizes and styles and probably should return to the top of the card in short order.

Rating: ***

3. John Cena vs. Roman Reigns

John Cena has consistently looked like he has lost a step during his latest run.

Whether he is finding it more difficult to knock off the ring rust or is simply not as motivated as he once was, he does not look like the same Big Match John fans are accustomed to, and it showed Sunday night.

The franchise tangled with Roman Reigns in what was, legitimately, a WrestleMania-worthy match on paper.

In execution, it was a good match between two elite performers that left fans somewhat unsatisfied.

The pacing was off, and the build was curious. Neither Cena nor Reigns dominated the action. Each came back at different spots while occasionally bumping around ringside to sell the epic feel management was trying to create in the weeks leading into the show.

The most memorable aspect of the bout, for better or worse, was the complete devaluing of Cena's finisher.

Yes, he may be taking off to Hollywood to film movies, but preserving a little credibility for his trademark move would have been nice.

Cena caught Reigns with four Attitude Adjustments, including a series of them back-to-back.

Reigns kicked out.

Emphatically.

The Big Dog then proceeded to finish Cena with a Superman Punch and spear in decisive fashion.

While there were clearly issues with the bout, it did feel like a big fight. It had elements of Batman vs. Superman, two warring icons battling for supremacy. The issues facing the match were enough to prevent it from achieving any kind of Match of the Year consideration but not enough to prevent a quality rating. 

Still a quality bout, it provided at least something for most fans to appreciate in some form or fashion.

Rating: ***½

2. Alexa Bliss Defeated Emma, Bayley, Sasha Banks and Nia Jax

One of the most intriguing matches on the card was the Fatal 5-Way contest for the Raw Women's Championship, pitting titleholder Alexa Bliss against Emma, Sasha Banks, Bayley and Nia Jax.

The match not only exceeded expectations but ranked as one of the better women's bouts Raw has produced in a while.

Banks and Bayley planted the seeds for their discontent and potential feud by costing each other the opportunity to win the title, breaking their pins up on more than one occasion.

Emma helped lay the foundation, but it was clear from the start she was not meant to shine quite as brightly as the others involved.

Bliss was her typically great self, selling a beating and sneaking her way into the proceedings just in time to be significantly involved in the finish.

The match, though, belonged to Jax.

The fans in Los Angeles loved the ass-kicking competitor, popping for her ring entrance, her introduction and pretty much everything else she did. The double Samoan Drop spot to Bliss and Banks was phenomenal and only served to get her more over.

Even more impressive was her bump off an apron powerbomb that saw her land her on her neck and shoulder, with no ill effects apparent afterward.

Bliss won, pinning Bayley after a DDT, but it was the staredown between her and Jax that occurred after the match that should plant the seeds for a high-profile clash between the two in the near future.

Rating: ***½

1. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose Defeated Sheamus and Cesaro

The best match of the 2017 No Mercy card was, by far, the Raw Tag Team Championships bout that pitted Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose against Sheamus and Cesaro, known collectively as The Bar.

Physicality was all but guaranteed after their match at SummerSlam. That, coupled with the timing and spot placement, helped make the bout one of the best WWE pay-per-view matches of the year.

When you tack on the fact Cesaro lost two teeth taking a slingshot bump into the turnbuckle and the epic performance by The Swiss Superman that followed, you have a match that exceeded even the loftiest of expectations.

Rapid-fire near-falls and dramatic two-counts kept fans in Los Angeles guessing as to which team would win the match, even when it was fairly obvious Rollins and Ambrose were not dropping the titles yet.

They did not, capitalizing on an errant Brogue Kick from The Celtic Warrior.

Rollins caught him with a knee thereafter, Ambrose dropped him with Dirty Deeds and the tag team division stole the show with a Match of the Year candidate helped by the toughness of Cesaro and the visceral imagery of his injury.

Rating: ****½