Review of WWE: No Mercy 2007

Introduction

Coming into the No Mercy pay-per-view event, the stage had been set for a showdown between WWE Champion John Cena and his year-long nemesis Randy Orton. However, 2007 was somewhat of a cursed year for the promotion, it seemed, and in the midst of it all, Cena tore a pectoral muscle right off the bone, during a Raw television match with Mr Kennedy.

The injury would keep Cena out for just less than four months, half of the expected time he was expected to sit on the sidelines. But, unable to defend the title, he was forced to surrender it, with Mr McMahon secretively proclaiming that "history would be made" at No Mercy.

The event was held on 7th October 2007, from the Allstate Arena, in Rosemont, Illinois.

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL, and as you`d expect, looks very good indeed for a DVD of this genre. This is the usual high-quality WWE production, in terms of both production values in the arena, and in the transfer to DVD.

There are some mild compression artefacts noticeable here, but nothing distracting in the least.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and is also very good. Everything is mixed well, so that wrestler entrance music, in-ring action, and commentary, can all be heard alongside the other.

There are further 2.0 tracks available in French, Spanish, Italian, and German. There are also subtitles in Greek, Dutch, and Portuguese.

Features

A few short extras are available here, beginning with a look at how John Cena tore his pectoral muscle, and how the injury was surgically repaired. Those of a squeamish nature may prefer not to watch.

Next, Batista is interviewed following his Punjabi Prison bout with The Great Khali, but says little of interest, before we get a look at the following night`s Raw TV show, in which Michaels made his excellent return to the company following knee surgery.

Conclusion

The main question going into the No Mercy pay-per-view, was how the WWE would handle the fact that John Cena was unable to defend his WWE title. In terms of storyline, there was no question that Randy Orton was the favourite of Vince McMahon to simply hand the title to, and when Orton appeared in the ring at the beginning of the event, it began a show-long storyline of what would happen to the title. I don`t want to spoil it here, except to say that, when all was said and done, it was an interesting direction in which to take a pay-per-view.

Aside from that almost impromptu storyline, however, there was little to make a fuss about during the show. Rey Mysterio and Finlay served up a reasonable bout, highlighted by a mid-match swerve, and the same adjective could be used about the six-man tag bout, which saw Mr Kennedy team with Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch, to face Jeff Hardy, Paul London, and Brian Kendrick.

Sadly, the rest of the show was very poor indeed. For two heavyweights in Batista and The Great Khali, the concept of climbing over the cage in the Punjabi Prison Match, seemed to defy sense. The amount of time allotted to the CM Punk vs Big Daddy V title match was nigh on criminal, and the Women`s title match between Candice Michelle and Beth Phoenix was of the usual standard for that division. I`m not even going to mention the abhorrent "pizza eating contest" between Matt Hardy and MVP.

When it comes to pay-per-view events in 2007, there have certainly been some good ones, but No Mercy was not one of those. If you are particularly a fan of Randy Orton, or are intrigued by the WWE title situation coming off the Cena injury, you may wish to take a look at this DVD. Otherwise, your money could be much better spent elsewhere.