10 WWE No Mercy 2017 Impulse Reactions
Toothless Agression
Lots of talk ahead of WWE No Mercy 2017 centred around the card being just too stacked. An astonishing feat considering the amount of content the company churns out through the Network, the narrow-minded consideration also failed to acknowledge that any show has the potential to be special, not just the ones WWE tells you to care about.
Predictably, not every match could live up to enormous expectations (more on that later), which in fact perhaps highlights why the company were shrewd enough to debut the pairings on a lesser stage. Contests can always be reheated, especially around WrestleMania season, and a quick visual of just how well (or poorly) things can go offers the company valuable time to assess what they have and crucially, what they might still need.
If this show, July's Great Balls Of Fire pay-per-view and the countless major television matches that have taken place particularly on SmackDown Live! this year tell us anything, it's that the organisation would rather use the match once with the hope of doing it again, than never get around to it at all.
If Roman Reigns really did retire The Undertaker, then John Cena never got to have his 'Show Of Shows' battle with 'The Deadman'. Avoiding similar occurrences to at least get ratings or new subscribers may become a regular trial for WWE, but as a fan, it's best to just relish the good times before 'B-Shows' become forgettable all over again.
10. Walk With Elias
With most assuming that a throwaway effort featuring The Hardy Boyz, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson would make it onto yet another laboured pre-show kickoff, it was a pleasant surprise when the lights dimmed for Elias to steal yet another supercard curtain-raiser.
Tearing up Brooklyn on SummerSlam's extended pregame show, Elias joined The New Day and The Usos in making that hype job the company's best ever, and did his best again with another p*ss-funny take down of event locale Los Angeles.
Less entertaining was the match that followed, but that's both a sad indictment on the former 'Drifter's current limitations and the main roster collapse of his once-promising opponent.
Apollo Crews exists in a disparate space on the main roster as a profoundly unover lower card act that simply has too much in the remainder of his offering to be left off the show entirely.
Still a charisma vacuum and gaining little real or storyline wisdom from Titus O'Neil, Crews' admittedly enjoyable offence is stifled in its impact by his robust failure to form an emotional connection with the audience. A polar opposite, Elias offers little bell-to-bell but has at least found that bond. This being WWE, to that victor went the spoils.
With Apollo ostensibly in control, Elias nailed Drift Away for the win, and put the boots to his fallen foe in the aftermath.