No Mercy 2000: Kurt Angle Arrives While the WWF Rediscovers Its Pay-Per-View Groove

The opener turns the Dudleys' signature stipulation into a compact tag-team gauntlet. Lo Down, Too Cool, Raven and Tazz, and Right to Censor cycle through the match, with eliminations keeping the pace moving and preventing the format from becoming one long furniture brawl. The false finish against Right to Censor briefly threatens to overcomplicate the conclusion, but the second referee corrects the call and the Dudleys hit the 3D through a table for the win. It is not a deep match, but it is energetic and perfectly suited to opening the show.

The cage finally gives Jericho and X-Pac a decisive environment after weeks of trading victories and attacks. Both men use the structure rather than simply treating it as a wall. Jericho applies the Walls of Jericho on top of the cage, X-Pac fights free and nearly escapes, and Jericho's dropkick sends him crotch-first onto the open cage door before he crashes back into the ring. Jericho then climbs out to win. The finish is creative, painful-looking and conclusive.

This is primarily television storyline material placed on pay-per-view. Billy Gunn creates the strongest offensive stretch, but the rest of Right to Censor keeps interfering from outside. Eddie Guerrero ultimately appears with flowers concealing a lead pipe, strikes Chyna and allows Val Venis to score the pin. The finish advances Eddie and Chyna's breakup while giving Right to Censor another opportunistic win. The wrestling itself is secondary to the angle.

Austin versus Rikishi is revenge theater more than a contest. Austin arrives in his truck, immediately attacks with a chair and spends the match trying to punish the man who admitted running him down. The fight leaves the ring entirely, with Austin loading Rikishi into the truck and later attempting to run him over before police intervene. The match ends without a decision. The violence fits Austin's motivation, but the pay-per-view audience never receives a wrestling payoff.

The joke overwhelms everything else. Regal is disgusted by Mideon's lack of clothing, Foley forces Mideon to wear gear, and Mideon strips again once the match begins. Regal eventually knocks him from the ropes and wins with the Regal Cutter. Six minutes is short, but it still feels long because the premise has only one note. There is no meaningful championship drama and almost no reason to revisit the bout.

The disguise story is ridiculous by design, and the match leans into it. Matt and Jeff repeatedly try to remove the masks while the Conquistadores protect their identities and wrestle like suspiciously familiar opponents. Jeff lands the Swanton, Matt hits the Twist of Fate and begins peeling masks, only for the second Conquistador to cut him off with the Unprettier and win the titles. The match is entertaining enough, but the trick matters more than the tag wrestling.

Triple H and Benoit deliver the best pure singles wrestling on the show. Each man attacks an existing injury, giving the match a simple physical logic that survives nearly nineteen minutes. Benoit repeatedly works Triple H's arm and eventually traps him in the Crossface, while Triple H targets Benoit's knee before shifting to the arm. Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley's late distraction and Benoit's low-blow vulnerability introduce the expected Attitude Era interference, but the Pedigree still provides a definitive pin. The match earns its length.

The main event has enough interference to become messy, but the central story survives: Kurt Angle is trying to complete the fastest rise of his career by taking the WWF Championship from The Rock. Stephanie interferes early, Rock eventually gives her a Rock Bottom, Triple H arrives to protect her, and injured Rikishi later enters on Rock's behalf. The key moment comes when Rikishi accidentally kicks Rock instead of Angle. Angle hits Rikishi with the Angle Slam, then hits Rock with another Angle Slam and scores the pin. The title change feels enormous because the match has spent twenty minutes convincing the audience that Angle can survive the chaos.