No Mercy (2003) - Background

Background

The event featured nine professional wrestling matches with outcomes predetermined by WWE script writers. The matches featured wrestlers portraying their characters in planned storylines that took place before, during and after the event. All wrestlers were from the SmackDown brand, a storyline division in which WWE assigned its employees.

The main event at No Mercy was a Biker Chain match for the WWE Championship. In this match, a chain was hung on a pole above the ring, and when it was retrieved it could be used as a legal weapon. The match was between WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, who defended against The Undertaker. This title match would mark the third pay per view between Lesnar and The Undertaker for the championship. The first being September 2002 at Unforgiven where Lesnar and Undertaker fought to a double disqualification then the second event being the following month at No Mercy where Lesnar successfully defended the WWE title over the Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match. The build up to the match began on the August 28 episode of SmackDown, when the Undertaker defeated Lesnar and The Big Show in a Triple Threat match, earning a title shot against then WWE Champion Kurt Angle. The following week on the September 4 episode of SmackDown, Angle defended the championship against the Undertaker, however, the match ended in a no contest after Lesnar interfered and attacked them both with a steel folding chair; Angle retained the championship as a result of Lesnar's interference. Two weeks later on SmackDown, Angle defended the title against Lesnar in a match in which the wrestler with the most scoring conditions by a set period of time would win the title in what is called an Iron Man match. Lesnar scored five falls, while Angle scored four in the encounter, thus, Lesnar won the match and became the new WWE Champion. The following week on SmackDown, legitimate WWE Chairman Vince McMahon held a ceremony to introduce the new WWE Champion Lesnar, but was interrupted by the Undertaker and SmackDown General Manager Stephanie McMahon, who announced that Lesnar would face the Undertaker at No Mercy for the WWE Championship. On the October 9 episode of SmackDown, Lesnar defended the title against Paul London. The match was interrupted by the Undertaker, who had a meeting with Stephanie earlier that night. He announced that his match with Lesnar at No Mercy would be a Biker Chain Match rather than a standard match.

One of the featured bouts on the undercard saw the WWE United States Champion Eddie Guerrero defending the championship against the Big Show. The events leading up to this match began on the October 9 episode of SmackDown, when it was announced that Guerrero would face the Big Show at No Mercy for the title. Later in the night, Chavo Guerrero (Salvador Guerrero IV) brought the Big Show out to the ring, followed by Eddie Guerrero bringing a sewage truck into the arena and spraying the Big Show with raw sewage. The next week on SmackDown, Guerrero defeated Rhyno (Terry Gerin) in a non-title match. Afterwards, the Big Show attacked Guerrero by using his signature lowrider as a weapon.

Another featured bout on the undercard pitted Kurt Angle against John Cena. On the September 18 episode of SmackDown, Angle lost an Iron Man match to Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. The match marked the third time that Angle defended the title against Lesnar with the first being WrestleMania XIX where Lesnar won the title and the second being SummerSlam which Angle retained. The next week on SmackDown, Angle tried to call Lesnar out to the ring, demanding a rematch, but instead Cena came to the ring and attacked Angle. On the October 2 episode of SmackDown, two of the primary rivalries on SmackDown intertwined in a tag team match, where Lesnar and Cena faced the team of Angle and the Undertaker, which Cena and Lesnar won after Cena struck Angle with a chain. The next week on SmackDown, a rap battle took place between Cena and Angle, in which both men performed raps insulting each other. The battle ended with Angle attacking Cena and the two proceeding to fight in the ring.

Another prominent match on the card was an "I Quit" match between Vince McMahon and his daughter, Stephanie McMahon. At the No Mercy event, however, Vince announced that Stephanie could score a pinfall or submission to win the match. The match build up began on the September 25 episode of SmackDown, when Stephanie interrupted her father's ceremony honoring the new WWE Champion Brock Lesnar to announce that the Undertaker would face Lesnar at No Mercy for the championship. Vince, angered by this, demanded that she retract the decision. When Stephanie did not, Vince announced that the two of them would face each other in an "I Quit" match at No Mercy. The next week on SmackDown, Vince offered Stephanie another chance to rescind the title match, which she refused and as a result Vince added the stipulation that if she lost, she would be forced to resign as the General Manager of SmackDown!. The following week, Linda McMahon, Vince's wife and Stephanie's mother, made Vince agree that if he lost the match, he would resign as WWE Chairman.