No Mercy 2008 No Mercy 2008 was a professional wrestling pay - per - view ( PPV ) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) , which took place on October 5 , 2008 at the Rose Garden in Portland , Oregon . It was the 11th annual No Mercy event and starred wrestlers from the Raw , SmackDown and ECW brands . Eight professional wrestling matches were scheduled on the event ' s card , which featured a supercard , a scheduling of more than one main event . The first featured wrestlers from the Raw brand , in which defending World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho defeated Shawn Michaels in a ladder match . The other main event featured wrestlers from the SmackDown ! brand , in which defending WWE Champion Triple H defeated challenger Jeff Hardy in a standard wrestling match . Three featured bouts were scheduled on the undercard . In a standard wrestling match between wrestlers from the Raw brand , Batista defeated John " Bradshaw " Layfield to become the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship . The second was a standard match between wrestlers from the SmackDown ! brand in which the Big Show defeated The Undertaker . The third was the predominant match from the ECW brand , a standard match for the ECW Championship , in which the champion Matt Hardy defeated Mark Henry . No Mercy 2008 had an approximate attendance of 9 , 527 . When the event was released on DVD , it reached a peak position of second on " Billboard " ' s Recreational Sports DVD Sales Chart . The event received 261 , 000 pay - per - view buys , less than the previous year ' s event . Background . The event featured eight 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 one of the WWE ' s three brands - SmackDown , Raw , or ECW - the three storyline divisions in which WWE assigned its employees . Wrestlers from the Raw brand were featured in the main event at No Mercy : a ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship , in which the title belt was suspended above the ring and the first man to climb the ladder and retrieve the belt would win . The match was contested between World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels . The buildup to the match began at Unforgiven , when Jericho replaced then World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk in a Championship Scramble match , a 20 - minute time limit bout , during which participants can become the temporary champion via pinfall or submission . Punk had , earlier in the night , been attacked by Randy Orton , in storyline , and could not compete , leading to Jericho being his replacement and winning the World Heavyweight Championship . On the September 15 episode of Raw , it was announced that Shawn Michaels would wrestle Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship at No Mercy in a ladder match . The leading staged rivalry scripted into the pay - per - view on the SmackDown brand was between Triple H and Jeff Hardy over the WWE Championship . It was announced on the September 12 , 2008 episode of " SmackDown " that there would be a Fatal - Four Way match , a standard wrestling match involving four competitors . The winner of the match would challenge Triple H for the WWE Championship at No Mercy . The Brian Kendrick , Shelton Benjamin , Montel Vontavious Porter , and Jeff Hardy were the four participants in the match , which Hardy won . It was also announced that Batista would face John " Bradshaw " Layfield in a standard wrestling match , dubbed in professional wrestling as a singles match , to determine the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship . During the September 17 , 2008 episode of " ECW " , it was announced that Matt Hardy would defend the ECW Championship against Mark Henry . It was announced on the September 22 , 2008 edition of " Raw " that Kane would receive a singles match against Rey Mysterio . On the following week on an episode of " Raw " , an extra stipulation was added , in which if Kane won at " No Mercy " , Mysterio would be forced to unmask after the match . It was also announced that The Big Show and The Undertaker would have a match , following the events that occurred at Unforgiven . Preliminary Matches . The first match was a dark match , between The Colóns ( Carlito and Primo ) and John Morrison and The Miz , which The Colóns won . The first televised match was for the ECW Championship , featuring the champion Matt Hardy versus Mark Henry , who was accompanied by his manager Tony Atlas . During the start of the match Henry overpowered Matt Hardy with attacks . One point of the match involved Hardy taking down Henry with a running chop block . Hardy then focused on attacking Henry ' s knee . Another point was Hardy trying to lock in a Figure - Four Leglock only to be pushed face first onto the second turnbuckle . Since then Henry gained control over Hardy again . During the match Henry was able to lock in the Bearhug but Hardy countered into a sunset flip only for Henry to attempt a Banzai Drop but Hardy moving out of the way . Hardy was able to hit the Side Effect and went for the Twist of Fate only to be dropped chest first onto the mat . The end of the match involved Henry going for the World ' s Strongest Slam only to have Hardy counter it with a Twist of Fate . The next match was Beth Phoenix versus Candice Michelle for the WWE Women ' s Championship which Phoenix came with to the match . The match started out with Candice taking Phoenix down with various type of kicks . Phoenix then gained control of the match by slamming Candice back first onto the corner . Phoenix then focused on Candice ' s shoulder with a running kick and slamming it onto the turnbuckle . Phoenix continued to focus on Candice ' s shoulder by locking in an armbar on her . After being in the armbar for a long time Candice was able to counter into a pin only to have Phoenix kick out . Candice then again got the upper hand on The Glamazon , Beth Phoenix with a jawbreaker . Candice was able to hit a high impact spinning wheel kick and again go for the pin but Phoenix kicked out again . Phoenix was able to gain advantage by dropping Candice face first onto the mat only to quickly have Candice knock her down from the top rope . A spot in the match was Santino Marella pulling Phoenix out of the ring while Candice went for the pin only to have Candice baseball slide " Glamarella " . However that distraction allowed Phoenix to take Candice . The end of the match involved Candice go for the Candywrapper only to have Phoenix counter it into a " Glam Slam " and pin Candice Michelle for the win . The next match of the night was Rey Mysterio versus Kane with the stipulation that if Mysterio loses he will have to unmask . The start of the match had Mysterio springboard dropkick Kane out of the ring . Also during the start of the match Mysterio went for a running attack only to be big booted by Kane . Kane tried to rip Mysterio ' s mask off only for Mysterio to roll out of the ring . During the match Kane kneed Mysterio in the gut and attempted to throw him out of the ring but having Rey shoulder thrust him and hit a springboard dropkick to the spine of Kane . Kane landed on the second rope and Mysterio went for his signature 619 but Kane countered with a clothesline . A spot in the match was Mysterio going for a diving hurracanrana only to be caught by Kane who went for a powerbomb only to be headscissored over the top rope . Also Mysterio locking in a sleeper on Kane on the outside only to be thrown over a barricade . Another spot was Mysterio roundhouse kicking a kneeling Kane and following up with a " Droppin ' Da Dime " . The end of the match was Mysterio looking to dive to the outside onto Kane but Kane hitting him with a chair shot in mid - air causing the disqualification . Aftermath . The feud between Triple H and Jeff Hardy continued to Cyber Sunday . The fans voted Jeff Hardy to be the contender for the WWE Championship Match . At the PPV Triple H retained his title by pinning Hardy . Jeff was supposed to be in thee triple threat match at Survivor Series , but was found knockedout on the stairwell , he was replaced by Edge . Jeff Hardy got another chance at the title and was placed in the triple threat match at Armageddon . At the PPV Jeff won his first ever World Championship by pinning Edge . The next Raw Episode Chris Jericho received a rematch against Batista in a Steel Cage Match . That night Chris Jericho regained the title and became a three time world champion . But he would lose the championship at Survivor Series against John Cena which the Raw fans choose for the main event . He got another rematch at Armageddon , but failed to regain the title . The Undertaker and The Big Show feud continued to Cyber Sunday and Survivor Series . At Cyber Sunday The Undertaker defeated The Big Show in a Last Man Standing Match which was chosen by the fans for the match . Their feud would come to an end at Survivor Series when The Undertaker defeated The Big Show in a Casket Match . This set The Big Show one and The Undertaker two , make Undertaker the winner of the feud . Reception . The event was generally well received by critics . The Sun , in their review praised the mainevent ' s as two of the best you will ever see , with particular praise on the chemistry of both Triple H / Jeff Hardy & Jericho / HBK . They rated the event an 8 . 5 out of 10 .