No Mercy 2004 No Mercy 2004 was a professional wrestling pay - per - view ( PPV ) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) , which took place on October 3 , 2004 at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford , New Jersey . It was the fifth annual No Mercy event , and featured eight professional wrestling matches on the event ' s card . The buildup to the matches and the scenarios that took place before , during , and after the event were planned by WWE ' s script writers . The event starred wrestlers from the SmackDown ! brand : a storyline expansion of the promotion where employees are assigned to a wrestling brand under the WWE banner . The main event was a Last Ride match , where the objective was to place an opponent in a hearse located on the entrance stage and drive them out of the arena . WWE Champion John " Bradshaw " Layfield ( JBL ) defeated The Undertaker in this match to retain his title . Two predominant bouts were featured on the undercard ; in respective singles matches , John Cena defeated Booker T to win the WWE United States Championship , and The Big Show defeated Kurt Angle . No Mercy grossed over $ 700 , 000 ticket sales from an attendance of 10 , 000 , and received 240 , 000 pay - per - view buys . This event helped WWE increase its pay - per - view revenue by $ 6 . 2 compared to the previous year . When the event was released on DVD , it reached a peak position of third on " Billboard ' s " DVD Sales Chart . The professional wrestling section of the Canadian Online Explorer website rated the entire event a 5 out 10 stars , describing the event as , " an absolutely terrible " pay - per - view event . Background . The event featured eight professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre - existing scripted feuds , plots and storylines . Wrestlers portrayed either a villainous or fan favorite gimmick as they followed a series of events which generally built tension , leading to a wrestling match . All wrestlers were from the SmackDown ! brand – a storyline division in which WWE assigned its employees to a different program , the other being Raw . The main event featured WWE Champion John " Bradshaw " Layfield ( JBL ) defending the title against The Undertaker in a match where the objective is to place an opponent in a hearse located on the entrance stage and drive them out of the arena , dubbed a Last Ride match . The buildup to the match began after SummerSlam , Smackdown ' s previous pay - per - view event , where JBL defeated the Undertaker in a standard wrestling match , also called a singles match , via disqualification to retain his championship . During that week on an episode of " SmackDown ! " , JBL wore a neck brace , to signify that he was recuperating from a chokeslam that the Undertaker gave him on top of his limo . On the August 26 , 2004 episode of " SmackDown ! " , Orlando Jordan , one of JBL ' s associates , defended the WWE Championship for JBL against the Undertaker . Undertaker won the match via disqualification following interference from JBL ; as a result , JBL retained the title . Two weeks later , General Manager Theodore Long , a fictitious match maker and rules enforcer , announced that Undertaker would get another opportunity for JBL ' s title at No Mercy in a Last Ride match . One of the featured matches was contested for the WWE United States Championship , in which Booker T defended the title against John Cena . At SummerSlam , Cena defeated Booker in the first series of " best of five " match . On the August 26 episode of " SmackDown ! " , the second match was won by Booker , to even the series one - to - one . The following night at a " SmackDown ! " live event , Booker defeated Cena to win the third match . On the September 16 episode of " SmackDown ! " , Cena defeated Booker in the fourth match , making the series even at two wins apiece . The following week it was announced that the final series title match would be scheduled at No Mercy . The other featured preliminary match was Kurt Angle versus The Big Show in a singles match . The buildup to the match began on September 9 , 2004 during an episode of " SmackDown ! " , where a Lumberjack match ( a standard match where non - participating wrestlers prevent contestants from fleeing the ring ) was scheduled between Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero . The match ended in a no contest when The Big Show marked his return to SmackDown ! by interfering in the match , chokeslamming both Angle and Guerrero in the process . The following week , Big Show was given two contracts to choose from ; one contract to face Guerrero and one contract to face Angle . Big Show signed the contract with Guerrero ' s name on it . After signing it , Angle and his associate Luther Reigns , threw Guerrero out of the ring and offered Big Show a handshake . Big Show , however , tore up Guerrero ' s contract and signed the one with Angle ' s name on it to face him at No Mercy . Event . Before the event went live on pay - per - view , Mark Jindrak defeated Scotty 2 Hotty in a match taped for " Heat " , one of WWE ' s secondary television programs . Preliminary matches . The first televised match was a standard wrestling match between Eddie Guerrero and Luther Reigns accompanied with Mark Jindrak . In the early stages both competitors took the advantage over one another . Reigns controlled most of the match , as Guerrero tried to avoid Luther ' s assaults . Reigns began to work on Guerrero ' s lower back , suplex ing him down and bending him over his knee following a backbreaker . The match saw Guerrero take the advantage , as he was able to counter a swinging neckbreaker . The match concluded when Guerrero won the match by striking Reigns with a baton taken from a security guard . The next match was for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship , in which champion Spike Dudley accompanied by The Dudleys ( D - Von and Bubba Ray ) defended the title against Nunzio with Johhny Stamboli . The match began with Nunzio performing a pescado , a slingshot crossbody where the wrestler goes from the inside of the ring over the top ring rope to the outside , on Spike . The match saw interference from Devon as he pushed Nunzio off the top ropes . Spike took control of the match , as he was able to slip both arms underneath Nunzio ' s armpits and locked his hands behind his neck and pushing Nunzio ' s head forward against his chest . Back and forth action saw both competitors take the advantage over one another . The match ended when Stamboli tried to prevent interference from D - Von , allowing Bubba to trip up Nunzio and crotched him on the ring post and giving Spike the win and retention of his title . The next match that followed was between Billy Kidman and Paul London . The start of the match saw London toss Kidman out of the ring and perform a running springboard moonsault , a move in which a wrestler springboards and executes a backflip to land on the opponent , from the top ropes to the outside onto Kidman . Kidman , however , took control once back in the ring , as he performed various stiff kicks on London ' s midsection and focusing on his lower back . London attempted to perform a powerbomb , but was not successful in doing so as Kidman reversed it into a sitout facebuster for a near - fall . The match concluded with Kidman as he jumped forward from an elevated position and pressed his knees to execute a backflip in mid - air , and landing on London to get the pinfall victory over London . The fourth match was for the WWE Tag Team Championship , in which champions René Duprée and Kenzo Suzuki defended the title against Rob Van Dam and Rey Mysterio . The match began with Van Dam and Duprée gaining the upper hand over each other . Duprée tagged Kenzo into the match , which led him to take offense over Van Dam . Mysterio was tagged in the match and performed a flying headbutt on Kenzo , followed by a tornado DDT onto Kenzo . Mysterio followed this by knocking Duprée off the apron and launching himself back into the ring , onto Kenzo in a seated senton , a move performed by jumping forward off a raised platform or springboarding on to the shoulders of a standing opponent forcing them to the ground . Mysterio tried to perform the 619 on Kenzo , however , Duprée stopped Mysterio from doing so . Mysterio then performed the 619 on Kenzo . As he prepared to perform the West Coast Pop , Duprée pulled Mysterio off the ropes . This led to Kenzo pinning Mysterio , as he held onto the ropes for leverage to pick up the win and retain the tag team title . Main event matches . The first main match was between Kurt Angle and The Big Show . A stipulation in the match was placed that anyone who tried to interfere would get fired . For the duration of the match , The Big Show , who stood at 7 feet ( 2 . 1 m ) and weighed 500 pounds ( 230 kg ) , used his body size to his advantage as he squashed , or easily and quickly performed moves on , Angle . Angle , who had enough , began to walk away from the match . Angle ran back to the ring and counted along with the referee for the 10 count . General Manager Theodore Long ordered Angle to return to the match with a no count out stipulation or else Angle would never wrestle on SmackDown ! again . Angle returned to the ring , in which Big Show dominated once more , even standing on Angle . A frustrated Angle brought a steel chair , but backfired when Big Show punched the chair onto Angle ’ s face . As Big Show prepared to perform a chokeslam , Angle countered into an ankle lock hold . Big Show managed to get a hold of the ropes to force Angle to break the hold and he was scripted to knock the referee down . Angle began targeting Big Show ' s knee and even hitting his knee with the steel chair , to take advantage of the referee ' s state . The match ended with Big Show chokeslamming Angle from the top of the ring . During this time , the referee regained consciousness and gave Big Show the pinfall victory . The second main match was a singles match , in which United States Champion Booker T defended the title against John Cena in the final " best of five " match . In the early stages of the match , Cena and Booker fought at ringside . During this tussle Booker pounded Cena ' s head into the ring steps before being reversed into them himself . The match then returned to the ring , which saw Booker and Cena getting the upper hand over one another . Cena took control as he performed several of his signature moves ; he ran up from behind Booker , grabbed his head with one hand and leaped forward to drive Booker ' s face into the mat . He then followed with hitting a fist drop with theatrics , which Cena calls the Five Knuckle Shuffle . Cena tried to follow up with lifting Booker onto his shoulder , but Booker countered it into a Book End . Booker went for the pin on Cena , but he kicked out . Cena was able to dodge a kick to the back of the head that would force him to hit his face first into the mat , with lifting Booker over his shoulders and throwing him down to execute the FU . He pinned Booker to be declared the new United States Champion . Another match on the undercard was a mixed tag team match between the team of the Dudley Boyz ( D - Von and Bubba Ray ) and Dawn Marie versus Charlie Haas , Rico Constantino , and Miss Jackie . The start of the match saw Haas get back body dropped by the Dudley ' s . Dawn was tagged in to the match , as was Jackie who tagged herself in , if a man tags her female partner , both men leave the ring and both women enter the match . The two women began to beat one another . Bubba Ray tagged himself in and demanded Jackie give him a kiss , and closed his eyes . Rico came in and kissed Bubba Ray , prompting Bubba Ray to run away and gag audibly . Rico wrestled against D - Von , and was in control until Bubba Ray and D - Von double teamed him . Bubba Ray called for the flying head butt to the crotch , but D - Von was hesitant in performing the move on Rico . This caused Dawn and Jackie to continue their fight , as both entered the ring . The match ended when Haas performed a flying axe handle setting up the legal tag to Rico to perform a moonsault and get the win . The main event was the Last Ride match for the WWE Championship , in which John " Bradshaw " Layfield ( JBL ) defended the title against The Undertaker . During the beginning of the match , the Undertaker began hitting JBL in the corner , before twisting his arm around and dropping JBL ' s arm on the top rope . Following this , the Undertaker chokeslammed JBL in the ring , and performed a leg drop off the ring apron . Outside the ring , the Undertaker threw JBL towards the steel ring steps . The Undertaker continued to uphold the upper hand over JBL , as he began to remove the television set from the Spanish announce table , but JBL managed to hit Undertaker upside the head with the steel ring steps . JBL tried to put the Undertaker in the hearse , but the Undertaker fought back . A frustrated JBL took the Undertaker back to the ring and hit a shoulder block from the top rope . The Undertaker managed to get the upper hand once more , as he applied a triangle choke hold on JBL , leading JBL to tap out , but submissions do not count prior in this match . The Undertaker backdropped out of a piledriver attempt on the steel ring steps and grabbed JBL , turned him upside - down and dropped into a kneeling position , driving JBL ' s head into the steel steps , making JBL bleed from the head . Minutes later , the Undertaker chokeslammed JBL off the announce table through the Spanish table . The Undertaker carried JBL to the hearse , and Jon Heidenreich came out of the hearse . Heidenreich began to attack the Undertaker , covered his mouth with a soaked rag filled with chloroform . Heidenreich placed the Undertaker into the hearse and drove off . Inside the hearse , a camera was inside the hearse to show the Undertaker wake up and jump out and attack Heidenreich . JBL recovered , and swung his arm forward while running towards the Undertaker , a move JBL calls Clothesline from Hell , and helped Heidenreich place the Undertaker back into the hearse to be driven away . Backstage , Paul Heyman drove the hearse to the parking lot , where Heidenreich drove his car into it at high speed , causing an inexplicable explosion . As a result , JBL won the match and retained his title . Aftermath . Following No Mercy , the storyline between JBL and The Undertaker ended . JBL was then placed in a new angle against Booker T . On an episode of " SmackDown ! " , a six man tag team match involving Booker T , Rob Van Dam , and Rey Mysterio taking on JBL , Kenzo Suzuki , and René Duprée was scheduled . At the time , Booker T being a villain , congratulated JBL with the success that he has accomplished within the company in a segment backstage . The tag team match got underway , and JBL was led to believe that Booker was going to betray his tag partners , as Booker warned both Van Dam and Mysterio not to interfere with him during the match . The match concluded with Booker pinning JBL for the win , thus turning Booker into a crowd favorite . The following week on " SmackDown ! " , Booker defeated Orlando Jordan , JBL ' s associate , to earn the right to face JBL for the WWE Championship at Survivor Series . At Survivor Series , JBL defeated Booker to retain the WWE title . On the October 21 episode of " SmackDown ! " , Paul Heyman requested that Theodore Long schedule a match between Heidenreich and the Undertaker at Survivor Series . Long agreed to the match , but informed Heyman that in order for the match to take place , he had to get the Undertaker to sign the contract personally . The following week , Heyman met the Undertaker at an undisclosed location where he pled his case about Heidenreich wanting to face the Undertaker in a match . The Undertaker signed the contract and warned Heyman he would defeat Heidenreich at Survivor Series . At the November event , the Undertaker was successful in defeating Heidenreich . Following his win at No Mercy , John Cena lost the WWE United States Championship to Carlito Caribbean Cool , who debuted on SmackDown ! . As part of the storyline , Carlito was given a bodyguard , Jesús , who stabbed Cena in the kidney while at a Boston - area nightclub . On the November 18 episode of " SmackDown ! " , Cena captured the United States Championship after defeating Carlito for it . Cena also debuted a " custom made " spinner - style title belt . Reception . The Continental Airlines Arena usually can accommodate 20 , 000 , but the capacity was reduced for the event . This event grossed over $ 700 , 000 from an approximate attendance of 10 , 000 – the maximum allowed . It also received 240 , 000 pay - per - view buys . No Mercy helped WWE earn $ 24 . 7 million in revenue from pay - per - view events versus $ 18 . 5 million the previous year , which was later confirmed by Linda McMahon , the CEO of WWE , on November 23 , 2004 in a quarterly result . Canadian Online Explorer ' s professional wrestling section rated the event 5 out of 10 . The rating was the same as the No Mercy 2005 event , which was marked as an " absolutely terrible " pay - per - view from WWE . The standard match between Billy Kidman and Paul London was rated a 7 out of 10 . Additionally , the matches of Eddie Guerrero versus Luther Reigns , Spike Dudley versus Nunzio , Booker T versus John Cena , and the Last Ride match were all rated a 4 out of 10 . The event was released on DVD on November 9 , 2004 . The DVD was distributed by the label , Sony Music Entertainment .