The main rivalry heading into the event was between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H. The rivalry dated back to previous year's Survivor Series, when Austin was run down by a car in the backstage area and was sidelined for one year. At No Mercy, Austin competed against Rikishi in a No Holds Barred match as it was Rikishi, who had run down Austin with the car at Survivor Series. On the November 6 edition of "Raw is War", Austin competed against Rikishi and Kurt Angle in a Handicap match. Austin was being double-teamed by Rikishi and Angle until Triple H came to his rescue and forced Angle and Rikishi to retreat. Triple H then assaulted Austin with the sledgehammer and was revealed as the mastermind behind Austin's attack as he wanted to protect his WWF Championship. On the November 9 edition of "SmackDown!", the WWF Commissioner Mick Foley announced that Austin and Triple H would compete in a match at Survivor Series. At the event, the match was made a No Holds Barred match.