Seems to me like they could go a long way towards getting back the No Mercy magic by just having separate reversal buttons for strikes and grapples. That's what always made those games so addictive to me, the constant guessing game of what your opponent would throw at you next.
The current reversal system, although vastly improved last year with the limit being added, is just too easy and usually results in neither guy ever being able to string together more than a few moves at a time. There should be an advantage to having a guy down and/or on the defensive, so it requires an act of skill to turn the tide.