Source: WWE.com
Previewing and predicting the winners and losers of this Sunday’s No Mercy pay per view.
WWE No Mercy 2017 happens live this Sunday from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. As of this writing, 6 matches are confirmed for the show, 4 of which for championships. Highlighting this event will be a Universal title match pitting champion Brock Lesnar against Braun Strowman, and the long awaited showdown between Roman Reigns and John Cena.
Along with those bouts the card will also feature a rubber match between Finn Balor and Bray Wyatt, a SummerSlam rematch for the tag team championship pitting the team of Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose against Cesaro and Sheamus, a fatal 4-way women’s title match featuring Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax, Emma, and Sasha Banks, and finally, a Cruiserweight title defense with Neville facing Enzo Amore.
This years No Mercy is shaping up to be a solid show, although it looks maybe a bit formulaic. But that’s been the norm so far this year for RAW pay per views. The shows, outside of Fastlane at least, have been better than that of Smackdown and the brand will look to keep that going with this bevvy of potentially great matches.
We never know until the smoke clears but it’s always fun to make predictions. Ahead is an in depth breakdown of each match and a prediction of who will win each one.
credit: wwe.com
Cruiserweight Championship: Neville (c) vs Enzo Amore
Let’s be honest here. This match is kind of silly. Neville has absolutely owned the Cruiserweight division for close to nine months. Outside of one small hiccup last month when he lost the belt to Akira Tozawa for 6 days, “The Man That Gravity Forgot” has had a firm stranglehold over the 205’ers and it’s been nothing short of brilliant. In fact, without Neville, 205 Live could have possibly been nixed already. His two combined title reigns will be at 217 days by the time No Mercy rolls around and along with 11 title defenses on live TV, it’s safe to say that the WWE is leaning on Neville to carry this division.
And then there’s Enzo. The former tag team partner and eventual punching bag of Big Cass, “The Certified G” dropped to 205 a few weeks ago most likely to avoid getting killed. So far his 205 resume goes like this, a win over Noam Dar, two 6-man tag wins, and a fatal 5-way match win that basically saw Cedric Alexander steal the show and make fans wonder why hes not next in line for a shot. Somehow Enzo has parlayed that into a title shot.
So here’s the deal. Enzo might eventually be successful at 205. He definitely needs some in-ring work and experience and that may be the show to do it on as opposed to the bright lights of RAW or Smackdown. So he has a chance to turn things around. But that won’t start at No Mercy. Quite frankly, Neville is in a different class than Enzo and a loss to him would be an insult to the Englishman. And plus, if legit cruiserweights like Austin Aries, Jack Gallagher, Rich Swann, and TJP couldn’t get the job done, Enzo surely won’t be able to either. Add in the fact that the WWE seems to be punishing Enzo lately for his antics by way of beat downs from the The Miztourage and Braun Strowman and his chances look even worse. Not only will Neville win, he’ll do it in under 5 minutes.
Winner and still champion: Neville
credit: wwe.com
RAW Women’s Championship Fatal 5-Way: Alexa Bliss (c) vs Emma vs Nia Jax vs Sasha Banks vs Bayley
Like I always say, when it comes to a championship match involving four or more superstars, the easiest way to pick out who’s going to win is to figure who’s most likely to lose first and then pick from who’s left. So if we employ that strategy, we can almost certainly rule out Emma. Look, the girl is a quality talent who’s deserves a lot more than she gets, but considering that she’s gone 50/50 with the struggling Mickie James lately, got squashed like a bug 5 weeks ago on RAW by Jax, and the fact that she hasn’t been in a meaningful match since June, the chances of her walking out as champion are pretty slim.
Then there’s Sasha. On paper, the girl has a good a chance as anyone, right? A 4-time champ on the red brand, she has already managed to dethrone “Five Feet of Fury” for the belt at last month’s SummerSlam before losing it back 8 days later. So why couldn’t she pull that off again? Well there’s an x-factor here. If you believe the Cageside Seats rumor that the WWE 4-Horsewomen will be kept away from both title scenes to focus on an eventual show down with the MMA 4-Horsewomen, that could be her roadblock. And if you watched any of the Mae Young Classic, you could see why. That being said, add Bayley, another member of that group, to that reasoning as well.
So we’re left with Jax and Bliss. The fact of the matter is that if the company wanted the belt on Nia, they would just do a singles match between her and Bliss. Considering that Jax has about 10 inches and 140 pounds on the champ, there’s no need for stipulations and multi-wrestler matches. The fatal 4-way seems likely to just be a vehicle for Bliss to slime her way into another win. You know, the way we like her.
Winner and still champion: Alexa Bliss
credit: wwe.com
Intercontinental Championship: The Miz (c) vs Jason Jordan
We all saw this one coming, right? For weeks the idea of Jordan getting a shot at Miz for the IC title has been like a looming backdrop. Recently Jordan has battled the likes of John Cena, Roman Reigns, and Finn Balor, performing very well and nearly defeating all three former world champions. It was almost like he was building his resume for an eventual No Mercy showdown with The Miz who has spent that same amount of time chastising Jordan’s old man, RAW General Manager, Kurt Angle. So when the 6-pack challenge was booked for the “go-home” RAW, it was all pretty academic.
The outcome of this match will essentially come down to one thing: is Jordan ready to climb such an impressive mountain? The Miz clearly has his haters but the fact is that he’s been one of the most consistent heels on the roster for the past 5 years and it seems like his stuff is only getting better. The fans are clearly responding to his bitter honesty, as the cheers get louder and louder the more he spews his hatred towards not only Jordan and Angle, but to guys like Cena and Reigns as well. His opinions mimic what many fans think and it’s almost infectious. That being said, it’s hard to see him losing a match like this right now.
Factor in that we’re talking about a 7-time Intercontinental champion and former world champion and that makes a potential Jordan win a massive won. Unfortunately for Jason, it all seems a little too soon. The IC title may very well be in his future (maybe when Miz takes time off for the birth of his child?) but that future will not begin Sunday. Miz will make Jordan look like a million bucks, but he’ll still find a way to win.
Winner and still champion: The Miz
credit: wwe.com
RAW Tag Team Championship: Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins (c) vs Sheamus & Cesaro
This is the type of feud that could go on for the next 4 months and not get old. In the 4 combatants in the tag title match this Sunday, you’re talking about 4 of the very best performers in the entire company getting together. There’s an argument to be made that maybe these guys deserve to be doing more, but for now, maybe we can be happy with this. And if they’re SummerSlam match is a precursor for what’s to come at No Mercy, then expect another bout of fireworks from these two teams.
Sheamus and Cesaro, once rivals turned friends and partners, have taken the WWE tag team division by storm since teaming up. A duo for almost a year now, the two Europeans have torn through the likes The New Day, The Club, and The Hardy Boyz while capturing the tag titles last December and again in June. Ambrose and Rollins on the other hand seem to just be hitting their stride as a team since reuniting after 3 years of hatred. Their SummerSlam title win was one of the best moments in wrestling this entire year and if the duo can keep their shaky relationship together, this could be a big time title run.
This is a really tough one to call. On one hand, the Ambrose/Rollins alliance is destined to turn sour at some point and the two will ultimately feud again. A loss of the titles at No Mercy could get those wheels turning. However, there are numerous rumors circling that Sheamus is going to need some time off to film a movie, and when it comes to that type of stuff, usually where there’s smoke, there’s fire. If Sheamus can’t be there to defend his title, what good is a title change Sunday night? Plus, it seems way too soon for Ambrose and Rollins to lose the belts thus setting up their eventual feud. I think Sheamus will resurface and he and Cesaro will get the belts back at some point. But that’s not happening Sunday.
Winners and still champions: Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose
credit: wwe.com
Singles Match: Finn Balor vs Bray Wyatt
Really? We’re doing this again? You know, for two guys who have the potential for top tier status, this feud has been surprisingly dull. It’s been a very formulaic and also lazily booked program. It seems to be the same thing over an over again. Wyatt talks, Balor listens, Wyatt gets the advantage, Balor fires back, here comes another bizarre Wyatt promo, and then they have a match. Lather, rinse, repeat. No matter who walks out The Staples Center victorious, it’s time to take this feud behind the barn and shoot it.
There’s really not too much more to say about this so let’s talk about how it may turn out. So on the RAW before SummerSlam, Wyatt pinned Balor clean. That led to Balor donning his “Demon King” attire to ringside at SummerSlam before getting his revenge victory. So does that mean this is the rubber match? And if so, who walks away up 2-1? Even though this feud really should end at No Mercy, it probably won’t because where would these two go from here? They’re both near a Universal title program but that honor is probably going to go to the either Reigns or Cena, or even both. So this is really a toss-up.
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Here’s an idea. What if these two threw their differences aside and teamed up? “The Demon King” and “The Eater of Worlds”. That has a great ring to it. Wyatt always seemed better as part of a group and Balor could use a shot of adrenaline to his character. Imagine a tag team title program against Ambrose and Rollins? Wow. But I digress. Let’s flip a coin. I take Balor.
Winner: Finn Balor
WWE.com
Singles Match: John Cena vs Roman Reigns
Well this certainly escalated quickly. Cena made the move RAW the night after SummerSlam to confront Reigns and suddenly, just five weeks later we have a match pitting two of the most polarizing, yet successful superstars in the entire company. One has to wonder if the fans are actually excited for this match because they want to see it happen, or because since Cena and Reigns are facing each other, that means one has to lose. Either way, it ought to be a solid tilt.
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Say what you want about Cena, but the guy has a major league track record of putting on great matches. Sure, his act is tired and his “5 moves of doom” incite rage in about 65% of the WWE fans, but the guy has delivered on the big stage time in and time out. And he may be a b-level celebrity now, but he’s always had his heart in the professional wrestling business. And for Reigns, the preferential treatment has been maddening for the past 3 years but you have to hand it to him, he’s gotten better. And it’s not his fault that the company refuses to let him go full heel. These two guys have the chance to shut a lot of mouths Sunday night. Here’s hoping that they’re up to it.
Now, there’s one troubling thing about this match that should worry some people. The fact that a match of this magnitude is happening at No Mercy with just a 5-week build should have left some people scratching their heads. This is going to happen again sometime down the line, the only question is when. Survivor Series? The Royal Rumble? Not Wrestlemania, right? Which makes the idea of a no contest a very possible reality. I think that is where this is headed. That’s right, neither of them win.
Result: Double Count-0ut
credit: wwe.com
Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) vs Braun Strowman
Now this one ought to be really interesting. Over 500 pounds of man will be colliding Sunday with the Universal title on the line in what is undoubtedly the biggest match of Braun Strowman’s life. “The Monster Among Men”, a pro for less than 3 years will walk into a sold-out 21,000 seat arena to take a on a 5-time WWE world champion, not to mention a former UFC world champion, in his quest to capture the Universal Championship. Talk about pressure.
The word “strong” doesn’t quite encompass the way Strowman has been booked since branching out on his own after The Wyatt Family split up in July of last year. However, the word “herculean” comes to mind when describing his most recent exploits. After battling Roman Reigns for 3 months earlier in the year when he basically did everything except murder “The Big Dog”, Braun set his sights on becoming a world champion. And after working his way into the main event fatal 4-way at SummerSlam, Strowman came just inches away from putting Lesnar out permanently. The following night on RAW, his attack on Brock continued and by doing so has put doubt in a lot of people’s minds as to whether Lesnar will leave No Mercy as champion. His weekly attacks and what looks to be a huge advantage currently over Lesnar only strengthen that notion.
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But for all the damage and destruction Braun has administered of late, things will be markedly different once the bell rings Sunday night. Lesnar’s status as the most dominant wrestler in the company is legit and when he does eventually lose the title, it’ll be a major deal and will most likely happen at one of the biggest shows of the year. Additionally, the person that beats him will have to be ready to be the biggest star in the company. A win against Lesnar means that much. As good as Strowman is and could even possibly be someday, he’s not ready for that honor. He’ll put Lesnar through the ringer, but he’ll leave without the belt.
Winner and still champion: Brock Lesnar