Nikki Bella vs. Carmella
I’m really happy for Carmella, if you ask me. I thought that she was destined to be forever lost in flux without Enzo and Cass because there hasn’t been any reason given to care for her in the past and her character wasn’t all that interesting. In addition, she was also the very last pick in the WWE draft, so her getting some of the spotlight is also a welcome thing to see. However, her heel turn against an accomplished woman in Nikki was just what the doctor ordered. Her constant assaults on NIkki, especially the one at Talking Smack has made her one of the top heels on the women roster. She’s green in other areas, but this is a great learning experience for her. Meanwhile Nikki Bella, who was presumed to reclaim the top spot for the women’s roster upon her return at Summerslam has taken a bit of a backseat to help nurture some of the other talent on the roster. I think that this feud will go past No Mercy, and Carmella would benefit from a victory much more than Bella would. So I say that Carmella goes over here through some sort of cheating, and continue their feud in the next month.
Winner: Carmella
Heath Slater (C) and Rhyno (C) vs. The Usos – Smackdown Tag Team Championships
Heath Slater and Rhyno winning the SD Tag Titles was really just to have some closure for Heath Slater getting his Smackdown contract, and it was a pretty good little angle while it lasted. However, I can’t see the point in going forward with Slater and Rhyno, much less why they’d beat the hottest heel tag team in the division, The Usos, for a second straight time. While The Usos as individuals aren’t appealing, I think they’ve been a fresh breath of air as heels. Their new heel tag team tactics have been sublime, and their new attitude is stupdendous. Them losing at Backlash was really a formality, but with the way they’ve taken out American Alpha, the favorites in the Tag Team tournament, I think you can safely bet that The Usos will be your new champions.
Winner: The Usos
Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt
You’d think that with the lack of depth in top tier Smackdown heels, they’d be treating Bray Wyatt like a big deal. Is it really that hard to have Bray go over Kane on an episode of Smackdown to give him SOME momentum? Behind AJ Styles and The Miz, there really isn’t any heels that could be considered elite. Bray has shown in the past that he has the potential, when used right. But upon his Smackdown tenure, he’s been booked horrendously, and I’m afraid that he may be past the point of no return. In addition, this feud was really just sort of random, because there’s no real reason why these two hate each other (As with most Bray Wyatt feuds). Orton was coming off an embarasing beat down at the hands of Lesnar, and then the next night, Bray Wyatt tells Orton that he’s a man while Bray’s a God. Call that a mild exaggeration. Wyatt’s last victory came at Backlash when he (technically) beat Orton by way of forefit. His last singles victory was against Xavier Woods at the draft. He has yet to pick up a victory on Smackdown SINCE the draft. So why should we believe Wyatt has any chance of beating Orton this Sunday? Wyatt has essentially become a lost cause, and you wouldn’t think this considering how hot he was in his feuds with Daniel Bryan and John Cena two years ago. To think that he would become so degraded to this point has become more sad than humiliating at this point. You know what’s even more sad? Even if Wyatt were to win this Sunday, what good does it do him? He’s broken. With Dean Ambrose and John Cena both leaving to take separate hiatuses, it appears as though the stage is being set for Randy Orton to become next in line to challenge AJ Styles for his WWE World Heavyweight Championship, so it would naturally make sense for Orton to win here.
Winner: Randy Orton
Becky Lynch (C) vs. Alexa Bliss – Smackdown Women’s Championship
Alexa Bliss has become popular with some of the internet community since coming to Smackdown (though I guess it’s primarily to her model looks), but she’s developing into a fine heel. Now, it goes without saying here that she has essentially no chance of winning this Sunday, considering that she’s not only pinned the champion a week before their one on one matchup, but that it would be far too early to take the title off of Becky. This feud has really been comprised of simple storytelling. Not enough to knock your boots off, but it’s been decent. Lynch is arguably the best pure wrestler out of any female on the woman’s roster in WWE, so if they give this match extended time, I think it could end up becoming quite a treat. However, if there’s one guarantee here, it’s that the Lass Kicker will fight to see another day as champion.
Winner: Becky Lynch
The Miz (C) w/Maryse vs. Dolph Ziggler – Intercontinental Championship (Career vs. Title Match)
It’s kind of sad. I have loved this feud between The Miz and Ziggler, but I can’t help but think that this whole deal with Ziggler retiring would be made bigger if he was feuding with a heel/tweener Ambrose over the WWE World Championship. Him putting his career on the line for the Intercontinental Championship, the title that seems to have defined his career time and time again, doesn’t feel all that special. The Miz is enjoying one of the best runs of his career as IC Champion, and I can’t really see Dolph being the guy to take the title off of him. I thought the segment between these two on Smackdown was well done, and they really did a good job in playing up the relative obscurity that Ziggler has faced throughout his career. As much as it was meant to be a parody, the embarrassment that Ziggler has faced is an accurate depiction of what his career been like. Now, there has been recent talk of Ziggler wanting to focus more on his comedy career and has also considering being a political commentator with his appearances on Fox Business, so could he perhaps leave WWE in lieu for those pursuits? Could he perhaps take a long break and return? Either way, I really, honestly, no matter how many times Miz has beaten Ziggler, think that Ziggler will be the one to topple Miz. I think it’s more likely that Miz defeats Ziggler in their best one on one bout and Ziggler cuts an emotional tear jerker after the match. Meanwhile Miz can brag that he’s responsible for Ziggles leaving WWE and can thereby elevate the man who eventually beats Miz that way. So, yeah. I think we’re seeing the last of Twerk Boy for a while.
Winner: The Miz
AJ Styles (C) vs. Dean Ambrose vs. John Cena – WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Everything is scripted yes, but I find it hilarious that Cena claims he wants HIS WWE Title back even though the last time he held it was at Summerslam two years ago. AJ has beaten Cena not once, but twice (the latter of which was clean). AJ has beaten Ambrose not once, but twice, with both matches being with the WWE Title on the line. And Cena and Ambrose are both taking temporary leave of absences with other projects. So tell me again who’s beating AJ this Sunday? One thing I’ve enjoyed from this triple threat feud is Ambrose calling out Cena on many of what some of the internet fans may think, specifically his part time schedule and degrading those who may be considered a threat to him and his popularity. The outcome of this match is not in doubt, so I will be looking more towards the quality of the match, and I think this match will be outstanding. AJ is on a completely different level than most of the active roster for both brands and has effectively emerged as the face of the Smackdown Live brand, and he’s done it rather well. AJ, Cena and Ambrose have been fighting over the title in recent weeks at live events in order to build chemistry, so I’m expecting a very good outing from all three men here. However, we shouldn’t expect anyone other than the Phenomenal One to walk out of No Mercy victorious. It’s that simple.
Winner: AJ Styles
Agree? Disagree? Let me know. Until next time. (Oh yeah, that Curt Hawkins guy is supposed to be there right?)
