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WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN SUNDAY: THE WWE NO MERCY 2017 TIP SHEET

By Dave Scherer, Mike Johnson & Richard Trionfo on 2017-09-23 12:28:00

WWE presents the No Mercy PPV on Sunday night, live from Los Angeles, CA.

Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman for the WWE Universal Championship.

Dave: Like a lot of you, I am really looking forward to this match.  The build for it has been great and a big reason for that is that after years of dominance, someone has actually been booked as superior to Brock.  That has made this build up a lot of fun as we haven't thought Brock could legitimately lose a big match for a while now.  With that said, if he doesn't lose here it they had better have a great booking idea to explain why that happened.  I am not saying Brock should be dominated, but Braun either needs to win or be in a position to do so when something screwy happens to keep him from doing so.  Brock isn't getting any younger and only has about six weeks left on his contract.  It's time for WWE to use Brock to help the next generation and Braun is the perfect guy for that since he has gotten over with the masses.

Mike: This should be a lot of fun and a hell of a violent spectacle, but it also needs to be the moment where Braun is crowned the top guy on the brand.  The crowd legitimately likes his chaos and character and it's an organic thing, not something that has been forced upon them.  I say like WCW did with Goldberg in the past, roll with it.  Have him cleanly beat and shock Lesnar, the way Lesnar was first put on the map by cleanly shocking and beating Hulk Hogan at Summerslam in 2002.  It's time.  The match itself, by the way, looks to be so fun.

Richard:  While most people think this is the time to give the title to Braun, for some reason, I think they will keep the title on Lesnar.  While Braun destroyed Lesnar at SummerSlam, only to keep the title by the slimmest of margins, I hope they don't do that again.  I also don't want to see this match be Brock throws Strowman around for a while but Braun pops up like he did on Raw recently.   Since Braun is not as polished in the ring as a Samoa Joe, I think they need to strike while the iron is still hot for Braun.  If Braun wins, I hope they hold off the rematch until Survivor Series because if Strowman can defeat Brock on a big 4 PPV, it will do more for Braun's character.   While it might be hard for Braun to top his performance on Monday night, I think the Universal Title around his waist would be a good way to finish off this week.

John Cena vs. Roman Reigns.

Dave: Cena is in the same position Lesnar is.  He is forty years old now and by his own admission is winding down.  Reigns, on the other hand, is not.  He is there for the future.  Cena has done his usual bit of of talking down his opponent (as opposed to doing a promo that actually makes the opponent seem stronger) but at least Reigns has gotten him back a little.  I loved when Reigns said let's fight right now and Cena didn't do it.  I also liked that Reigns finally pulled out the promo from when Cena ragged on The Rock for exactly what he is doing right now, giving WWE up for Hollywood and acting.  If it's me, I book this match to have Cena get maybe 25 to 30 percent of the offense in but Reigns wins handily.  Reigns is staying.  Cena is going.  It makes no sense to book the guy who isn't there as the stronger of the two.

Mike: I really, really hope they have Reigns easily beat Cena.  I also hope John doesn't show with the same attitude and personality he showed at Summerslam, where it was all a big "ha ha" jokey sort of mode for him.  They have done a good job of buiding up intensity, so I hope this match is all about that.  They should want to punch each other's face in, so I hope they aren't doing armdrags and playing babyface with each other.  Cena is going to Hollywood and there's no shame in that but he needs to build Roman, unless they are going all "left turn" with this by having Undertaker show up and wipe everyone out for a non-finish.

Richard: I have not been a fan of the promos setting up this match because we get the jerky jerk face, knock me off my perch while I tear down a top guy Cena and the too scripted Roman to respond.  I expect the match to be good, and I am looking forward to seeing which one of them gets booed more when they set for the "Moves of Doom" sequences.  Roman needs to win this match and win in a slightly convincing manner instead of a banana peel finish for Cena to come back and smile his way through his 'whoops I lost' promo.

Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt.

Dave: I really enjoy Bray and feel badly for how he has been booked but with that said, he is a midcard guy and Balor is someone that still has a chance to be above that.  Balor needs to get the win here.  It does him no good to lose, and it won't help Bray to win.

Mike: Balor wins.  The feud has to end.  This is the place to end it.

Richard:  This time it is the man behind the paint facing the man behind the same promo for the last 4 years.  Bray's godlike behavior is slightly less effective than the 'god' character in Star Trek V.  My only wish for this match is that when Bray does his crab walk deal, that Finn kicks him or double stomps him so maybe he will stop it.  I would be more interested in a Finn/Elias or Finn/Hawkins feud than Wyatt.  Maybe we are getting closer to Finn remembering that he should be getting a Universal Title rematch?  If not, send him to Smackdown (as Andrew suggested) so we can get Finn vs Styles, Nakamura, Owens, Zayn, or anyone besides Ziggler.  There are four words to sum up my thoughts on this match:  Finn Win . . . Bray Bye.

Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax vs. Emma vs. Bayley in a five-way for the Raw Women’s Championship.

Dave: Asuka is coming, in case you missed it.  The odds seem to be totally against Bliss here, and that is why I am expecting her to win.  There are enough other scenarios between the four women where she can somehow find a way to slither out of the match with her belt in tact (and I used "slither" in the most complimentary way.

Mike: This is either going to be lots of fun or a huge cluster.  It seems pretty apparent that Emma is taking the loss here.  My guess is that Alexa steals the win after someone else wipes out Emma, only they end up on the wrong hands of Nia Jax.

Richard: I would put Asuka in the crowd or have her sitting at the announce table to 'scout' her first victim when she arrives on Raw (I still think they could have done something to have the brands fight over her, maybe by doing a Raw vs Smackdown Women's Match at Survivor Series and Asuka is the last member of the brand she signed with).  Alexa should retain, but if they are ever going to give the title to Nia, do it sooner rather than later.  I don't like the idea of adding a fifth person to a match that didn't need four in the first place.  I would love to see Emma win the title, but that isn't happening.  Sasha should not win the title because we don't need her to lose it in her first defense . . . again.  I would have Bayley get pinned and then have her snap and turn heel (they had a chance to do something like that on Monday when she was standing behind Alexa and Sasha before the triple team attack on Nia)

Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose vs. Sheamus and Cesaro for the Raw Tag Titles.

Dave: Cesaro and Sheamus have really gotten over as a tag team.  It seems like the champs are taking things for granted.  I call upset and the heels get their Titles back.

Mike: From an in-ring standpoint, this should be fun.  I don't think Seth and Dean need the belts, so I can see a title change here.

Richard: I think there are better matches for Sheamus and Cesaro against the other tag teams on Raw, but I think the champs retain, but with something happening that starts us down the road to betrayal, but by Dean this time (why not have Seth go full sympathetic babyface at some point while we can finally see if Dean can do what he did in FCW on the main roster.

Neville vs. Enzo Amore for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.

Dave: There is NO WORLD where Enzo should beat Neville for the Title.   If they do it here, the crowd should hijack the show and boo the hell out of it.  Enzo is a novelty and fine for that, but he isn't close to the class of wrestler that Neville is in.

Mike: Neville wins or we riot.

Richard:  If Enzo wins on Sunday, at 10:00 PM on Tuesday, they should turn the show into a giant eulogy for the brand.  Enzo is what is getting some people to watch the show, but he should be the gateway to Rich Swann, Mustafa Ali, Jack Gallagher, Cedric Alexander, and the rest of the division; not the person who is the champion of the brand.  I hope Neville took notes from Monday because if he can treat Enzo the way that Braun did on Monday or the way that Minoru Suzuki treats young boys in New Japan, this match could be entertaining (but not for Enzo)

The Miz vs. Jason Jordan for the Intercontinental Championship.

Dave: The Miz has been great as the IC champ and Jordan's push has stalled since their did the Angle angle.  Miz doesn't need the Title but maybe it could jump start Jordan.  What the hell, put Jordan over and see what he can do with the Title.

Mike: The right strategy for Jordan is for him to keep looking good in competitive matches and then losing, to build frustration for an eventual heel turn and match against his dad.  I'd even have Miz cheat to win and have Jordan ask Angle to restart the match only Kurt refuses, saying he can't give him any favors, just opportunities.

Richard: Jason Jordan winning this match might be almost as bad a choice as Enzo winning the Cruiserweight Title, but not for the same reasons.  They have done nothing to give us a reason to care about Jordan other than the fact that his 'father' is putting him in matches to allow him to succeed.  Miz has been great on the mic and in the ring since the brand split started and he got to show the Raw audience what we loved watching Talking Smack.  Miz has lackeys who could have been the stepping stones for the title match against Jordan, but like most things in wrestling, steps B to L were skipped and they went straight from A to M.

Elias vs. Apollo Crews (Kickoff Show Match)

Dave: This is kind of out of nowhere. Apollo hasn't really been going anywhere. Beating Curt Hawkins doesn't mean much. Meanwhile Elias has a ton of potential and hasn't been buried. He should go over here. .

Mike: Elias should go over here as a win would mean more for him, but it's the Kickoff.  I wouldn't be shocked to see Apollo win, but I am siding with Elias.  There is more upside to him right now.

Richard:  The Titus Brand was able to get Tozawa title matches, but it can only get his first client on the kickoff show, but Apollo is coming off a career making victory over Curt Hawkins.  I expected something with Elias to be added to No Mercy in some capacity.  I say Elias goes over because they would rather have us walk with Elias than be part of Titus WorldWide.

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