WWE No Mercy 2017: Matches & Predictions

2016’s No Mercy event turned in a pretty solid performance for the SD Live brand.

But for 2017, Raw is being handed the reigns to that WWE PPV staple. And by the looks of things, Kurt Angle’s brand is set to rival the Blue Brand’s take on the show. The Universal Championship main event will erupt into a mega hoss battle between the champ (Brock Lesnar) and his behemoth challenger (Braun Strowman). Then, two of WWE’s biggest franchise players will face off in a dream match that’s WrestleMania worthy – John Cena vs. Roman Reigns. For such a B-level PPV, No Mercy 2017 is jam packed with marquee matches that aim to please.

It’s time for me to break down each and every match, then offer my predictions on who will win it all at No Mercy 2017.

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Apollo Crews vs. Elias

Predictions & Winner: Apollo Crews mopped the floor with Curt Hawkins on this past episode of Raw, so now he’s onto facing another mid-carder who’s floundering as much as he is. Crews gets the win here just cause. Can these guys get a decent storyline with some actual character development, please? These meaningless Kickoff Show matches aren’t doing guys like them any favors…

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Neville (c) vs. Enzo Amore (WWE Cruiserweight Championship)

Predictions & Winner: The way the universe works is so confusing and ever so cruel. Big Cass was supposed to be the one making better strides after splitting up with his former boy Enzo. Then out of nowhere, Enzo defeats Cass in a street fight and the big man is forced to leave the arena in an injured state. So now, Enzo has actually moved on to bigger and better things by aiming his sights at the Cruiserweight Championship. His numerous wins on Raw and 205 Live have pushed him into top contention for Neville’s championship (which is something that still baffles me). To put it bluntly, Enzo sucks in the ring. But the man can talk, which is always a plus in the WWE. Yet I still can’t fathom Enzo defeating Neville, who’s still experiencing a career high. That bump in the road committed by Akira Tozawa to Neville didn’t do too much harm to him since he easily regained the title. And I’m sure he won’t let Enzo be the one to stop him so soon into his 2nd Cruiserweight Championship run.

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Finn Bálor vs. Bray Wyatt

Predictions & Winner: So this match actually turned out to be a pretty solid contest at SummerSlam. But it wasn’t as epic as it should have been. Bray hardly tapped into his mind games and just let Finn run roughshod over him. I totally get that Finn was in Demon form, but Bray still should have gotten more decent offense in. Welp, it looks like Finn is going to be forced into wrestling under his normal guise this time. There’ll be no demonic antics here as Bray has called out Finn for a man-to-man rematch. I figure Bray’s due for one of those “Hey look guys, I’m still a threat!” wins, so I’m going with him. This’ll set up a tie breaker matchup between both men that’ll probably go down on a random episode of Raw.

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Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley vs. Nia Jax vs. Emma (Fatal 5-Way Match for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship)

Predictions & Winner: Sasha Banks’ championship run booking is so strange to me. She’ll win it during some triumphant match on Raw or on PPV, then lose it mere weeks later to the former title holder. She deserves a lengthy run with Raw’s Women’s strap, but it looks like that’s a pipe dream for now. She’s going to take on Miss Bliss once again, but now both ladies have to keep their eyes on their back. Nia Jax and Emma have been inserted into their rematch proceedings, which is pretty cool if you ask me. Emma’s one of the more underrated female competitors on Raw, plus Jax is steadily improving. Then there’s the X-Factor in all this – the fully healed Bayley. I think she’ll be the one who’ll take Banks’ focus away from the champ in some form or fashion. Their friendly rivalry will probably take a turn for the worse due to the outcome of this bout. I’m very much looking forward to this match since all five women are capable of performing at the highest level during multi-women matches. Bliss is a sneaky lil’ she-devil who tends to come out on top more often than not, so I’m selecting her as the victor here.

The Miz vs. Jason Jordan (WWE Intercontinental Championship)

Predictions & Winner: Crazy to think that this match would have been pretty fitting on this year’s past Summerslam (having both men and their associates play to a crowd of practically no one during the Kickoff Show sucked…). But alas, here we are. Kurt Angle’s “seed” is finally getting a big opportunity now that he’s a part of the Raw roster – a chance to claim the Intercontinental Championship from The Miz. The Miz is having another Golden Age these days thanks to his stranglehold over the IC Championship, his healthy relationship with Maryse (THEY’RE HAVING A BABY!) and his backup in the form of The Miztourage. Cutting The Miz off at this very moment in his career doesn’t really make a ton of sense…yet. Jason Jordan is simply not as hot as he should be, so taking the loss here due to controversy seems fitting. With such a controversial loss on his record against The Miz, Jordan can take more time to further build his personality and get the crowd behind him. Maybe then he can become the next IC Champion. The Miz is not dropping the IC Championship here during this match, though.

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Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Cesaro and Sheamus (WWE Raw Tag Team Championship)

Predictions & Winners: So I was totally off on my prediction for this bout at SummerSlam. I wrongly predicted Ambrose being extra petty and turning his back on Rollins to repay him for breaking up The Shield. But it seems I misread Ambrose’ character; he’s far more honorable than I originally thought. His good stature and forgiveness of Rollins led to Ambrose winning the Raw Tag Team Championship with his former stablemate. And as expected, the rematch clause has been enacted for this bout at No Mercy. Ambrose and Rollins are a pretty hot act at the moment and it would be far to soon to relinquish them of the titles. Cesaro and Sheamus have morphed into an awesome tag team that can go on to face new contenders and flourish without the titles. I see Ambrose and Rollins winning here.

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John Cena vs. Roman Reigns

Predictions & Winner: Man oh man…we’re getting this massive dream match at No Mercy. Here’s the type of bout that would be better served at this year’s Survivor Series, but the Raw Brand is going all in on this match to make its B-level PPV more special. I thought I wouldn’t care too much about this match until both Superstars started laying down scathing promos against each other. It’s clear that Cena’s far superior to Reigns on the mic, but Reigns still managed to throw out a few savage zingers at Cena.

As far as grudge matches go, this one’s been built up surprisingly well. It’s the battle of WWE’s Golden Boys, Vince McMahon’s Chosen Ones and the men that are the most divisive amongst the WWE Universe. Since it’s apparent that Cena is moving into a post-WWE life that involves more Hollywood bookings, he’s been burning through all his dream match scenarios. He might have beaten Corbin, but he took a big L from Nakamura to further solidify him. I see Cena taking a big L from Reigns here too, which proves that WWE is still riding high on the new main babyface’s gravy train. By the way, I think Cena’s little dig at The Undertaker is setting him up for a match with the formerly retired “Deadman” at either the next Royal Rumble or WrestleMania 34.

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Brock Lesnar (c) (with Paul Heyman) vs. Braun Strowman (WWE Universal Championship)

Predictions & Winner: I. Can’t. Wait. For. This! Strowman proved that he can be Lesnar’s kryptonite when he manhandled him during the SummerSlam main event. Braun’s been perfectly set up as a destroyer who has the capacity to take out Raw’s biggest competition. Lesnar is still the ruler of the Raw kingdom, but Strowman looks to be the man to change that role of his. This one will probably go a bit longer than Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe and probably be way more chaotic to boot. For the first few moments of this monster mash, Strowman will have the upper hand. But like most of Lesnar’s post-UFC career bouts, he’ll go German Suplex crazy and do some manhandling of his own. Both monsters will lay into each other with everything in their arsenal, but it’ll be Lesnar who leaves this bout with the Universal Championship in tow. I’m banking on Lesnar defending his title against Reigns at Survivor Series after surviving this ordeal.