WWE News: No Mercy 2016 Predictions For All The Matches

We’ve seen lots of WWE news reports scoping No Mercy 2016, which takes place Sunday night at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, so how about another full set of predictions?

With just two days before SmackDown’s second brand-exclusive pay-per-view in the “New Era,” No Mercy is shaping up to be a potentially good one. There are four title matches, a Women’s Division match between an established veteran and a rising up-and-comer, and three other singles matches that may or may not prove that the SmackDown brand is the “land of opportunity,” as General Manager Daniel Bryan calls it. So who’s going over and who’s doing the job on Sunday? Here are our complete No Mercy 2016 predictions for all the scheduled matches, pre-show match included.

The main event of the evening will feature AJ Styles defending his WWE World Championship in a Triple Threat match against John Cena and Dean Ambrose. As pointed out by Philly.com’s Vaughn Johnson, all three men have been booked evenly ahead of No Mercy. But even with Cena gunning for his record-tying 16th World title and Ambrose seemingly teasing a heel turn, Styles appears to have the best chance of getting the win and keeping the belt. He’s only been the champion for about a month, and it’s way too early to get the World Championship off of him.

When will Cena become a 16X World Champion? #WWENoMercy pic.twitter.com/jx0MovCFxy

— PWStream (@PWStream) October 5, 2016

Despite the Intercontinental Championship’s status as a mid card title, the encounter between reigning champ The Miz and Dolph Ziggler is arguably the most-talked about match ahead of No Mercy 2016, thanks to all the WWE news and rumors we’ve been hearing about Ziggler. These reports mostly center around the match’s title-vs.-career stipulation, which may be WWE’s way of transitioning Ziggler over to a backstage role. The Miz, on the other hand, has been enjoying a huge career renaissance in 2016, and he’s been on a roll since winning the IC title on the Monday Night RAW after WrestleMania 32. So does Miz retain and force Dolph’s reel and real-life retirement, or does the show-off buck the odds and debunk the rumors once and for all? It’s getting harder to call this as we draw closer to No Mercy, but the bulk of WWE news reports suggests Miz may be retaining.

WWE has done a great job building up the feud between inaugural SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch and her challenger, Alexa Bliss. But this one should be much easier to call, as Lynch has held the title for only a month. Expect Bliss to try hard to pull off the win through dishonest means, but ultimately fail in the end as she heads to the back of the line after No Mercy.

If Bliss loses her title match against Lynch as expected, then who’s next in line for the Lass Kicker’s SmackDown Women’s title? The answer to that question may most likely be Carmella, whom we’re expecting to win against Nikki Bella. At this point, Nikki is in a similar spot as her real-life boyfriend John Cena, and that’s taking the loss to put over newer younger talents. And that could lead to bigger things for Carmella if she wins at No Mercy.

Moving back to the title matches, the fourth and final one in our No Mercy 2016 predictions features The Usos versus defending SmackDown Tag Team champs Heath Slater and Rhyno. As The Usos have been revitalized with a fantastic heel turn, as documented by Inquisitr in a recent WWE news report, it stands to reason that Jimmy and Jey will be victorious over Slater and Rhyno, great fun as the latter tag team has been. A win for The Usos should allow them to run roughshod over SmackDown’s Tag Team Division and could set up a title match against American Alpha at some point in the near future.

As mentioned above, SmackDown GM Daniel Bryan calls his brand the “land of opportunity.” So what opportunity does Bray Wyatt have, considering he’s been a fixture of the main roster under that gimmick since 2013? That opportunity is becoming a viable title contender, instead of a directionless upper mid carder who almost always loses in pay-per-views. He’ll be up against Randy Orton, and with Erick Rowan’s recent injury and Luke Harper and Braun Strowman both on the RAW brand, he’ll be facing the Viper without any help from his family. EWrestlingNews speculated that Orton may be next in line to fight for AJ Styles’ WWE World Championship, and with that and a recent Inquisitr WWE news report and partial predictions list in mind, this one could go to the Viper.

The @WWEUniverse and #SDLive will finally be introduced to @TheCurtHawkins THIS SUNDAY at #WWENoMercy! pic.twitter.com/dC8Pj42Bqn

— WWE (@WWE) October 6, 2016

Last, but certainly least in terms of billing, we’ve got the pre-show and curtain-jerker matches at No Mercy. Baron Corbin and Jack Swagger have been confirmed for the pre-show match, and it’s been a rather heatless feud for both men since Swagger moved over from the RAW brand in September. Corbin is the likely winner here, as Swagger’s pretty much a lost cause at this point in his career.

As for the returning Curt Hawkins, he’ll be opening No Mercy against a yet-unnamed opponent. If he gets pitted against one of Sacramento’s “local talents,” he’s a sure win. But if he gets to face anyone else on the official SmackDown roster, expect Hawkins to take the loss, especially if it’s someone like Apollo Crews, whom he’s faced in house shows per recent WWE news. Still, that shouldn’t matter much in the end, as No Mercy 2016 promises to do the SmackDown brand proud with the other, far more intriguing matches scheduled for the event.

[Featured Image by WWE.com]