WWE No Mercy 2017: Full Predictions for Brock Lesnar, Neville and Each Champion
WWE No Mercy 2017 is scheduled for Sunday at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
While the main event of the evening may be John Cena vs. Roman Reigns, every championship on the Raw brand will be defended throughout the night.
Following on from his impressively dominant performance at SummerSlam, Braun Strowman seeks to capitalize on his momentum by dethroning universal champion Brock Lesnar.
The Monster Among Men isn't the only viable contender for a title, as all the champions will be put to the test, meaning every belt could change hands.
Who will retain their gold, and which challengers will dethrone the titleholders?
Let's gaze into our crystal ball and give our predictions for how these title matches will play out and where the champions will end up.
Raw Tag Team Champions Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins
1 of 5
The easiest call to make as far as championship predictions for No Mercy goes is that Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins will be retaining their titles against Cesaro and Sheamus.
The Bar just simply can't compare to the reunited Shield members in terms of importance and impact on the roster.
Sheamus and Cesaro had their time as champions to prove their tag team wasn't a waste of build, and it's time for Rollins and Ambrose to do the same.
For them to put aside their differences after years of being at odds with each other, only to drop the titles on their first defense, would make no sense and would be backward storytelling.
We should be a long way off worrying about when new champions will be crowned and whether Rollins and Ambrose will turn on each other, so they must retain at No Mercy.
Intercontinental Champion The Miz
2 of 5
Conversely, as easy as it is to predict what will happen with the Raw Tag Team Championships, the opposite is the case for the Intercontinental Championship.
There's just as much of a likelihood that Jason Jordan is successful in dethroning The Miz as there is that the title will stay exactly where it is.
It's undeniable The Miz has done more for the Intercontinental Championship than essentially any wrestler in WWE over the past dozen years, so the longer he keeps the belt, the easier it is to imagine he will simply hold on to it because of how good he is for the belt's prestige.
However, Jordan is the up-and-comer who could use the title more as a prop to get him over with the audience, one way or another.
On one hand, there's a story to be told with him overcoming the odds and being a wrestler's champion, trying to live up to father Kurt Angle's legacy.
Alternatively, if the fans don't respond to that, Jordan could always let the title go to his head and turn heel.
This one is so difficult to pick that you can list all the potential scenarios of determining factors for either possible outcome and still not be able to narrow it down.
For all we know, WWE's creative team may still be in the dark on which man will walk out with the title and could decide at the last minute depending on the direction the wind blows.
Cruiserweight Champion Neville
3 of 5
Minus a short stint when the belt was on Akira Tozawa, Neville has lived up his King of the Cruiserweights moniker during his time on 205 Live.
This isn't going to be tested by Enzo Amore, who is mostly being booked as a clown looking for his next laugh.
It's a great spot for Amore, who needs this switch to the cruiserweight division, but that doesn't mean the transition should come with a title.
Neville is on a mission to prove Amore doesn't belong in 205 Live, and judging by his track record of proving that nobody on that roster is on his level, it's safe to assume the champion will hold on to his belt by hook or by crook.
Amore will be outclassed in the ring, making this an uphill battle he can't win.
The only way the title switches to Amore instead of staying on Neville is if WWE's plan is to put it on the better talker of the two for shock value and to ride the momentum of his freshness on the roster.
There are never any certainties, but given Neville's treatment so far, it should be a safe bet to predict he will be retaining the title.
Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss
4 of 5
When it comes to Alexa Bliss's time as Raw women's champion, one thing is certain: Her days are numbered.
Whether the death knell comes at No Mercy or she's able to hold on to the title for a little while longer, Bliss has so many challenges heading her way it's going to be an insurmountable task to walk out of 2017 with the title.
The next hurdle she has to get over is her four opponents at No Mercy, although not all of them are threats.
Emma stands essentially no chance of winning this match, so she can be written off as the sacrificial lamb.
Bayley's addition to the match is suspicious, as it's unclear whether this was just to spice things up or whether she's going to be playing a specific part in the way things unfold.
Sasha Banks already had her feud with Bliss and not only won the title but dropped it back quickly, meaning she's probably not going to win.
Nia Jax, however, is an enormous threat and could well be leaving with the championship, depending on WWE's plans for Asuka, who is by far the biggest impending doom for whichever Superstar is holding the belt once she makes her main-roster debut.
Bliss will either retain here in order to drop it to Asuka or she will drop the title to Jax so she can do that down the line.
Rather than playing hot potato and giving away Jax vs. Asuka already, the odds should be tipping ever so slightly in favor of Bliss squeaking by with a victory.
Universal Champion Brock Lesnar
5 of 5
With the way things have been handled the past few months, WWE has made it clear it isn't budging in its plans to have Brock Lesnar face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34 in 2018.
Regardless of whether you agree this is the best decision, it simply doesn't matter—that is going to happen, so deal with it.
In the meantime, we've seen what happens with these Universal Championship matches, so this contest will probably follow suit.
Just as Samoa Joe was built up to be someone who could pose a challenge to Lesnar only to come up short, Braun Strowman is being cast in the exact same role.
Sure, he looks like he's dominant and has The Beast Incarnate's number, but that's just to psych everybody up with the idea that the title might change hands before having it stay put.
Lesnar comes out of it looking stronger than ever. Meanwhile, WWE will try to backtrack with Strowman to point out how close he came and for us to not be disappointed with the title's placement above the glass ceiling he isn't allowed to shatter, no matter how loud the crowds get.
Eat, sleep, rinse and repeat from what we had before.
If you're looking for a new universal champion to be crowned, fast forward to WrestleMania. And if you're interested in someone other than Lesnar or Reigns holding that belt, you should set your alarm clock for SummerSlam 2018.
Despite having all the momentum in the world and getting over with the WWE Universe, Strowman will be unsuccessful here. The belt is staying with Lesnar.
Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
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