WWE SmackDown: Burning Questions to Address After October 4 Show

Uncertainty hung in the air as Dolph Ziggler strode down the entrance ramp on Tuesday's WWE SmackDown.

A question lingered in the audience's mind as The Showoff marched toward The Miz, the man he will battle at Sunday's No Mercy pay-per-view. Announcer Mauro Ranallo asked that question aloud: "Is this the last time Dolph Ziggler makes the walk to a SmackDown Live ring?" 

It may have been, as Ziggler's career will be on the line in his match with The Miz.

Is WWE just doing a good job of teasing his potential exit? Or is he really headed out the door at just 36 years old?

In addition to Ziggler's future, the go-home edition of SmackDown left fans unclear about what direction WWE will head with the story of Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton, who Curt Hawkins will debut against and whether The Usos are a lock to be the next tag team champs.

Are The Usos Destined to Dethrone the Champs?

After Heath Slater and Rhyno fought their way to the top of the mountain, the spotlight has shifted off them and onto their No Mercy foes.

WWE has focused far more on building up The Usos, presenting them as merciless villains on a roll. That continued on Tuesday's SmackDown.

Jey Uso took on Jason Jordan in singles action. After the bout, Jey and Jimmy pounced on Jordan and Chad Gable, leaving both men clutching their knees in pain.

Slater and Rhyno eventually played the cavalry and chased off the heels, but their screen time was minimal. 

SmackDown general manager Daniel Bryan talked up The Usos' momentum on Talking Smack. The Usos also sat down with Michael Cole for an interview that WWE posted after the show.

The champs were mostly mentioned in passing.

The story has been so much about The Usos embracing their darkness and so little about Slater's underdog rise that one would suspect that a title change is coming. Perhaps WWE feels that it got what it could from the Slater angle and that it's time to put in a more established team as the titleholders.

The Usos do have ready-made challengers in American Alpha, the duo the heels have stomped on to get to this point.

Who Will Curt Hawkins Face at No Mercy?

Hawkins is finally ready to re-enter the SmackDown world.

After weeks of vignettes and promos, the former WWE tag team champ is set to battle in his return match. On Tuesday's SmackDown, Hawkins announced he will debut at No Mercy.

There was no mention of who he will face.

Now that Jack Swagger is set to wrestle Baron Corbin at the PPV, as Daniel Bryan announced on Twitter, that leaves few options. It would be odd for Hawkins to use Apollo Crews as his stepping stone. And Erick Rowan underwent shoulder surgery on Tuesday, per Jason Powell of ProWrestling.net.

The folks at Fightful.com are willing to bet it's Kane who collides with Hawkins:

Perhaps WWE instead goes the route it has taken with Braun Strowman and Nia Jax—have him take on a no-name local talent. Whoever ends up being his opponent, fans will get to see what this new version of Hawkins is all about.

How Weird Will Wyatt vs. Orton Get?

WWE is not going to let Wyatt and Orton's feud be of the book-by-the-numbers variety.

Last week, Orton ventured into Wyatt's smoke-filled lair and displaced the monster. On Tuesday night, their battle continued to be compellingly strange.

Orton tricked Wyatt into stepping inside a shipping container and then locked him inside. The Eater of Worlds thrashed inside the structure for a while but eventually disappeared somehow.

After they collide at No Mercy, Orton and Wyatt will have ample opportunity to experiment with the bizarre.

Will we see The Viper visit the Wyatt Family compound? Will Sister Abigail, the woman Wyatt has long talked about in hushed tones, eventually appear? Will WWE continue to trek off the beaten path with this narrative?

Let's hope so. As Wrestling Inc pointed out, the story has aided Wyatt:

This is the kind of feud that WWE should be doing with him. His unique character opens the door for outside-the-box angles. The company should run with it moving forward, looking to make Orton vs. Wyatt as much of an off-kilter adventure as possible.

Is Dolph Ziggler Really Retiring?

When Ric Flair wrestled his retirement match at WrestleMania XXIV, it was obvious that his battle with Shawn Michaels was going to be his farewell. Flair had been performing for decades, was slowing down considerably and was fast approaching 60 at the time.

Ziggler is still in his prime. Whether he's really planning to go is harder to tell.

WWE played up that possibility a lot on Tuesday.

The Miz promised this would be Ziggler's last SmackDown. The announcers talked of the possibility of Ziggler walking away. And The Miz shared a mock retrospective of Ziggler's career:

If The Showoff is departing, that video would be quite the insulting sendoff. 

Of course, WWE's job is to create suspense around this match and No Mercy. Making the audience believe Ziggler could be done after the PPV is part of the process.

Wrestling fans are trained to tune that stuff out. That's why, when Paul Heyman warned that Brock Lesnar would end Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania, no one listened. 

The closer No Mercy gets, the more it seems that The Miz will prove as prophetic as Heyman.