WWE No Mercy 2016: Biggest Unanswered Questions Going into Event
Not since 2008 has there been a WWE No Mercy event, but with the rebirth of the brand split, SmackDown is bringing the name back with its latest pay-per-view event later this evening.
This will be the second of SmackDown's exclusive events, and it boasts a rather impressive card that has a lot of potential, although we won't know whether it lived up to the hype until everything is said and done.
That isn't the only question that is up for discussion, though, as every WWE event has its mysterious variables.
Could Heath Slater afford to keep his double-wide trailer if he loses the SmackDown Tag Team Championship pay bonus? Why in the world are Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt not fighting in a Boiler Room Brawl match, especially considering their recent choices in location for their confrontations?
Even when putting aside the comical ideas above, as well as the standard unknowns of who will win the matches, there are still some other aspects of the card to ponder. This close to the first bell, some questions continue to linger in the air without any solutions.
Here's a breakdown of some of those unanswered queries heading into WWE No Mercy 2016.
How Will WWE Circumvent Becky Lynch's Injury?
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According to Figure Four Online (h/t Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc), Becky Lynch has been pulled from the No Mercy card due to an undisclosed injury. This, of course, means her previously scheduled title defense against Alexa Bliss will be taken off the card.
The first question to address is what the injury actually entails. Is this something that will require Lynch to vacate the championship and spend several weeks or months on the sidelines?
Second, why has WWE let something like this happen twice in a row? The SmackDown brand's first solo event featured Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt as one of its major selling points, yet days before the pay-per-view, Orton was pulled in similar fashion to what is happening with Lynch now.
Is this just an instance of bad and coincidental timing, or is there a bigger picture to examine?
It seems odd that, twice in a row, a match was scheduled and then pulled at the last minute. This either screams of oversight to injuries, where the company isn't paying enough attention to how the wrestlers are feeling going into an event, or it's a side effect of the brand split putting too much strain on the Superstars.
In any scenario, this doesn't look good for SmackDown. The blue brand shouldn't have this type of stigma on both of its pay-per-views. Should fans expect someone to get injured the night before Survivor Series and TLC as well?
Last but not least, how is WWE going to replace this match? The roster is so thin as it is, and when you remove a title match from a card, that takes away a lot of importance.
If Alexa Bliss has a random match against Naomi just to eat up some time, nobody is going to care in comparison, and it will only hurt SmackDown's credibility. Worse, if the match is pulled and nothing goes in its slot, WWE will probably eat up that time with unnecessary filler promos, which drag down the energy of the event.
Accidents happen, and injuries are always unfortunate in any scenario, but this lack of preparation, foresight and attention to detail can't continue to happen if WWE wants the fans to think of SmackDown as anything more than the B-show everyone has criticized it as being.
Are There Any Loopholes to the Title vs. Career Stipulation?
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As it is presented to us, Dolph Ziggler will either win The Miz's Intercontinental Championship or retire, but history has shown that the rules in WWE aren't always so black and white.
Naturally, if there is any way around those two options, the writers will want to keep things hush to surprise the audience. After all, we're supposed to assume The Showoff is backed into a corner.
In fact, The Miz shattered two of those fallback plans by clarifying that Ziggler wouldn't just come back in a few months or move over to the Raw brand as a means to avoid truly having his career on the line.
However, what about the potential loopholes that haven't been addressed?
All of the phrasing has neglected mentioning that this is in any way a No Disqualification match. Therefore, what happens if The Miz gets counted out or disqualified?
Technically, Ziggler would have won the match, but he still wouldn't be the champion, as the title doesn't change hands outside of a pinfall or submission.
Likewise, how could Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon—two authority figures who have made it a point to be booked as honorable characters—be OK with an outcome where Maryse gets involved?
If she causes another distraction, will Ziggler be given a pass and not have to quit because he was cheated out of a potential win, or will they just turn a blind eye and chalk it up to the universe being on The Miz's side?
For that matter, does The Miz's specifications of Ziggler not coming back or appearing on Raw hold any merit? He wasn't able to dictate the full terms of his new contract, so he can't weigh in on someone else's, right?
This is likely an oversight and a matter of thinking too much, but whenever there is wiggle room for WWE to take a detour and go with a mysterious third option instead of a heads-or-tails coin flip, it's always wise to speculate where a twist might come into play.
In a matter of Ziggler either becoming the champion or no longer being a wrestler, there's enough doubt that neither of those scenarios will be the outcome. SmackDown could still keep The Showoff on its roster while The Miz continues his reign as champion.
What Happened to the No DQ Stipulation for Nikki Bella and Carmella?
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Some hints were dropped on Talking Smack that, when Carmella and Nikki Bella squared off, it would be a No Disqualification match.
Women's matches rarely have such freedom, which is mostly limited to Triple Threat or Fatal 4-Way gimmicks that, by default, can't have count-outs or disqualifications.
In those circumstances, though, the extreme element barely exists, as it's more of a question of functionality than style. When it comes to announcing something as an actual No Holds Barred match, it's implied to the audience that it will be more violent than a normal encounter.
Since Carmella has had a mean streak running through her, consistently attacking Bella from behind and leaving her in a heap, some buzz started picking up that they would up the ante and follow through with something different for a change. But that all went out the window when this was announced as just a regular match.
Why is that? Daniel Bryan specifically mentioned that he would be interested in seeing that, so if he's the general manager of SmackDown, he has it in his power to make it happen but chose not to?
The reality of the situation is the creative team chose not to follow through with the idea, but something must have sparked the change.
Could it be a matter of wanting to save this for later down the line, starting with a standard match and building up to something bigger?
Is there a problem with Bella's injury status that would prevent her from wrestling a rougher style?
Might this even be a situation where WWE wants to have Sasha Banks and Charlotte compete inside Hell in a Cell and thought a No Disqualification match at No Mercy would take away from the impact of that?
As far as the storyline side of things, why not have Bryan address the issue and explain that he took the stipulation off the table to help protect his sister-in-law?
This wasn't a necessity for the feud, but it would have put some extra zing into the match to get the crowd excited. With it reverting back to a regular match, that's a bit of a disappointment. The lack of an explanation as to why the carrot was dangled in front of everyone and then taken away is perplexing.
Who Will Curt Hawkins Face?
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For weeks, Curt Hawkins has been advertised as returning to the WWE roster, toying with the timing and not fully committing to anything until it was finally announced that he would "step in the ring" at No Mercy.
That implies that he will be wrestling, although judging by the way his vignettes have been going down, it could easily just be a matter of him literally stepping into the ring to cut another terrible Chuck Norris ripoff joke.
Hopefully the audience isn't in store for just a talking segment, but there's yet to be any announcement regarding his potential opponent if he is scheduled for an actual match.
Looking at the roster, there aren't too many options left to pick from who aren't otherwise busy or unavailable.
Assuming he will debut as a heel, which is where his character's alignment has mostly been in the past, that would seemingly rule out The Vaudevillains, The Ascension, and Breezango, leaving only The Hype Bros, Apollo Crews and Kane on the table.
Out of those four babyfaces, Crews would probably be the most likely candidate. Hawkins never reached a level past the midcard range in WWE beforehand, and it's doubtful he'll surpass that now, so a win over Crews would not only go with the way Crews has been treated of late, but it's also much more believable than seeing Kane lose.
On the flip side, if Hawkins is supposed to be a joke who can't be taken seriously—as his promos seem to indicate—perhaps a quick loss to Kane is how WWE plans on debuting him to the SmackDown audience.
The most interesting way this could go down is if Hawkins is involved with either of The Hype Bros, as he has a long-standing history with Zack Ryder from when the two were The Major Bros from 2007-2009.
Would Ryder be more loyal to his new tag team partner or his old best friend? Which one is the real bro to him? Is there maybe a stable in the works, with the three of them forming the triumvirate of The Major Hype Bros?
At the least, any option that includes him wrestling will be a much more entertaining segment than another promo, and that is a fact.
How do you feel about these issues? Do you think you know the answers to the questions presented here? What other questions are still on your mind heading into No Mercy?
Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
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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