In the past on this blog, I've down quite a few "predictions" posts, starting at the Royal Rumble at the beginning of the year, with the last one for Great Balls of Fire in July. I've not one of those posts for the past two shows, mostly because I didn't have time, but partly because I just wasn't very interested. I'm just not the type of person to care if my predictions are right or wrong, I just feel like talking about the current product. With that in mind, I'll now be moving to "preview" posts instead, where I analyze each match without any real care about the outcome. Let's get to it then.
Pre-Show- Apollo Crews vs Elias
Titus Worldwide has been a pretty consistently great part of Raw for months now, but they've yet to be pushed to anything approaching the top level just yet. There's a lot of potential in this stable, and with Elias set in his role as a lower card heat magnet, maybe's it's finally Apollo's time to rise.
Intercontinental Championship Match- The Miz vs Jason Jordan
Jason Jordan is a very interesting case study. A young, athletic guy with all the promise in the world, over like rover back in NXT, shoved into one of the biggest stories on the red brand immediately upon his arrival. His push has yet to really click, but there's still time for him the win the fans over. Jordan winning is a fine result, but a loss here could really allow for some nice storytelling options.
Raw Women's Championship Match- Alexa Bliss vs Sasha Banks vs Bayley vs Nia Jax vs Emma
Dammit Raw, you've been watching too much SmackDown. It's the blue brand's thing to shove all of its women into a multi-person match with no real storytelling implications. Also, why is Bayley in this match?
Finn Balor vs Bray Wyatt
The Finn Balor character has been stale for about two years now, and it seems his lack of personality is finally starting to catch up with him. There's simply no reason to care about Finn, beyond bringing out the Demon paint once a year. There could be some nice routes to go with Balor if he took a loss here, but it's Bray Wyatt, so I doubt that's happening.
Raw Tag Team Championship Match- Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins vs Cesaro and Sheamus
Look, much as I love these teams and these guys, there's really not much to this feud right now. This is the problem with contractually obligated rematches- there's just never any real interest in the follow up.
Cruiserweight Championship Match- Neville vs Enzo Amore
For all his problems behind the scenes, Enzo Amore has added a lot of desperately needed credibility to the cruiserweight division already. Enzo's not a good enough worker to carry the division, and shouldn't have the belt, but he does posses the mic skills to make just about any feud work.
John Cena vs Roman Reigns
When this match was first announced, I was 100 percent against the idea. Not that I didn't want to see this match- quite the opposite. There's very few truly major matches left in wrestling, with big stars harder and harder to come by. Like them or not, John Cena and Roman Reigns are two of those guys, and their first encounter should be on the biggest stage possible. That being said, they have done some great work in their promos, and they're both solid workers, so I'll probably end up enjoying this.
Universal Championship Match- Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman
This card as a whole is a little lacking, but I get a feeling that no will care by the end of it. For months now, the main event level on Raw has been the hottest division in all of wrestling, and that's thanks in huge part to the work of Braun Strowman. This may not be his time, and this may not be his crowning moment, but Braun has proved he can hang with the best. Lesnar-Joe and the fatal four way at SS have set the bar high, but I have a funny feeling like this may be the best yet.
That's that for my No Mercy preview. Be sure to follow me at @htk0215 on Twitter for my live reactions throughout the show, and check back here tomorrow night for my review, featuring a tribute to a departed friend. Enjoy the weekend!
Pre-Show- Apollo Crews vs Elias
Titus Worldwide has been a pretty consistently great part of Raw for months now, but they've yet to be pushed to anything approaching the top level just yet. There's a lot of potential in this stable, and with Elias set in his role as a lower card heat magnet, maybe's it's finally Apollo's time to rise.
Intercontinental Championship Match- The Miz vs Jason Jordan
Jason Jordan is a very interesting case study. A young, athletic guy with all the promise in the world, over like rover back in NXT, shoved into one of the biggest stories on the red brand immediately upon his arrival. His push has yet to really click, but there's still time for him the win the fans over. Jordan winning is a fine result, but a loss here could really allow for some nice storytelling options.
Raw Women's Championship Match- Alexa Bliss vs Sasha Banks vs Bayley vs Nia Jax vs Emma
Dammit Raw, you've been watching too much SmackDown. It's the blue brand's thing to shove all of its women into a multi-person match with no real storytelling implications. Also, why is Bayley in this match?
Finn Balor vs Bray Wyatt
The Finn Balor character has been stale for about two years now, and it seems his lack of personality is finally starting to catch up with him. There's simply no reason to care about Finn, beyond bringing out the Demon paint once a year. There could be some nice routes to go with Balor if he took a loss here, but it's Bray Wyatt, so I doubt that's happening.
Raw Tag Team Championship Match- Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins vs Cesaro and Sheamus
Look, much as I love these teams and these guys, there's really not much to this feud right now. This is the problem with contractually obligated rematches- there's just never any real interest in the follow up.
Cruiserweight Championship Match- Neville vs Enzo Amore
For all his problems behind the scenes, Enzo Amore has added a lot of desperately needed credibility to the cruiserweight division already. Enzo's not a good enough worker to carry the division, and shouldn't have the belt, but he does posses the mic skills to make just about any feud work.
John Cena vs Roman Reigns
When this match was first announced, I was 100 percent against the idea. Not that I didn't want to see this match- quite the opposite. There's very few truly major matches left in wrestling, with big stars harder and harder to come by. Like them or not, John Cena and Roman Reigns are two of those guys, and their first encounter should be on the biggest stage possible. That being said, they have done some great work in their promos, and they're both solid workers, so I'll probably end up enjoying this.
Universal Championship Match- Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman
This card as a whole is a little lacking, but I get a feeling that no will care by the end of it. For months now, the main event level on Raw has been the hottest division in all of wrestling, and that's thanks in huge part to the work of Braun Strowman. This may not be his time, and this may not be his crowning moment, but Braun has proved he can hang with the best. Lesnar-Joe and the fatal four way at SS have set the bar high, but I have a funny feeling like this may be the best yet.
That's that for my No Mercy preview. Be sure to follow me at @htk0215 on Twitter for my live reactions throughout the show, and check back here tomorrow night for my review, featuring a tribute to a departed friend. Enjoy the weekend!
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