SmackDown Preview October 4 – No Mercy

No Mercy is this Sunday, and all the big matches for SmackDown Live’s second pay-per-view are set. A triple threat for the most prestigious prize in wrestling. A first defense for the new women’s champion. A career on the line versus the intercontinental championship. The build to No Mercy has been terrific, and this week should ratchet up the tension.

SmackDown Live broadcasts on the USA Network a 8PM Eastern/7PM Central from the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego.

The world heavyweight contenders go face-to-face-to-face

World Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles and challenger Dean Ambrose have put on a pair of terrific matches, and this Sunday they go at it again with the addition of 15-time world champion John Cena. Tonight, they have a verbal battle, and with some of the best talkers in the business on display it should be a great promo duel.

Expect the focus to be squarely on John Cena’s attempt to tie Ric Flair’s record 16 world championship reigns. It’s been a long time since Cena was in world title contention, and the “will he or won’t he” drama of turning from the greatest of a generation to the greatest of all time will be a major focus.

More mind games with the Viper and the Eater of Worlds?

Last week’s backstage horror movie hunt between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt was a little corny, but a lot of fun. They finally get their long-delayed showdown this weekend, so tonight is the final chance for the pair to get into each other’s heads before their one-on-one battle.

A career on the line

The Miz is in the middle of perhaps the best run of his career, and Dolph Ziggler has put his career on the line versus the Intercontinental Champion. With rumors circling that Ziggler’s contract is up soon, the stakes are incredibly high for this match, and you can expect these two to clash ahead of their final showdown.

Two more championships to be defended

For the women’s champion Becky Lynch, it seems that her victory over Alexa Bliss is a matter of course. Bliss is a terrific competitor, but an unlikely candidate for champion, though her verbal and physical abuse of Becky have made her a terrific bad guy for the division.

Meanwhile, it’s all but assured that the Usos will steal the tag team gold (or silver) from Heath Slater and Rhyno. The formerly fun-loving high-flyers have a new attitude, and all appearances have set them up to be the division’s dominant heels, even making Slater tap out on last week’s show.

Who else will do battle this Sunday?

The championship bouts are set, but there’s still room at No Mercy for other competitors to be showcased, and tonight should help to book a few of those matches. Baron Corbin and Jack Swagger have unfinished business, and the incredible duo of American Alpha will want to keep their names in the conversation when it comes to challenging for the Tag Team Championships.

Meanwhile, Carmella and Nikki Bella have been beating the crap out of each other for weeks, with the former frequently interfering in the Bella’s matches and going for disqualification finishes. Both Nikki and GM Daniel Bryan have been teasing a No-DQ stipulation for the inevitable showdown, and the issue will likely be put to rest tonight.