411’s WWE No Mercy 2016 Preview

The Staff

Kevin Pantoja, Wrestling Zone Reviewer

Arnold Furious, Wrestling Zone Reviewer

Rob Stewart, Wrestling Zone Article Writer

Ryan Waterman, Wrestling Zone Article Writer

Mitch Nickelson, Wrestling Zone Article Writer

Sean Garmer, WWE Roundtable Organizer, Wrestling 2 the MAX Podcast

Jack Swagger vs. Baron Corbin
Singles Match

Rob Stewart: Confession time? I have always irrationally loved Jack Swagger. I thought he was a surprisingly complete package of a good look, good talent, and good (if nowhere near great) promo skills (his promo after winning the world title where he talked about his hometown introducing the Jack Swagger sandwich that tastes like freedom is one of my favorites). That said… yeah, we all know where he stands. He is a midcard enhancement guy at this point. Corbin will take this one since he is the more unknown quantity of the two of them.

Winner: Baron Corbin

Ryan Waterman: I think this could be a lot better than people are anticipating. Swagger’s one of the more underrated performers in the company, and Corbin has been improving since his move to SmackDown Live! Given what happened during their first match this past Tuesday, I’m going in with the belief that Corbin will score the victory to further the feud.

Winner: Baron Corbin

Mitch Nickelson: Baron Corbin is the guy that WWE wants to get over in this feud but there’s no reason to destroy this new second chance for Jack Swagger. He will lose the war but why not let him win this particular battle? It doesn’t have to be clean, just enough to remind people that he didn’t come to SmackDown to be enhancement talent.

Winner: Jack Swagger

Sean Garmer: These two have had a feud going since Jack Swagger appeared on Smackdown Live pretty much. I’ve been a huge Swagger fan for a long time, but their match on Smackdown was pretty bad. Swagger is pretty great, but I don’t know that he can carry Corbin to more than a decent match. I also don’t know that they just want Swagger to feel like nothing as soon as he gets to a new place. This feels like something they could wind up settling on Smackdown. So, I’m gonna go with a no contest for this one.

Winner: No Contest

Nikki vs. Carmella
Singles Match

Kevin Pantoja: One could argue that the talent of the Raw women’s division is superior to the Smackdown brand. However, Smackdown has handled their women way better. They all feel relatively important and pretty equal. The Carmella/Nikki Bella feud has saved Carmella. Without Enzo and Cass, she was flopping as a babyface. Nikki returning to a positive response allowed for the double switch. The feud has mostly been Carmella attacking Nikki and always staying one step ahead. She’s beat her up constantly and pinned her a few times. It’s about time for Nikki to get one over on Carmella.

Winner: Nikki Bella

Arnold Furious: Carmella has been getting the best of this feud every step of the way. The whole purpose of the interaction between Carmella and the returning Nikki has been specifically to set up this match. There are two ways they can go here. Either have Carmella sneak another win to set up an even higher stakes match between the two or have Nikki win and in all probability move on to bigger and better things. Given the thin nature of divisions in WWE these days they might be tempted to stretch this feud out as long as they can. However Total Bellas just debuted and I can’t see them jobbing out Nikki, seeing as Brie has no hope of returning as she’s pregnant.

Winner: Nikki Bella

Rob Stewart: This feud has my blood running barely lukewarm. Carmella has not been bad, but she is still well below Nikki, Becky, Alexa, and Natalya amongst capable Smackdown women. She’s embracing the heel role, but she is still a bit shy of making a real connection. I imagine she will pick up a W here so that she can continue building up some momentum.

Winner: Carmella

Ryan Waterman: They are really pushing this feud, and I can’t say that it has my interest. It hasn’t been the worst feud out there, but it’s far from one of the better ones. This is the first singles match between the two, so I’m not sure which way they’re planning to go. If I had to guess though, Carmella picks up the important first win.

Winner: Carmella

Mitch Nickelson Having watched the entire first episode of Total Bellas, I feel like I’m a certified Team Bella 4 Life member now. John’s a little mean with his house rules, but he’s fair. Carmella should lose in this match because Nikki already has to deal with her nuisance sister and brother-in-law constantly trying to let their dog take over their house and that’s just too much for her. She needs this.

Winner: Nikki Bella

Sean Garmer: WWE did the only thing they really could with Carmella and turn her. I feel like they’ve done the best they can to make her interesting and she’s constantly beating up Nikki to get the fans against. Not sure they are totally buying in, but there is something that could help that. Carmella should get the win here to continue to establish her and the feud goes on to a Survivor Series Women’s Tag or something of that sort.

Winner: Carmella

Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt
Singles Match

Kevin Pantoja: It’s just so hard to get into Bray Wyatt feuds. He just beats mid-carders and loses to top stars. Hell, going back to Backlash, he lost to Kane of all people. I give the creative team props because they’ve made the rivalry somewhat original and interesting. The backstage segments have been different and strange. Bryan’s note about Bray Wyatt vanishing and being a magician on Talking Smack was excellent. Bray Wyatt absolutely needs a big win but I don’t see it happening. I get the feeling that there’s nothing set for him going forward. Meanwhile, I could totally see Randy Orton heading towards a WWE Title program.

Winner: Randy Orton

Arnold Furious: I didn’t care about this a month ago when they had to swiftly abort their last PPV match and I sure don’t care about it after the build up they’ve given it since then. There have been some ‘mind games’, which have felt dated. I thought the Undertaker’s magic stuff was dumb twenty years ago but at least with Taker his presence and aura helped to get angles and opponents over. Bray just talks a load of mumbo jumbo and doesn’t feel like a physical threat. He needed to give Orton an absolute pasting to build up to this but he couldn’t because Randy has come in busted up by Lesnar. It’s made the build feel toothless and I don’t really care about either of them as workers to get invested in the match from a grappling stand point. Who wins? Who cares? I’m going with Randy because WWE clearly don’t care about Bray from a win/loss perspective or they wouldn’t perpetually job the guy out.

Winner: Randy Orton

Rob Stewart: So it seems these two will finally quit chasing each other around the dark corners of arenas and actually meet in the ring, right? This has felt like a long wait to get to this point. I know the consensus will likely be that Orton is an elder statesman talent and Bray is the young guy with so much career left in front of him, so Bray should win, but… I don’t know. I just don’t see Bray really moving up the card all that much. He has never shown any real desire to hold a title (has the guy ever had a title-based feud yet?), so does losing here hurt him? He’s just Whacky Bray Wyatt. He can end this feud and then just jump into another go-nowhere angle with, oh let’s say Heath Slater, based on the idea that he had a dream that a malevolent giraffe told him to. It makes as much sense as any of Bray’s other feuds. Randy still seems more likely to me to move into title contention after this is said and done.

Winner: Randy Orton

Ryan Waterman: I feel like a broken record when I say that Bray Wyatt needs this win. Since his debut on the main roster, he’s been grossly-mishandled. It seems as if Bray has always been given the shaft when it comes to marquee matches, (see: John Cena in 2014, Roman Reigns in 2015) so I’m quite nervous about this match. Going in, my heart say Wyatt finally gets that character-defining win. Although, my gut tells me that Orton gets the win, and is catapulted into the title picture.

Winner: Randy Orton

Mitch Nickelson: I don’t feel like these backstage Bray vs. Randy hide and go seek segments have been home runs of quality entertainment, but they do get an A for effort from me. It’s not terrible and they’re trying to do something different, so I’m cool with it. I hope Randy will be back in the main event soon because I want to see him vs. AJ Styles but I also don’t want Bray to take the loss. I’m hoping this feud lasts more than one month and Wyatt gets the first win.

Winner: Bray Wyatt

Sean Garmer: I wish WWE would give us something to get behind Bray Wyatt. How can you believe in a man that never accomplishes anything or vanquishes any of his foes? I know I sure can’t. Most of the populous at large also thinks this way. Bray Wyatt should get the win here, but he won’t because he never does. WWE will worry that somehow a loss to Wyatt would hurt Randy Orton, which is utterly ridiculous. Orton gets the win, but somehow they will continue this feud for some reason.

Winner: Randy Orton

(Champions) Rhyno & Heath Slater vs. The Usos
Smackdown Tag Team Championship Match

Kevin Pantoja: Heath Slater and Rhyno have been way better than I ever could have imagined. Beauty and the Man-Beast is one of those oddball pairings that just works even though it shouldn’t. Heath got the feel good moment at Backlash when they won the titles, he got a Smackdown contract and he was able to move into a double wide. However, that’s over. With his contract firmly in place, it’s time for Smackdown to move into the real money tag team feud. The Usos vs. American Alpha. They have a built-in angle from the attack by the Usos already. Their new heel work has been really good and the change they needed. Put the titles on the Usos here and have American Alpha beat them down the line.

Winners: The Usos

Arnold Furious: The end game is American Alpha winning the belts. I have no doubt of this and I suspect they even delayed this title switch in order to make sure there was no backlash against the Alphas as a team for getting pushed too hard out of the gate. Hence the injury angle with the freshly turned Usos. The Rhyno-Slater team has been fun and it’s been interesting to see them slide into a spot. The brand split definitely helped Heath Slater, who was coasting along in a group of losers for months beforehand. I can’t see Heath and Rhyno retaining here but the short title run is good for their reputation in the long run. Maybe they turn Rhyno heel to get even more sympathy on Heath? The Usos have to win the belts, or they can’t job them to a revenge hungry American Alpha down the line. That’s the main tag feud and that’s the series that’s likely to get stretched out over a number of matches. This should be a straight-forward title switch.

Winners: The Usos

Rob Stewart: Slater and Rhyno had some fun, but this will probably be the end of that. Their story has just gone as far as it can go now that Slater has his contract and they had the belts for a while; what else can they do? The Usos, meanwhile, can take the belts, refuse to answer the challenge of American Alpha for a while (or, if they do face them, retain via disqualifications or countouts) and just be hated heel champs for a few months. Before finally surrendering the gold (or copper or bronze or whatever these titles are supposed to be made of) to Jordan and Gable.

Winners: The Usos

Ryan Waterman: This may be the most obvious result on the card. I figured that WWE would take the long road with American Alpha upon their main-roster debut, and they’ve done exactly that. It appears that the conclusion seems destined for Survivor Series, which would indicate that The Usos pick up the win here. Slater’s got his moment at Backlash, and Rhyno may need to disappear for a while to deal with the upcoming election. All signs are pointing an Usos win, with Alpha waiting right around the corner.

Winners And New SmackDown Tag Team Champions: The Usos

Mitch Nickelson: I’m a huge fan of Heath Slater getting a chance to shine but I realize that the honeymoon is over. The Usos have successfully repackaged themselves into a dastardly team who keeps injuring American Alpha. The feud between Jey & Jimmy and Chad & Jason should be over the Tag Team Titles, so I see Slater & Rhyno losing here.

Winner: The Usos

Sean Garmer: It’s been a nice run for Slater and Rhyno, but this was always a short-term thing. Rhyno could possibly be elected to office soon and it might be time to see if WWE can get anything out of a Heath Slater singles run. Meanwhile, the Usos have an actual feud going with American Alpha. It will mean a lot more with the Smackdown Tag Titles involved. The Usos win and we get a real feud for the Tag Titles to follow.

Winners AND NEW SMACKDOWN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: The Usos

(Champion) Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss
Smackdown Women’s Championship Match

Kevin Pantoja: Again, I have to commend the Smackdown women’s division. Within two months, Alexa Bliss has been built up as a credible contender. Nobody on Raw has since Sasha was already one and Bayley has just been in the picture on name value alone. Anyway, this has been another fun program. They’ve done such a good job of keeping Becky as the underdog despite being champion. Alexa has attacked her, pinned her and ran her down as not being someone fit to be a champion. Like the Carmella/Nikki rivalry, the babyface is in line to finally get one over on the heel. This isn’t about Alexa winning the title. It’s about Alexa putting on a strong performance in the biggest match of her career. I think she will deliver and Becky will retain.

Winner: Becky Lynch

Arnold Furious: I’m pleased for Alexa because she’s worked hard to improve and her last six months in NXT showed that. She’s certainly ready for the main roster and her little character tweaks, the Harley Quinn appearance for example, have allowed her to shine on SmackDown. Becky is the crown jewel of the SmackDown women’s division though so nobody is taking the title off her this soon. The money match is Becky vs. Nikki and that’s likely to be either at Survivor Series or at the TLC PPV on December 4. If Alexa looks competitive in losing it could be good for her long term WWE career. I just wish they’d stop calling her “small”. When has that gotten anyone over? Don’t draw attention to shortcomings.

Winner: Becky Lynch

Rob Stewart: Alexa is, for my money, the best female talent in WWE who isn’t one of the Four Horsewoman or named Asuka. I’m glad to see WWE recognizing her abilities right off the bat and putting her in a title feud with the other top woman talent on Smackdown. I think this match is a sneaky bet to be really high quality. I won’t say Match of the Night on a card with a main event like this one’s, but… I don’t think it has much chance to be a forgettable affair, either. These two have had shown chemistry so far, and I’m excited for this. I don’t think it’s that easy of a call, either; I think Bliss has a fair chance to walk out as the champion, despite Becky having just won the title. That puts Becky back in chase position, justifies Alexa’s cockiness, and keeps the focus on these two for at least one more live special. Yeah, maybe it’s just me, but I see this as just about a 50/50 chance for both ladies. I’m going to go on the limb then…

Winner: Alexa Bliss

Ryan Waterman: Personally, I believe it’s slightly too early for Becky to drop the belt. I’m under the impression that she’s (unfortunately) holding it for Eva Marie, but that’s another discussion for another day. Alexa Bliss has received a healthy push as of late, so I’m expecting a strong outing. I see this ending with Bliss giving her all, but ends up making one mistake that costs her the match.

WINNER And Still SmackDown Women’s Champion: Becky Lynch

Mitch Nickelson: I like Alexa Bliss and think she’s a wonderful addition to the SmackDown roster but it’s just too early to think about dropping that title off of Becky Lynch. Keep Becky champ until one of the bigger shows like Survivor Series or Royal Rumble so she has plenty of time to establish her reign.

Winner: Becky Lynch

Sean Garmer: It is way too early to have Becky Lynch lose it here. This is a good defense for Becky and it gets Alexa some exposure as well. Hell, this could even continue past this show, especially since the Women’s roster is thin and you can’t have Becky run through everyone quickly. This should still be a good match though.

Winner AND STILL SmackDown Women’s Champion: Becky Lynch

(Champion) The Miz w/ Maryse vs. Dolph Ziggler
Title vs. Career: WWE Intercontinental Championship Match

Kevin Pantoja: We’ve sat through feuds and matches between these two before, but none have even come close to this one. They nearly stole the show at Backlash with their best match ever and had another great one on Smackdown a few weeks later. The added stipulation of Dolph Ziggler’s career being on the line is awesome. It makes the Intercontinental Title feel important. The Miz has been fantastic for a long time, but this is truly his best work. Dolph Ziggler was pretty terrible from 2015 until the draft. Even his SummerSlam match with Dean Ambrose severely lacked. This feud has reignited him. I feel that this will be a similar case to Jeff Hardy’s final WWE stand. He went out on a high note after a great rivalry with CM Punk. Dolph will do the same. He can go produce for the company and do his stand up or something. The Miz shouldn’t lose the title until at least WrestleMania 33.

Winner: The Miz

Arnold Furious: This is bizarre to me. The match with the most heat and the most attention coming into it, in 2016, is Miz vs. Ziggler. They’ve built it extremely well with outstanding promos on both sides. There’s a wee suggestion that Ziggler might even lose here and either go behind the scenes or simply leave, which I suggested he should have done the last time his contract was up. Miz as champion is more interesting to me and he could get a tonne of heat by retiring someone. It would fully legitimise his reign and the IC title as being a belt worth retiring for. Ziggler is a decent wrestler but his character is so played out and dull that it took him putting his career on the line for anyone to care. And a lot of people still want him to lose so he’ll simply go away. This is the toughest match to call on the card because logic dictates someone putting their career on the line is winning and yet there’s always a nagging doubt that you can’t see them going away, ever. Not that retirements ever stick in professional wrestling. I’m shocked Shawn Michaels hasn’t been back. I’m going with Ziggler but I’ll be secretly routing for Miz because that’s the more interesting angle.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

Rob Stewart: So… is all the “Dolph wants to work on comedy/WWE wants Dolph in a backstage role” talk just a smokescreen? It certainly seems likely. Because at this point, despite the stakes, it just seems all too obvious that Miz is going to walk out the winner here. The story WWE has been telling with Dolph ever since the brand split—that there is this fading star who is so close to regaining his former light but just can’t… quite… get there—has been exceptional. It’s really making me feel for and root for Dolph again. EVERYONE seems to be on the board the “Holy crap, Miz has been terrific for this whole run!” bandwagon, so he doesn’t need me to pump his tires (he has been, though), but I think lost in that has been the fire and intensity that Ziggler has been bringing. Now… is he bringing that because his ride is coming back into the station or because he is refocusing and rebuilding himself? For now… I’ll bite on the happy ending because I want to believe Dolph can keep this up for a while longer. It doesn’t hurt Miz at all to drop the belt here (he can get it back later).

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

Ryan Waterman: Recent reports have suggested that this could really be the end, as WWE focuses on shifting Ziggler to more of a producer role. Given his ventures outside of the wrestling business, it wouldn’t surprise me if this truly was Dolph’s calling-call. This should be another great match, as both men have given their all to this feud. Miz has really reached a new-level of heel, and Ziggler seems to have found a new level of emotion. I’m expecting another screwy finish though, which leads to Ziggler’s return a few months down the line.

Winner And Still WWE Intercontinental Champion: The Miz

Mitch Nickelson I’ve got to give a ton of credit to both of these guys, they’ve really got me interested in seeing them wrestle another time. I don’t believe that Dolph’s actually calling it a career but considering his political and comedy side projects, life after wrestling would exist for him. The Miz has been on fire for quite a while and this feud has brought even more great promos from both guys. I guess I’m calling for Ziggler to be the new IC Champion because once again, I don’t really buy that he’s done with wrestling. I really hope I’m not wrong.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

Sean Garmer: The Miz has been great ever since the split and even before that. The split has also benefitted Dolph Ziggler as well, mainly because this feud with Miz has been one of the best on both brands. The Miz has gained so much from it and really stands to get some major heat if he ends the feud by retiring Dolph. I just don’t see another IC Title run really helping Dolph at this point. Maybe he tries out the producer or agent thing and comes back later. But they could really elevate Miz with this win and make it a big deal for his next challenger to beat him and get a huge rub.

Winner AND STILL WWE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION: The Miz

(Champion) AJ Styles vs. John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose
WWE World Championship Match

Kevin Pantoja: From a kayfabe standpoint, there is no reason John Cena should be in this match. He lost twice to AJ Styles and then lost to Dean Ambrose. The build for this has been really good. Dean and Cena shooting on each other on Talking Smack were both great and the promo on the go-home Smackdown between the three of them delivered in a big way. AJ and Dean just going off on Cena without letting him speak was perfect. I expect an awesome match. Styles can do no wrong, Ambrose had two great ones with AJ and Cena is one of the best big match performers in wrestling history. Smackdown’s booking mostly makes sense so I’m gonna predict the best possible outcome. Styles retains and moves into a feud with Randy Orton, while Cena and Ambrose go into their own rivalry because I just want to see more of their promos together.

Winner: AJ Styles

Arnold Furious: All three of these guys are killing it on the promos, which is great news for a title match as the crowd will be invested before we even get underway. I sense it’ll be a good match too, as AJ Styles is a tremendous wrestler and Cena has a knack of being in the ring with the right opponents at the right time. Ambrose, while better in promos, can contribute too if the match is well planned out. He prefers to call it in the ring (as does Cena) but those matches tend to be passable at best. The more they plan for this, the better it will be. It’s tough, if not impossible, to call a triple threat in the ring. Normally when Cena works a feud with someone new (Rusev, Owens etc) he gives them a quick shine and then squashes them. AJ Styles is better than that. I think WWE know he’s better than that or he wouldn’t be walking around with the WWE title but the possibility of Cena winning a 16th world title has been teased specifically because I don’t think it’s happening. AJ could use a strong, extended run with the belt and I can see him carrying it to WrestleMania at this point. Aside from Big Match John, who else is taking it from him? I can see Cena winning the Rumble and challenging at ‘Mania, after losing a “final chance” match at TLC. Or something along those lines. Tying Flair’s record is a WrestleMania kind of deal. So AJ retains here. Should be a good match.

Winner: AJ Styles

Rob Stewart: Okay, well Dean is straight out, right? I am not as down on his title run as others are, but there’s still no way they are just going to put the belt right back on him (though he did get the clean over Cena on Smackdown, which is a big deal). That leaves The Phenomenal One and Big Match John. Well, it feels too early to cut AJ Styles’ reign, and yet… And yet. John Cena’s 16th title win—the one that ties him with Flair—can happen anywhere, but his 17th win has to come at WrestleMania, right? Which means Cena can win here to tie Naytch, drop the belt back to Styles in the near future, and then come back at ‘Mania for the big Seventeen. If Cena pins/taps Ambrose to win the belt at No Mercy, but then loses it back to AJ in another one-on-one, you’ve got a nice little “Can Cena beat AJ?” story for ‘Mania in half a year’s time. It’s not like Cena is 50 or anything, but he seems to be getting more and more involved in projects outside of the ring and dropping into the bottom of the main event scene for his more limited appearances… so I think they’re going to want to do the tying and record-breaking runs before 2017 is over. That could well start this Sunday. Heck, I’ve already predicted a few other victories that seem to be aligning in the other direction (Bliss, Ziggler); might as well go against the “AJ SHOULD retain here…” notion, too.

Winner: John Cena

Ryan Waterman: It’s way too soon for Styles to drop the belt. The main focus point of this match is Cena’s pursuit of his 16th World Championship. Cena’s going to be disappearing shortly after No Mercy to film the second-season of American Grit, so there’s virtually no way he wins. It would make more sense to save that milestone for WrestleMania. I don’t think they’re going to play hot-potato with the belt between Styles & Ambrose, so that rules out Dean. All signs are pointing towards a feud with the winner of the Wyatt vs Orton match, which could give everyone the Styles vs Orton dream match.

Winner And Still WWE Champion: AJ Styles:

Mitch Nickelson I’m so excited for this main event. AJ Styles is the best overall performer in WWE and has been awesome so far as WWE World Champion, Dean Ambrose feels like that he’s gotten that fire lit that certain veterans were calling him out over, and John Cena is still one of the best in the game. This could be a show stealer and at very minimal it will be above average. I think Cena and Ambrose will move on to feuding with each other after this match, so Styles can go his own way with his title. AJ retains.

Winner: AJ Styles

Sean Garmer: It is not the John Cena way to win his 16th title reign in a Triple Threat match. This match seems made to finally eliminate Dean Ambrose from the picture, who is probably taking the pin in this match too. AJ just won the belt and it wouldn’t help at all for him to lose it already. AJ and Cena should have one more singles match and there is where Cena should get his record reign.

Winner AND STILL WWE CHAMPION: AJ Styles

Overall Thoughts & PPV Interest Level (from 1 being the worst to 5 being the best)

Kevin Pantoja: My interest level for this PPV is a 4: It’s Smackdown. Since the split, Smackdown has been the best wrestling show on TV. Yes, I’m including Lucha Underground (which I love), NXT and the CWC. They tell sensible stories, everything has a purpose and the matches are great. Backlash was arguably the PPV of the year and this has potential to be even better. Outside of Bray/Orton, which still does have potential, I’m looking forward to everything on the card.

Arnold Furious: My interest level for this PPV is a 3: The barrage of PPV’s from WWE is a wee bit over the top. RAW has a PPV before the month is out and it feels like there’s a big show from the New York office every two weeks. It feels like overkill. These things need time to breathe. While the card is appealing I like variety (I’ve been watching wXw’s tag league this week, WCPW’s iPPV and grimy UK Indies) and having to sit through another WWE PPV so soon after the last two is a little irritating. If the wrestling was guaranteed to be poor my interest levels would be even lower but this should be a good show.

Rob Stewart: My interest level for this PPV is a 2.5: I’m neither dying for nor dreading this show. It’s something I anticipate liking, but ultimately forgetting about in a few months. For every match I am excited for (The triple threat main event, Miz/Ziggler, Bliss/Lynch), there is one I just don’t care about in any reagrd (Carmella/Nikki, Corbin/Swagger, the tag title match). It just looks to be a very up-and-down show, so taking the average? Yeah, 2.5 sounds fair.

Ryan Waterman: My interest level in this show is a 4: After seeing Backlash, I was convinced that SmackDown is now the “superior” brand. That belief became much more clear after seeing how poor Clash of Champions was. I’m going in with tempered expectations, but this could certainly prove to be one of the best WWE cards of 2016.

Mitch Nickelson: My interest level for this PPV is a 4: SmackDown has been one of the consistently better shows as of late so I really get into these special events of theirs. The main event is really strong and I look forward to just about every match on the undercard. Also, the last SmackDown PPV was well under 3 hours and that’s much more palatable. Please do that again.

Sean Garmer: My interest level in this show is a 3.5: What I enjoy about Smackdown is that everything has a story. The matches are built well and for the most part, the endings make sense. The Triple Threat and IC Title matches should be great and everything else in-between could fill things out nicely. Should be a damn good show.

Well, that is all for this Roundtable everyone. Don’t forget to leave us your thoughts and predictions below in the comments and we will see you again later this month for the RAW Only WWE Hell in a Cell 2016.

Remember to join 411 for our LIVE PPV coverage, starting at 7:00pm ET Sunday night.

If you’d like to listen to Sean Garmer and his co-hosts do a WWE No Mercy 2016 Preview, they also do a NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling Preview and discuss the latest with TNA, Goldberg vs. Brock, as well as Lucha Underground Season 3, NXT and more. You can click the Sound Cloud play button or listen to the show on I-Tunes, Stitcher, Tune-In Radio, Youtube, or wherever else you listen to podcasts. Just search Wrestling 2 the MAX and you should find it pretty easily. You can also find all of our other podcasts by searching for the W2M Network.