10 WWE No Mercy 2017 Impulse Reactions
9. A Different Angle
On a recent Edge & Christian Podcast interview, John Cena commented that there'd never been a better time to be a WWE Superstar, tacitly noting a lack of competitive fire amongst certain talents happy to wait for opportunities to come their way instead of gritting their teeth through countless battles to get there.
He may have uncynically been referring to a talent like Jason Jordan. Jordan took both him and Roman Reigns to the physical limit on consecutive editions of Monday Night Raw, but feels completely thrown as a character since the revelation of his paternal origins.
A flat storyline payoff rapidly morphed into a below-zero follow-up, with the plot device unconvincing in 2017 and Jordan equally so in his portrayal. Worst still, WWE seem to have learned nothing from virtually Cena's entire career and Reigns' burgeoning one - fans from any generation will resolutely stand against someone they simply don't believe. And unlike a feverish Dallas NXT crowd that once cheered American Alpha to Tag Team Title glory, they don't believe in Jason.
In contrast, The Miz as an all-round performer is now as real as it gets. Cheered with increasing regularity for his great-not-excellent matches and the convincing nature of his effort and delivery in every feud, he's tried gamely to aid Jordan's trajectory with spiteful promos and cowardly acts, but the negativity underpinning the former NXT star's every move is currently too great. A post-defeat promo simply proclaiming that 'The Miz sucks!' did little to assuage that either.