7 New WWE Directions After No Mercy 2016
Who is on the way up after No Mercy?
Coming out of No Mercy, there are some burning questions that need to be answered. For example, just what does Bray Wyatt's victory over Randy Orton mean? Will the win move Wyatt closer to the WWE Title, or will he simply remain in the same spot as before?
The next pay-per-view SmackDown Live has to look forward to post-No Mercy is Survivor Series. On November 20, that show will be a cross-branded affair, meaning both Monday Night Raw and SmackDown will be in the house. Consequently, this splits the card almost directly in half, unless WWE plan to promote some kind of traditional elimination match that houses both brands.
If that doesn't happen, there's still scope to schedule a traditional Survivor Series style bout involving teams headed up by some of the top stars on the blue brand.
No Mercy offered a lot in terms of establishing where SmackDown would be headed in the weeks and months to come. Let's look at what the pay-per-view told us, and where the show is expected to head...
7. American Alpha Going On An Unbeaten Run
Rewind to right before Backlash, American Alpha were injured during an angle solely set up to facilitate The Usos turning heel. This meant that Chad Gable and Jason Jordan didn't appear on the pay-per-view, making No Mercy their first jaunt into SmackDown Live supershow territory.
There, American Alpha teamed with The Hype Bros to defeat The Vaudevillains and The Ascension in a bumper 8-man tag bout on the Kickoff show. Undoubtedly, Gable and Jordan were the stars of the entire match. Surely now, they are poised to challenge for the SmackDown Tag-Team Titles. It makes sense that WWE's creative team would want to push the duo.
The only problem may be that Heath Slater and Rhyno are the reigning champions. Popular as underdog babyfaces, Slater and Rhyno are not the strong heels that American Alpha would benefit from beating for their first title run on the WWE main roster.
The best thing to do may be to book American Alpha on an unbeaten run. Then, when the time is right, they should capture the tag belts from a heel team.