The past Sunday featured No Mercy, the second consecutive great Pay-Per-View delivered by SmackDown. Dolph Ziggler won the Intercontinental Championship (and kept his career), the other champions retained, and Bray Wyatt defeated Randy Orton thanks to a returning Luke Harper. With Survivor Series over a month away, tonight is the starting point for building up the double-branded show.
Opening Segment
To start SmackDown is the man who perhaps had the most emotional Sunday night, Dolph Ziggler. In his quest to save his career, he tore the house down with the Miz in what was arguably the best match of the night.
As expected, Ziggler celebrates his win from Sunday night, and he is interrupted by The Miz. The now former Intercontinental Champion says that this is far from over, and sends out Kenny and Mikey from the Spirit Squad. As requested earlier by Ziggler, this is a handicap match.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Kenny & Mikey
It has been about a decade since we saw the Spirit Squad in official competition, and it seems like there is no ring rust for Ziggler’s former partners.
After leaving Mikey outside the ring, Ziggler hits Kenny with a Superkick for the victory. After the match, the Miz immediately attacks Ziggler, but SmackDown Tag Team Champions Rhyno and Heath Slater make the save. Winner: Dolph Ziggler
Backstage Segment
Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan are addressing Survivor Series in November. Bryan and McMahon propose 3 5-on-5 traditional Survivor Series traditional matches. The first being the top five male competitors of each show, the second being the top five tag teams, and the third being the top five female competitors.
Carmella vs. Naomi
Carmella lost to Nikki Bella at No Mercy, but she showed earlier today that she is not done with the former Divas Champion. Nikki Bella was being interviewed by Renee Young about Total Bellas, and Carmella attacked Bella from behind and laid her out backstage. While Carmella lost at No Mercy, her opponent got a surprising victory over Alexa Bliss.
Carmella would attack Naomi before the match officially got underway, but Naomi showed her fighting spirit to continue on.
Nikki Bella comes down to the ring to attack Carmella, and while she is stopped by referees, Naomi rolls up a distracted Carmella to get another roll-up win. Nikki Bella tries again to attack Carmella, but the Princess of Staten Island manages to escape. Winner: Naomi
Backstage Segment
Daniel Bryan overhears Alexa Bliss saying that she can defeat Naomi “any day of the week,” so the General Manager sets up a match between the two for next week’s episode of SmackDown.
Chad Gable (w/Jason Jordan) vs. Jey Uso (w/Jimmy Uso)
While the Usos have been chasing the SmackDown Tag Team Championships, they have also been feuding with American Alpha. In the Tag Team Championship tournament, The Usos injured Chad Gable’s leg and kept him out of action and the tournament finals.
Jey Uso has Gable pinned, and Jimmy Uso interferes outside of the referee’s vision to help give his brother some leverage and steal the pin. Winner: Jey Uso
In-ring Segment
AJ Styles celebrates beating John Cena and Dean Ambrose in the same match, and says that he won’t even take a night off. Since SmackDown is the land of opportunity, he is going to give a non-title match to a man who is not even on the roster: the one and only James Ellsworth.
Dean Ambrose wants a ringside seat, but Daniel Bryan interrupts to say that can’t happen. Instead, Ambrose will be the special guest referee.
AJ Styles vs. James Ellsworth – Special Guest Referee (Dean Ambrose)
Since Ambrose is the referee, Styles can’t touch him without being fined or suspended. This match is definitely in the favor of Ellsworth, who is even getting coached and assisted by Ambrose the whole time.
After Ambrose his Dirty Deeds twice on Styles, Ambrose dragged Ellsworth onto the champion and made a very quick three count. Winner: James Ellsworth
Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper vs. Randy Orton & Kane
Orton and Wyatt have been feuding for about two months, and they went head-to-head at No Mercy. At the end of the match, Luke Harper appeared out of nowhere (after being out of action for several months) and distracted Randy Orton long enough for Wyatt to get the victory. Orton hopes to redeem that loss tonight as he pairs up with the man who defeated Wyatt at Backlash, Kane.
Orton looks to tag Kane, but the light go out for a second. When the come back on, Luke Harper is where Kane should have been, and the Big Red Machine is nowhere to be found. Bray Wyatt then hits Sister Abigail on Orton for another victory. Winners: Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper
