WWE SmackDown Live! kicked off with newly crowned WWE World Champion AJ Styles coming out to celebrate his win at BackLash against Dean Ambrose. Styles, who now wants to be called ‘The Champ that runs the Camp’, had his celebration cut short by the surprise return of none other than 15-time World Champion, John Cena.
Cena has been absent from WWE TV ever since his loss against The Phenomenal One at SummerSlam although he was present for Live Events and competed in some dark matches. The Leader of Cenation received a huge pop from the crowd and immediately revealed the intention behind his return – to reclaim the WWE World Championship and equal Ric Flair’s record of 16 championships to his name.
Dean Ambrose also joined the fray and called out Styles for his win at BackLash – which was anything but a clean win considering The Phenomenal One hit a low blow on The Lunatic Fringe before nailing the Styles Clash for the win. The three were involved in a heated exchange of words before SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon also made his way to the ring.
Shane-O-Mac also revealed his disgust at Styles cheating for the win at BackLash and also acknowledged that Cena deserves a chance at redemption after he lost to Styles in a clean finish at SummerSlam. Shane then announced that the trio will compete in a triple-threat match for the WWE World Championship at No Mercy, which is scheduled to be held on 9th October.
Shane also announced that Cena and Ambrose will team up tonight on SmackDown Live to take on AJ Styles and an unknown partner in a tag-team match. The Commissioner highlighted that given that Styles is ‘The Face that runs the Place’, it should not be difficult for him to partner and also added that should the champion fail to find a partner, SmackDown Live! General Manager Daniel Bryan will help him find one.
It will indeed be an epic match featuring three of the best superstars of not only SmackDown Live but the entire WWE. However, considering that Cena is expected to go on a hiatus sometime after No Mercy – for the filming of the second season of American Grit – it will be interesting to see how WWE books the title match at next month’s brand-exclusive pay-per-view.
Will Cena win his 16th World Title at No Mercy or will The Lunatic Fringe have his revenge or will AJ Styles come up trumps against the 2? Leave us your thoughts in the comments section.
