Eight-man tag added to WWE No Mercy Kickoff show

Plans are changing rapidly for WWE No Mercy, the SmackDown-branded pay-per-view (PPV) coming our way tonight (Oct. 9) from Sacramento.

First, a rumored injury to Becky Lynch has put her Women’s title defense against Alexa Bliss in jeopardy. Then, the unprecedented decision was made to open the WWE Network broadcast at 8PM Eastern with the WWE World title Triple Threat.

Now, they’ve added a second match to the pre-show, as American Alpha & Hype Bros will battle The Ascension & Vaudevillains in an eight-man tag during the hour long broadcast before AJ Styles vs. John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose starts the main show.

Chad Gable & Jason Jordan’s main beef these days is with the Usos. But with Jimmy & Jey getting a shot at the tag titles later on in the evening, the Alphas didn’t have a bout scheduled for the show. This fixes that and gives the other teams a chance to build their resumes.

Most importantly, it provides the kind of multi-man action which should engage the crowd in the Golden 1 Center and fans at home, while largely being inconsequential for anyone arriving or tuning in late.

Is this the last change to a card in flux?