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Cleveland hosted yet another in a growing run of strong episodes of SmackDown Live on Tuesday:The tension grew naturally around the WWE world championship and the three men vying for it, although it was largely confined to the match at hand in the main event.?Alexa Bliss?further established herself as a serious?contender for the SmackDown womens championship, and a womens tag-team match entirely separated from the title picture carried on a compelling story.The Usos?took another step toward becoming the dominant heel tag-team champions theyre seemingly inevitably destined to be.?Bray Wyatt?and?Randy Orton?brought?Halloween to life a month early (OK, maybe scratch that last one, at least for the time being).But when it came down a couple of hometown boys competing for the Intercontinental championship,?Dolph Ziggler?and?The Miz?pushed their rivalry to a dramatic new level and?what?should be a thrilling conclusion at No Mercy.It started with The Miz enacting one of the many perks of his new contract -- a homecoming celebration at Quicken Loans Arena. Miz carried his momentum through Day 176 of his Never-ending Intercontinental Championship World Tour with a few choice words about the Cleveland Cavaliers and the crowd for allowing a traitor like LeBron James to come back and manufacture a title when he had been a champion long before that point. After pointing out his parents in the crowd -- the only two people in attendance he deemed worthy -- Miz singled out Zigglers parents, who were also in attendance.After proclaiming they produced a world-class loser, Ziggler immediately came out to defend the honor of those Miz had besmirched. After Ziggler labeled Miz a cheater for his shortcuts in winning their title showdowns, The Miz snapped and basically pointed to the scoreboard -- saying that there wont be any asterisks, and that hed done much more with his career.You almost [reached] that main event level, but now youre barely midlevel. Youre the opening act. ... That gets everybody happy, but then just loses, Miz said. Your career makes me absolutely sick, and I would be embarrassed if it was mine. Let me explain something to you, Ziggler -- you should be embarrassed. Your parents should be embarrassed, your friends should be embarrassed and your city should be embarrassed. Because you have done nothing of late.I actually feel sorry for you, but you know what, Dolph, Im done here. I imagine you came out here to ask, One more match, Miz? and the answer is no, Dolph. You have nothing that matters -- maybe this ring, maybe this crowd, but everything else is done for you. You have nothing.As hes done several times in the past few months, Ziggler proved just how underrated a talent he can be on the microphone when given the right chance.Wait, Miz. Mike, wait, Ziggler called out. Youre right, man. This, this is all I have, he continued, pointing down at the ring. These couple minutes a night, 300 nights a year, this is my everything. I dont think thats a surprise to anyone. They know that I live for this. This is what I love. But you know what? Sometimes the things you love dont always love you back. You can give, and you can give, and you can give ... and sometimes, you get nothing in return! Nothing! You have friends, and family, and fans coming up to you [asking] you, why do you still do it? Why are you still here? Why do you subject yourself to this every night?Its because I cant stop. I cant, Ziggler continued, red in the face and continuing to fight off tears. Its a sickness, I cant stop. And maybe my career didnt always turn out the way I thought it would, you know? I thought it wouldve been better. I thought I earned something. I thought Id be a bigger star. But you know what? I just cant stop myself. You put that title up one more time ... and Ill put up my entire career.When Ziggler tearfully offered up his career in exchange for one final shot at the Mizs title, he suddenly and dramatically brought their rivalry to its crescendo. He also presented, clear as day within the storylines of the WWE, the kind of career crossroads that he faces in the real world.In the careers of almost every WWE superstar who spends a significant amount of time in the company, there are a few specific turning points where a career could go in one of a number of drastically different directions. Whether it comes down to the wrestler him (or her)self, circumstances beyond anyones control or the whim of someone in a position of power, entire careers become defined by these singular moments in time. Dolph Zigglers career is no different, but unlike some of the biggest superstars of this era of the WWE -- the Orton,?John Cena?and?Chris Jericho-level players -- Ziggler not?only?seemed to lose the lions share of the matches, but lose in such a way, and in such volume, that his star turns were somewhat nullified.Unlike The Miz suggested while he was running down his adversarys career as a failure, Ziggler cant be dismissed when his accomplishments in the ring are listed. There were Intercontinental championship reigns -- four of them, in fact, along with a United States championship reign and a tag-team title run very early on as part of the Spirit Squad. The two clearest moments of truth in the WWE career of Dolph Ziggler, though -- the moments that shine a light on how thin the line between the upper echelon and middle of the road in the wrestling world can be -- happened during his reigns as world heavyweight champion.His first stretch with the big, gold belt lasted less than a night and served as little more than another notch in the belt of an 11-time world champion in Edge. It was largely forgotten moment thats notable in Zigglers career only because hed win again, and stands as the first failed attempt to get him recognized as a top-level star. By the second time he captured the world heavyweight championship, when he cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase the night after WrestleMania 29, he was one of the most popular superstars in the company.A concussion issue hampered Zigglers run at the top after just two months, and despite numerous other world title matches and a few additional Intercontinental championship reigns, the bloom was somehow off the rose. He got one more moment as the focal point of the entire company when, at the 2014 Survivor Series, he was the sole survivor in a match that temporarily dispatched the hated Authority. Despite a win over?Seth Rollins, The Authority soon returned and Ziggler soon floundered again.Ziggler did draw a certain level of interest during his world title feud with?Dean Ambrose, and during this most recent run against Miz. With this final opportunity against The Miz, which?should lead to either a long-awaited big win for Ziggler or some kind of complication (a loss seems unlikely, given the finality of how the career stipulation was laid out), Ziggler has another opportunity in the spotlight.If hes unable to do something with this chance, there may not be another one waiting down the line.Hits and missesOther than some brief backstage interviews, the WWE world championship main event and the three men competing it were largely confined to the final 30 minutes. It worked well in keeping the focus on the match, which was another solid effort from Ambrose and?A.J. Styles, but it also allowed Cena to clearly?present the kind of value he brings to this three-way rivalry. Both during his commentary on this match and afterward on the Talking Smack post-show, he showed hes one of the best in the business at interweaving reality and storyline and blurring the line in just the right way. After Ambrose ran him down both in the ring and on the microphone in the past few weeks, Cena spent the last five minutes of Talking Smack picking Ambrose apart piece by piece -- and it all rang true.As you might expect with a title match less than two weeks away, Styles held on to the title in a manner that fit all of the stories the trio has told since this match was announced. It was similar in execution to their showdown at Backlash, with a nice callback to a pre-confrontation showdown between the pair as Styles was suspended straddling the top rope in an uncomfortable position. Rather than bouncing Styles up and down on that rope, he hit a top-rope lariat that was well-executed on all accounts.In the end, both Styles and Ambrose took swings at Cena, he got involved, and Styles got a roll-up by holding Ambroses tights (well, jeans) thanks to the distraction. Ambrose got his comeuppance for two weeks of laying Cena out, and Styles got an Attitude Adjustment of his own for his troubles. Theres a nice balance going on between these three, and it should make for a great showdown at No Mercy.There was a significant attempt to breathe life into the feud between Wyatt and Orton by having it kick off the show. The series of backstage vignettes were, at times, cheesy, but served a similar purpose to previous weeks -- only with Orton allowed to strike out at Wyatt.?Erick Rowan?once again served?as little more than window dressing (and the longer we wait for the return of?Luke Harper, the more questions regarding Rowans value will pop up).?The most interesting part of the series, in which Orton wandered around dimly lit areas of the backstage area at Quicken Loans Arena, were the frames that started to skip -- showing that the seemingly victorious Orton had disappeared. That portion of the video was largely glossed over on commentary, but if this rivalry is ?to gain an edge or level of excitement in the next two weeks, lets hope that becomes something noteworthy going forward.Im already missing?The Usos old new looks and muted version of their entrance theme. I thought both were simple and to the point and showed just how?low-frills, no-nonsense theyre becoming. Ill reserve judgment for now, but the changes to both seem like change for changes sake at the outset. It came as little surprise that they earned the pinfalls in their eight-man tag-team match, but the most interesting elements to this showdown were?Chad Gable, who looked especially sharp, and?Heath Slater, who got the hot tag and cleaned house -- a stark reminder of how far hes come?in?the past few months.As?Becky Lynch?came out for a match with ... well, we never found out who it was supposed to be with, Bliss attacked her from behind and laid Lynch out. The?champion sold every bit of the attack and showed why shes uniquely suited to help bring some of the younger female superstars up as SmackDown Live evolves. The tag team match involving?Carmella,?Nikki Bella,?Natalya?and?Naomi?was a solid 10-minute encounter as well -- a?far?cry?from?the 33 seconds of chaos from one week ago. CHEAP NFL JERSEYS CHINA AUTHENTIC . Zvonareva, who won the tournament in 2009 and 10, couldnt handle her opponents big groundstrokes in only her third event back after 17 months out with a shoulder injury. Zvonareva made her comeback in January in Shenzhen and played in the Australian Open but lost her first matches at both tournaments. CHEAP MLB JERSEYS CHINA .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week. http://www.cheapmlbauthenticjerseys.com/ . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. WHOLESALE NFL JERSEYS . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. WHOLESALE MLB JERSEYS . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead. NEW YORK -- The Petty Plan began to take shape a few weeks ago.New York Jets coach Todd Bowles was toeing the fine line between trying to win games and preparing for the future.So, about two to three weeks ago, Bowles decided that if his teams playoff hopes were over, he would turn to Bryce Petty at quarterback for the final four games and send Ryan Fitzpatrick to the sideline.We knew if we were out of contention and out of the running, Bowles said during a conference call Tuesday, in my mind and in my head, I told the coaches that we would give (Petty) the last quarter of the season to try to make progress and get better week by week.The Jets were mathematically eliminated from the postseason picture on Monday night, and in epic fashion while getting blown out 41-10 by the Indianapolis Colts .Bowles announced after the loss that he was going with Petty the rest of the season . Until late Monday night, the coach had justified starting Fitzpatrick the past few games by saying he thought the veteran gave New York the best chance to win.He was asked Tuesday if playing Petty was a shift in that philosophy.Just trying to win, Bowles said, and its trying to see what I have at quarterback with Bryce.Despite the plan, Bowles acknowledged a winning streak that would have kept the Jets in the playoff hunt would have postponed the move a bit -- maybe even until the final game of the season.Obviously, we would have stuck with Ryan, Bowles said. But now that were not in contention, we want to get (Petty) some experience, so were going to play him a little more.Fitzpatrick, in what could have been his last game action for the Jets, was 5 of 12 for 81 yards with an interception against the Colts. He was ineffective, as was the rest of the offense, so Bowles pulled him and went with Petty in the third quarter.Petty finished 11 of 25 for 135 yards with a touchdown to Robby Anderson and two interceptions. He made his first NFL start three weeks ago in place of an injured Fitzpatrick, and was mostly mediocre in a 9-6 loss to Los Angeles. Petty, a fourth-round draft pick out of Baylor last year, will now get a four-game audition to show whether he can be the Jets quarterback of the future.I think its a great opportunity for me, but I didnt want it to be this way, Petty said after the game. I would much rather have us in the same situation we were in last year -- on the brink of making the playoffs. What I do know is that oppoortunities are few and far between in this league, so youve got to capitalize on them any chance you get.ddddddddddddetty has shown a big arm at times, but he also can be erratic. Hes a second-year player still learning at this level, and the little details will take some time.Just trying to get my mind and my feet in sync, he said. I still think my mind is a little bit faster than my feet sometimes. Im getting better at seeing things. Now Ive just got to (think), now, OK, I see it, heres the throw. You know? And go back to, this is what I do. Thatll get easier every time I get out there. Ill get better.Bowles said Fitzpatrick will serve as Pettys backup for at least the next few weeks. He added that rookie Christian Hackenberg, a second-round pick whos generally still considered a project, likely will not see any game action this season, barring an injury to Petty.When Bowles announced to the media after the game that Petty would be under center the rest of the season, there was some confusion over whether the quarterbacks knew -- and when.On Monday, Bowles acknowledged that he could have done a better job of communicating things to Fitzpatrick, who appeared to not know that it would be Pettys job the last four games, regardless of the outcome Monday night.I didnt talk to him -- the coaches told him, Bowles said. I was meaning to talk to him and I got tied up with a few things. Ill make sure we talk (Wednesday) morning.Those few things were giving his team an earful after its embarrassing performance in front of a national TV audience.He tried to cover for me, Bowles said of Fitzpatrick. Like I said, I had a lot on my mind. I got some things off my chest. It kind of went over the wrong way, definitely.Game notes Bowles said its possible C Nick Mangold could be shut down for the rest of the season after aggravating an ankle injury. Mangold returned Monday night after missing four games. ... After ripping his teams effort after the game, Bowles backpedaled a bit after watching the film. Actually, I thought the effort was a lot better, he said, but I thought we made some bonehead mistakes that cost us. ... Bowles on the lack of DL Sheldon Richardsons snaps in the second half: It was just game plan.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '