The main feud going into the event for the RAW brand was between WWE Champion John Cena and Randy Orton. The feud began in July after Orton was named the number one contender for Cena's WWE Championship. At SummerSlam, Cena won against Orton, while at Unforgiven, Orton beat Cena by disqualification. Immediately after the match, acting "RAW" General Manager Jonathan Coachman, believing that Cena got himself disqualified intentionally, made a rematch between the two at No Mercy, this time in a Last Man Standing Match. On September 17, after threatening to strip Cena of his title for his actions at Unforgiven, Coachman ordered Cena's father, Mr. Cena, to face Orton in a match. The match saw Orton hit Mr. Cena with an RKO, while John was forced to watch at ringside while handcuffed to a ring rope. The next week, Coachman said that Orton had been suspended indefinitely for his actions, although he later said that Orton had simply been given the night off. The feud resumed on October 1 when Orton, who earlier appeared "via satellite from Chicago", attacked Cena after his match with Mr. Kennedy, knocking him out with an RKO on the announce table. However, during the match, Cena was legitimately injured, suffering a complete tear of his right pectoral tendon. As a result, the match was canceled, and on the October 2 version of "ECW", WWE Chairman Vince McMahon officially stripped Cena of the WWE Championship. No replacement match was ever announced, as McMahon simply stated that "a new WWE Champion will be crowned this Sunday."