WWE No Mercy 2016: Winners and Losers

Now that WWE No Mercy is over, who are winners and losers from SmackDown’s second exclusive PPV?

No Mercy promised to deliver some serious action. To an extent, the PPV did just that. Though there were some questionable instances of booking, the show was solid over all. WWE threw its share of curve balls at the fans by having the world title match start the action. This was one of the best bouts of the year and the ending was just perfect.

The women’s title match being called off was underwhelming. What disappointing even more was how creative handled SmackDown’s Harley Quinn, Alexa Bliss. Carmella also showed flashes of being an excellent heel in the other women’s match. Orton and Wyatt tested the patience of fans in a slow match, and had Luke Harper interfere in the finish.

Heath Slater proved he can do more than to just be a punching bag until Rhyno saves him. Dolph Ziggler also showed the WWE Universe he still had much to do before hanging up his boots, and was one of the best feel-good moments of the year. Elsewhere, Baron Corbin absolutely destroyed Swagger and looked good doing it.

Now that the PPV extravaganza is over, though, it is time to dissect the ups and downs, and separate the winners from the losers.

WWE.com

Winner: AJ Styles

While there is no question that all three members in the triple threat came out looking like winners, AJ Styles still has the belt. That makes him the biggest winner of all three. The match was literally about John Cena, though. Bleacher Report even called this a career retrospective of The Face That Runs the Place:

Regardless, all three men were made to look good in this match. Had Styles pinned Ambrose, he would have been the loser of the contest. But WWE pulled a rabbit out of the hat and delivered a quality logical finish to the original main event of No Mercy. The fact that both Cena and Ambrose made Styles to tap also adds to the credibility of the challengers.

None of that was enough to defeat The Phenomenal One, though. He went in as the champ and he came out as the same. There is no questioning that, and is the reason why Styles is the biggest winner coming out of No Mercy. He can now look forward to capping off his phenomenal first year in WWE by holding on to the title.

WWE.com

Loser: Bray Wyatt

For the second time in his career, Bray Wyatt main-evented a PPV and actually won the match. However, the truth is, there was no clear winner. Except for Harper’s surprise return to SmackDown, there is nothing worth taking away from this bout that had so much potential.

WWE often got creative with the build up to this match. Unlike traditional confrontations in the ring, Orton and Wyatt collided multiple times backstage in strange situations. Perhaps, WWE should have chosen the same pattern with this match as well. Instead, we got a sluggish bout that left the fans wanting more. The match failed to capitalize on the intrigue it had created over the past two weeks.

By the time Harper made his return, it proved to be the turning point in the match, but too much had been damaged. The only positive takeaway is that Wyatt came out with a much-needed victory. However, this does not seem to be the final chapter in this rivalry. With no title or title shots on the line, one has to wonder how long creative can extend this rivalry by a stretch of the imagination.

WWE.com

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

Dolph Ziggler is your new WWE Intercontinental champion, and The Miz’s never-ending title tour is officially over. In the most emotional match of the evening, Ziggler put his entire wrestling career on the line for one more shot at The Miz’s title.

Fans bought into every near-fall and the match was an emotional roller coaster. This feud has managed to elevate the prestige of the title as well as to elevate the two competitors involved. Miz produced some of this best heel work, and Ziggler answered all the critics who said he could no longer connect with the WWE Universe.

The Showoff won more than the championship last night. The fact that despite months of questionable booking, he raised much intrigue about his career. Fans were left wondering what does the future hold for him as No Mercy could well have been his last night on WWE. It wasn’t, though, and he’ll continue with this prestigious title on SmackDown.

Credit: WWE.com

Losers: The Ascension and Vaudevillains

Being on the pre-show doesn’t hurt you, but when you are so far down the order, nobody believes you have a chance of actually winning. Both these teams have zero momentum as of now.

It is hard to remember the time when The Ascension was the NXT tag team champions. The same goes for The Vaudevillains as well. Remember them competing in the tag team tournament finals against Enzo Amore and Big Cass?

They could have been booked to put up at least a sliver of fight. Being heels, creative could have had gotten away with a number of options for them. Perhaps someone could have attacked with the steel chair to draw the disqualification. The babyfaces could still come out on top but that would have made the heels look slightly dangerous at the least. It may just be too late to elevate them, though.

WWE.com

Winner: Heath Slater

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about how Heath Slater’s character was beginning to fall flat. After winning the SmackDown tag titles and his contract, there was nothing more to showcase for Slater. Every match had turned into the same story of Slater taking a beating, and Rhyno saving the day.

However, in their first PPV title defense, Slater showed the world he was more than the beauty in peril. The One Man Band did more than to just hang in there and take a beating. Of course, The Usos made it almost seem like they were going back with the title. However, Slater put in one of his best performances in the ring in recent times.

That and the fact that Slater and Rhyno still have their tag titles intact makes them absolute winners. A lot of people expected them to drop the belts to Jimmy and Jey, but creative has entrusted the former Nexus member to carry his charisma to the ring along with those tag titles.

At No Mercy, Slater evolved into a fighting champion and a winner.

WWE.com

Loser: Alexa Bliss

The Harley Quinn of the SmackDown Live’s women’s locker room, Alexa Bluss, was in line for a title shot. Instead, fans got the bad news that Becky Lynch had not been cleared to compete. Bliss, however, had another thing coming her way. She was asked to face Naomi in one of the forgetful bouts of the night.

The match may have been put together in one last-minute hassle. Regardless, the chemistry didn’t exist and the match was well below average. These two women are capable of producing more. However, what puts Bliss on the loser list was the outcome of the match.

The No. 1 Contender to the SmackDown Women’s Championship took a clean loss to Naomi, who was nowhere near the title scene. Again, creative could have come up with a number of options, that could have protected both these performers. Bliss could have walked out midway through the match, draw a count out, or a disqualification. She could have done anything that would prevent a clean loss to Naomi. Instead, the former NXT stars got pinned, losing all the momentum she had created for herself.

WWE.com

Winner: Baron Corbin

The bout between Baron Corbin and Jack Swagger was nothing out of the ordinary. Yet, it was better than the much hyped Orton-Wyatt fiasco. Corbin came out as the winner after hitting Swagger with the End of Days. The match was exactly what fans expected from these two, as it showed off a physical and hard-hitting style.

Though a victory over Swagger, a former World Heavyweight Champion, is not as big a deal as it used to be, the win helps Corbin nonetheless. He was every bit of the arrogant, cocky and dangerous heel he was supposed to be. The Lone Wolf came out of the bout looking dangerous and he has regained some momentum as well.

Corbin employed typical heel tactics with great vigor. Considering WWE has nothing else of relevance planned for himat the moment, it would be wise to play up this feud until the next PPV. Perhaps a more hardcore stipulation will turn up the heat on this feud and help Corbin generate more momentum. From the way he methodically attacked Swagger’s arm, to the way he got Swagger lined up for his finisher, everything was right about Corbin in this match. That is why he is the final entrant on the list of winners from No Mercy.

Who would make your list?

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