No Mercy 2016 Thoughts
No Mercy 2016 was the 12th No Mercy PPV event produced by the WWE. It took place on October 9, 2016, at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California with an Attendance of 14,324.
The show was a Smackdown Exclusive PPV on the WWE Network with 7 matches being featured on the card. One huge major change for this show was the advertised main event involving then-WWE World Champion, AJ Styles defending the belt against John Cena and Dean Ambrose in the opening bout. It was changed right on this exact date due to the second U. S. A presidential debate airing at 9:00 PM this night. On top of that they had an MLB playoff game and a Sunday Night Football game to go head-to-head with. Instead Randy Orton battled Bray Wyatt in the main event and the opening the first time the WWE Championship match ever opened a PPV show. Another hyped match was The Miz defending the Intercontinental Championship belt against Dolph Ziggler which was no doubt one of the best feuds in the WWE at the time (maybe among the main roster). It was a Title vs. Career match which ig Ziggler loss, he would have to leave the WWE.
The Good - Intercontinental Championship match was outstanding and the crowd loved every second of it. It told a huge story of Ziggler being this guy who just can't succeed and just constintly fails every time. The Miz was also on a role post the second brand split and this was the peak of the Miz's career as he IMO would be one of the best Intercontinental Champions of all time after this reign. The opening was great and had a clever ending that is rarely seen in Triple Threat matches of someone remembering the obvious No DQ to use a weapons to an advantage of a pinfall of submission. A big problem was still it being the opening match which I will get to.
The Meh - I understand WWE wanting to not counter the presidential debate but I still believe the wrestling fans both in attendance and at home who still chose this show come first. Pretty much it ain't the easy way but it's the right way. The opening while great was definitely going to give every match post-it its run. Even on top of that, I thought that was the importance of the Intercontinental Championship? I don't see why that couldn't main event the show. It would have been another boost of importance and how prestigious the championship is following the WWE World Championship. The Tag Team Championship match was good but felt like a typical TV tag match and the main event was somewhat meh. The ending was kind of flat despite the return of Luke Harper helping Bray Wyatt secure the win (R. I. P to the both of them).
The Bad - Worst match of the night was Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss. It originally going to be Becky Lynch defending her Smackdown Women's Championship against Bliss but an injury changed things. It short with the crowd barely reacting to the quick roll up ending. Nikki Bella vs. Carmella was also pretty Lackluster. Nikki Bella (who I don't think is as bad as people say her and her sister are) was just not to be so hype for in a match and Carmella at the time was questionable if she was ready for a main roster run when she was pulled from NXT during the draft. Baron Corbin vs. Jack Swagger was boring with it just being a typical match to put Corbin over in a small feud. Crowd was dead for majority of the match as well.
Overall - It was kind of a forgettable show with the match order really doing a number on it overall. I feel if the IC title match would have ended as the main event, it would have given this show a boost for at least ending on a high note. Unfortunately we ended with an average and forgettable match that was definitely affected on the quality for how great 2 matches were before it.
Score - 6 out of 10: Decent
0 = Terrible : 1 = Bad/Lackluster : 2 = Decent : 3 = Good : 4 = Awesome : 5 = One of the Best of all Time :
1. John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles: WWE World Championship - 4/5
2. Nikki Bella vs. Carmella - 1.5/5
3. Heath Slater & Rhyno vs. The Usos: WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship - 2.5/5
4. Baron Corbin vs. Jack Swagger - 1.5/5
5. Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz: WWE Intercontinental Championship & Ziggler's Career - 4.5/5
6. Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss - 0/5
7. Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt - 2/5
Best Match - Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz
Worst Match - Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss
Most Memorable Moment - Ziggler's Victory. Too bad he pretty much went nowhere after this feud ended months later.
Top 5 Performers
1. Dolph Ziggler - Top 3 match of his career
2. The Miz - Outstanding Performance
3. AJ Styles - Great Performance
4. John Cena - Great Performance
5. Dean Ambrose - Great Performance.
No Mercy 2016 was the 12th No Mercy PPV event produced by the WWE. It took place on October 9, 2016, at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California with an Attendance of 14,324.
The show was a Smackdown Exclusive PPV on the WWE Network with 7 matches being featured on the card. One huge major change for this show was the advertised main event involving then-WWE World Champion, AJ Styles defending the belt against John Cena and Dean Ambrose in the opening bout. It was changed right on this exact date due to the second U. S. A presidential debate airing at 9:00 PM this night. On top of that they had an MLB playoff game and a Sunday Night Football game to go head-to-head with. Instead Randy Orton battled Bray Wyatt in the main event and the opening the first time the WWE Championship match ever opened a PPV show. Another hyped match was The Miz defending the Intercontinental Championship belt against Dolph Ziggler which was no doubt one of the best feuds in the WWE at the time (maybe among the main roster). It was a Title vs. Career match which ig Ziggler loss, he would have to leave the WWE.
The Good - Intercontinental Championship match was outstanding and the crowd loved every second of it. It told a huge story of Ziggler being this guy who just can't succeed and just constintly fails every time. The Miz was also on a role post the second brand split and this was the peak of the Miz's career as he IMO would be one of the best Intercontinental Champions of all time after this reign. The opening was great and had a clever ending that is rarely seen in Triple Threat matches of someone remembering the obvious No DQ to use a weapons to an advantage of a pinfall of submission. A big problem was still it being the opening match which I will get to.
The Meh - I understand WWE wanting to not counter the presidential debate but I still believe the wrestling fans both in attendance and at home who still chose this show come first. Pretty much it ain't the easy way but it's the right way. The opening while great was definitely going to give every match post-it its run. Even on top of that, I thought that was the importance of the Intercontinental Championship? I don't see why that couldn't main event the show. It would have been another boost of importance and how prestigious the championship is following the WWE World Championship. The Tag Team Championship match was good but felt like a typical TV tag match and the main event was somewhat meh. The ending was kind of flat despite the return of Luke Harper helping Bray Wyatt secure the win (R. I. P to the both of them).
The Bad - Worst match of the night was Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss. It originally going to be Becky Lynch defending her Smackdown Women's Championship against Bliss but an injury changed things. It short with the crowd barely reacting to the quick roll up ending. Nikki Bella vs. Carmella was also pretty Lackluster. Nikki Bella (who I don't think is as bad as people say her and her sister are) was just not to be so hype for in a match and Carmella at the time was questionable if she was ready for a main roster run when she was pulled from NXT during the draft. Baron Corbin vs. Jack Swagger was boring with it just being a typical match to put Corbin over in a small feud. Crowd was dead for majority of the match as well.
Overall - It was kind of a forgettable show with the match order really doing a number on it overall. I feel if the IC title match would have ended as the main event, it would have given this show a boost for at least ending on a high note. Unfortunately we ended with an average and forgettable match that was definitely affected on the quality for how great 2 matches were before it.
Score - 6 out of 10: Decent
0 = Terrible : 1 = Bad/Lackluster : 2 = Decent : 3 = Good : 4 = Awesome : 5 = One of the Best of all Time :
1. John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles: WWE World Championship - 4/5
2. Nikki Bella vs. Carmella - 1.5/5
3. Heath Slater & Rhyno vs. The Usos: WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship - 2.5/5
4. Baron Corbin vs. Jack Swagger - 1.5/5
5. Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz: WWE Intercontinental Championship & Ziggler's Career - 4.5/5
6. Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss - 0/5
7. Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt - 2/5
Best Match - Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz
Worst Match - Naomi vs. Alexa Bliss
Most Memorable Moment - Ziggler's Victory. Too bad he pretty much went nowhere after this feud ended months later.
Top 5 Performers
1. Dolph Ziggler - Top 3 match of his career
2. The Miz - Outstanding Performance
3. AJ Styles - Great Performance
4. John Cena - Great Performance
5. Dean Ambrose - Great Performance.