WWE No Mercy 2016 Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights

The jumbled order of WWE No Mercy 2016 took fans on a jarring ride.

Sunday's SmackDown-exclusive pay-per-view began at its high point, a thriller for the WWE World Championship where AJ Styles outlasted John Cena and Dean Ambrose. The show's de facto main event —Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton—ended up being a snoozer, capping off the night in underwhelming fashion.

Dolph Ziggler's fight to keep his career alive could have headlined No Mercy. It was The Showoff's best outing to date—an emotional, moving work of theater.

Cena's pursuit of 16 world titles, which was the expected main event, would have been a stellar climax, as well.

Instead, seemingly in a reaction to the viewership it expected to lose to the presidential debates, WWE reimagined the PPV formula. The main event went on first. A sluggish, middle-of-the-card battle went on last.

Orton vs. Wyatt did not build on the outside-the-box storytelling fans had seen of the feud up to this point. It limped along, while the night's top battles soared.

Had WWE placed it elsewhere on the PPV and left fans with the image of Styles celebrating or Ziggler surviving, No Mercy would have been far better off for it.

Curt Hawkins 'Debut' (Pre-Show)

Curt Hawkins stepped into the ring and chuckled as he said he had done as promised. He announced he would have his first match on Tuesday's SmackDown.

Hawkins strutted out of the ring with his cane in hand.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

• "When Curt Hawkins takes a day off, it stays off."—Narrator.

Grade

F

Analysis

Whoever put this together needs to have their job evaluated.

Why not throw this on the PPV itself? Why just tease his debut again? This was a waste of time, and its placement made the moment and Hawkins himself look insignificant.

His gimmick looked just as silly in the flesh as it did via vignettes. Hawkins will have a mighty uphill climb ahead of him trying to get this gimmick over.

American Alpha, The Hype Bros vs. The Vaudevillains, The Ascension (Pre-Show)

As the announcers talked up how much momentum was at stake here, Aiden English of The Vaudevillains and Chad Gable of American Alpha kicked things off. Gable and Jason Jordan outwrestled English early on. 

Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley maintained the babyfaces' control, both members of The Hype Bros frustrating Viktor.

The Ascension later slowed the bout down. The duo worked well with The Vaudevillains to punish Ryder in their corner.

Eventually, the match turned briefly chaotic with just about everyone getting involved. American Alpha teamed up on English to put away their foes.

Result

The Hype Bros and American Alpha win via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

• Fans chant "Let's go, Ryder!"
• Gable and Jordan hit simultaneous German suplexes on The Vaudevillains.

Grade

D+

Analysis

A lack of intensity and meaning hurt this throw-together tag team contest. The announcers' attempt to sell this as a means to move into contention rang hollow.

This was pre-show filler with a few bursts of electricity, most of it courtesy of American Alpha.

When WWE can pass off The Ascension or The Vaudevillains as genuine threats to anyone, this matches will have far more impact. For now, The Usos are the only viable heels in the division.

AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose vs. John Cena (WWE World Championship)

WWE threw a curveball and kicked off the PPV proper with the main event.

Dean Ambrose pounced on both AJ Styles and John Cena, setting off a fiery brawl. The fight moved to the outside where The Lunatic Fringe briefly reigned. 

Cena's power earned him the momentum. Styles' high-flying put him on top for a time. Ambrose relied on back-alley offense. 

Styles ousted Ambrose from the contest for a long stretch by throwing him onto the ring steps. That left The Phenomenal One and Cena to push each other, each man trading the advantage.

Ambrose charged into the action. He nearly seized the match as it grew wilder and more high-octane.

Near-falls followed near-falls as each wrestler hit their biggest moves.

Cena clamped on the STF on Styles as Ambrose wrenched the champion's leg. Styles tapped out, but the referee called the submission decision off when he realized two opponents had on submission holds. 

Cena had Ambrose beat moments later, but Styles used a steel chair to knock out The Face That Runs the Place to score a three-count.

Result

Styles wins via pinfall to retain the world title.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

• Cena slams Ambrose into a ring post.
• Styles dives out of the ring to nail Cena with a flying forearm.
• Cena tosses both Ambrose and Styles with a German suplex.
• Styles hits a top-rope Frankensteiner. 
• Ambrose kicks out of the Attitude Adjustment.
• Styles suplexes Cena onto the ring apron.
• Ambrose grabs Styles hand to prevent him from tapping out.
• Cena lifts both foes over his shoulders with the Attitude Adjustment.
• "In the craziness of Dean Ambrose, sometimes you see brilliance."—John "Bradshaw" Layfield.

Grade

A+

Analysis

Styles, Cena and Ambrose made sure this clash lived up to all its hype.

The flow of the match was near-perfect. Each wrestler looked strong. A litany of huge moves comprised a thrilling title bout.

The announcers did well to play up the significance of Cena potentially winning, and that led to a great supply of suspense throughout. It was smart of WWE to delay that victory and Cena tying Ric Flair's record. Delaying that moment will only make it more powerful.

Nikki Bella vs. Carmella

As soon as the bell rang, Nikki Bella unloaded on Carmella, but her attack was short-lived.

The Princess of Staten Island beat up her foe, dishing out vicious offense. Carmella focused on the babyface's neck and squealed as she held Bella down. 

It took a furious comeback for Bella to get back on top. She hit Carmella with the new version of the Rack Attack to secure the win.

Result

Bella wins via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

• Carmella slams Bella into the LCD display on the side of the ring.
• Bella powers out of the Code of Silence.
• "Are you kidding me?"—Carmella to the referee.

Grade

B-

Analysis

A handful of awkward spots hurt Carmella's overall strong performance. The Princess of Staten Island handled all the emotion and energy of the battle well, but she and Bella seemed to be off-rhythm a time or two.

Bella's win should anger Carmella, turning up the volume on this feud moving forward. 

Carmella is still raw, but she has shown flashes of being a potential key to the women's division. The next chapters of her rivalry with Bella will help her advance to that level.

Heath Slater and Rhyno vs. The Usos (Tag Team Championship)

Heath Slater ran into trouble early in the tag team title match. The Usos throttled the champ in their corner leaving him wobbly.

Rhyno didn't fare much better. He took plenty of punishment from Jimmy and Jey Uso.

A fired-up Slater upped the bout's pace. He battled hard and survived The Usos' onslaught. Eventually, Rhyno steamrolled over Jimmy to put away the challengers.

Result

Slater and Rhyno win via pinfall to retain the SmackDown Tag Team Championship.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

• Fans chant "He's got kids!" about Slater.
• Jimmy flings Slater into the air before nailing Slater with a Samoan Drop.
• Slater powerslams Jey off the top rope.

Grade

B+

Analysis

The Usos provided a convincing threat to the titleholders and looked assured of going home with the belts at times. They have done well to tone down their high-flying moves and trade them for more heel-appropriate savagery.

This was one of Slater's better in-ring performances. He looks inspired by all the opportunities coming his way.

WWE wisely held off on taking the titles from Beauty and The Man Beast. 

There is still drama to harness from this story. Slater's run has been one of the funnest part of SmackDown since the brand split. This victory allows him to remain in the spotlight for a while longer at least.

Jack Swagger vs. Baron Corbin

The match left the ring in a hurry.

Jack Swagger and Baron Corbin bashed each other near the announcers' table. Swagger slammed Corbin into the table; The Lone Wolf responded by smashing Swagger's hand into the ring steps.

Corbin then stalked his prey, doling out a methodical offense focused on further damaging that hand.

While favoring his hand, Swagger clamped on the ankle lock. Corbin, though, was able to escape, poke his foe in the eye and hit End of Days for the win.

Result

Corbin wins via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

• Corbin kicks Swagger's hand into the ring steps.
• "He is the agent who decides your fate. He is capable of making you disappear."—Mauro Ranallo on Corbin.

Grade

B-

Analysis

This was the hard-hitting affair one might expect from these two.

Corbin looked absolutely vicious as he went on the attack. This was a big win for a guy who was losing momentum in a hurry. Besting Swagger doesn't mean what it did when he was a world champ, but The Lone Wolf will be glad to have him as a stepping stone.

WWE would be smart to put these men in a No Disqualification match to build on this in the near future.

The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler (Career Versus Intercontinental Championship)

With his career on the line, Dolph Ziggler went for pinfalls early. His exuberance and high-speed offense weren't enough to get him the advantage. The Miz grounded him instead.

The intercontinental champ twisted and tortured Ziggler in the center of the ring. 

The Showoff fought back, having to fend off The Miz's underhanded tactics, from pulling on his tights to leaning on the ropes for illegal leverage. The Miz started to attack Ziggler's left leg to slow his comeback.

A figure-four leglock left Ziggler racked with pain, even after he escaped. Ziggler's Zig Zag wasn't enough to end the bout, either.

The challenger took an eyeful of hairspray from The Miz's wife Maryse, but managed to fight on.

The Spirit Squad came down to assist The Miz. The referee soon kicked the duo and Maryse out. Ziggler kicked The Miz out cold to keep his career alive.

Result

Ziggler wins via pinfall to claim the Intercontinental Championship.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

• The Miz hits a series of Daniel Bryan-esque running dropkicks.
• "The Miz doesn't just want to end his career; he wants to send him to the hospital."—Mauro Ranallo.
• The Miz hurls Ziggler into an exposed turnbuckle.
• Ziggler's boot falls off before he delivers a superkick.

Grade

A+

Analysis

Playing up the drama of Ziggler potentially retiring, manipulating the fans' emotions, this bout was a heart-in-the-throat ride. A number of the near-falls were tremendous.

Where Cena, Styles and Ambrose engaged in large part because of pace and moves, Ziggler and The Miz's matchup was built more around storytelling.

WWE has to take advantage of all the buzz around Ziggler right now. This retirement angle has left him more compelling than he's been in a long time.

Alexa Bliss vs. Naomi

Credit: WWE.com

Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan announced that Becky Lynch couldn't compete Sunday night because of a medical issue. They told Alexa Bliss she would get her title shot in November.

Bliss instead took on a surprise opponent in Naomi.

Speed and agility allowed Naomi to take control early on. She flustered Bliss briefly, but the heel took over with a mat-based attack.

Naomi eventually rolled up Bliss for the win.

Result

Naomi wins via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

• "Becky was afraid to lose her SmackDown Women's Championship to me."—Bliss.
• Fans chant "We want Becky!"

Grade

D

Analysis

Stuck with having to improvise, WWE came up short. This match only served to hurt Bliss' momentum.

Randomly inserting Naomi in the title picture makes zero sense. She's been a non-factor for months. It would have better to just have Bliss deliver a promo, have a tantrum and knock somebody out on her way to the back.

Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt

Credit: WWE.com

Bray Wyatt tried to unsettle his opponent by staring, smiling at him. Randy Orton countered with an early RKO attempt.

The match stood at a stalemate with each man avoiding the other's offense. Until things moved to the outside. Wyatt battered Orton in the announcers' area. 

The Eater of Worlds stayed atop Orton, leaving his opponent loopy. 

It took another trip out of the ring to allow The Viper to make a comeback. The ring steps and the security barricade served as Orton's tag team partners.

The lights went out, and Luke Harper popped up once they came back on. That distraction cost Orton as Wyatt pinned him following a Sister Abigail.

Result

Wyatt wins via pinfall.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

• Wyatt flings Orton over the commentary table. 
• Wyatt hits a DDT onto the ring apron.
• Orton sends Wyatt crashing into the ring steps.

Grade

C-

Analysis

Slower, less electric than the night's two big hits, Orton vs. Wyatt didn't live up to its prominent spot on the show.

Orton and Wyatt never quite clicked with each other. And the ending was hugely underwhelming. The feud has been creative and strange. Rather than continue in that direction, WWE simply replayed the climax to Roman Reigns vs. Wyatt at Battleground 2015.

Even the action involving the ringside furniture wasn't enough to wake up this sleepy contest.