WWE No Mercy 2016 Results: Twitter Reacts to Top Stars, Moments and More

The second SmackDown-exclusive pay-per-view extravaganza hit the WWE Network Sunday night amid heavy competition from the National Football League and the second presidential debate. To counter, main events kicked off the show and were peppered throughout, while a prestigious midcard title was at the height of the night's final bout.

In between praise for Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and scorn for presidential nominee Donald Trump, Twitter was abuzz for the show featuring wrestling's most consistent brand.

What did the social media world have to say about the night's biggest matches, moments and Superstars?

Let's take a look.

The Main Event Curtain Jerks

With Trump and Hillary Clinton poised to square off in a verbal smackdown later in the evening, the WWE World Championship match between AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose and John Cena kicked off the night's festivities in grand fashion.

While some questioned the decision to put the headliner on first, regardless of what else was happening on television, insider Justin LaBar gave an insightful reason for the booking decision:

WWE Creative Humor sarcastically jabbed the company for putting AJ Styles in the opening match:

"

Oh yeah, that's why we don't let @AJStylesOrg compete first. #WWENoMercy

— WWE Creative Humor (@WWECreative_ish) October 10, 2016"

Wrestling Inc. praised the pace of the match early, as did Total Wrestling magazine, which suggested the match was worthy of significant accolades:

Some 20 minutes into the match, Styles used a steel chair to put Cena down, leading to The Fan's Podcast paying tribute to birthday boy (and WWE Hall of Famer) Eddie Guerrero:

Hall of Fame commentator Jim Ross applauded the match, and finish, while Bleacher Report's Ryan Dilbert pointed to the phenomenal (pun intended) year Styles is having:

Finally, Styles himself spoke on his victory, channeling his inner athlete to celebrate his victory:

Given the chemistry all three Superstars have shown while working with and against each other this year, it should have been no surprise to anyone that the match was outstanding. Even from the opening match position, Styles continued his Match of the Year run while Cena and Ambrose demonstrated enough chemistry to keep fans invested in a potential rivalry between the two somewhere down the road.

Stealing the Show

There are some matches that remind fans of why they fell in love with the sports entertainment world in the first place. Sunday night, Dolph Ziggler and The Miz delivered one such match, a classic for the Intercontinental Championship that took the viewing audience on a roller-coaster ride of emotions.

Wrestling and comedy podcast Bear Hug It Out recruited Heath Ledger's Joker to literally applaud the match, while Mick Foley's son Dewey was a bit more exclamatory:

Noted historian Kris Zellner and B/R's "The Doctor" Chris Mueller were both confused by WWE's decision not to put the match on last:

NXT star Tommaso Ciampa paid a great compliment to his peers, and Dilbert praised Ziggler's performance as the best of his career:

"

Every bell. Every whistle.

Ziggler vs Miz was AWESOME!!!#WWENoMercy

— Tommaso Ciampa (@ProjectCiampa) October 10, 2016"

B/R's Steven Rondina was not so complimentary of the outcome, questioning the decision to take the IC title off The Miz and put it on Ziggler:

LaBar also took exception with the outcome, while B/R's Mike Chiari, heaped praise on the former champion:

Sunday's match not only paid off Ziggler's emotional journey, it also elevated the importance of the midcard title. Once one of the prestigious titles in WWE history, the Intercontinental Championship was at the heart of the night's hottest, most emotional and exciting match:

Becky Lynch Injured

WWE confirmed earlier reports that Becky Lynch would not be able to compete due to injury with a backstage segment involving SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon, general manager Daniel Bryan and Alexa Bliss:

From there, Lynch weighed in on her absence from the card, snapping a selfie from a hospital bed:

The SmackDown Women's Championship may not have been up for grabs but Bliss still competed against Naomi in a match that had some tweeters scratching their heads over the finish:

It was unfortunate that Lynch was unable to defend her title but the November 8 episode of SmackDown Live from Glasgow, Scotland suddenly means more than it otherwise would have so there is a silver lining in the dark cloud:

Luke Harper Returns

Months after severely injuring his knee, Luke Harper returned at the conclusion of the No Mercy main event between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt, distracting The Viper and allowing his Wyatt Family follower the opportunity to win a huge pay-per-view match.

MMA fighter and pro wrestler Shayna Baszler was suitably excited while Chiari was just glad Harper's return brought about the end of an otherwise plodding headliner:

B/R's official account encapsulated the fans' surprise through a photo of Harper's dazed mug:

Also generating interest was the fact that Wyatt actually won, something he has not done a great deal of in recent months.

Wrestling podcast 3 Count Thursday channeled their inner Wayne's World to express excitement, while sarcasm and stunned disbelief permeated throughout the social media platform:

The final match of Sunday's event may not have been the explosive match that Cena-Styles-Ambrose was, or the masterful encounter that was Ziggler vs. Miz but it did lay the groundwork for the continuation of the Orton-Wyatt program, now featuring the enigmatic and talented big man Harper.

In all, it was a fine way to wrap up what was another extraordinary offering by SmackDown, which has developed into a much more interesting and fresh product than its Monday night counterpart.