WWE No Mercy 2016: Biggest Winners and Losers from PPV Event

An intriguing night at No Mercy leaves the whole of the SmackDown roster heading into the unknown moving forward.

Have Heath Slater and Rhyno done enough to see off The Usos at the head of the tag division? Will Alexa Bliss be joined by another challenger as Becky Lynch begins her road to recovery in the women's division?

And who's next for AJ Styles and the WWE World Championship? None of these will be answered until Tuesday at the earliest, but the whole brand looks to be heading in an interesting direction over the next few weeks and months.

And the results of all Sunday's matches will have huge ramifications on what happens next for the show. Here's the biggest winners and losers from those matches.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

With his career on the line, Dolph Ziggler managed to escape No Mercy not only with a future in WWE but also with the Intercontinental Championship.

That he managed to pry the title away from The Miz, who had been doing an excellent job of increasing its prestige, has to be regarded as a bit of shock.

But Ziggler has also played his part in a compelling feud over the last few weeks, and he is a worthy holder of the belt.

The challenge now for WWE? Build Ziggler up and make him a credible and worthy champion.

The Miz will come back again and aim to take down Dolph. But Sunday could turn out to be a career-defining night for a guy who had struggled to make an impact prior to the brand split.

Loser: Alexa Bliss

Credit: WWE.com

Becky Lynch's legitimate absence on Sunday forced WWE into a rethink about its plans for the SmackDown women's division.

Alexa Bliss was scheduled to fight Lynch for the title but ended up in a match with Naomi.

It would have been a great opportunity for her to look even stronger and even more like a credible threat to Lynch when she returns, but instead, she actually lost.

Whether this was done to make Naomi look strong heading forward, or perhaps even to drag her into title contention, it is a shame it had to be done at the expense of Bliss.

She was undoubtedly a loser on the night, but expect her to bounce back well.

Winner: Bray Wyatt

Victories on pay-per-view have been so few and far between for Bray Wyatt that this one, in the main event of No Mercy, represents a hugely significant night for his WWE career.

Often looking like he has little direction, or more crucially, momentum, Bray's victory against Randy Orton now gives him a huge platform to move forward from.

With Luke Harper also back by his side, the future suddenly looks bright for Wyatt.

Could a run at the WWE World Championship and AJ Styles now come into view? It's incredible to think that he has never once had a title shot throughout his career.

Perhaps now, after a huge victory on Sunday night, that could finally change. 

Winner: AJ Styles

The champ who runs the camp emerged triumphant at No Mercy on Sunday night, and it will be interesting to see what direction AJ Styles heads next.

Does he keep battling John Cena and/or Dean Ambrose? Or does he move on and look for a fresh foe to take on?

The SmackDown roster is so exciting that there are a fair few contenders to pick from, especially Bray Wyatt, who scored a great win in the main event on Sunday night.

So expect Tuesday night to be a captivating watch as Styles' future direction is revealed.

As for Sunday, he was once again in great form as he saw off both Cena and Ambrose to keep his grip on the WWE World Championship.

He was a winner once again on Sunday night, just like he has been for most of 2016. It seems that the only way remains up for AJ Styles as the end of the year approaches.