No Mercy (2016) — BrandWiki

No Mercy (2016)

Overview

No Mercy

promotion	WWE
brand	SmackDown
date	October 9, 2016
attendance	14,324
venue	Golden 1 Center
city	Sacramento, California
wwenlast	Clash of Champions
wwennext	Hell in a Cell
event2	No Mercy
lastevent3	2008
nextevent3	2017

The 2016 No Mercy was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was the 12th No Mercy and took place on October 9, 2016, at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's SmackDown brand division. It was the first No Mercy held since 2008 and it was also the first SmackDown-exclusive No Mercy since 2006. This also made it the first No Mercy to livestream on WWE's online streaming service, the WWE Network, which launched in 2014. Unlike the majority of WWE's PPVs, No Mercy 2016 was not released on DVD or Blu-Ray.

Eight matches were contested at the event, including one on the Kickoff pre-show. In the advertised main event, AJ Styles defeated Dean Ambrose and John Cena in a triple threat match to retain the WWE World Championship; this was the opening bout. The advertised main event was originally scheduled to close the event, but was changed the day of the event due to the second United States presidential debate airing at the same time that the match would have occurred. Due to this change, the final match saw Bray Wyatt face Randy Orton, which Wyatt won. In another prominent match, Dolph Ziggler defeated The Miz to win the

Event

Pre-show

During the No Mercy Kickoff pre-show, Curt Hawkins made his WWE return. As advertised, he stepped into the ring. However, he did not compete, but announced that his first match would take place on the following episode of SmackDown.

After this, Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan informed Alexa Bliss that for medical reasons, SmackDown Women's Champion Becky Lynch would not be able to compete, that the scheduled title match would be postponed to the November 8 episode of SmackDown, and that Bliss would face a different opponent later in the night.[16]

Also during the pre-show, The Hype Bros (Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder) and American Alpha (Chad Gable and Jason Jordan) faced The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) and The Vaudevillains (Simon Gotch and Aiden English). In the end, Jordan performed Grand Amplitude on English to win the match.

Main show

The actual pay-per-view opened with the advertised main event, which was the triple threat match in which AJ Styles defended the WWE World Championship against Dean Ambrose and John Cena. During the match, Cena executed an "Attitude Adjustment" on Ambrose for a near-fall. Cena applied the "STF" on Ambrose, who did not submit. Styles performed a "Springboard 450 Splash" on Ambrose for a near-fall. Styles executed a "Styles Clash" on Ambrose, which was followed by Cena applying the "STF" on Styles, but Ambrose broke the hold. Later, Ambrose applied the "Calf Crusher" and Cena applied the "STF" on Styles simultaneously; Styles submitted, but the referee continued the match as two participants cannot submit another one at the same time. Ambrose executed "Dirty Deeds" on Cena, but Styles voided the pinfall by pulling the referee out of the ring. In the end, after Cena executed a Super "Attitude Adjustment" on Ambrose, Styles attacked Cena with a chair immediately and pinned him to retain the title.

Next, Nikki Bella faced Carmella. The end came when Nikki executed a "Rack Attack 2.0" on Carmella to win the match.

After that, Heath Slater and Rhyno defended the SmackDown Tag Team Championship against The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso). The match ended when Rhyno executed a "Gore" on Jey to retain the titles.

In the fourth match, Jack Swagger faced Baron Corbin. In the end, Swagger applied the "Patriot Lock" on Corbin, but Corbin reached the ring apron, forcing Swagger to break the hold, and poked Swagger's eye. Corbin performed the "End of Days" on Swagger to win the match.

Next, Dolph Ziggler challenged The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship in a title vs. career match. During the match, Miz applied the "Figure Four Leglock", but Ziggler touched the ropes, forcing Miz to break the hold. Ziggler executed a "Zig Zag" on Miz for a near-fall. After Maryse blinded Ziggler with pepper spray, Miz executed a "Skull Crushing Finale", but Ziggler placed his foot on the bottom rope to void the pinfall. The Spirit Squad (Mikey and Kenny) appeared to distract Ziggler, but Ziggler knocked Mikey off the ring apron with a Superkick. Miz performed another "Skull Crushing Finale" on Ziggler for a near-fall. The referee ejected Maryse, Mikey, and Kenny from ringside. Ziggler executed a Superkick on Miz to win the title and save his career.

After that, Alexa Bliss came out. Earlier in the night, SmackDown Women's Champion Becky Lynch had been declared unable to compete. Bliss complained about her title opportunity being postponed only for her replacement opponent, Naomi, to interrupt her. In the end, Bliss attempted a Cross Armbar, but Naomi shifted her weight to pin Bliss and win the match.

In the final match, Randy Orton fought Bray Wyatt. During the match, Orton attempted an "RKO" on Wyatt, but Wyatt countered by throwing Orton over the broadcast table. Wyatt attempted "Sister Abigail" on Orton, but Orton countered with an "RKO" attempt, only for Wyatt to counter into a Uranage Slam for a near-fall. Outside the ring, Wyatt draped Orton over the steel steps and attempted a Running Senton, but Orton rolled off and Wyatt crashed onto the steps. In the climax, Orton executed an Elevated DDT on Wyatt and attempted an "RKO", but the lights went out and a returning Luke Harper appeared in the ring, distracting Orton. Wyatt executed "Sister Abigail" on Orton to win the match.

Aftermath

On the following SmackDown, Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan challenged Raw to three traditional Survivor Series elimination matches – involving each brand's best five male wrestlers, best five female wrestlers, and best five tag teams, respectively,[24][25] to which Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon accepted.[26][27] Focus then shifted on determining which wrestlers would represent Team SmackDown for the three teams at Survivor Series the following month. Also during this time, Dean Ambrose became the number one contender against AJ Styles for the WWE World Championship at SmackDown's next pay-per-view, TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs,[28] in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match,[29] and Randy Orton joined The Wyatt Family in an "if you can't beat them, join them" scenario.[30]

Dolph Ziggler offered The Miz a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship, but The Miz refused. Ziggler then made an open challenge to any Raw wrestler to face Ziggler for the title at Survivor Series.[28] In response and thanks to Miz's wife Maryse, Miz got a rematch for the title before Survivor Series.[31] Also, due to SmackDown defending their Intercontinental title against a wrestler from Raw, Daniel Bryan came to negotiations with Raw's General Manager Mick Foley to have Raw's WWE Cruiserweight Championship defended against a SmackDown wrestler. Bryan chose Kalisto and revealed that if Kalisto won, the entire cruiserweight division would come to SmackDown.[32]

On the November 15 episode of SmackDown, The Miz defeated Dolph Ziggler to win the Intercontinental Championship after interference from Maryse.[31] The following week, after Miz won his match, Ziggler performed a Superkick on Miz, and a ladder match between the two for the title was subsequently scheduled for TLC.[33]

During Survivor Series, Nikki Bella, who was the captain of Team SmackDown for the women's elimination match, was attacked backstage.[34] On the following SmackDown, Nikki accused Carmella of being the attacker, which Carmella denied. Nikki added that regardless of who attacked her, she would settle her differences with Carmella at TLC in a no disqualification match.[33]

Baron Corbin and Jack Swagger had a rematch on the October 18 episode of SmackDown, where Corbin was again victorious.[27] This would be Swagger's final WWE appearance before his release the following year.[35]

Another match between Naomi and Alexa Bliss took place on the October 18 episode of SmackDown, where Bliss was victorious.[27] On the November 8 episode, Becky Lynch retained the SmackDown Women's Championship against Bliss by submission, despite Bliss' foot being on the bottom rope.[32] Due to this, another title match between Lynch and Bliss was scheduled for TLC,[33] which was stipulated as a tables match.[36]

While this 2016 event was held exclusively for SmackDown, the 2017 event was held exclusively for Raw.[37]