WWE No Mercy goes down tonight in Sacramento, and will be streamed on the WWE Network. The big news is that the WWE Championship triple threat match pitting the champion AJ Styles against both Dean Ambrose and John Cena will open the show rather than close it, a first in WWE history.
https://twitter.com/AJStylesOrg/status/785219203389206528
The apparent logic of opening the show with the title match is to avoid going up head-to-head with both the presidential debate and Sunday Night Football.
The build for this Smackdown-exclusive pay-per-view has been exceptional, and it will be fascinating to see what happens both during the title match and afterward. Usually these shows try to crescendo, so hopefully they’ll give us a reason to stay tuned in after Styles vs. Cena vs. Ambrose.
We’ll be providing live updates on every match throughout the evening, so you can follow along whether you’re watching or not. We will also be posting WWE Fan Nation YouTube clips once they are posted.
WWE No Mercy Results:
The Hype Bros and American Alpha vs. The Ascension and The Vaudevillains (kickoff show)
The Hype Bros and American Alpha def. The Ascension and The Vaudevillains
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqunKSkCt3k
AJ Styles (c) vs. John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose for the WWE World Championship
Talk about a hot opener. Good luck to whatever comes next. This one appeared to end in a schmozz when AJ Styles tapped out to Cena and Ambrose’s simultaneous submission holds. After the bell was rung, the referee elected to restart the match rather than award one of them the championship. In the actual ending, Cena landed an Attitude Adjustment to Dean Ambrose from the top rope but then Styles ran in with a chair and nailed Cena with a chair shot to the back and then got the 1-2-3 on the 15x champion.
AJ Styles defeats John Cena and Dean Ambrose by pinning John Cena. AJ Styles retains WWE Championship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdjyoIsKlZs
Nikki Bella vs. Carmella
This took a while to get the crowd’s attention after following the title match, but it was a solid match for what it was. Carmella is doing a lot better as an obnoxious heel than when she was a listless babyface. After a month of taking surprise beatdowns from Carmella, Nikki was able to come out on top after hitting the Princess of Staten Island with a TKO, which was dubbed the Rack Attack 2.0.
Nikki Bella def. Carmella via pinfall after Rack Attack 2.0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNVPhyHgJB0
Heath Slater & Rhyno (c) vs. The Usos for the Smackdown Tag Team Championship
This was a fun if not particularly memorable back-and-forth tag team match. After Jey Uso had Slater in a boston crab, Rhyno came in and broke it up. Then Slater tagged the man-beast in and he nailed Jey Uso with a gore with Jimmy off the apron. Heath Slater and Rhyno keep the belts.
Heath Slater & Rhyno def. The Usos via pinfall. Rhyno pinned Jey Uso after gore.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1trKI6fOcxI
Jack Swagger vs. Baron Corbin
This one drew some “boring” chants. Corbin is genuinely hatable but nobody is clamoring to see Jack Swagger beat him. Swagger had the Patriot Lock locked in when Corbin grabbed the ring apron and pulled it up, and the referee ordered a break. As the referee was tended to the apron, Corbin poked Swagger in the eye before an End of Days to pick up the victory.
Baron Corbin def. Jack Swagger via pinfall after an End of Days
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmX2uo78VjE
The Miz (c) (with Maryse) vs. Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental Championship; if Ziggler loses he must retire
This was the match of the night. The Miz spent the majority of the match on the offensive and after Maryse sprayed Dolph in the eyes hit him with the skull-crushing finale, but somehow Dolph was able to get a foot on the bottom rope before the 3 count. Soon after Maryse called out two former Spirit Squad members who jumped on the apron to engage Ziggler before The Miz hit yet another skull-crushing finale, and it looked like Ziggler’s career was going to come to an end but he somehow kicked out of the pin attempt. Then the referee threw Miz’s cronies out, and when the Miz turned around after protesting was met with a superkick to the face. Ziggler dug deep and got the pinfall, and the crowd exploded. The Miz’s supposed never-ending Intercontinental Championship reign has come to end.
Dolph Ziggler def. The Miz via pinfall after superkick to win the Intercontinental Championship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73sZQAA32xc
Alexa Bliss vs. Naomi
Smackdown’s Women’s Champion Becky Lynch was forced out of No Mercy due to a late injury and was replaced by Naomi. The crowd was completely uninterested in this match, and you have to feel bad for Alexa Bliss. Not only did she not get a shot at the title but the #1 contender suffered a loss to Naomi that makes her look undeserving of that position. Naomi won with a rollup pinfall after a quick match.
Naomi def. Alexa Bliss via rollup pinfall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU3UDY3vT_M
Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton
A bit anti-climatic, but I guess that’s expected when the main event match goes on first. Orton and Wyatt fought a pretty straightforward match until the end. After Randy hit his signature DDT, Orton was setting up for an RKO when the lights went out. When they came back on a returning Luke Harper was in the middle of the ring making menacing faces at Orton, when Wyatt came in from behind to nail the Sister Abigail and got the pinfall to prevail.
Bray Wyatt def. Randy Orton via pinfall after Sister Abigail
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjJb2sFygoc
