Best and Worst of No Mercy - 9th October, 2016

Heading into No Mercy we were very surprised when we heard two things. Women’s Champion Becky Lynch was out with an injury and hence unable to compete on the Pay Per View. Also, the much anticipated Championship Bout would start the show (to go head to head with the Presidential debate), instead of closing it.

Live from the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California; No Mercy had its moments but was also filled with a lot of ‘meh’ and ‘whatever’ content. So let’s revisit the PPV and examine what worked and what didn’t.

THE GOOD: Here’s what made No Mercy a must watch:

#1 Dolph Ziggler vs The Miz

Ziggler and Miz created the perfect storm and took us along for the ride

We don’t get to see content this good on WWE television anymore. Not only were the stakes of this match very high (Ziggler quits WWE if he loses the match), we also believe the company may have leaked rumours of his retirement, and non-wrestling role so as to mislead us for this bout.

Whatever the case is, the match delivered. And how! We were on the edge of our seats throughout the encounter. In fact, a pay-per-view that was beginning to sink after a great opening bout came back on course with this showdown.

#2 Incredible Opening Match

We knew this match would deliver, but it exceeded our expectations

John Cena, Dean Ambrose and A.J. Styles opened the show with a match that made us proud to be wrestling fans in 2016. Each move, each spot, each hold was a thing of beauty.

In fact, while we know that A.J. Styles cannot have a bad match, and John Cena’s been delivering one good match after another these days; Dean Ambrose has been elevated too, thanks to this amazing feud Some may say that A.J. winning with a chair shot was unnecessary, but then again, he’s a heel and cheating is what heels do.

#3 The right people went over

In most of the matches, the right people won

Be it A.J. Styles retaining his championship, or Bray Wyatt defeating the iconic Randy Orton, or even Baron Corbin and Beauty and the Man Beast winning in their respective matches, we cannot say we have a problem with the results. They get us curious about the Smackdown Live shows to come, and we simply cannot be more excited.

#4 A huge and terrifying return

Luke Harper’s big comeback makes the Wyatts an indestructible unit

Let’s face the facts here. As physically imposing as Erick Rowan looks, he’s no Luke Harper. Harper may just be one of the best big man workers in the history of the business. We knew Harper was back at the live shows, but his return at the PPV gives a new lease of life to Bray Wyatt and his family.

We certainly can’t wait for the twosome to run wild through the Smackdown roster and leave a trail of broken bodies.

THE BAD: The pay-per-view wasn’t even close to perfect. Here’s what we didn’t like about WWE No Mercy 2016:

#1 The main event build was childish

The eventual match between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt was passable, but the supposed ‘mind-games’ they’ve been playing with one another have been cringeworthy. These lame, silly and non-scary segments are the reason why people have stopped watching professional wrestling altogether in 2016.

The lame horror movie shtick serves no purpose, but to make us want to tune to another channel and watch something else. We hope they’ve ended with this feud, as of today.

#2 The show went downhill after the opener

The rest of the card had high expectations to live up to

As we’ve mentioned before, the Triple Threat at the beginning of the show was exactly what we expected it to be. Hard hitting, breathtaking and ‘awesome’. But that match raised the bar so high, that except for Ziggler and The Miz, none of the matches in the card could live up to the standards that had been set.

So much so, that the crowd seemed worn out for the rest of the matches and were either booing or chanting nonsense at the performers who were giving it their all (case in point, the crowd was chanting for Becky Lynch during the Naomi-Alexa Bliss match, which wasn’t terrible).

#3 Too many meaningless matches

Corbin and Swagger needed the same kind of build as Miz-Ziggler

Be it Naomi vs Alexa Bliss or Jack Swagger vs Baron Corbin, or even Carmella vs Nikki Bella, we just didn't care for most of the matches in the PPV. The writers honestly need to get cracking on better storylines, to make us interested in these otherwise meaningless contests.

In conclusion, No Mercy was a 7/10 PPV, where the good outweighed the bad. Let’s end on a good note, by wishing Becky a speedy recovery.