The Miz left to lick his wounds after losing Intercontinental Title
Tuesday 11 October 2016 10:52, UK
Smackdown's Superstars headed to California on Sunday night for the No Mercy pay-per-view.
But who flourished at the blue-brand event and who had an evening to forget? Read on as we look at the winners and losers…
WINNERS
Dolph Ziggler
Heading into the night's Intercontinental Title encounter, Ziggler knew that if he lost to The Miz, his time as an active member of the WWE roster was over. It looked over more than once during the match, most memorably before he somehow placed his foot on the bottom rope to curtail the pin at the last moment after he had been clocked by a Skull-Crushing Finale.
Yet, the Clevelander dealt with interference from Miz's wife, Maryse, and his former Spirit Squad allies, Kenny and Mikey, to pinch the white belt for the fifth time. The reactions of Ziggler and the crowd following his victory showed how neither were ready for the Show-Off to hang up his boots. Props to The Miz, too, for the part he played in a quite pulsating and highly emotional dust-up.
AJ Styles
By hook or by crook - that appears to be the AJ Styles way these days. Having won the WWE World Title from Dean Ambrose at Backlash with a low-bow and retained it against The Lunatic Fringe on an episode of Smackdown when John Cena proved too much of a distraction for Ambrose, The Phenomenal One triumphed in controversial circumstances again at No Mercy to remain champ.
Styles survived tapping out during his Triple Threat match with Cena and Ambrose when the referee could not decide who had made the title holder submit, before he whacked Cena with a chair - legal under Triple Threat rules but slightly nefarious all the same - to keep his gold. Styles' contentious triumph also prevented Cena from equalling Ric Flair on 16 world titles - for now at least.
Bray Wyatt
As captivating as he is on the microphone, wins of magnitude have been hard for Wyatt to obtain during his WWE career. He notched a significant triumph in Sacramento, though, when he knocked off 12-time world champion Randy Orton in the main event. That victory will be forever etched into the record books, albeit that it may never have come to pass if not for Luke Harper.
Harper, one of the most talented and underrated wrestlers in WWE, had been sidelined since March with a severe knee injury but returned during the closing stages of Sunday's show to shock Orton and allow Wyatt to pin him. With Harper now back by his side, Wyatt becomes an even more fearsome proposition for the Smackdown locker room. Perhaps now he can finally win a maiden main-roster title.
LOSERS
The Usos
Styles' personality shift has helped him become world champion but The Usos' hasn't quite had the same impact. As Jimmy and Jey explained during a sit-down interview with Michael Cole last week, their decision to ditch the vibrant clothing and show little respect to their opponents has got people talking about them - but it hasn't yielded results.
Twice they have fought Heath Slater and Rhyno for the Smackdown Tag Team Titles and twice they have come up short, firstly at Backlash and now at No Mercy, with Jey ruthlessly Gored by The Man Beast. Usually when WWE tag teams suffer a run of defeats, a split becomes a distinct possibility, so it will be interesting to see whether the Samoan-American twins remain as tight as they were when they were wearing gold.
Alexa Bliss and Carmella
Bliss and Carmella have made great strides since swapping NXT for the bright blue lights of Smackdown Live but were outgunned by more experienced foes this weekend. Bliss, incredibly vexed at Becky Lynch's injury leaving her unable to fight for the Women's Title, was pinned by Naomi during an impromptu match.
Carmella, meanwhile, slipped up against former two-time Divas Champion Nikki Bella despite seemingly having her rival beat when she locked in the Code of Silence. Bliss and Carmella will now know the big leagues can be unforgiving, something that should stand Bliss in good stead when she finally wrestles Lynch for her championship in Glasgow on November 8.
The Miz
As mentioned in the Ziggler section, The Miz can be proud of his No Mercy display but he'll no doubt be distraught with the end result, as he saw his hopes of extending his Intercontinental Title reign beyond 200 days came to a grinding halt. The Awesome One's fifth stint with the strap ended at 188 days, rendering him unable to match the likes of Orton, Shawn Michaels and The Ultimate Warrior in the double hundred club.
Seeing how confidence has never been an issue for Miz, he would probably have set his sights on bettering the record Intercontinental Title reign, Honky Tonk Man's 454 days. Now he'll be intent on stopping Ziggler overhaul his overall number of days with the Intercontinental Title - Miz's tally is 303, Ziggler is now sat in the mid-270s.
WWE No Mercy is repeated on Sky Sports Box Office (channel 491) BUT NOT Sky Sports HD Box Office (channel 492) between 10am on Monday, October 10 and 10pm on Thursday, October 13.
WWE No Mercy booking details
ONLINE: Visit this link: https://my.sky.com/orderboxoffice/
PHONE: UK viewers can call 03442 410 888 to book WWE No Mercy, while customers in the Republic of Ireland should call 0818 220 225. (There may be an additional charge for telephone bookings).
REMOTE
Sky+: Press the box office button on your remote, then click the sports tab followed by WWE No Mercy.
Sky Q: Press Home on your Sky Q remote, select TV guide, then Box Office and the WWE No Mercy. Enter your TV Pin if prompted. (Only bookings via Sky TV remote are recordable using Sky Plus).
Sky TV residential customers only. Commercial customers contact Sky for price and to order. Sky Box Office terms apply. Cable customers should contact their local cable operator.
