Ranking All 7 WWE SmackDown PPVs Since the Brand Split

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5. No Mercy

If this event showed us anything, it’s that nothing is more important in a pay-per-view than match ordering. In fact, if not for a couple of stand-out bouts, No Mercy would’ve easily found itself at the tail-end of this list for one poor decision.

Since the show was competing against the presidential debate, the night shockingly kicked off with its main event; a terrific triple threat for the WWE Championship, with AJ Styles barely retaining against John Cena and Dean Ambrose.

This match could easily have main-evented a SummerSlam or WrestleMania, so its quality was never in question, but the fact that the fans in attendance reached their peak at the top of the night was critical to almost every other match on the card.

The absence of SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch was also a huge blow.

The night would be saved, however briefly, by the Career vs. Intercontinental Championship Match between Dolph Ziggler and The Miz. This would end up being one of the best matches of 2016, with impeccable storytelling as “The Show-Off” attempted to turn his career around. His victory is one of the most heart-felt moments in recent memory, but it really should have main-evented.

Instead, we capped off a night of questionable match ordering with a main event between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt. Sure, this would end up being the WWE Title clash at this year’s WrestleMania, but it had no business closing a pay-per-view in October 2016 – even with the WWE Championship opening the show.