5 Biggest Winners & Losers From WWE No Mercy 2016

3. Heath Slater & Rhyno

Few people had Heath Slater and Rhyno pegged to win last night. Jey Uso lost to Jason Jordan last week, but the momentum was largely on him and his brother Jimmy’s side heading into No Mercy. The duo had torn through the tag division’s babyface side through a series of vicious post-match knee attacks, and with Slater’s redemption story reaching its natural conclusion, it looked like SmackDown’s newest heels would snatch the belts away from them.

That didn’t happen, and aftering Goring Jimmy on the floor, Rhyno stepped in for a hot tag, snapped Jey in half with the same move, and the champions retained. The Usos go back to the drawing board, while Slater and Rhyno head back to the trailer park for crackers and cheese, and an above ground pool party.

Perhaps the Slater/Rhyno combination has more long-term potential than first imagined. They’ve very popular with the crowd at the moment, and while few would’ve argued if they’d lost last night, it makes sense for WWE to keep the belts on the division’s hottest team. American Alpha are quickly rising up behind them, however, and The Usos will likely respond with violence.

Slater & Rhyno will have little chance to rest on their laurels, but tonight was their first real test as champions, and they passed convincingly.