WWE No Mercy 2016 match times stats breakdown

WWE's No Mercy 2016 lasted for 2 hours 37 minutes and 40 seconds (2h 37m 40s). Here is a breakdown of the timing for every single second of the show, in chronological order.

The matches are in bold. The "pre-match" segments include video packages, entrances, ring introductions, and any verbal promos that occur right before a match officially begins. The "post-match" segments include any celebrations, replays, angles, attacks, or promos that occur right after a match is finished.

Start	End	Description	Duration
0m 00s	0m 21s	Now Then Forever	0m 21s
0m 21s	2m 31s	Video hyping No Mercy 2016	2m 10s
2m 31s	3m 24s	Opening pyro; Ranallo welcomes you	0m 53s
3m 24s	12m 26s	Pre-match for Styles vs Ambrose vs Cena	9m 02s
12m 26s	34m 05s	Styles vs Ambrose vs Cena	21m 39s
34m 05s	36m 00s	Post-match for Styles vs Ambrose vs Cena	1m 55s
36m 00s	36m 31s	Commercial for Hell in a Cell 2016	0m 31s
36m 31s	36m 49s	Filler commentary	0m 18s
36m 49s	39m 36s	Videop hyping Orton versus Wyatt	2m 47s
39m 36s	42m 17s	Pre-match for Nikki Bella vs Carmella	2m 41s
42m 17s	50m 23s	Nikki Bella vs Carmella	8m 06s
50m 23s	51m 26s	Post-match for Nikki Bella vs Carmella	1m 03s
51m 26s	53m 14s	Backstage with Miz and Bryan	1m 48s
53m 14s	54m 31s	Ad for Komen Foundation	1m 17s
54m 31s	57m 23s	Pre-match for Rhyno and Slater vs Usos	2m 52s
57m 23s	1h 07m 41s	Rhyno and Slater vs Usos	10m 18s
1h 07m 41s	1h 08m 44s	Post-match for Rhyno and Slater vs Usos	1m 03s
1h 08m 44s	1h 09m 46s	Commercial for WWE 2K17	1m 02s
1h 09m 46s	1h 11m 07s	Backstage with Bray Wyatt	1m 21s
1h 11m 07s	1h 14m 36s	Pre-match for Jack Swagger vs Baron Corbin	3m 29s
1h 14m 36s	1h 22m 05s	Jack Swagger vs Baron Corbin	7m 29s
1h 22m 05s	1h 23m 05s	Post-match for Jack Swagger vs Baron Corbin	1m 00s
1h 23m 05s	1h 23m 36s	Commercial for 3-Count Crushers	0m 31s
1h 23m 36s	1h 24m 07s	Commercial for Total Bellas	0m 31s
1h 24m 07s	1h 24m 23s	Pre-match for The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler	0m 16s
1h 24m 23s	1h 24m 39s	Plug for PPV theme song	0m 16s
1h 24m 39s	1h 32m 43s	Pre-match for The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler	8m 04s
1h 32m 43s	1h 52m 26s	The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler	19m 43s
1h 52m 26s	1h 55m 29s	Post-match for The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler	3m 03s
1h 55m 29s	1h 57m 18s	Commercial for WWE Network	1m 49s
1h 57m 18s	1h 58m 15s	Backstage with Randy Orton	0m 57s
1h 58m 15s	2h 00m 35s	Kickoff panel with recap of Hawkins debut	2m 20s
2h 00m 35s	2h 01m 08s	Video recap of pre-show match	0m 33s
2h 01m 08s	2h 04m 16s	Pre-match for Naomi vs Alexa Bliss	3m 08s
2h 04m 16s	2h 09m 40s	Naomi vs Alexa Bliss	5m 24s
2h 09m 40s	2h 10m 39s	Post-match for Naomi vs Alexa Bliss	0m 59s
2h 10m 39s	2h 12m 22s	Hype for Hell in a Cell 2016	1m 43s
2h 12m 22s	2h 20m 13s	Pre-match for Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt	7m 51s
2h 20m 13s	2h 35m 53s	Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt	15m 40s
2h 35m 53s	2h 37m 40s	Post-match for Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt	1m 47s

Match Times

The 7 matches combined for a total time of 1h 28m 19s. This means that 56.0% of the show was devoted to bell-to-bell action. This is the 19th highest percentage in this category out of the 48 WWE pay-per-view (PPV) events in my data set, which begins with Royal Rumble 2013. Out of the 40 three-hour events in my data set, the total match time of 1h 28m 19s ranks 33rd highest.

Here is the sorted list of match times for No Mercy 2016. This also includes where each match time ranks out of all 345 matches in my data set.

• 21m 39s: Styles vs Ambrose vs Cena (51st longest out of 345 matches)
• 19m 43s: The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler (71st)
• 15m 40s: Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt (108th)
• 10m 18s: Rhyno and Slater vs The Usos (208th)
• 8m 06s: Nikki Bella vs Carmella (255th)
• 7m 29s: Jack Swagger vs Baron Corbin (273rd)
• 5m 24s: Naomi vs Alexa Bliss (319th)

The opening match was the longest bout of the night.  This has now happened three times out of 48 events in my data set, with No Mercy 2016 joining Survivor Series 2013 and WrestleMania 30 as the only other events sharing this characteristic.  Randy Orton wrestled in the main event match on all three of these cards.

Pre-match Segments

The pre-match segments combined for a total time of 37m 23s, which is 23.7% of the show. This is the 23rd highest percentage in this category out of the 48 events in my data set. Out of the 40 three-hour events in my data set, the total pre-match segment time of 37m 23s ranks 27th highest.

Here is the sorted list of pre-match segment time for all 7 matches. For some context, keep in mind that the median pre-match segment time in my data set is 5m 14s and the average time is 5m 50s.

• 9m 02s: Styles vs Ambrose vs Cena
• 8m 20s: The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler
• 7m 51s: Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt
• 3m 29s: Jack Swagger vs Baron Corbin
• 3m 08s: Naomi vs Alexa Bliss
• 2m 52s: Rhyno and Slater vs The Usos
• 2m 41s: Nikki Bella vs Carmella

3 matches received the special treatment of a dedicated video package right before the match began. The videos hyping Cena's match (3m 22s), Ziggler's match (2m 48s), and Orton's match (2m 21s), combined to take up 8m 31s of the pre-match segment time.

WWE almost never airs a dedicated video package for the opening match of the night, but No Mercy 2016 bucked that norm due to the special circumstance of opening the card with a WWE Championship match.  These video packages normally air before superstar entrances; in this case WWE had all three wrestlers enter the ring before airing the dedicated video package, while all three wrestlers just waited in the ring.

Post-match Segments

The post-match segments combined for a total time of 10m 50s, which is 6.9% of the show. This is the 44th highest percentage in this category out of the 48 events in my data set. Out of the 40 three-hour events in my data set, the total post-match segment time of 10m 50s ranks 39th highest.

Here is the sorted list of the post-match segment time for all 7 matches. For some context, keep in mind that the median post-match segment time in my data set is 1m 57s and the average time is 2m 26s.

• 3m 03s: The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler
• 1m 55s: Styles vs Ambrose vs Cena
• 1m 47s: Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt
• 1m 03s: Nikki Bella vs Carmella
• 1m 03s: Rhyno and Slater vs The Usos
• 1m 00s: Jack Swagger vs Baron Corbin
• 0m 59s: Naomi vs Alexa Bliss

Ziggler's post-match segment was the only notable one among these matches, as it included his lengthy celebration of his championship victory.

The shortest four post-match segment times barely broke the one-minute mark.  These four times all range from 310th to 316th longest out of the 345 total post-match segments in my data set.

Miscellaneous Segments

That leaves about 13.4% (21m 08s) of the show for everything else. This is the 20th highest percentage in this category out of the 48 events in my data set. Out of the 40 three-hour events in my data set, the total miscellaneous segment time of 21m 08s ranks 18th highest.

Most of these miscellaneous segments are crammed into the time after one post-match segment ends and before the next pre-match segment begins. No Mercy 2016 included 7 different blocks of miscellaneous segments. Here is how long each block lasted, in chronological order:

• Block 1: 3m 24s (Now Then Forever; Opening hype video and pyro)
• Block 2: 3m 36s (Ad for Hell in a Cell 2016; Hype for Orton vs Wyatt)
• Block 3: 3m 05s (Backstage with Miz and Bryan; plug for Komen)
• Block 4: 2m 23s (Ad for WWE 2K17; Backstage with Wyatt)
• Block 5: 1m 18s (Ad for 3-Count Crushers; Ad for Total Bellas)
• Block 6: 5m 39s (Hype for WWE Network; Backstage with Orton; Kickoff panel)
• Block 7: 1m 43s (Hype for Hell in a Cell 2016)

Summary

Here is a listing of how much total show time was allocated for each match when you add up all 3 components: pre-match time, match time, and post-match time. This list also includes where each total time ranks among the 345 entries in my data set.

• 32m 36s: Styles vs Ambrose vs Cena (63rd longest out of 345 entries)
• 31m 06s: The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler (73rd)
• 25m 18s: Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt (112th)
• 14m 13s: Rhyno and Slater vs The Usos (246th)
• 11m 58s: Jack Swagger vs Baron Corbin (283rd)
• 11m 50s: Nikki Bella vs Carmella (287th)
• 9m 31s: Naomi vs Alexa Bliss (321st)

Now here is a look at the "Match Time Percentage" for each match. For any given match, this percentage shows how the match time compares to the combined pre-match and post-match segment time. For some context, it's good to know that the median result here since 2013 is 62.7%.

(Here's an example calculation: an entry with a match time of 6m 00s, pre-match time of 3m 00s, and a post-match time of 1m 00s has a score of 60.0%, because the match time of 6m 00s is 60% of the total sum of 10m 00s for all three components.)

• 72.5%: Rhyno and Slater vs The Usos
• 68.5%: Nikki Bella vs Carmella
• 66.4%: Styles vs Ambrose vs Cena
• 63.4%: The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler
• 62.5%: Jack Swagger vs Baron Corbin
• 61.9%: Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt
• 56.7%: Naomi vs Alexa Bliss

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Backlash 2016 had one of the shortest overall run times out of all WWE PPVs over the last 5 years, and this was followed up with a No Mercy 2016 event which was actually shorter by 12 seconds.

As far as the individual timing components go, all three PPVs since SummerSlam 2016 have had a match time percentage between 56.0 to 57.1 percent.  No Mercy 2016 stands out for including one of the lowest post-match segment percentages in my data set.

Final Results for No Mercy 2016

Match - 56.0% - 1h 28m 19s

Pre-match - 23.7% - 37m 23s

Post-match - 6.9% - 10m 50s

Miscellaneous - 13.4% - 21m 08s