WWE has stopped conducting the No Mercy PPV starting from 2009. Till 2015, it was banned from the PPV calendar despite being one of the most successful PPV gimmicks. The tradition changed until it was brought back as part of the brand exclusive PPVs.
Last year, No Mercy was included to the PPV list after Summerslam PPV. It was hosted as a Smackdown-exclusive PPV in the month of October. A triple threat match among Dean Ambrose, John Cena, and AJ Styles headlined the event for the WWE championship. The event turned out to be the only time when a PPV kicked off the show with the main event.
As per the earlier reports, WWE was expected to host the PPV again as a blue brand exclusive show. But, the recent listing has witnessed a drastic change.
Mike Johnson from PWInsider.com reported that this year No Mercy will return as a Raw-exclusive show in the month of September. On the 24th of that month the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California will host the event. This is after 9 years that the superstars from the flagship show will be competing on the PPV.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ViGSKl6qPA
WWE has not confirmed the schedule on their official website. However, since these reports come out after the venue gets booked for one particular show, no alteration is expected, later.
Now, with this announcement, we can certainly expect that there will be a lot of changes in the PPV listings during the fall. Following the Summerslam PPV, it was expected that Clash of Champions PPV will be hosted by Raw whereas No Mercy will be retained by Smackdown.
With Backlash already been confirmed to take place on May 21st, WWE might come up with newer PPVs on that available slot. There will also be some consecutive switches in the PPV schedules between the two brands. We will keep you updated with the latest listings.
For now, WWE has confirmed the schedule until Summerslam. After that, only one PPV has been confirmed. Survivor Series is among the big four PPVs in the year and hence it was announced much earlier. The Toyota Center in Houston, Texas will be the host to it on November 19th.