WWE No Mercy 2017: Cena, Reigns, Lesnar, Strowman Headline WrestleMania-Worthy Card

WrestleMania 34 isn’t on the schedule until eight months after SummerSlam, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the card for WWE’s next pay-per-view. No Mercy on Sept. 24 will be headlined by two matches that are worthy enough to close out the biggest event of the year.

Brock Lesnar will put his WWE Universal Championship on the line against Braun Strowman at the upcoming “Monday Night Raw” PPV. John Cena and Roman Reigns will also square off in a main-event worthy match, even though no title is on the line.

WWE has been teasing a match between Lesnar and Strowman for months. It might have happened at Great Balls of Fire on July 9 if Strowman didn’t get injured, opening the door for Samoa Joe to get the title shot against Lesnar. Lesnar retained his belt at SummerSlam in a fatal 4-way against Strowman, Reigns and Joe, though Strowman clearly earned a championship opportunity by manhandling the former UFC star.

WWE wasted no time setting up that match. Strowman delivered two Powerslams to Lesnar the night after SummerSlam, and it was announced soon after that the wrestlers would face off at No Mercy.

Holding off until WrestleMania 34 would have made sense, but it didn’t come as a complete shock that Strowman would get a singles match for the WWE Universal Championship this quickly. He’s arguably become the most entertaining part of “Monday Night Raw” on a consistent basis, and WWE could miss their opportunity if they wait too long to pull the trigger on a Strowman title run.

For Reigns and Cena, however, having a match at No Mercy comes as an even bigger shock. Along with Lesnar, they are the biggest stars in WWE, and it’s surprising to see them go head -to-head at a PPV other than WrestleMania or SummerSlam.

Even when Cena challenged Reigns on “Monday Night Raw” last week, it looked like the PPV match wouldn’t happen just yet. The two had a tag team match against The Miz and Samoa Joe, indicating that Reigns and Cena would each face one of the heels at No Mercy.

Cena was the face of the company for a decade, and arguably still is, though he’s moved on to a part-time schedule. After winning a world title for the 16th time at the Royal Rumble, it appears to be inevitable that he’ll break Ric Flair’s record for championship reigns.

Reigns has been in the main event of WrestleMania for three straight years. He defeated Triple H in a WWE Championship Match in front of the largest wrestling crowd ever, and he retired The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33.

How could a match this big not main event WrestleMania?

Just because it’s happening in Los Angeles in a few weeks doesn’t mean it won’t also happen in New Orleans on April 8. Some of the biggest WrestleMania matches are often times rematches. Look at Lesnar vs. Goldberg from this year, which also headlined Survivor Series in 2016.

No Mercy could be a sign of what’s to come at the biggest WWE event of 2018.