Details on How No Mercy Locked in WWE’s WrestleMania 34 Main Event Plans & Vince McMahon’s Reaction To No Mercy

According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the booking of the 2017 No Mercy PPV was all done to set up the long-rumored Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns main event. The plan for the event is what the company originally had planned for 2015, which is Roman Reigns being crowned as the top star in the promotion by pinning Brock Lesnar. WWE wants to clearly establish the two of them as by far the top stars in the company, leading to Reigns beating Brock cleanly at WrestleMania 34.

Vince McMahon changed plans in 2015, leading to Seth Rollins cashing in and winning the title. The plan was then to do the big coronation in 2016, but McMahon didn’t feel the time was right due to the crowd reaction of Reigns, and had Reigns feud with the Authority and beat Triple H and then last year he beat the Undertaker as part of his rise. Vince McMahon was said to be very happy with both Cena vs. Reigns and Strowman vs. Lesnar at No Mercy as he got what he wanted out of the matches. He also felt that the company delivered on the promise of two WrestleMania quality matches, with four of their top stars in matches where he gave fans clean, non-controversial finishes right in the middle of the ring.

Despite the fact that Braun Strowman picked up a lot of momentum in recent months, it wasn’t enough to change plans in any way. Lesnar defeated him rather quickly, surviving Strowman’s big offense. Roman Reigns defeated John Cena on the show, with the idea that Cena was passing the torch and that Reigns was clearly better than Cena and the top star of the company. The program was always designed to end that way, but the program was changed from a multiple-match series to a one and done.

The idea for 2017 was for Lesnar to run through everyone, winning match-after-match with an F-5, until getting to Reigns. Plans included matches with Bruan Strowman, Seth Rollins and Finn Balor this year but injuries changed things. The Brock vs. Seth match may have been changed due to Rollins being put with Dean Ambrose. As of now, Lesnar and Reigns are in a holding pattern as Lesnar will be off TV, and Reigns will be involved with a Shield reunion angle, which is likely to headline the TLC PPV.