5 reasons why Reigns vs. Cena is happening at No Mercy

With due apologies to Randy Orton, this was an announcement outta nowhere! After all, who among us expected that John Cena and Roman Reigns would compete against one another at No Mercy? A match of this magnitude is usually reserved for a bigger event, such as Wrestlemania, Royal Rumble or even Survivor Series. What made WWE book this match out of nowhere, and put it on such an underwhelming stage?

We believe we know the reasons why, and as unbelievable as they may seem, they do make sense from a long term perspective to us. We explore 5 possibilities and detail what made the company take such a massive step!

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#5 This may be the first of several matches

A feud of this magnitude will obviously result in a series!

Even though this match is happening at No Mercy, there is no reason why it cannot happen at a bigger stage like Survivor Series or even Wrestlemania as well.

Remember AJ Styles' first match against John Cena at Money in the Bank last year when we had similar concerns? They went on to up the ante at Summerslam, and have another classic, months later, at the Royal Rumble. The same can be said about Roman Reigns and his feud with Braun Strowman, which has seemingly lasted the duration of the whole year. In fact, the following matches can have special stipulations to make them much more interesting. Who wouldn't want to see a Buried Alive match between the two men because it would be symbolic for everyone concerned?

Expect this feud to continue well over the course of the year, with several marquee matches taking place at the bigger events.

#4 John Cena's Hollywood schedule

Lest we forget, Super Cena has many commitments outside WWE now

As much as he may be the face of the company and the pillar that has held it aloft for many years, Super Cena is also a legitimate Hollywood star now. It was recently announced that Cena would be part of a huge project entitled Bumblebee — a spin-off of the hit franchise series 'Transformers' and is certainly the biggest project that Cena's been part of in recent years. We're certain it'll mean time away from the company.

From what we hear, he's also going to be part of a Knight Rider parody film with Kevin Hart. Because of all of these high profile projects, Vince McMahon may want to make hay while the sun shines. His days in WWE are numbered, so why not make the most use of the time that he can devote to the promotion?

#3 Competing head on with NFL season

WWE needs all the firepower that it can get!

There was much speculation that the only reason that John Cena was made a free agent and brought on to Raw was to counter the irreparable damage that would be caused by Monday Night Football. NFL season begins on 7th of September, and for WWE to go head on with them, they need a compelling feud. There's certainly nothing bigger than Cena vs. Reigns and Lesnar vs. Strowman, working in concert. With both of these programs on television, WWE has a chance to weather the storm and overcome the initial hit it will take as a result of football season.

Let's be thankful to NFL for giving us this dream feud well in advance.

#2 Keeping Reigns in an important non-title program

After all, we all know who he'll be facing at Wrestlemania, in New Orleans

Few things in life are certain, but in all likelihood, Reigns will face Lesnar for the Universal Championship at Wrestlemania in New Orleans this year. Since his future is already set, it makes sense for the Big Dog to be kept away from the Universal Championship until then. There's nothing bigger than a feud between the two men, and some may even say that it's a bigger deal than a mere Universal Championship match.

What of John Cena in that case? Whom does he face at Wrestlemania? We do not know the answer, but it's certainly a compelling question.

#1 Injury to Samoa Joe

Samoa Joe's injury may have knocked everything off track!

In all likelihood, Samoa Joe and John Cena would have locked horns on Raw if everything had gone well. This could have led to a program between the men and maybe even a match at No Mercy on a much bigger stage than usual. Unfortunately, it seems that Joe suffered an injury at a live event in a match with Cena, as a result of which he will miss up to six weeks of action. This essentially means that plans were thrown off track, and WWE had to come up with a contingency plan to counter the damage caused by this injury.

It would be fitting to have Cena take on Joe at a stage as grand as Wrestlemania 34. The two men started in the business together, and somehow it may be poetic justice if these two powers collided at such an event. As a consequence of Joe's injury, however, we will get a dream match at No Mercy.

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