Discuss Raw
Discuss → TV Shows → Raw → General
Cena vs Reigns - No Mercy 2017
posted by simian_ninjaSTAFFMOD on August 30, 2017 at 6:46 PM
You'd think that they would have saved one of their biggest matches in company history for one of their biggest events.
They gave Nakamura vs Cena away for free on TV and are going to do the same with Orton and Nakamura. I am genuinely puzzled by some of their choices. That being said, I've started listening to Bruce Prichard's podcast and he says that the whole idea behind Austin and Lesnar on free TV was to try and get people talking and to win the ratings for the night. Triple H and Batista have both said that they were supposed to fight on RAW before Wrestlemania and had to talk Vince out of giving it away for free.....I'm really befuddled with McMahon.
Reply by Ore-Sama
on August 31, 2017 at 4:23 AM
It's really short term thinking for the most part.
Cena vs Reigns at No Mercy might make sense if it's part of a bigger story. Like say Cena beats Reigns at No Mercy, than Reigns later on wins the Universal title from Lesnar, and then faces Cena at mania to get the big win. Then a rubber match further down the line. But as a one off, it makes little sense, especially when you all ready have Lesnar vs Strowman booked.
Reply by Enickma
on August 31, 2017 at 12:36 PM
Yeah, I had figured all along we'd get Reigns/Cena in 2019 for WM 35. It's pretty much the biggest 1st time match that could possibly happen among the current roster.. it really is a little confusing. I guess with football starting in a few weeks they're concerned about getting massacred in the ratings maybe?
Reply by thorwold
on September 26, 2017 at 3:35 AM
I know people are baffled by all of the giving away of big matches on TV, but I think at this point TV ratings are one of the few things left that really matter to them. Saving big faceoffs like the ones you mention for the big shows you would think would be a way of inspiring people to buy the network, even as these guys are trying their best to bury pay-per-view, but I think getting their TV ratings up, and getting a strong new deal when it comes time for renewal is even more important, and building big matches for TV (bewildering though it is at a time when they're putting on 2 'ppvs' a month in so many months) is the best way to try and do that.
Anyway, I was surprised they did this match at No Mercy when Summerslam was just a month ago, and neither guy did anything meaningful on said show, but I'm not complaining. I've always hated the idea of saving the biggest moments and matches for 4 shows out of the year, so spreading the wealth is fine by me.
Reply by simian_ninja
on September 29, 2017 at 8:01 PM
I'm not sure how well the ratings are going to go when they have content on their network.
That being said, having big matches on lesser pay per views could work as well. There were plenty of MOTY candidates that came out of the In Your House pay per views, sure they weren't Wrestlemania candidates but there will a lot of memorable matches.
I thought No Mercy was an alright pay per view. I liked the fact that it looked like they did away with the standard generic entrance as well.
Reply by NathanVersus
on October 4, 2017 at 10:11 PM
WWE should’ve waited until WrestleMania. I appreciate the argument about using marquee matches to elevate lesser cards, however WWE has placed so much emphasis on the WrestleMania brand that it feels like they’ve lessened the importance of what should’ve been a celebrated match that continued the lineage of Andre/Hogan, Hogan/Rock and Rock/Cena. Cena and Reigns are my favourite wrestlers; I would’ve travelled to New Orleans to watch WrestleMania 34 on the strength of that match alone, yet I still haven’t watched their No Mercy match. The stage matters.