We've noted how Roman Reigns defeating John Cena and WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar retaining over Braun Strowman at WWE No Mercy were both part of the bigger picture - Reigns vs. Lesnar at WrestleMania 34 next year.

Vince McMahon was said to be very happy with both Cena vs. Reigns and Strowman vs. Lesnar as he got what he wanted out of the matches. The idea was that the company promised two WrestleMania quality matches with four of their top stars, and Vince gave them clean non-controversial finishes right in the middle of the ring.

Vince went into No Mercy with a very distinct vision in that the show and what would happen with the top two matches were not about what's happening now, but about telling the story of getting to WrestleMania 34. The idea there is all about Lesnar and Reigns being the two superior Superstars in the company with no one else on their level. They are keeping Lesnar very strong so it means the most when Reigns defeats him in New Orleans next year. Reigns is booked to go over clean so that he's the strongest challenger possible for The Beast.

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For No Mercy, the idea was that Cena would hit Reigns with his big moves over and over but couldn't get the pin, while Reigns would defeat Cena with his usual moves. Regarding Brock vs. Braun, the idea was that Lesnar would survive several Strowman powerslams and then win clean with just one F5. Vince also wanted Brock vs. Braun to be kept inside the ring for the most part as they did do the one spot outside of the ring with the post.

Regarding what's next for Lesnar, original plans had Lesnar defeating Strowman, Seth Rollins and Finn Balor this year but injuries changed things. The Brock vs. Seth match may have been nixed due to Rollins being put with Dean Ambrose as the RAW Tag Team Champions but it looks like the match with Balor is still on as Balor mentioned on RAW that he was coming after Lesnar next. No word yet on if Balor vs. Lesnar will take place at Survivor Series but as of this week, Lesnar was not booked for the big event in November but he has been added to the final RAW before Survivor Series.

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

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