5 WrestleMania-caliber matches that WWE gave away on a 'B' PPV

#4 Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman

Lesnar vs. Strowman might have headlined WrestleMania. Instead, it was the main event for No Mercy.

For a very recent example, 2017 has seen the meteoric rise of Braun Strowman from relatively generic big man to a featured performer with a unique appetite for destruction. He was positioned as a very believable threat to Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship reign, particularly after largely dominating Lesnar amidst a Fatal Fourway at SummerSlam.

The match ended up happening at No Mercy, a traditionally underwhelming PPV. Many have theorized it happened at this show both to cater to a big market crowd as the show happened in Los Angeles, and to capitalize on Strowman’s momentum with the main event match, while still pushing Lesnar as a dominant champ. Irrespective of the case, fans were surprised that the underwhelming match happened here.

It’s possible that Strowman will get another run at the world title, and he’s on the short list of stars, built by WWE who are believable as WrestleMania main eventers from the up and coming generation. Still, there will never be another first-time bout between these two monsters and it’s a surprise it didn’t go down at WrestleMania.