10 Epic WWE TV Matches That Could Have Been On PPV
4. John Cena Vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - SmackDown 2017
With Shinsuke Nakamura's status as the hottest new commodity on the main roster, fans were eager to see the NXT standout rise up the SmackDown ranks. Similarly, the returning John Cena was also a welcome addition to the blue team in the summer of 2017.
Despite both men being babyfaces and both men having the intangible "it factor" that is so hard to find in today's industry, these men would suddenly meet for the first time on the 1 August edition of SmackDown. With a SummerSlam title shot at stake, the bout was given just one week of promotion.
Considered by some to be a genuine dream match, booking Cena/Nakamura on SmackDown seemed incredibly short-sighted. Worse still, this bout took place one week after SmackDown's Battleground PPV. On that show, Cena fought Rusev in a Flag Match and Nakamura defeated Corbin via DQ - both of which seemed like a monumental waste of their drawing power.
Had WWE planned ahead, the entire month of July could have led to them squaring off for the #1 Contendership on PPV. Instead, the bout was hot-shotted in the space of a week.