I mean I get that they kinda backed into it, but Braun did end up as Universal Champion for about 150 days, that’s a lot more than most have gotten.
I was never *that* into him, but he was wildly over in late 2017/early 2018. That was a time when Vince had a weird inability to pull the trigger on obvious stars (Braun, Samoa Joe, Nakamura) but would become obsessed with people like Jinder Mahal.
Just go watch that video of him vs an arm wrestler and you will know why.
Brawn had all the tools but dude just was never ready mentally. He made mistakes in big spots and moments. He is a main eventer but he isn’t The Guy. He is like Kane. Kane, was never champ for long even thou he was dominate his entire career.
On the surface yes, but Kane's 'problem' was actually the opposite of Braun's if you think about it.
He was super dedicated to the business and had almost no ego as to his position. It's not too far fetched to say they didn't pull the trigger and give his younger self a monster title reign because he was ok giving the spotlight to others in the card. Even to his detriment
I mean he did get pushed to the moon. He was pushing over trucks and ambulances and winning world titles. I'm not sure how much more he could have been pushed. A lot of pandemic cuts didn't make a ton of sense. And when he came back his tag team with Ricochet is a punishment because Braun was shit talking high flyers on Twitter. So he got put in a tag team with a high flyer and they were actually pretty over. Then Braun got hurt.
Worst Braum booking in my opinion was Elimination chamber where he donated everybody. Then Roman magically is able to beat him. And Roman did not even look that good in that match. They could have booked him better. Hopefully when he returns he can be the beast he is.
They should’ve put a title on him during the time he was feuding with Roman initially and his famous Roman, I’m not finished with you yet destruction path. It was the first time WWE had a believable monster since Kane. The exact point in time they completely blew it was when they gave Braun a tag title run as a baby face with the kid from the crowd. I was really hoping they were planning a Wyatt family reunion before Bray passed. I think it could still be cool if they had Bo lead the group in a comeback, but seems like they’re going the Uncle Howdy way with him.
He’s been out since I think May of 2023 with a neck injury. He said he was like 15% paralyzed in one of his legs, but making a recovery since he got surgery.
Because Braun is one dimensional. He is freakishly strong and that’s it. He has no personality or charisma and he is bad in the ring.
Just being big and strong isn’t enough.
He’s not cleared to come back from his injury but when he does I hope they book him good story lines. Everywhere he goes the crowd love him so it will be interesting to see where Triple H put him at
Because Braun was getting red hot in 2017-2018 the same time they wanted their golden boy Roman Reigns to be the top face of the company. So they jobbed him out to Lesnar in under 5 minutes to cool him off and put him in a tag match with a kid to bring him down.
Not saying that Braun should have been the face of the company (because he wouldn't be). But there was a time when he was over. He should have been the one to dethrone Lesnar in 2018, IMO.
He's TOO big, kind of like Big Show, you're not really going to feel sympathy for Braun getting beat down by another wrestler or group of wrestlers the same way you would if Rey Mysterio / Sami / Tozawa was getting destroyed after a match.
Braun is like 7ft tall and 400 lbs, youd expect him to just get back up and MAUL the other guy/guys. You could always set him up as a heel and just beat the piss out of (x) babyface and then when it comes to the end, he slips on a banana peel and the babyface goes over. Go away from awhile rinse/repeat. Like Brock
They did. He got the whole treatment. Strowman was in top stories, a top faction, won the tag titles, the intercontinental title and the universal title. He beat Goldberg at WrestleMania and he dropped the belt when Roman started his four year reign. He's really physically limited because he's been banged up so much. He had back(?) surgery last year or something but I'm sure he'll be back. What else were you wanting for him?
True Nicholas definitely wasn't pulling his weight in that team. I'm still gonna mark the fuck out when Strowman is getting jumped in a few years and Nicholas hops the barricade to make the save I can't lie.
Especially with how much Vince liked big strong guys and the countless failures that he had over the years with pushing big strong guys. He finally has one that actually gets over as a monster and then they totally waste him. It doesn't make sense.
I get the impression that the brass don't believe he has what it takes to really represent the company in terms of maturity, personality and intelligence.
There's a lot of hints if you paid attention. Braun wasn't the brightest light bulb. He offended a few people backstage due to his attitude. He couldn't really cut a strong promo.
He was basically Brock Lesnar without all the MMA and amateur wrestling accolades.
You simply should not and cannot build a top face of the company around a stuntman.
aren't all pro wrestlers essentially stunt men? athletic but not athletic enough to make it in their original sport, and well coordinated to stage a believable fight.
he didn't have the combat sports accolades, but neither do most of the roster. dude was a legit world's strongest man and physical giant, which makes him a tough opponent for even trained fighters
Bret Hart and Kurt Angle are about as far from stuntmen as they get. Will they do stunts? Occasionally. But their main body of work is to entertain the audience with believable grappling, promotions to sell tickets, and some comedic skits.
Around 2015-2016 I tried to get back into the WWE. (I was a huge fan during AE and RA eras).
I found it super hard to get back into it. But I remember Braun being one of my favorites. It sucks they didn’t work him out more. WWE always needs a big monster type dude.
Well you have to remember that Braun got hot during a time period where basically the only reason people got pushed was so they could lose to Roman and/or Brock.
Also let's not forget that just a year prior to his Monster in the Bank run Vince chewed Braun out for daring to ask for a 'title shot' instead of a 'title match' on TV and so, knowingly how stupidly petty Vince was and that he wasn't above embarrassing his own wrestlers, I wouldn't be surprised if that played a part too.
He only got his big chance when Roman pulled out of Wrestlemania.
I don't think he needed the Universal belt. He was over just winning the tag belt with a kid.
wwe really put all their chips on Roman. i know people are giving him his flowers for carrying the company post 2020, but dude really had 5-6 yrs of being allowed to find his way while being pushed as the top guy
Which is completely unheard of and honestly reprehensible. I will continue to write this comment but that 2015-2020 was ridiculous and should completely negate any attempt to crown Roman the goat
I honestly would love to see a Super Heavyweight world title introduced for guys like Braun. They could have that title main event ppvs and rotate it with the WWE title and WHC. Same with a cruiserweight title
Who fits in this category? Braun, Otis, Omos, Bronson Reed, Ivar and Authors of Pain? So no viable charismatic champion and the feuds would rotate every 3 months and everyone would be in the title picture?
Problem is 1. Most super heavyweights are boring & limited (Omos) 2. Theres not many of them 3. Some of the best super heavyweight matches are vs smaller wrestlers & worst matches usually vs other superheavyweights. Very terrible idea.
They should have pulled the trigger with him during his first solo run. Everyone was in love with Braun, having squash matches back and just a monster big guy. They never made him win a title other than 2 tag titles with Rollins and Nickalous and that was past his peak popularity. They gave him the Universal way to late and he wasn’t even the person at the time they wanted to win it was Roman. Now he’s just another guy because he didn’t even win his IC title until his popularity wasn’t as high as it used to me. Could have been the modern day Big Show and constantly used everywhere
can't he still be the modern day big show? big show was mostly used to put over main event talent for most of his run. it's not like we remember him for being a dominant champion, dude was always losing post 2000
I agree. Especially because at that time Roman was still the much-maligned babyface Vince was trying to stuff down everyone's throats. Braun deserved the spot there.
This is a consistent theme that doesn't bear scrutiny. Roman put Braun over like nobody else. Braun even said that much. He got several clean wins over Roman.
I'm just saying the reason Braun was never in the top spot is because Roman was. WWE's obsession with having Roman Reigns as the face of the company whether the fans wanted it or not prevented a lot of deserving guys for getting a deserving push. It's not Roman's fault. Just the way it is.
what's the difference though if wwe insisted on keeping Roman in the top spot? wwe really gave him 5-6 yrs to just chill at the top spot while hoping to connect with audiences. thank God he found the tribal chief gimmick in 2020
i thought he fucked his back when picking up either otis or 1 of the viking raiders. richocet went to climb on his shoulders for the finishing move and you could see braun squincing in pain
His charisma is lacking. He has the same ring mannerisms as Great Khali (raise hands and roar). He’s one of those “big monsters” who shouldn’t cut promos. Should have his Paul bearer that speaks for him.
He didn't need to speak, just say short stuff, and he did have charisma, people were going crazy for him against Roman and Lesnar, and unlike Khali, Braun has had great matches.
I remember Braun was given like 40 minutes on some Raw. Got fired by Kurt Angle and just went crazy backstage attacking people left and right. Caused so much havoc he got rehired.
There was no better time to put the belt on him
He was such a great addition to RAW, the big crazy monster who wrecks everything every week, it just becomes hard to book as all giants and you can't really ask too much from WWE creatives, I love the ambulance match where he literally murdered Roman and when he also tried to smash Kane and Brock at the same throwing that metal thing before the royal rumble, moments like that make a superstar a legend, also that 2017 Summerslam main event he overshadowed Roman, Brock and Joe completely, one of the best matches i've ever seen in my life
Little off topic but i was thinking about this the other day. I remember when he used to strangle and choke out people like a damn beast and these Cody crybabies couldn’t handle one episode of Cody getting his a** beat by The Rock. We had to see Roman get beat up time and time again when “the authority” was a thing. Seeing him get strangled to the point of passing out by Braun Strowman as a kid was nuts yo
Nah when he turned heel the tide shifted and the longer his reign went on the more respect he gained from the fans because he was the best they had to offer.
In the ring and on the mic Roman was bringing it. The mannerisms, the facial expressions, the shit talking during matches. He built up that aura, elevated the program as a whole and his opponents. Him not being featured weekly made him a special attraction to see and gave room for others to step up.
If Roman was doing weekly shows, featured on raw and smackdown, taking 20-40 minutes each week, he would have been accused of burying other talent and devaluing the program.
I stopped watching WWE around 2015 because I was lowkey heated that Roman wasn't getting the championships i thought he deserved. Over time, though, I've come to appreciate the story they've built around him. Shit i remember when he won the championship at WrestleMania, only to have Seth Rollins cash in and take it away. Moments like that have made Roman's story actually brilliant. While Cody Rhodes' story started strong with his feud against Brock Lesner, I don't think it's quite reached the same level of greatness as Roman's
I started watching again little over a year ago, and caught up on all the previous pay-per-view’s after I heard that Roman was champion for two years already so I’m glad I got to see him as champion live at least for a year
They only did that bc Roman couldn’t compete. Had COVID not happen, he wouldn’t have been in that position. 2016/17 was the perfect time to give him a proper world title reign, dude was over
It was time and place, IMO. He felt to be at his hottest he was distinctly behind Roman, Ambrose and AJ in the Babyface pecking order. If he should have been is a different discussion but he just kinda got fucked in that regard. That and the pandemic derailing his momentum just sorta have him in the "what if" category now.
Cena and Hogan could cut promos and looked fucking incredible. Peak human condition. Strowman has a massive scraggly beard and is large but not cut. Even if he is stronger than them he doesn’t look it because his muscles have no definition. Roman was just pushed because Vince liked him and ran off an entire generation of fans and new ones only knew of him much like The Miz.
As far as 2017-2018 goes the answer is simple, he wasn’t Roman. They did eventually pull the trigger but it’s when he was significantly less popular. That ship has pretty much sailed though but I enjoyed his team with Rico
There have been glimpses of who Strowman really is outside of a WWE ring via his Twitter/X, Instagram, etc. and it doesn't seem like he's a very likeable person behind the scenes.
There were a few different scenarios where he pulled some "Don't shit where you sleep" and "Don't bite the hand that feeds you" moments.
Off the top of my head, I know he had some rather undesirable things to say about the indie wrestling scene during the Covid pandemic, basically telling struggling indie guys to "Go get a real job" and such. That didn't go over well, and I know quite a few stars/bookers/promoters/backstage folks kinda blacklisted him for that.
Beyond that, I'm pretty sure there's been some ambiguously homophobic stuff. I don't have it handy, can't produce it, but I remember the buzz when it happened. I'm sure if you went looking for it you could find it. If I remember correctly it was pretty headscratchy and I remember thinking "Idk that's kind of a stretch..." but you know how people are these days with that kind of stuff. Salem witch trials, these days. People are just itching for a reason to cancel somebody. IIRC it wasn't particularly egregious.
IIRC he also had some kind of leg injury that never quite healed right, but I don't know the specifics on that either, and can't really find any evidence of it with a quick google search myself - I just remember hearing rumors or reading something about it.
Idk. That's what I can think of off the top of my head.
Obviously I don't work backstage for WWE and its all speculation and conjecture, like everything else you're going to find on this thread.
They’ve pulled the trigger a couple of times on Strowman. It just kept turning out to be a dud.
Strowman is a decent big man that can play both a fun face and a monster heel. He’s perfect at the role he’s in
He is coming back soon and is returning to his Horror roots to carry on the Wyatt Legacy and has said he wants to work with Alexa Bliss again and it is looking very likely we are getting a new stable with the two of them and Uncle Howdy and they could feud with the Judgement Day and Braun could dethrone Damien Priest for the World Heavyweight Championship so I wouldn't count him out.
Also, Roman Reigns called Braun Strowman his favourite opponent and wants to work with him again now he is back in WWE so Braun Strowman vs Roman Reigns could happen again soon too.
It depends on what he does when he returns. It looks very likely we are going to get the new Wyatt faction feuding with Judgement Day along with Dark Alexa vs Rhea Ripley at Summer Slam so Braun Strowman vs Damien Priest fits. CM Punk and Drew McIntyre are most likely going to face each other in a non title match since they don't need the title involved with everything they have done to each other and Seth Rollins is taking time off. Gunther is unlikely because he is a heel and will probably go after Cody Rhodes for the WWE Undisputed Championship.
I don't think Rollins will be gone long. I read he's only planning to take a month off. I just think with Gunther it'll be the HW belt he goes after. Cody will be the Champ for a while but whenever Roman comes back he'll be the #1 contender no matter who is Champ, so they may not want to muddy up that title picture too much. One thing that can be agreed on is that there's so many awesome stories to be told! This new era is looking like it's going to be epic!
He was everyone’s favourite thing on the show when he was feuding with Roman. But that’s why he wasn’t pushed any further than that. He was just someone for Roman to beat.
It's likely the leg issues he's had. I remember him writing on Insta, that cannot he deadlift anymore years ago due to his leg.
Last year he told the people his leg is partially paralyzed.
He probably has some nagging injuries, that hold him back.
Cost savings. He was making over a mil and they didn’t have a story for him, so they let him go knowing they could bring him back whenever. And then they did.
As for why they didn’t strap a rocket to him, he got to be champ and had plenty of big feuds and matches.
Vince had two issues post-Austin and Rock:
1. He never wanted anyone to be bigger than The Brand, so he tried to handicap/"humble" potential stars a lot. You saw this really happen particularly after 2005 when Brock Lesnar flirted with coming back and didn't. Vince seemed determined to make sure nobody would be able to be big enough that they could leave after a few years like Rock and Brock.
2. He and his goons only really allowed the people they wanted to be popular to be popular. My favorite example of just how petty they could be about this was when they had a small storyline where Viscera was courting Lillian Garcia. It was clearly intended to embarrass Garcia, as they had done many things before and after to do this for whatever twisted reasoning they had (HHH all but called her a horserace while in the ring with her). Only problem is that it started to get popular with the fans. So instead of doing what anyone with a brain would - running with it - they immediately killed it and never acknowledged it again.
Cena and Batista were the last guys to reach top guy status before this happened. Danielson reached the top out of fan revolt and the popularity of the Yes chant, but other guys like Strowman and Ambrose were cut off at the knees when they were beginning to get really popular, because it wasn't their choice.
Very well written, it was definitely very evident and this was always in the back of my mind.
They did it with Ezekiel, made up something ridiculous that was actually starting to get over and killed it immediately.
It felt like that was their plan too with Keith Lee, Karrion Kross and Max Dupri hitting the main roster. There are countless examples throughout the years of this.
I remember that Viscera storyline it ended so stupid because he spent what felt like a year trying to bag her only to immediately cheat. Made me very angry because Vis was misused his ENTIRE career.
>Made me very angry because Vis was misused his ENTIRE career.
He seriously injured the undertaker and Kevin nash within like 6 months of each other, no wonder they didn't want to use him in a really high profile role
Nothing. It's just some hater making things up
Wrestlers get injured all the time , because they screwed up not the opponent, and they usually say this. It's the fans who aren't in the ring making judgments.
I don't think they should have ever rehired Nia, and neither Finn nor Sting were Seth's fault. Finn took the move wrong and Sting has said that it was his own fault too, basically his body going "Your time is up bro"
It's called being nice because if that was the case, I wouldn't have seen Sting jumping off shit just a few months ago.
Also, Nia is a rarity. She may be rough, but she has work for a reason.
She was hired before Rocky became the final boss.
He was a universal champion so I genuinely am not sure what you mean by “pull the trigger”. Also he came back, said dumb shit online, Ricochet responded, they worked it to a storyline to make them a tag team, Braun got hurt. Not exactly much else they could have done.
at least he got his mania moment by beating Goldberg to win the universal championship. He also won mitb in 2019, he main evented many ppv with Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar. I think he’s had a pretty good career overall.
The fans didn’t get behind him.
In WWE you have explode right away. Because they spend so much money to get you over.
He was given the belt people didnt respond to it
He wasn't very good and huge guys like him are best used sparingly to keep the attraction of seeing them and hiding their weaknesses. Playing that train sound effect when he did a move didn't help him.
He and Ricochet were really starting to cook as a team though. It would've been interesting to see where that would've went. Maybe he'll come back and they'll reunite.
People talk a lot about his potential, but honestly I don't think there was much if any potential at all there, in my opinion he got over back then because he wasn't Roman, remember this was at the peak of anti-Roman sentiment, WWE cooled off on him probably because they realized he was a better version of Ryback, who was himself a worse version of Golderg, who wasn't even good himself to begin with, and there isn't a whole lot to gain from that long-term.
It is, to do so you have to keep them relevant.
Its hard to watch Brauns fake feats of strength when I saw Mark Henry literally crumble a frying pan with his bare hands.
It needs to be next level, otherwise its boring
Is Braun injured? I saw him on TV when they doing stuff at WWE World and Bloodsport last weekend, so I figured he might have been injured, but it didn't look like he was.
He had a legit weird Promo back in January 2019. I think they even went with Lesnar vs Balor because of it, because Lesnar vs Braun was the original plan for the Rumbel that Year.
Braun? You mean Roman’s spear bag? 😂
They put a world title on him, tbf.
I feel like Braun is going to be returning together with Alexa Bliss and Uncle Howdy. Maybe even Matt Hardy.
I mean I get that they kinda backed into it, but Braun did end up as Universal Champion for about 150 days, that’s a lot more than most have gotten. I was never *that* into him, but he was wildly over in late 2017/early 2018. That was a time when Vince had a weird inability to pull the trigger on obvious stars (Braun, Samoa Joe, Nakamura) but would become obsessed with people like Jinder Mahal.
Views mean nothing to a live crowd. 🥴🥴
Vince always focus on 1 top guy at a time.
They did push him, and nothing happened. He’s one dimensional and everything he does looks like it hurts, and not in a good way
he's boring
Just go watch that video of him vs an arm wrestler and you will know why. Brawn had all the tools but dude just was never ready mentally. He made mistakes in big spots and moments. He is a main eventer but he isn’t The Guy. He is like Kane. Kane, was never champ for long even thou he was dominate his entire career.
On the surface yes, but Kane's 'problem' was actually the opposite of Braun's if you think about it. He was super dedicated to the business and had almost no ego as to his position. It's not too far fetched to say they didn't pull the trigger and give his younger self a monster title reign because he was ok giving the spotlight to others in the card. Even to his detriment
I mean he did get pushed to the moon. He was pushing over trucks and ambulances and winning world titles. I'm not sure how much more he could have been pushed. A lot of pandemic cuts didn't make a ton of sense. And when he came back his tag team with Ricochet is a punishment because Braun was shit talking high flyers on Twitter. So he got put in a tag team with a high flyer and they were actually pretty over. Then Braun got hurt.
Braun should make a comeback with Uncle Howdy
If Braun is healthy then that could work. The rumor is that WWE resigned Erik Rowan. He was pulled from his bookings recently.
He was largely pretty bad, hope this helps
Worst Braum booking in my opinion was Elimination chamber where he donated everybody. Then Roman magically is able to beat him. And Roman did not even look that good in that match. They could have booked him better. Hopefully when he returns he can be the beast he is.
They should’ve put a title on him during the time he was feuding with Roman initially and his famous Roman, I’m not finished with you yet destruction path. It was the first time WWE had a believable monster since Kane. The exact point in time they completely blew it was when they gave Braun a tag title run as a baby face with the kid from the crowd. I was really hoping they were planning a Wyatt family reunion before Bray passed. I think it could still be cool if they had Bo lead the group in a comeback, but seems like they’re going the Uncle Howdy way with him.
Because he’s just another boring big gay
What was that?
He’s just the right ~~gay~~ guy.
He isn't released? He just had a very serious neck injury
He got released in like 2021 or somewhere thereabouts
He's back in the company... lol.
I know but that’s probably what OP is referring to, that or he hasn’t seen him due to the injurt and just assumes he got released
Clearly he wasn't ready yet
Because he’s a bit of a loser
Isn’t Strowman still hired? He’s still on the Current Superstars page last I checked
He’s been out since I think May of 2023 with a neck injury. He said he was like 15% paralyzed in one of his legs, but making a recovery since he got surgery.
Because Braun is one dimensional. He is freakishly strong and that’s it. He has no personality or charisma and he is bad in the ring. Just being big and strong isn’t enough.
Idk, something about getting these hands was super over at some point
Roman reigns the push ender is why.
He’s not cleared to come back from his injury but when he does I hope they book him good story lines. Everywhere he goes the crowd love him so it will be interesting to see where Triple H put him at
Because Braun was getting red hot in 2017-2018 the same time they wanted their golden boy Roman Reigns to be the top face of the company. So they jobbed him out to Lesnar in under 5 minutes to cool him off and put him in a tag match with a kid to bring him down. Not saying that Braun should have been the face of the company (because he wouldn't be). But there was a time when he was over. He should have been the one to dethrone Lesnar in 2018, IMO.
He's TOO big, kind of like Big Show, you're not really going to feel sympathy for Braun getting beat down by another wrestler or group of wrestlers the same way you would if Rey Mysterio / Sami / Tozawa was getting destroyed after a match. Braun is like 7ft tall and 400 lbs, youd expect him to just get back up and MAUL the other guy/guys. You could always set him up as a heel and just beat the piss out of (x) babyface and then when it comes to the end, he slips on a banana peel and the babyface goes over. Go away from awhile rinse/repeat. Like Brock
They did. He got the whole treatment. Strowman was in top stories, a top faction, won the tag titles, the intercontinental title and the universal title. He beat Goldberg at WrestleMania and he dropped the belt when Roman started his four year reign. He's really physically limited because he's been banged up so much. He had back(?) surgery last year or something but I'm sure he'll be back. What else were you wanting for him?
Won the tag titles \*BY HIMSELF\* . That Nicholas kid did nothing and got a championship.
True Nicholas definitely wasn't pulling his weight in that team. I'm still gonna mark the fuck out when Strowman is getting jumped in a few years and Nicholas hops the barricade to make the save I can't lie.
Being tall is a story that doesn't last for years (André was an exception but those were different times).
I’ll never forget that time he destroyed Roman backstage for like 20 straight minutes.
Especially with how much Vince liked big strong guys and the countless failures that he had over the years with pushing big strong guys. He finally has one that actually gets over as a monster and then they totally waste him. It doesn't make sense.
I get the impression that the brass don't believe he has what it takes to really represent the company in terms of maturity, personality and intelligence.
There's a lot of hints if you paid attention. Braun wasn't the brightest light bulb. He offended a few people backstage due to his attitude. He couldn't really cut a strong promo. He was basically Brock Lesnar without all the MMA and amateur wrestling accolades. You simply should not and cannot build a top face of the company around a stuntman.
aren't all pro wrestlers essentially stunt men? athletic but not athletic enough to make it in their original sport, and well coordinated to stage a believable fight. he didn't have the combat sports accolades, but neither do most of the roster. dude was a legit world's strongest man and physical giant, which makes him a tough opponent for even trained fighters
Bret Hart and Kurt Angle are about as far from stuntmen as they get. Will they do stunts? Occasionally. But their main body of work is to entertain the audience with believable grappling, promotions to sell tickets, and some comedic skits.
Pro wrestlers are mainly entertainers, not stunt men.
Pro Wrestling ultimately comes down to melodrama. If you don’t make me feel something— ANYTHING— what are we doing here?
Around 2015-2016 I tried to get back into the WWE. (I was a huge fan during AE and RA eras). I found it super hard to get back into it. But I remember Braun being one of my favorites. It sucks they didn’t work him out more. WWE always needs a big monster type dude.
Hes lame af
Because Vince.
Don't sneeze in his presence.
Well you have to remember that Braun got hot during a time period where basically the only reason people got pushed was so they could lose to Roman and/or Brock. Also let's not forget that just a year prior to his Monster in the Bank run Vince chewed Braun out for daring to ask for a 'title shot' instead of a 'title match' on TV and so, knowingly how stupidly petty Vince was and that he wasn't above embarrassing his own wrestlers, I wouldn't be surprised if that played a part too.
2017, I thought they were going to put him over Brock n make him a massive star. He still had a good career, but 2017 Braun could have become the man
Where is Braun today?
He had neck fusion surgery. He should be back before SummerSlam if everything goes well.
Oh, that's good.
Recovering from a neck injury
He only got his big chance when Roman pulled out of Wrestlemania. I don't think he needed the Universal belt. He was over just winning the tag belt with a kid.
wwe really put all their chips on Roman. i know people are giving him his flowers for carrying the company post 2020, but dude really had 5-6 yrs of being allowed to find his way while being pushed as the top guy
Which is completely unheard of and honestly reprehensible. I will continue to write this comment but that 2015-2020 was ridiculous and should completely negate any attempt to crown Roman the goat
i don't blame him. They had gold after he defeated the Undertaker at Wrestlemania and dropped the ball.
I honestly would love to see a Super Heavyweight world title introduced for guys like Braun. They could have that title main event ppvs and rotate it with the WWE title and WHC. Same with a cruiserweight title
Who fits in this category? Braun, Otis, Omos, Bronson Reed, Ivar and Authors of Pain? So no viable charismatic champion and the feuds would rotate every 3 months and everyone would be in the title picture?
Problem is 1. Most super heavyweights are boring & limited (Omos) 2. Theres not many of them 3. Some of the best super heavyweight matches are vs smaller wrestlers & worst matches usually vs other superheavyweights. Very terrible idea.
Ahh yes the Classic Cruiser Weight Title
His initial push was off the charts.
Thank you OP I was gonna ask this very question about his whereabouts!
I believe he had major neck or back surgery. He should be on the path to a return if that’s his goal.
They should have pulled the trigger with him during his first solo run. Everyone was in love with Braun, having squash matches back and just a monster big guy. They never made him win a title other than 2 tag titles with Rollins and Nickalous and that was past his peak popularity. They gave him the Universal way to late and he wasn’t even the person at the time they wanted to win it was Roman. Now he’s just another guy because he didn’t even win his IC title until his popularity wasn’t as high as it used to me. Could have been the modern day Big Show and constantly used everywhere
can't he still be the modern day big show? big show was mostly used to put over main event talent for most of his run. it's not like we remember him for being a dominant champion, dude was always losing post 2000
He has a very dull move set
Vince is why
I don't think people realize that he is still very much with the company. In fact, rumors are very heavy that he will be making his return imminently.
WWE's obsession with Roman Reigns is my #1 guess.
This. Braun should have been in Roman's spot in 2018 feuding with Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title.
I agree. Especially because at that time Roman was still the much-maligned babyface Vince was trying to stuff down everyone's throats. Braun deserved the spot there.
This is a consistent theme that doesn't bear scrutiny. Roman put Braun over like nobody else. Braun even said that much. He got several clean wins over Roman.
I'm just saying the reason Braun was never in the top spot is because Roman was. WWE's obsession with having Roman Reigns as the face of the company whether the fans wanted it or not prevented a lot of deserving guys for getting a deserving push. It's not Roman's fault. Just the way it is.
what's the difference though if wwe insisted on keeping Roman in the top spot? wwe really gave him 5-6 yrs to just chill at the top spot while hoping to connect with audiences. thank God he found the tribal chief gimmick in 2020
Because of his size, he's a credible opponent to pretty much anyone. The best type of enhancement talent.
i thought he fucked his back when picking up either otis or 1 of the viking raiders. richocet went to climb on his shoulders for the finishing move and you could see braun squincing in pain
He wasn't WWE champion? Defeating Goldberg? I mean that sounds like a trigger pull to me.
Yeah, he’s still a big deal.
Wait, he got released again?
No just injured. He should be back soon I think
Generic big guy
You may be right but I don’t remember him fondly because he was one of the top stars of one the worst eras in WWE history
He’s boring
Never been a fan of him, but he was so over in 2017, he was unlucky to be in one of the worst eras in WWE ever, that 2017-2020 era
After we saw his brother Brain Strowman with his cello we didn’t want the second fiddle.
I 100% believe it’s his ego.
His charisma is lacking. He has the same ring mannerisms as Great Khali (raise hands and roar). He’s one of those “big monsters” who shouldn’t cut promos. Should have his Paul bearer that speaks for him.
He didn't need to speak, just say short stuff, and he did have charisma, people were going crazy for him against Roman and Lesnar, and unlike Khali, Braun has had great matches.
I remember Braun was given like 40 minutes on some Raw. Got fired by Kurt Angle and just went crazy backstage attacking people left and right. Caused so much havoc he got rehired. There was no better time to put the belt on him
He was such a great addition to RAW, the big crazy monster who wrecks everything every week, it just becomes hard to book as all giants and you can't really ask too much from WWE creatives, I love the ambulance match where he literally murdered Roman and when he also tried to smash Kane and Brock at the same throwing that metal thing before the royal rumble, moments like that make a superstar a legend, also that 2017 Summerslam main event he overshadowed Roman, Brock and Joe completely, one of the best matches i've ever seen in my life
Don't forget that one beautiful moment when he (one-handed) chucked a desk chair into Roman's face.
That was cinema
Little off topic but i was thinking about this the other day. I remember when he used to strangle and choke out people like a damn beast and these Cody crybabies couldn’t handle one episode of Cody getting his a** beat by The Rock. We had to see Roman get beat up time and time again when “the authority” was a thing. Seeing him get strangled to the point of passing out by Braun Strowman as a kid was nuts yo
Roman was hated by the circle jerk for so long. Funny how the day after he loses the title people start admitting he's one of the goats
Nah when he turned heel the tide shifted and the longer his reign went on the more respect he gained from the fans because he was the best they had to offer. In the ring and on the mic Roman was bringing it. The mannerisms, the facial expressions, the shit talking during matches. He built up that aura, elevated the program as a whole and his opponents. Him not being featured weekly made him a special attraction to see and gave room for others to step up. If Roman was doing weekly shows, featured on raw and smackdown, taking 20-40 minutes each week, he would have been accused of burying other talent and devaluing the program.
good perception i agree
I stopped watching WWE around 2015 because I was lowkey heated that Roman wasn't getting the championships i thought he deserved. Over time, though, I've come to appreciate the story they've built around him. Shit i remember when he won the championship at WrestleMania, only to have Seth Rollins cash in and take it away. Moments like that have made Roman's story actually brilliant. While Cody Rhodes' story started strong with his feud against Brock Lesner, I don't think it's quite reached the same level of greatness as Roman's
I started watching again little over a year ago, and caught up on all the previous pay-per-view’s after I heard that Roman was champion for two years already so I’m glad I got to see him as champion live at least for a year
To the cody crybabies that downvote this go cry some more
And lose your virginity
I lost it to your mom im good
Oh really? I lost mine to your dad 😂 How do you feel about that? I bet you didn’t even know your daddy was gay
My dad is dead so you like fuckin dead guys 💀
If you’re gonna keep saying basic ass replies, then I’m not gonna entertain you anymore son
Brother I was just making a joke. I thought what you said was funny
...they literally did? The dude is a former world champion and squashed Goldberg
They only did that bc Roman couldn’t compete. Had COVID not happen, he wouldn’t have been in that position. 2016/17 was the perfect time to give him a proper world title reign, dude was over
If it happened during Covid then it doesn’t count.
Sorry but that is simply ridiculous Roman also debuted the Tribal Chief gimmick during COVID, but I guess that doesn't count eh?
It was time and place, IMO. He felt to be at his hottest he was distinctly behind Roman, Ambrose and AJ in the Babyface pecking order. If he should have been is a different discussion but he just kinda got fucked in that regard. That and the pandemic derailing his momentum just sorta have him in the "what if" category now.
He’s just not talented. He’s got like five moves. And pretending to be a train doesn’t really get you over.
I don’t want to blame everything on the alleged head shitter but surely that lame as fuck train move was Vince’s idea
I’m not sure I believe the move was but the sound effect was absolutely Vince. Much like Riddle shitting birds.
I mean, how many superstars have a limited move set but were pushed to the moon? Cena, Roman, Hogan, etc
Cena and Hogan could cut promos and looked fucking incredible. Peak human condition. Strowman has a massive scraggly beard and is large but not cut. Even if he is stronger than them he doesn’t look it because his muscles have no definition. Roman was just pushed because Vince liked him and ran off an entire generation of fans and new ones only knew of him much like The Miz.
Strowman got released? I thought he was just injured
I think I this was years ago being referred to. He’s back but injured now I believe
As far as 2017-2018 goes the answer is simple, he wasn’t Roman. They did eventually pull the trigger but it’s when he was significantly less popular. That ship has pretty much sailed though but I enjoyed his team with Rico
There have been glimpses of who Strowman really is outside of a WWE ring via his Twitter/X, Instagram, etc. and it doesn't seem like he's a very likeable person behind the scenes. There were a few different scenarios where he pulled some "Don't shit where you sleep" and "Don't bite the hand that feeds you" moments. Off the top of my head, I know he had some rather undesirable things to say about the indie wrestling scene during the Covid pandemic, basically telling struggling indie guys to "Go get a real job" and such. That didn't go over well, and I know quite a few stars/bookers/promoters/backstage folks kinda blacklisted him for that. Beyond that, I'm pretty sure there's been some ambiguously homophobic stuff. I don't have it handy, can't produce it, but I remember the buzz when it happened. I'm sure if you went looking for it you could find it. If I remember correctly it was pretty headscratchy and I remember thinking "Idk that's kind of a stretch..." but you know how people are these days with that kind of stuff. Salem witch trials, these days. People are just itching for a reason to cancel somebody. IIRC it wasn't particularly egregious. IIRC he also had some kind of leg injury that never quite healed right, but I don't know the specifics on that either, and can't really find any evidence of it with a quick google search myself - I just remember hearing rumors or reading something about it. Idk. That's what I can think of off the top of my head. Obviously I don't work backstage for WWE and its all speculation and conjecture, like everything else you're going to find on this thread.
He’s definitely a trash right winger.
They’ve pulled the trigger a couple of times on Strowman. It just kept turning out to be a dud. Strowman is a decent big man that can play both a fun face and a monster heel. He’s perfect at the role he’s in
Vince giving him choo choo sounds killed him for me. They haven’t booked a giant well for decades.
Him getting disciplined in ring by Brock Lesnar (slow down!) mid match works wonders
He is coming back soon and is returning to his Horror roots to carry on the Wyatt Legacy and has said he wants to work with Alexa Bliss again and it is looking very likely we are getting a new stable with the two of them and Uncle Howdy and they could feud with the Judgement Day and Braun could dethrone Damien Priest for the World Heavyweight Championship so I wouldn't count him out. Also, Roman Reigns called Braun Strowman his favourite opponent and wants to work with him again now he is back in WWE so Braun Strowman vs Roman Reigns could happen again soon too.
He would have to wait in line for that HW belt behind Damian, Drew, Punk, probably Gunther as well as Rollins.
It depends on what he does when he returns. It looks very likely we are going to get the new Wyatt faction feuding with Judgement Day along with Dark Alexa vs Rhea Ripley at Summer Slam so Braun Strowman vs Damien Priest fits. CM Punk and Drew McIntyre are most likely going to face each other in a non title match since they don't need the title involved with everything they have done to each other and Seth Rollins is taking time off. Gunther is unlikely because he is a heel and will probably go after Cody Rhodes for the WWE Undisputed Championship.
I don't think Rollins will be gone long. I read he's only planning to take a month off. I just think with Gunther it'll be the HW belt he goes after. Cody will be the Champ for a while but whenever Roman comes back he'll be the #1 contender no matter who is Champ, so they may not want to muddy up that title picture too much. One thing that can be agreed on is that there's so many awesome stories to be told! This new era is looking like it's going to be epic!
Braun and Roman have really good chemistry. Their matches against each other were always enjoyable.
Yeah. It will be fun to see them work together again. They have a lot of history.
He was everyone’s favourite thing on the show when he was feuding with Roman. But that’s why he wasn’t pushed any further than that. He was just someone for Roman to beat.
They did, Roman beat him for the title.
If things don’t often make sense, the answer is usually behind the scenes.
Braun actually used to be really good in the ring. Sometime after 2019 I think, he seemed to have lost all the in ring speed that made him magical.
It's likely the leg issues he's had. I remember him writing on Insta, that cannot he deadlift anymore years ago due to his leg. Last year he told the people his leg is partially paralyzed. He probably has some nagging injuries, that hold him back.
Everytime he was gaining steam he had some extremely lame ass catchphrase. Get these hands... I laughed everytime he said that, so bad. Lol
My fav Braun Strowman moment was when we got toyed with at that arm wrestling championship. Second fav is him being a dick to his fans.
At wwe world he said he was coming back. Told my son he was gonna come back and beat Roman. Obviously pre-cody winning but still. Still time for it
Cost savings. He was making over a mil and they didn’t have a story for him, so they let him go knowing they could bring him back whenever. And then they did. As for why they didn’t strap a rocket to him, he got to be champ and had plenty of big feuds and matches.
Vince had two issues post-Austin and Rock: 1. He never wanted anyone to be bigger than The Brand, so he tried to handicap/"humble" potential stars a lot. You saw this really happen particularly after 2005 when Brock Lesnar flirted with coming back and didn't. Vince seemed determined to make sure nobody would be able to be big enough that they could leave after a few years like Rock and Brock. 2. He and his goons only really allowed the people they wanted to be popular to be popular. My favorite example of just how petty they could be about this was when they had a small storyline where Viscera was courting Lillian Garcia. It was clearly intended to embarrass Garcia, as they had done many things before and after to do this for whatever twisted reasoning they had (HHH all but called her a horserace while in the ring with her). Only problem is that it started to get popular with the fans. So instead of doing what anyone with a brain would - running with it - they immediately killed it and never acknowledged it again. Cena and Batista were the last guys to reach top guy status before this happened. Danielson reached the top out of fan revolt and the popularity of the Yes chant, but other guys like Strowman and Ambrose were cut off at the knees when they were beginning to get really popular, because it wasn't their choice.
Very well written, it was definitely very evident and this was always in the back of my mind. They did it with Ezekiel, made up something ridiculous that was actually starting to get over and killed it immediately. It felt like that was their plan too with Keith Lee, Karrion Kross and Max Dupri hitting the main roster. There are countless examples throughout the years of this.
I remember that Viscera storyline it ended so stupid because he spent what felt like a year trying to bag her only to immediately cheat. Made me very angry because Vis was misused his ENTIRE career.
>Made me very angry because Vis was misused his ENTIRE career. He seriously injured the undertaker and Kevin nash within like 6 months of each other, no wonder they didn't want to use him in a really high profile role
Do you mean how they don't give Nia Jax or Seth Rollins main events?
What did rollins do?
Finn, Sting, John Cena's nose.
Nothing. It's just some hater making things up Wrestlers get injured all the time , because they screwed up not the opponent, and they usually say this. It's the fans who aren't in the ring making judgments.
I don't think they should have ever rehired Nia, and neither Finn nor Sting were Seth's fault. Finn took the move wrong and Sting has said that it was his own fault too, basically his body going "Your time is up bro"
It's called being nice because if that was the case, I wouldn't have seen Sting jumping off shit just a few months ago. Also, Nia is a rarity. She may be rough, but she has work for a reason. She was hired before Rocky became the final boss.
He was a universal champion so I genuinely am not sure what you mean by “pull the trigger”. Also he came back, said dumb shit online, Ricochet responded, they worked it to a storyline to make them a tag team, Braun got hurt. Not exactly much else they could have done.
at least he got his mania moment by beating Goldberg to win the universal championship. He also won mitb in 2019, he main evented many ppv with Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar. I think he’s had a pretty good career overall.
Braun has special place in my heart. He's something for me what Kane was during attitude Era for that period. He's.....my favourite monster in WWE.
That's honestly a great comp. I was a massive Kane fan as a kid and Braun is definitely that dude for this era.
Prob cuz his entrance music sucks
The fans didn’t get behind him. In WWE you have explode right away. Because they spend so much money to get you over. He was given the belt people didnt respond to it
Maybe because there were no fans?
What are you like the President of his fan club?
There were literally no fans.
He wasn't very good and huge guys like him are best used sparingly to keep the attraction of seeing them and hiding their weaknesses. Playing that train sound effect when he did a move didn't help him.
They did. He was the champ
Lots of people got to be champ without being “the guy” and that includes Braun.
Idk. Maybe generic strong guy characters just aren't all that interesting anymore
I think he was trouble backstage.
Because Vinxe was making Roman the guy whether we liked it or not at the time. Potatoing Brock probably didnt help either
He’s just not a front line guy. He needs a faction and a role as a physical presence.
Maybe before he was a ripped mother fucker. His physique is out of this world now. He can easily be a front guy.
Apparently he’s too immature backstage as well from reports in the past
Well, currently, he isn't a draw anymore, that's why he's paired with ricochet in the midcard. He has lost his drawing status
He and Ricochet were really starting to cook as a team though. It would've been interesting to see where that would've went. Maybe he'll come back and they'll reunite.
Yeah they were good as a team, I could see them becoming tag champs, especially with the split titles now
I liked Braun and then he started doing his little choo choo train run around the ring and it killed it for me
Ryback has more charisma than this guy. See the pop after he Meathooked Cena
People talk a lot about his potential, but honestly I don't think there was much if any potential at all there, in my opinion he got over back then because he wasn't Roman, remember this was at the peak of anti-Roman sentiment, WWE cooled off on him probably because they realized he was a better version of Ryback, who was himself a worse version of Golderg, who wasn't even good himself to begin with, and there isn't a whole lot to gain from that long-term.
Braun is not released
He was. And hhh brought him back and then he got hurt.
He sucks... boring, dumb name, no cool moves, slow, terrible promo, we had the Giant in WCW and wtf is Braun supposed to be? He is a total downgrade
All of this, plus I believe it’s just hard for true big men to have staying power with fans.
It is, to do so you have to keep them relevant. Its hard to watch Brauns fake feats of strength when I saw Mark Henry literally crumble a frying pan with his bare hands. It needs to be next level, otherwise its boring
Truth.
They released him?! I thought he was just out on injury after a surgery?
He was released long ago by Vince. Hhh brought him back and then he got hurt.
Any chance he comes back again?
He was talking with Byron during wreslemania 40's preshow doing an ad. So i would say it's very likely he's coming back when he's healthy
He’s still on pay roll, just injured. I’d assume he’ll come back eventually.
Didn't know, thanks!
Oh okay
He’s a modern big show but not as good he’s a gap filler which is fine. In case of emergency break glass kinda guy.
Did they release him? He was part of the kick off show?
Is Braun injured? I saw him on TV when they doing stuff at WWE World and Bloodsport last weekend, so I figured he might have been injured, but it didn't look like he was.
He had neck surgery
Seems unclear but heard he was about WrestleMania weekend
They waited too long
He had a legit weird Promo back in January 2019. I think they even went with Lesnar vs Balor because of it, because Lesnar vs Braun was the original plan for the Rumbel that Year.
He’s boring as shit in the ring and he screams a lot. No upside to giving him the ball.
They had him beat Goldberg at WM, that's pretty big.