– Last night in the semi-finals of the Mixed Match Challenge, Team Little Big (Braun Strowman and RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss) were defeated by The Miz and Asuka. During the match there was a moment in which Strowman caught Bliss after she was bumped off the apron. For a second it looked like they were about to kiss before they realized they were still in a match and Bliss needed to get back in the ring before getting counted out.
In a post-match interview with Strowman and Bliss they were asked about the kiss that almost happened. Strowman said he hopes it can actually happen now, and just as they try one more time, a fan comes in and asks Bliss for her autograph. “The Monster Among Men” gets frustrated and bolts off:
– On last night’s episode of SmackDown Live, the first episode after General Manager Daniel Bryan was cleared for an in-ring return, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn attacked Bryan after firing them for attacking Shane McMahon on last week’s episode of SmackDown. McMahon broke his silence on the matter via Twitter:
On a night that should have been one of @WWEDanielBryan's finest…Sami & KO proved they are vile, spineless cowards. Neither of them belong in @WWE and #SDLive…I just hope this didn’t set back Daniel’s in-ring return even further.
– WWE.com has officially added Trent Seven to the NXT roster page after he has made several appearances on the program over the past year. Seven participated in the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament.
– WWE Superstar Braun Strowman took to Twitter to thank 2018 WWE Hall Of Fame inductee Mark Henry for helping him break into the business of professional wrestling:
– As noted on last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW by General Manager Kurt Angle, RAW Women’ Champion Alexa Bliss will defend her title against Nia Jax at WrestleMania 34. The ex-best friends took to Twitter to hype their upcoming bout in New Orleans:
I made you something and I’m gonna take it all away from you. You think you can take the #Raw Women’s Championship from me? Ha! Rude. #GoddessAboveAll
— Lexi (Kaufman) Cabrera (@AlexaBliss_WWE) March 20, 2018
They’ll tell you… Not to try. Not to dream. Not to be yourself.
– WWE posted a video of Seth Rollins doing an interview with Mike Rome after saving Finn Balor from The Miztourage on RAW. Rollins will challenge Balor and Intercontinental Champion The Miz for the strap in a Triple Threat match at WrestleMania. Rollins says Balor owes him one and also said he wants a rematch with Balor before WrestleMania:
WWE Superstar Roman Reigns recently joined Cheap Heat with Peter Rosenberg to promote his upcoming WrestleMania 34 Universal Title match against Brock Lesnar next month. Reigns has been doing quite an excellent job of hyping his match with “The Beast” at WrestleMania with some shoot-style promos on his adversary for seemingly skipping out on his Monday Night RAW appearances.
This, of course, is all part of WWE’s storyline and Reigns commented on Lesnar’s current standing with the WWE Universe:
“It’s a little bit different for him, right now, especially where we are at and the stuff I am bringing to light about him and his character and work ethic, I think some of the fans are taking it negatively,” Reigns said. “For the most part, Brock Lesnar is a cool dude, you can’t deny the fact that he is a big, jacked up brother who comes in and throws people on their necks.”
Reigns said that he has worked with Lesnar plenty of times before, including their main event match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31. “The Big Dog” said he and Lesnar have developed some good chemistry inside the ring, however, they don’t have much of a relationship outside of their professional one:
“I’ve had interactions with him, I’ve had history with him. We had our main event match at WrestleMania 31 and we had a few different Four-Ways and Triple-Threat matches like that where other characters are involved. It’s a different dynamic,” Reigns said. “Every time you are in a situation like that you do get to spend a little more time with somebody. Yeah, on his own time he seems like a cool dude, I don’t know him that well, but we’re not friends or anything.”
As fans saw during Braun Strowman’s interaction with Lesnar during their Royal Rumble match, where Lesnar legitimately punched Strowman in the jaw for delivering a stiff knee to him, the former UFC heavyweight champion puts on some extremely physical matches. Reigns said Lesnar’s aggressiveness inside the ring isn’t something he shies away from, and his past as a college football player allows him to match that physicality when need be:
“If he throws two at me I’m throwing three back. My dad was a big man. One of the easiest things about wrestling Brock Lesnar is that there isn’t much thinking about it. It’s just all physical stuff, and I’ve been doing physical stuff since I was seven years old. I played Division-One Football at Georgia Tech, so I’ve seen and been around some of the best athletes in the world,” he said.
“What we do is a different form of entertainment and athleticism, but you still have to be an athlete in order to do what we do all year round, you have to keep yourself in that shape so, I’m never scared to be able to push that button, let’s go, if I have to protect myself, I’m more than capable, no doubt.”
You can listen to Reigns’ interview on Cheap Heat with Peter Rosenberg by clicking this link here.
– A new episode of WWE 24 airs this Monday after Raw on the WWE Network and it gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble Match. Here is the synopsis:
“Female Superstars are redefining sports entertainment with groundbreaking matches and the addition of Ronda Rousey to a star-studded roster.”
WWE has released a teaser clip of Dana Brooke honoring her late bodybuilder boyfriend, Dallas McCarver, who died suddenly on August 22, 2017.
Last March, Brooke and McCarver both competed in the 2017 Arnold Classic. To honor McCarver, she incorporated a small piece of McCarver’s posing trunks from the event by having it stitched onto her ring gear for the Women’s Royal Rumble Match. She had WWE seamstress Terry Anderson make the piece look like a dumbbell and have it placed over her heart.
On her tribute, she tweeted the following:
???? I am forever grateful 4 my angel @DallasMcCarver my heart aches daily but reminding myself he is always w/ me makes me stronger! PLEASE TUNE IN! @WWENetwork@WWE I thank u for allowing me to share this! I am forever thankful https://t.co/CJDRcFtlGa
According to Medium.com, an autopsy determined that McCarver died after an unwitnessed cardiac event contributed to by of combination of coronary atherosclerosis (a buildup of plaque in the arteries) and an enlarged left ventricle (a thickening of the heart muscle that causes it to work harder). McCarver had a family history of cardiovascular disease including both hypertension and atherosclerosis.
– New York Knicks player Enes Kanter attended Friday’s WWE live event at Madison Square Garden in New York City and posed for photos with WWE stars backstage, including Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman, The New Day, and John Cena.
When Braun Strowman faced both Brock Lesnar and Kane at this year’s Royal Rumble there was a palpable sense that Strowman was finally set to take his place atop the WWE as one of its biggest players. Fast forward to this week’s RAW and it looks as though Braun will e part of a mid-card Tag Team title match that no one really asked for…it’s easy to class this move as a major oversight on WWE’s part for a Superstar that has garnered himself a huge following over the past year.
But what’s done is done and now the talk will turn to who will be standing alongside Braun at WrestleMania when he competes for the RAW Tag Team Championship. Here are the three Superstars that we feel have a shot at challenging for the belts with Braun…assuming he even needs a partner:
Bray Wyatt
Bray Wyatt (via Instagram @WWE)
Out of the three Superstars we will be listing, this one will be the most unlikely. It is ironic given that Braun was brought up to WWE’s main roster as a member of the Wyatt Family stable, where he was positioned as the muscle of a (somewhat) dominant group in an attempt to keep Bray Wyatt and his cult leader character fresh and relevant…yet the inexperienced and fairly uncharismatic early portrayal from Strowman was just one of the reasons that the ‘family’ faded into obscurity and eventually broke up.
With all of this in mind there is still an opportunity to be explored here, whilst Bray is in the midst of a lukewarm feud with ‘Woken’ Matt Hardy they are set to have their biggest and most extravagant bout yet at Ultimate Deletion next week on RAW. This could easily be the blow off to a feud that has not set the WWE universe alight and used to transition Bray into an intriguing pairing with his former ‘family’ member who has ascended far higher on the totem pole than the ‘Eater of Worlds.’
Lars Sullivan
Lars Sullivan (formerly Dylan Miley)
Monster Among Men? Meet Lars Sullivan. This 6 ft 3 in beast made his debut appearance for WWE’s NXT brand back at WrestleMania 31’s Axxess event in March 2015, yet he only made his television debut in April 2017 in a losing effort to the former #DIY tag team of Johnny Gargano and Tommasso Ciampa. This unstoppable monster is not only a physical presence in the ring but he is also extremely eloquent, his promo work belying his build and destroying any sort of preconceived notion that he is purely a powerhouse and nothing more.
In terms of sheer spectacle a team consisting of Sullivan and Strowman would tower over all others and could be a very different way to introduce Sullivan to the main roster, it is fair to say that the landscape of NXT is not naturally suited to a performer such as Lars and a move to the main roster could be extremely beneficial.
Elias
Photo Credit: WWE.com
Speaking of acts that work far better on the main roster…we get to our final name on the list: Elias. The ‘Drifter’ has been completely rejuvenated following his call up to the RAW brand and he has begun to build a following amongst the WWE fan base. There have been rumblings online that Elias is the early favourite to join Braun at WrestleMania and he would certainly be a good fit for the Monster, creating an odd couple dynamic and giving Elias to opportunity to hold a championship for the first time in his WWE tenure.
There are a plethora of ways in which to book an Elias/Strowman partnership, with the opportunity to help further establish Elias on the main roster before potentially building Strowman back into a program amongst the Universal Title picture.
Who would you like to see Braun team with at Mania?
WWE RAW Superstar Braun Strowman recently spoke with CBS Detroit. During the interview, he was asked about who he travels with as well as a potential feud with fellow RAW star Bray Wyatt down the line.
“I usually travel with Bray Wyatt,” said Strowman. “We’ve gone astray per se as being a team, but our friendship is gonna go down forever. Bray is a very, very close friend of mine.”
“I look forward to possibly having a rivalry with him,” Strowman said. “He’s an unbelievable talent. He’s one of the best guys we have as far as speaking, in-ring ability, everything. He’s the total package, and he taught me a lot coming up with my time with the Wyatt Family, and yeah I’m sure it’ll come back one day full circle with the monster and his per se creator goes at it.”
Although Wyatt doesn’t have his match at WrestleMania 34 set up, Strowman does. As seen on this week’s episode of WWE Monday Night RAW in Detroit, MI at the Little Caesars Arena on the USA Network, Braun Strowman won a Battle Royal involving all of the tag teams that compete in the division on Raw. As a result of this win, Strowman is the new #1 contender for the titles and will challenge Sheamus and Cesaro for them at WrestleMania 34. It remains to be seen if Strowman will have a partner for this match.
Braun Strowman won a tag team battle royal on tonight’s WWE RAW to become the new #1 contender to RAW Tag Team Champions The Bar for a title shot at WrestleMania 34. Tag teams participating in the match were The Revival, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, Heath Slater & Rhyno, The Miztourage and Titus Worldwide.
Braun worked the contenders battle royal by himself but the speculation is that he may be put with Elias to make it Braun and Elias vs. Cesaro and Sheamus in New Orleans.
Below is the updated card for WrestleMania 34, which takes place from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on April 8th, with John Cena vs. The Undertaker added:
WWE Universal Title Match
Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar
WWE Title Match
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles
Triple Threat for the WWE Intercontinental Title
Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz
RAW Women’s Title Match
TBA vs. Alexa Bliss
SmackDown Women’s Title Match
Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
Finals of the WWE Cruiserweight Title Tournament
Cedric Alexander or Roderick Strong vs. Mustafa Ali or Drew Gulak
Handicap Match for the RAW Tag Team Titles
Braun Strowman vs. Cesaro and Sheamus
Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle vs. Stephanie McMahon and Triple H
Fifth Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
There’s a chance that Braun Strowman will not be wrestling on the “Grandest Stage of Them All.”
It had previously been reported that Strowman was penciled in for an Intercontinental title match against The Miz at WrestleMania 34. WWE decided to go with a triple threat match between Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, and The Miz for the gold instead. It has been said that the WWE is waiting for the fallout with Roman Reigns’ alleged contact with a jailed drug dealer before booking Strowman on the show.
“The Monster Among Men” has been on fire under the WWE banner. He eliminated everyone at the Elimination Chamer except for Reigns. Even after being the final man elimination, Strowman demolished Reigns after the match and sent him crashing into a pod.
While Strowman has been booked to look strong, it may not even lead to a WrestleMania 34 match. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports a backup plan for Strowman is to involve him in a non-wrestling segment. There’s still a chance that Strowman could be added to the Intercontinental title match, making it a fatal four way. Currently, Strowman has been involved in a one-sided feud with Elias. Earlier this week, he sent a piano crashing on his “rival.”
– As we’ve noted, Braun Strowman and RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss defeated the team of SmackDown Live Tag Team Champ Jimmy Uso and Naomi in Week 9 of the Mixed Match Challenge. Bliss and Strowman will challenge WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz and Asuka in Week 10 of the Mixed Match Challenge. The winner of that match will go on to the finals.
WWE posted a post-match video of Bliss and Strowman to talk about their win. Dasha Fuentes asked the pair if anything was going on between them after Braun said he and Alexa were going “all the way”… in the tournament. Check it out here:
– Former WWE Superstar Darren Young, real name Fred Rosser, has announced that he will be launching his own YouTube channel. He made the announcement on Twitter via video:
— nodaysoff FRED ROSSER III (@realfredrosser) March 7, 2018
– The Rock’s daughter was taken to the emergency room Saturday night. Rock’s two-year-old, Jasmine, is fine now, but “The Great One” took to Instagram to thank first responders in Los Angeles for helping out:
WWE Superstar Braun Strowman was recently interviewd by WTMJ-TV Milwaukee to promote last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW. During the interview “The Moster Among Men” was asked about the origin of his in-ring name “Braun Strowman.”
The former Wyatt Family member’s real name is Adam Joseph Scherr and he is a former strongmen competitor. Strowman revealed that his ring name comes from Major League Baseball’s Milwaukee Brewers star Ryan Braun:
“Funny story, I wanted to meet Ryan Braun because that’s a big influence of where ‘Braun’ came from. I had pitched a bunch of ideas for names with the company and they turned them all down. It kind of got down to a time crunch, we need to figure out something out now.
“We were sitting around the [WWE] Performance Center and Sportscenter was on and they were talking about Ryan Braun and I was like ‘Braun, that sounds pretty good.’ I mean look at me, I’m 6’8 and 385 lbs., I mean Braun is pretty fitting.”
On Raw on Jan. 29, WWE shot an angle that removed Kane from television. During a Last Man Standing Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match, Strowman upended the stage beneath the Raw announce desk, crushing Kane beneath it.
As part of the storyline, WWE.com said Kane had difficulty breathing following the incident and was rushed to a local medical facility. However, before Kane could be evaluated by medical personnel in the emergency room, he sat up on the examining table and crawled his way out of the medical facility.
Kane is advertised to challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at tonight’s WWE live event in Chicago, Illinois at the United Center.
– In Stephanie McMahon’s latest “Midnight Workout” video, the Raw Commissioner does walking lunges with a 50-pound medicine ball.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf2YGtbBu8z/
– Ivory chats with Terri Runnels on this week’s edition of the Cigars, Scars & Superstars podcast. Here is the synopsis:
“On this week’s episode of Cigars, Scars & Superstars: we are joined by the lovely Ivory! On the heels of her induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, she talks about how she got into the business, her run in GLOW; relationship/working with Jackie Moore, Chyna & of course Terri! We find out where her name might have come from and what we might expect from her Hall of Fame acceptance! We also have the first Terri’s Life Line & answer your question about relationships!”
It looks like the Intercontinental Title picture heading into WrestleMania 34 has changed from WWE’s original plans. Originally WWE planned on having The Miz feud with Braun Strowman heading into “The Show Of Shows” for the Intercontinental strap. It was expected that the feud would begin at Elimination Chamber this past weekend or on last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW.
Per a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE seems to have nixed those plans and are going in a different direction. Now the company wants to have The Miz vs. Seth Rollins for the Intercontinental Title, and possibly adding Finn Balor to make it a Triple Threat match. Here’s what Meltzer had to say about the plans:
“It’s pretty clear that they will be doing The Miz and Seth Rollins and probably Finn Balor in a three way, which takes Strowman out and Strowman is obviously the backup plan in case something happens.”
As for Strowman, it looks like he could be getting set for a feud with Elias heading into WrestleMania. Several weeks ago Strowman attacked Elias with a large bass and also had a segment with him on last night’s episode of RAW as well.
It should also be noted that WWE is currently keeping Strowman’s WrestleMania schedule open due to the recent allegations against Roman Reigns in relation to an illegal steroid ring. So there’s still a slight chance he could be involved in the Universal Title match at WrestleMania 34.
– You may have noticed that the crowd in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena seemed a little distracted during Ronda Rousey’s RAW contract signing at the WWE’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view (PPV). It turns out that a fan was actually arrested by security in the crowd after a fight broke out. You can check out the video of a fan being arrested by security, and a fan’s explanation of what happened on Twitter here below:
– Although he didn’t emerge victorious from the match, Braun Strowman put on quite the performance inside the Men’s Elimination Chamber match last night. “The Monster Among Men” eliminated every competitor from the match – except for the bout’s eventual winner, Roman Reigns. It looks like Strowman actually broke a record in his losing effort last night. He now holds the record for most eliminations in an Elimination Chamber match in WWE history:
.@BraunStrowman is now the ONLY Superstar in @WWE history to eliminate four other competitors in a #WWEChamber Match.
Braun Strowman, Baron Corbin, and Mark Henry all recently spoke with WWE.com to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Strowman described his first encounter with Henry and also revealed that Henry offered him a WWE tryout. “The Monster Among Men” had looked up to Henry in the strongman scene for quite some time:
“The first time was probably in 2012 at World’s Strongest Man. I’d been a huge fan of his for a long time and had met him a couple of times through my strongman endeavors over the years. To have him approach me and offer me a tryout with WWE was a dream come true. A lot if it was because I was really passionate about the strongman sport. I did a lot of things in a short amount of time that not many men were able to do.
“But I’ve always been a ham and a showman for crowds. I got to compete in front of a few thousand for strongman, so realizing that I could step over to WWE and have opportunities like I did at WrestleMania in Dallas to perform in front of 101,000 people — that was the big thing for me.”
Baron Corbin also discussed how Henry helped him in WWE during his early days with the company. Henry apparently saw something in Corbin and liked different aspects of his physique and ability inside the ring:
“He came in and thought I had something special. He told me I had a good look, the way I moved was good. He really helped mold me in those early days, which helped the evolution of who I am and what I do. When you have a guy of his caliber come to you and tell you they see something in you … if that doesn’t light a fire, nothing will.”
Henry himself commented on this and said he enjoys paying it forward and seeing his WWE recruits find success in their careers:
“I feel like I’m paying it forward. It feels good to be able to look at somebody and go, ‘Man, you’re me 22 years ago; you can do this!’ I find chunks of coal that have a glisten to them. They get to Orlando and [the WWE Performance Center coaches] start chipping away and chipping away. Next thing you know, ‘Mark, there’s a diamond under there. We’re going to polish it up.’ They do all that work.
“I appreciate the whole developmental process – coaching them, educating them and putting them out there to see if they can thrive. Every time I see Apollo, Braun or Bianca, Baron Corbin and other people I’ve helped foster, I gush. It gives a validation to my eye. I love it. There’s nothing like it.”
You can read Henry, Corbin, and Strowman’s full interviews on WWE.com by clicking here.
With all expectations pointing towards Roman Reigns winning this weekend’s Elimination Chamber match, and going on to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania for the Universal Title, one question remains – what’s next for “The Monster Among Men” Braun Strowman?
This weekend’s pay-per-view (PPV) will see the first-ever Seven-Man Elimination Chamber match between Reigns, Seth Rollins, John Cena, Elias, Finn Balor, WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz, and Strowman. The winner will go on to challenge Lesnar at WrestleMania. A recent report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio suggests WWE is planning for a match between Strowman and The Miz at WrestleMania 34.
Meltzer said that the real story coming out of this Sunday will be the setup to Strowman vs. The Miz at Mania. Not much else was mentioned about the feud and it’s unclear if the Intercontinental Title will be on the line. Should Miz retain the strap heading into “The Show Of Shows,” however, it can be assumed it will be. Previous reports suggested a match between The Miz and Finn Balor could be in the works but those plans seem to have changed. Perhaps Balor can still find his way into the match and make it a Triple Threat for the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania?
Regardless, it should be interesting to see how WWE books a feud between The Miz and Strowman coming out of the Elimination Chamber.
Discussion: What would you like to see WWE do with Strowman for WrestleMania this year? Do you think “The Monster Among Men” will win his first singles title at the event?
Elias believes he’d give The Rock a serious run for his money in concert.
It’s no secret that many fans want to “Walk With Elias.” When Samoa Joe suffered an injury, the WWE needed someone to step up. That superstar ended up being Elias, and he’s found some success.
He was involved in a highly praised segment with Braun Strowman recently. Elias thought he was having a routine concert on an episode of Monday Night Raw, when “The Monster Among Men” decided to play a tune. Of course, things ended in violence.
Speaking to the NY Post, Elias said the segment was a hit:
“I mean, you are seeing this giant guy out there with a giant cello, guitar, whatever you want to call it and you see him kind of doing what I do, but the giant version of it. Of course it’s so many thoughts at once and I’m just taken aback. Of course, I believe it made for some great TV.”
One on One With The Great One
Many fans have been clamoring for a concert with Elias and The Rock. The Elimination Chamber participant said he’s prepared to show “The Great One” how it’s done.
“I think without a doubt I’d outshine The Rock because he can’t do quite what I do, but he is good at the guitar and he’s got some chops to him, so I don’t think you need to think about it too much. I think something like that could happen in the future. I’m going to put that on The Rock. I’ll leave that up to him.”
– As we’ve mentioned, former WCW World Heavyweight Champion and WWE Universal Champion Goldberg will be inducted into the 2018 WWE Hall Of Fame Class. It has not officially been announced who will be inducting Goldberg, however, PWInsider‘s Mike Johnson is reporting that Paul Heyman is being rumored as the man for the job. Here’s what he had to say:
“This word is that Paul Heyman will be inducting Goldberg into the Hall of Fame. I don’t know how that makes any sense but that’s the story making the rounds. I guess they are both Jewish? I don’t know. I don’t get it.”
– Last night the final match of the first round of the WWE Mixed Match Challenge tournament took place. WWE has announced its second round (quarterfinals) match-ups here:
Finn Balor & Sasha Banks vs. The Miz & Asuka
Braun Strowman & Alexa Bliss vs. Jimmy Uso & Naomi
Rusev & Lana vs. Bobby Roode & Charlotte Flair
Next week’s first quarterfinals match-up will be between Finn Balor & Sasha Banks vs. The Miz & Asuka:
– After winning last night’s Seven-Man Gauntlet match on Monday Night RAW, which involved all seven men scheduled for this weekend’s Elimination Chamber match, Braun Strowman took to Twitter to warn Universal Champion Brock Lesnar:
– An exchange on Twitter last night between Mandy Rose and Bianca Belair suddenly became heated this morning, after Goldust and Montez Ford got involved. The full exchange (including one of Goldust’s deleted Tweets) can be found below:
Hunnyyyyy… trust me I don’t need to buy a FAKE piece of hair to use as a weapon… ? it’s called a hair FLIP, chill out there toots ! ? #Saltyhttps://t.co/L9f5RYikUp
Goldust: “Get back to me when Bianca can hit the ropes without her hair getting in the way. And don’t you disrespect me, punk. I’ve chewed up and spit out more than you could ever dream. YOU KNOW WHERE YOU CAN FIND ME, if you make it up here. #SinkWithTheNokiaSharkYouMark”
– R-Truth took to Twitter to announce that his new single, That’z Endurance, is now available online:
WWE Superstar Braun Strowman was recently interviewed on Busted Open Radio to talk about several professional wrestling topics. The former strongman competitor talked about owing his career to former World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry:
“Truth be told, I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for Mark Henry. I traveled around the world doing strongman competition. That’s the first time I met Mark, back in 2010 when I competed as an amateur. I introduced myself and said ‘I’ve always been a fan of his in WWE and what he’s done in the strength sports world.’ We sparked a friendship from there and he pretty much turned WWE’s eyes on me. Long and behold, here we are today.”
“The Monster Among Men” also discussed the lessons that he learned during his time in WWE’s developmental territory in Florida:
“The biggest thing was probably finding out and figuring out how to relate to the people, having the character development. That’s been the craziest thing, getting to play something that I’m not personally in real life. For the most part, I’m a very fun, easy going guy that likes to have fun. It was finding that niche that was to play Adam, but use Adam’s strengths and weaknesses to turn into Braun, and I think I’ve done a good job meshing the two together.
“The things I learned in developmental was I learned I could do damn near everything someone 200 pounds lighter than me can, but the big question was ‘Why’ would I do that. That’s the biggest thing I learned. I was injured a lot when I was in developmental and that’s because I was out there trying to work like a 180 pound Lucha wrestler, flying around and going off the top rope. I was young and excited to learn.
“I took wrestling the same way I’ve taken everything in life, and that’s I want to be the best in the world at it or I don’t want to do it all. I thought that’s what I needed to be doing. It took a few injuries, but I learned that I’m a ground based athlete. You’re 380 pounds. I bounce from 360-380 pounds depending what I eat. People come to see that, not to see me do flips and flops. They come to see a larger than life character like Mark himself.
“What put WWE on the map are these larger than life human beings that Vince McMahon has been able to find around the world that shocked and awe people because you don’t see human beings like that walking around on the streets. Take myself for example, Big Show, Mark Henry, it doesn’t matter what’s going on or where we’re at, when we walk in the room, we steal all of the attention because people go ‘oh my god, look at this human being. I’ve never seen anything like this.’
“It’s been an unbelievable rise to where I am and what I’ve been able to do in such a short amount of time.”
Strowman was then asked if he has any regrets in his career thus far, to which he responded he wished he was more careful protecting himself early on. He suffered an injury nearly three years ago that almost ended his professional wrestling career:
“If I could go back and do it all over again, I would be smarter with protecting myself and my brand, being a big man, not letting people talk me into doing stupid things I should not have been doing.
“One injury that was really close to ending my career is I ruptured a disk in my back and it cut into my side nerve and paralyzed my back. The folks at WWE take such great care of us with injury and make sure we are running at peak performance. I went to the doctor in Pittsburgh, I had to be pushed through the airport in a wheelchair because my left leg was 100% paralyzed. I had surgery and when I woke up, I walked to my recovery room. The man upstairs is certainly looking out for me.
“Having peers like Mark and Big Show, these big men that have paved the road to where I’m going and taking me under their wing and teaching me the things to do and not to do… I could not have been put in a better position. I feel like I hit the wrestling lottery. I’ve been in the right place at the right time.”
The former Wyatt Family member also divulged how grateful he is for all the opportunities WWE has given him to thrive:
“They have given me so many opportunities. They give everyone opportunities for everyone to grab the brass rings. I love competition and I’m a sore loser. In my opinion, losing is when I mess up a spot. I’m really hard on myself and it pisses me off. I want to be perfect. I want to be the best, or I don’t want to do it at all.”
WWE has announced a new match for next week’s episode of RAW.
John Cena, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins, Finn Bálor, Elias, and Intercontinental Champion The Miz will compete in a Gauntlet Match on the show just six days out from when they compete in the Elimination Chamber Match to determine who will challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title at WrestleMania 34.
WWE invades Phoenix, AZ at the Talking Stick Resort Arena for Monday’s episode of Monday Night RAW.
– Last night’s Monday Night RAW featured a Fatal-Five Way between Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt, “Woken” Matt Hardy, and Apollo Crews to determine who would be the final entrant into the Elimination Chamber match. Both Rollins and Balor pinned Wyatt at the same time and no clear winner was determined. RAW General Manager Kurt Angle was interviewed after the show by Renee Young live on Facebook, where he was interrupted by both Rollins and Balor.
Both men were bickering back-and-forth over who deserved the opportunity more, before Angle named both Rollins and Balor into the match. It will be the first seven-man Elimination Chamber match in WWE history. Rollins took to Twitter to react to the history making news:
– Last night Braun Strowman put on one of the more entertaining segments in recent RAW memory when he attacked Elias with a cello. He took to Twitter to react to the segment:
– Paul Heyman had some high praise for Braun Strowman over the weekend. After witnessing first-hand what Strowman was capable of at the Royal Rumble last month, Heyman wrote on Facebook,
“Just for the record, this is one seriously talented and credible contender. Braun Strowman’s upside is … dare I say … MONSTROUS!”
Heyman’s official Heyman Hustle website just posted a new batch of photos (courtesy fo photographer Bruno Miguel Silveira) from the Royal Rumble that are really worth checking out.
– WWE posted a video of Nia Jax cutting a promo on the competitors involved in the first-ever Women’s Elimination Chamber match. Jax is currently set to face first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble winner Asuka at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view (PPV), and if she wins she’ll be added to the RAW Women’s Title match at WrestleMana – making it a Triple Threat match:
– RAW exclusive PPV Backlash will go down on May 6th in Newark, New Jersey from the Prudential Center. WWE has announced tickets will go on sale for the event on February 24th.
WWE Superstar Braun Strowman recently did an interview with the Daily Star to talk about several professional wrestling topics. The sequence in which Strowman hit Lesnar with a stiff knee, and “The Beast” returned fire with a stiff punch to the jaw during their Royal Rumble match was brought up:
“Any time Brock and I are in the ring it’s very physical. You’re talking about two larger-than-life human beings who are fighting for dominance. Stuff happens. It’s a contact sport – it’s not tennis. We’re not going out there to slap a ball around, we’re going out there to beat each other up. That’s what we did.”
“The Monster Among Men” then offered his thoughts on being a part of a “dying breed” of big men in professional wrestling:
“I’m a dying breed, considering how fast-paced the sport has become with the cruiserweights and guys like AJ Styles who can go out there and do these crazy, unbelievable things.”
Strowman is currently teaming up with RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss in the Mixed Match Challenge. He said that the MMC gives him the ability to show another side of the Braun Strowman character, and it may just be that he’s “sweet on Alexa Bliss”:
“To be able to wind down a little bit when my body was beat up, I was fighting a little bit of a cold, was a very entertaining and refreshing segment to go out and work with. I got to show another layer of Braun Strowman the character, to show that he has a little bit of a softer side. It might be that he’s sweet on Alexa Bliss.”
You can read Strowman’s full interview with the Daily Star by clicking this link here.
WWE is scheduled to hold a live event at Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 16th. The promotion recently updated the card for the show.
Braun Strowman has been added to the Triple Threat Match for the Universal Title. Also, Elias will face John Cena in a singles match. Here is the updated card:
During last night’s Universal Championship match at the Royal Rumble things got real between Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman. At one point in the match Strowman actually caught Lesnar with a stiff knee to the head.
Lesnar is probably the last person you want to let that happen against. “The Beast” gave “The Monster Amongst Men” a receipt in the form of a stiff right hand to Strowman’s jaw:
It then sounded like Lesnar said something along the lines of “slow the fu*k down.” Lesnar would go on to pin Kane for the finish and retained his Universal Championship.
It’s expected he’ll defend his Universal crown against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans this April.
