WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross took to his podcast, The Ross Report, ahead of this weekend’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view (PPV). In one of the more pivotal match-ups of the night, Braun Strowman will defend his Money In The Bank (MITB) briefcase against Kevin Owens.
There’s a ton of speculation going around suggesting the winner will cash-in at the end of the night. WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar will defend his title against Roman Reigns on the card as well.
Many are expecting Strowman or Owens to cash-in and leave New York Universal Champion. Ross discussed when he thinks Strowman should cash-in his MITB briefcase. Ross said he’d prefer to see Strowman win the World Title at WrestleMania:
“Ain’t going to happen. They’ve got the guy primed to be the man. And, quite frankly, what title in any company is hot right now? There’s about a million of them. Pick you out one. Good luck on it,” Ross said
“I think in time, and I do say this, now he [has] got the Money In The Bank briefcase, now he does, speaking of Strowman, throwing around that pronoun ‘he’. I still think he should be anointed at WrestleMania.
“If you want a guy to be eternally over, in the sense of given the chance to be eternally over, you make the transition at WrestleMania. That’s my looking at it. It doesn’t get any bigger.”
Listen to The Ross Report by clicking this link here.
We noted before how SmackDown Live General Manager and the former Diva’s Champion Paige was spotted backstage at Raw and her presence had started many kinds of rumors.
However, the former Champion didn’t appear on the show as many were expecting and the SmackDown Official later revealed on Instagram that she was there for a photoshoot:
While Paige did not appear on the show, this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw featured a number of female talents in action, including the Raw singles debut of Ronda Rousey. You can check out the full result of the show here.
Braun Strowman On SummerSlam
As seen earlier today, Braun Strowman showed his monstrous abilities once again as he flipped the stage that was set up for the Kevin Owens Show on Raw before his match with Jinder Mahal.
After the segment and the bout, Mike Rome interviewed the Monster Among Men backstage and asked if this is what we can expect to see at the upcoming SummerSlam PPV.
Replying to it, the Money In The Bank contract holder said that over the years he has destroyed everything the company has put in front of him and the upcoming show will be nothing different:
Braun Strowman has a special connection with Bray Wyatt in regards to his WWE career.
Before he was “The Monster Among Men,” Strowman was the monstrous force at the core of The Wyatt Family. The former strongman competitor trained with WWE for two years before getting the main roster nod.
He served as a Rose Bud for Adam Rose and worked a few NXT live events. In August of 2015 Strowman debuted on RAW by attacking Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. He was then introduced as the newest member of The Wyatt Family.
After a year-long run with The Wyatts, Strowman was separated from the faction by way of the 2016 WWE Draft. Now, he is one of the top Superstars on Monday Night RAW and the current Mr. Money In The Bank.
Strowman recently spoke to SPN Action about his professional wrestling career. During their conversation, Braun Strowman discusses Bray Wyatt and the impact he has had on his career.
Not Just Friends, Brothers
He named Wyatt as his best-friend in the business before praising him for helping him along in his professional wrestling career. Strowman also said not only is Wyatt his best-friend, but he’s like a brother to him:
“It’s tough to keep a friend when you throw them off of cages and smash their car, eat their cake and do everything else. Behind the scenes, I’m friends with everyone at work, but without a doubt, my best friend is Bray Wyatt.
“The man pretty much brought me into the industry when they tagged me up with The Wyatt Family it was my seventh match I’d ever had. I didn’t know the difference between a headlock and a beele throw.
“Bray rode with me, showed me how to get around, how to book hotels, how to make the towns. Then he started helping me with learning how to wrestle and I will forever be indebted to him. He’s not my best friend, he’s my brother.”
"I gave KO a taste of his own medicine"
From revealing why he threw @FightOwensFight off the 20 ft high steel cage to talking about his best friend in WWE, here's @BraunStrowman's exciting rapid fire with @Varun_dvn!
Despite the fact that Braun Strowman is Mr. Money in the Bank, that doesn’t mean that he’s done with Roman Reigns.
Strowman recently spoke with Riju Dasgupta for Sportskeeda to talk about various topics including working and feuding with Reigns on WWE television. This is where Strowman stated that he’ll never be finished with Reigns but rather giving him a break for now. “He had a pretty rough 2017 when I started the ‘Get These Hands’ movement. He was a very literal punching bag for me. I’m giving him a little break right now.”
Strowman also commented on the comparisons he gets to Lars Sullivan, who is currently working in the NXT brand. The RAW star noted that he’s heard of the NXT star but doesn’t know a whole lot about him and that he sees potential in him. “He’s got a little mean streak and I like that. And I’m always looking for somebody to get in there with and ‘get these hands’. So, if he wants me, come and get ’em!”
Finally, Strowman commented on how he could cash in his Money in the Bank contract as it will be difficult to do so with WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar not on television each week. “You know, I get asked that a lot. I might just have to jump on a horse or whatever and find him in the woods of Canada or wherever he’s living. So, yeah. So, fingers crossed, we cross paths in the airport or something. I’ll fight him in the middle of Minneapolis or something.”
What are your thoughts on Strowman’s comments? Sound off in the comment section.
Braun Strowman has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the WWE. Over the weekend, he experienced a career highlight when he teamed with The Undertaker and Roman Reigns in a six man tag match at Madison Square Garden. It was also his 5-year anniversary with the company.
WWE has published a video of Strowman reflecting on the milestone. As confident as he comes across on television, the big man shows some humility in this interview and admits that it’s hard to believe how much success he’s enjoyed thus far.
“This company has been nothing but amazing to me.” Strowman said. “It’s done things and shown me things that I never thought were possible in life. It’s one thing after another. I’m so flabbergasted at where my career has gone in such a short period of time and I’m so grateful for every opportunity I’ve gotten so far to this point.”
Starting in NXT as one of Adam Rose’s infamous Rosebuds, Strowman quickly learned the pro wrestling trade and found himself on the Main Roster with fellow beard enthusiasts The Wyatt Family.
The 2016 Superstar Draft saw Strowman sent to RAW while his stable mates ended up on Smackdown Live. Once on his own, Strowman saw a massive increase in popularity while he embarked on an undefeated streak that saw him in the mix for the Universal Championship less than a year after being called up.
In 2018 Strowman added winning the RAW Tag Team Champioship at Wrestlemania, pairing with Alexa Bliss in the Mixed Match Challenge, winning the 50-man Greatest Royal Rumble and winning a Money In The Bank briefcase to his list of WWE accomplishments.
The main event of last night’s Raw was scheduled to be a match between Kevin Owens and Braun Strowman. Owens ran away from the match shortly after it began, however. This resulted in a count-out victory for Strowman.
Strowman then chased after Owens and eventually trapped him inside a portable washroom. Strowman then shoved the portable toilet off the Raw stage.
WWE cameras kept rolling after Raw ended and captured Owens being helped to the back after the incident.
Kevin Owens vs Braun Strowman
Although not officially announced, it looks as though Strowman will likely face Kevin Owens at Extreme Rules on July 15th, 2018. There is speculation the match could take place inside a steel cage.
Strowman and Owens have met in single’s action 3 times previously. Owens defeated Strowman via DQ in their first meeting from early 2017. That match was for Owens’ Universal Championship at the time. The next time they met was on May 7th, 2018. Strowman defeated Owens in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match. Last night was their 3rd meeting and Strowman won again, this time via count-out.
Kevin Owens Signs 5-Year Contract Extension
As Owens’ opponent climbs the ranks in WWE, Owens recently solidified his future in it. The 34-year-old recently signed a 5-year contract extension with the company.
“I don’t see why I will not finish my career with WWE,” Owens told TVA Sports after he signed. “I just recently signed a new five-year contract with them. I do not intend to go anywhere (when) my contract ends. If the WWE wants to continue, if I want to continue and my family is ready for me to continue, I do not see why it would not happen.”
Additionally, Owens recently lived out a dream of his by appearing on stage with Shania Twain. Owens offered Angle free Shania Twain tickets last night on Raw as well.
WWE is set to hold its Extreme Rules pay-per-view (PPV) from the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 15th. It will be the final PPV before SummerSlam in August.
Currently AJ Styles is set to defend his WWE Title against Rusev at the event, and last night on RAW a bout between Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley was teased as well. It seems that another match is also set to take place at the event – but this one will be inside a Steel Cage.
According to the PPG Paints Arena website, Kevin Owens and Braun Strowman are being advertised to go one-on-one inside a Steel Cage at the event. Owens and Strowman have had their share of issues on RAW for the past few weeks.
Last night on RAW Strowman partnered up with Owens to defeat the team of Finn Balor and Baron Corbin. After the match Strowman chased Owens out of the arena and destroyed his car in the parking lot.
The card is still “subject to change” but it’s interesting to see that the PPG Paints Arena is advertising this match to happen.
Braun Strowman has called out WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar.
As seen at Sunday’s (June 17, 2018) WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view event in Chicago, Illinois at the Allstate Arena on the WWE Network, Braun Strowman won the Men’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match.
Following the match, WWE’s YouTube channel released this video of Mike Rome interviewing Strowman about winning the contract and asked what was next for him.
This led to Strowman sending a warning to Lesnar by stating that Lesnar was next. He also sent out this tweet:
“It’s official. I am Mr. Monster in the Bank. Not much longer until I come looking for you Brock.”
As of this writing, Lesnar is not advertised for any upcoming WWE events but is expected to make his next title defense at the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view event.
What are your thoughts on Strowman winning the MITB briefcase? Sound off in the comment section.
There’s no doubt that Braun Strowman is one of the hottest properties in WWE today. The Monster Among Men has connected with the WWE Universe like WWE wished Roman Reigns would have. He’s got it all – the look, the physique, the shocking feats of strength, the promo ability – he’s even got a catchphrase (‘get these hands’) that’s moving a lot of merchandise.
WWE brass seems to be so high on him, rewarding his work with prominent positioning on big cards and a recent Greatest Royal Rumble victory. Another larger than life athlete, the Big Show, has been a mentor of sorts to Braun Strowman and is concerned he could fall victim to pitfall he experienced in his own career.
Big Show was a recent guest on the Steve Austin Show podcast and cautioned that Strowman needs to be careful not to rely on comedy too heavily. “I think with Braun, he’s got the unique ability to do some things that are entertaining and fun, but let’s not overdo it,” Show said.
“That happened a lot with me in WWE in the beginning that because I can do impersonations because I had comedic timing, we would do too much of it and by the time we were done, ‘Okay, we’ve lost The Giant gimmick. Okay, let’s turn him heel, he’ll kill everybody, and we’ll start over again, so now we can start drawing money with him.’”
WWE’s brand of comedy is very hit-or-miss (to put it kindly) and Big Show is right that Strowman should be careful not to let his character get too goofy. He’s got the potential to be a main event player for years to come – let’s just hope we don’t meet Braun’s sisters any time soon.
Big Show has been out of action since undergoing hip surgery last September. He told Austin that he was training for an in-ring return at the Greatest Royal Rumble, but experienced health complications that have delayed that plan.
You can listen to the full episode of Big Show on the Steve Austin Show podcast over at PodcastOne.com.
This week’s episode of Monday Night Raw opened with Braun Strowman hyping the upcoming Money In The Bank match and then he went on to have a match with Finn Balor. Though this wasn’t the only time fans in attendance got to see Braun during the night.
The dark main event of this week’s Raw saw Bobby Lashley facing his Money In The Bank opponent Sami Zayn in a one on one match. The bout, however, ended in disqualification after interference from Kevin Owens and Lashley was declared the winner.
Jinder Mahal then ran down to the ring and the heel trio tried to attack the former TNA Star, only for the Monster Among Men to make the save. He helped Bobby in clearing the ring off the heels and the two then celebrated in the ring to end the night.
Elias Explains Why He Attacked Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins defended his Intercontinental Championship against Jinder Mahal during this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw and their bout ended in disqualification.
Interestingly, Elias came out of nowhere after the bout was over and attacked the IC Champion, smashing his guitar into the back of Rollins. After the show, WWE posted the following fallout video in which the Drifter explains why he attacked Seth:
More Information On If “All In” Is Going To Be Broadcasted
Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks’ self-funded “All In” event sold out in under 30 minutes. There’s obviously a huge demand from fans to witness the Chicago-based event, and many have been wondering whether or not it will be broadcasted for fans to watch from home.
A fan recently asked Cody Rhodes on Twitter about this, and he provided a brief update on the situation. Rhodes said that there are currently on plans to broadcast “All In,” but teased some upcoming meetings in which they’re exploring their options:
We have no plans to broadcast at the moment. But we do have fun meetings in LA, Baltimore, and Dallas almost the moment we get back from the UK. Probably cover some of it on #BeingTheElite
In the main event of last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW, Braun Strowman defeated Finn Balor in a solid main event. Despite the size difference, the pair actually showed great chemistry and put on a tremendous bout.
Strowman took to Twitter this morning to offer some praise for the former Universal Champion:
WWE is scheduled to hold a live event at Madison Square Garden in New York City on July 7th. The promotion recently updated the card for the show. The sports entertainment company has officially announced a new match for this upcoming show, which was Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman & WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins vs. Elias, Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens in a six-man tag team match. WWE Raw Tag Team Champions Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt, WWE Raw Women’s Champion Nia Jax, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Alexa Bliss, Finn Balor, Bobby Roode, Dolph Ziggler are also advertised for the show.
The WWE will be announcing more matches for this live event in the coming weeks. Here is the updated card for the show:
– Singles Match: Roman Reigns vs. Jinder Mahal.
– Six-Man Tag Team Match: Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman & WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins vs. Elias, Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens. – Ronda Rousey’s WWE MSG debut. What are your thoughts on this card for the show? Sound off in the comment section below.
Braun Strowman was involved in an incident that was accidentally botched.
As seen on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in London, England at the O2 Arena on the USA Network, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre defeated Finn Balor and Braun Strowman in a tag team match.
During the match, Strowman broke the Greatest Royal Rumble trophy that he received along with a title belt for winning the 50-Man Royal Rumble Match last month at the WWE Greatest Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on the WWE Network in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at the King Abdullah International Stadium.
The spot happened when he tackled Drew McIntyre in the match, which you can see here.
– Braun Strowman had WWE fans talking after he sent out a tweet following his tag team match victory alongside Bobby Lashley over Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at Sunday’s (May 6, 2018) WWE Backlash pay-per-view event in Newark, New Jersey at the Prudential Center on the WWE Network.
– Speaking of the Backlash PPV, WWE has released this clip from The Miz’s appearance on Talking Smack where he talked with Renee Young and Peter Rosenberg about losing to Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins in the opening match of the event.
Aside from announcing that he would be in a Money In the Bank qualifying match on Tuesday’s SmackDown Live, he spoke about how he is still on top of his game right now despite the loss.
He added that he always moves the needle and makes his show the most must-see TV.
What do you think of Strowman’s message? Sound off in the comment section below.
Last night’s crowd in Montreal, Canada showed a ton of love for their fellow Canadians – but Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens received some major pops. Roman Reigns’ promo opened up the night but was soon interrupted by Jinder Mahal, Zayn, and Owens – all of whom wanted a piece of The Big Dog.
Ultimately all three men jumped Reigns and Bobby Lashley and Braun Strowman came out for the save. This led to a Six Man Tag Team match being made later on in the night between the teams of Reigns, Strowman, and Lashley vs. Owens, Zayn, and Mahal.
The match actually proved to be a very entertaining one, and during a physical exchange outside by Owens and Reigns, Owen’s father (Terry) and The Big Dog playfully exchanged words.
Reigns was working on Owens agains the fan barrier when the pair began jawing off at one another. You can check out the video here below:
WWE Superstar Braun Strowman recently did an interview on Hall Of Famer Booker T’s radio show, Heated Conversations, to talk about several professional wrestling topics. The Monster Among Men discussed how hard he has worked to get to the position he is in now:
“My whole life, from everything that I have ever gotten in my life I have worked hard for it, and have earned it,” Strowman said. “I have taken it, I believe that anything in life when you work hard for it and you achieve it there’s no greater feeling, but when someone gives you something you don’t appreciate it as much, and you take it for granted, but when you put your heart and soul into it and it pays back to you, there is nothing more gratifying in this world.”
Strowman then commented on the fact that he is the top big man in the company right now, following in the footsteps of those such as The Big Show – who Strowman calls his “Wrestling Dad”:
“It’s humbling, it really is. The big matches I had against The Big Show last year in an almost passing of the torch with that, and him taking me under my wing. We have a joke where I call The Big Show my ‘Wrestling Dad,’ because he treats me like a son. When I do something dumb he whacks me over the head and tells me not to do it again,” Strowman said.
“Same thing with Undertaker and Kane; where, with Kane I have been almost working with him for an entire year on the house shows and just listening to these guys stories and things they have done. These guys have done everything there is to do within this industry, and they are a fountain of knowledge, so anything I can do to pick their brains and talk, and put a match together with, they are special because I know there will come a day when it’ll be my job to do the same with other talents coming in.”
As for how his character has grown over the years, Strowman enjoys the fact that he’s breaking the mold for what a typical big man is considered to be in WWE:
“It was a little bit to get used to. I have always kind of wanted to be the center of attention, and now WWE has kind of given me the platform to basically be a peacock and spread my feathers and have the world see what I am capable of doing that I am not just some big, clumsy guy stumbling over a wall [Shockmaster]. I am intelligent, and I want to show the world that I want to represent big guys all around the world that we are more than just ‘big guys.'”
You can listen to Strowman’s interview on Heated Conversations with Booker T by clicking this link here.
Braun Strowman is perhaps the biggest fan-favorite on Monday Night RAW right now, but despite this, WWE continues to push Roman Reigns in the Universal Title picture. Strowman has challenged Brock Lesnar in the past and actually gave The Beast a run for his money – but ultimately the former UFC heavyweight champion retained.
Now Reigns is expected to be the one to finally dethrone Lesnar, and that could happen as soon as this Friday’s Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia. Per a report from Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer, there seems to be a difference of opinion amongst those in creative regarding Strowman.
Meltzer reports that some believe Strowman is better off not being champion right now. WWE officials know Strowman is their post popular guy and there are some people who think he should be champion and the one to defeat Lesnar.
He also speculated that perhaps WWE changes course and allows Strowman to be the one to defeat Lesnar, and Reigns needs to be a heel because he isn’t at the level of John Cena in regards to merchandise sales. Meltzer also noted he’s not a fan of the “lame” Get These Hands phrase, but admits fans are eating it up.
Discussion: Should WWE pull the plug on the Roman Reigns experiment and shift their focus on Braun Strowman?
Braun Strowman has risen up the ranks in WWE in a short amount of time after making his main roster debut just a few short years ago as part of The Wyatt Family. He has learned as he goes to be a top Superstar. It’s well known that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is a fan of big men. Strowman recently appeared on the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast.
During the interview, he discussed McMahon being such hands on his character on the sports entertainment company’s flagship show, Monday Night RAW. Here is what he had to say (h/t to Wrestling Inc for the transcript):
“Vince McMahon is a genius and he has been hands on with the development of Braun Strowman and all of the stunts that we do and the segments, and it’s working. There is no ‘ifs,’ ‘ands’ or ‘buts.’ I am enjoying the process. I am having such an amazing time travelling around the world, entertaining my fans and seeing the kids and everything. It is really humbling to me,” Strowman said. “I am a country boy in a little small town of Sherrills Ford, North Carolina and I have an unbelievable job.
Every big stunt that you have seen, he [McMahon] has been there. It’s funny, because a couple of times we have had to edit him out because he’d make the accidental Stan Lee appearance in the thing, and you see him stepping out, but yeah, he steps out from meetings and everything and tries to go out there and tries to put RAW together and make sure everything is perfect in how he wants it, which is why it is working.” What are your thoughts on the way that the WWE Chairman books Strowman? Sound off in the comment section below.
Braun Strowman has risen up the ranks in WWE in a short amount of time after making his main roster debut just a few short years ago as part of The Wyatt Family. He has learned as he goes to be a top Superstar. It’s well known that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is a fan of big men.
At WrestleMania 34 earlier this month in New Orleans, Strowman and a kid that was picked out of the crowd defeated Cesaro and Sheamus to win the Raw Tag Team Titles. It was later revealed that Strowman and Nicholas had to vacate the titles due to Nicholas being a fourth-grade student.
After the event, Strowman appeared on Sam Roberts Wrestling podcast to talk about various topics including the match that the sports entertainment company booked him in at the biggest event of the year. Here is what he had to say (H/T to Wrestling Inc):
“A lot of it is WWE Creative really hitting the nail on the head that we do, and the other half is just my work ethic. I want to be the best. I don’t believe going out and competing for second best,” Strowman said. “If I can’t be the best at something then I don’t want to do it, and that has always stuck with me. I had that mentality when I competed at World’s Strongest Man. I brought that mentality here. I am going to be a WWE Hall of Famer. I am going to main event WrestleMania and that’s just the fact of it.” “That’s the thing, everyone is like, oh you should be main-eventing, but I’m like, I’m just getting started. I’m just wetting my beak right now,” he said. “We have a lot more to do and why rush everything right now? The machine is behind me. The Universe is behind me. Let’s enjoy this. Let’s have fun, and let’s go out there and do it together.” What are your thoughts on the reveal of Strowman’s partner at the show? Sound off in the comment section below.
You can add the name of WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin to the list of people still talking about WWE’s decision for who Braun Strowman’s tag team partner was at WrestleMania 34 earlier this month in New Orleans.
At the show, Strowman and a kid that was picked out of the crowd defeated Cesaro and Sheamus to win the Raw Tag Team Titles. This marks the first time that Strowman has held the title in his career. It was later revealed that Strowman and Nicholas had to vacate the titles due to Nicholas being a fourth-grade student.
“Braun Strowman is over like rover, a lot of potential, a lot of momentum, a lot of great storylines for him,” said Austin. “But the fact that he goes out there in the crowd and picks some kid, it’s almost like a disservice to Cesaro and Sheamus who’ve been working their a**es off. Two physical specimens, have really gotten some chemistry together as a team. Not to be taken lightly. Braun’s a big guy, but you know, Cesaro’s one of the strongest guys in the locker room. Sheamus is a brute. “They can’t monetize this person who was picked from the crowd. And, I don’t know, I wasn’t really down with it, and that’s with respect to a d**n good tag team like The Bar. And then Strowman picks someone [from the crowd], I just, man you’re walking a fine line with him, because you have this brute force killer who’s legitimately one of the biggest, strongest men in the world. It didn’t do much for me.”
As seen on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw in Hartford, CT at the XL Center on the USA Network, Bray Wyatt, and Matt Hardy beat The Revival to earn shot at the vacant Raw Tag Team Titles. Wyatt and Hardy will now challenge The Bar for the titles at the upcoming Greatest Royal Rumble event.
What are your thoughts on Austin’s comments? Sound off in the comment section.
One of the key storylines heading into WrestleMania 34 was who would be Braun Strowman’s tag team partner for his RAW Tag Team Title opportunity against The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro).
Speculation ran rampant from fans as to who the partner could be; with predictions such as The Big Show, Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, Hulk Hogan, and many more being tossed around by fans.
When it came down to it, however, Braun Strowman’s partner was none other than – Nicholas. Strowman selected the 10-year-old elementary school student from the crowd, who just so happened to be WWE referee John Cone’s son.
The decision received a mixed review from fans – with some being happy for the child for getting to participate in such an amazing moment, and others being angered by the call as it devalues the RAW Tag Team Titles and both Sheamus and Cesaro as well.
On a recent edition of the Triple Threat Podcast, “The Franchise” Shane Douglas weighed in on WWE’s decision to have Strowman win the titles with Nicholas. He explained why it was a worse call than having David Arquette win the WCW World Heavyweight Title back in 2000:
“My understanding and from the guys in my entourage (that attended WrestleMania) were saying that the audience kind of died after that match and you could kind of felt the energy leave the room. But we’ve heard for eighteen years that Vince Russo is the worst thing ever to wrestling because he put the belt on David Arquette. As much as I disagree with that decision that was better than putting a belt on a ten year old kid. My thought as soon as I heard this was what about Cesaro and Sheamus?
“They’ve got to go out and do a job to one guy that has a ten year old kid as his sidekick. The only way that could have worked and this may sound terrible but if you think it through it is the only way that could have worked and that is if they had a kid that was a Make-A-Wish kid or a kid that had been sick or something and you bring him in and do something to pop the crowd. It would have still been up-roared by wrestling purists but you would have seen some kind of some light at the end of the tunnel with it.
Braun Strowman (Photo: Instagram @WWE)
“Vince Russo has been vilified for eighteen years over the David Arquette thing and now we have this. But to be fair and let’s throw some stuff in there from WrestleMania weekend. There was a show that shall go unnamed (but you can find it I’m sure if you looked) where they had The Invisible Man come out and win a battle royal. I go back to Bill Watts and I tell Bill Watts specifically about that and his mouth dropped open when I said it. To me, it reeks of and it seems that nobody has respect for the industry or their own work in the industry anymore.
“If everything is a spoof and everything is a Saturday Night Live skit where does it end? You mentioned in your lead in that Vince Russo has been vilified in this industry to this day and look at the feedback you guys got off of the interview you had with David Arquette. To me, that is so much more plausible as implausible and that was so much more plausible than having a ten year old kid come out of the audience and win the World Tag Team Titles.
“It speaks to all of what is wrong with our business today and this is what everybody hears me say in any interview and that this is the difference of sports entertainment to professional wrestling. There is a very stark difference. Nothing against the kid and I am happy that he lived a dream that he will have the rest of his life and remember forever but that is not what WrestleMania is supposed to be about and that is not what the product is supposed to be about.
“It just underscores to me just how far off the track our industry has gone. After eighteen years of vilification of Vince Russo of that (David Arquette) decision we now get this. In light of and at the same time we get The Invisible Man winning battle royals, we get freeze-frames, we get pretend hand grenades and all of this crazy stuff that has nothing to do with wrestling.”
Former WWE Raw tag-team champion, Nicholas, has become one of the most popular 4th graders in the world. Not only that, he is now the youngest person in history to wear WWE gold.
Unfortunately, Braun Strowman and Nicholas were forced to vacate the titles due to a scheduling conflict with Nicholas’ elementary school. Nicholas won’t be available to compete in WWE again for approximately 8-12 years depending on if he goes to college or not.
Despite Nicholas having to vacate the titles, WWE has released his unused entrance video and music. The link to the video on WWE.com is here and YouTube user Jessy Ryder has uploaded it below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC0Bj31AVEg
WWE Raw Tag Team Championships
The Raw tag-team championships will now be up for grabs at the Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27th from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Bar will face the winners of a match between the Revival and Bray Wyatt & Matt Hardy.
There’s no doubt about it, this WWE Superstar is a monster among most men. Braun Strowman has risen up the ranks in WWE in a short amount of time after making his main roster debut just a few short years ago as part of The Wyatt Family.
He has learned as he goes to be a top Superstar. It’s well known that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is a fan of big men.
Strowman is slated to challenge Cesaro and Sheamus for the RAW Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania 34. WWE has made it known that he will need a tag team partner in order to challenge for the straps. However, he has yet to say who he has chosen.
Elias, Big Cass, Samoa Joe and even Rey Mysterio have all been rumored to be his partner. The other name that is being thrown around is Bray Wyatt, who was last seen on TV a few weeks ago when he lost to Matt Hardy. It’s been rumored that Wyatt will be repacked when he returns.
Strowman added fuel to the fire of rumors about Wyatt being his partner by posting this photo on his Instagram story today:
Braun Strowman is the number one contender for Cesaro and Sheamus’ RAW Tag Team Championships – without a partner.
Strowman won a Tag Team Battle Royal several weeks ago on Monday Night RAW to earn the opportunity. He now needs to find a partner to challenge for the titles at WrestleMania 34 against The Bar.
There has been a ton of speculation as to who Strowman could partner with, but a recent report from Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated suggests that former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio could make his return to the company to be “The Monster Among Men’s” partner.
Vince McMahon is reportedly strongly considering the possibility as he likes the big guy and little guy dynamic that he has used in the past.
It was also noted that if Mysterio returned to WWE, it would be under a short-term deal. Wrestling Observer Newsletter recently noted that Mysterio and WWE are still in negotiations, but nothing has been brought up regarding a WrestleMania match.
– Braun Strowman recently took to Twitter to complain to the Wendy’s fast food restaurant chain for not ever having any grilled chicken ready. He joked that Alexa Bliss, who he noted he is filming an episode of Ride Along with, is trying to keep him calm before saying somebody might “get these hands”:
