RJ’s Two Cents - Why the Braun Strowman Negativity Is Premature and Unnecessary

By RJ Marceau

This article may be the most controversial article I have written when it comes to fans approval or belief. When Braun Strowman made his WWE debut I was shocked. This man is massive at 6 ft. 8 and 385 pounds with an intimidating look. Instead of taking this new talent positively, most wrestling fans criticized him on his limited in ring work. I won’t be arguing my case saying Strowman will put on a 5 star classic anytime soon but with the way that WWE has ruined giants I think Strowman has been booked much better.

When you look at the past 10 years the WWE has failed to book a giant or bigger wrestler correctly. Nathan Jones, Matt Morgan, Heidenrich and The Great Khali were just chucked into weekly singles matches and displayed the terrible in ring action they possessed. Instead of covering up their weakness, the WWE just put them in squashes or 5-10 minute matches and hoped fans would connect. That formula isn’t good and can be the reason why the WWE has failed to produce a dominant big man in the past 10 years. I have a few points on why the Braun Strowman negativity is premature and unnecessary.

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1. No Big Man is a Great Worker, Besides The Undertaker

Strowman and most of these big men except The Great Khali have or had potential to be great big men. The argument that Strowman isn’t a great worker to me is confusing because for a guy only being in the business for a year what do you expect him to do. Even The Undertaker for how big of a legend he became if you watch his earlier matches you would probably think Strowman was Kurt Angle in the ring.

Okay that is a stretch but The Undertaker was wrestling for about 6 years at the time of his WWE debut and was nothing to write home about. It wasn’t till the early 2000s that he was producing good to great matches on a regular basis. The Big Show and Kane have been in the business for 15 years and they aren’t the greatest workers. I can’t name one Kane or Big Show match in that span that stands out to me and saying that was a good match with Kane or Big Show in it.

The point of WWE big men are to be essentially a bodyguard and an aggressive powerhouse when needed. Strowman has been limited in his matches, which suits him perfectly right now in his career. I know everyone is ranting and raving about him potentially facing The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32 but reports have said that he hasn’t shown what he is really capable of in the ring. You take these with a grain of salt but he is more capable of shoulder blocks, a clothesline and a bear hug submission. Strowman only being in the WWE for a year has much to learn and the criticism of him being a bad worker stems from WWE fans being spoiled with great in ring wrestlers. Go back and watch any old WrestleMania and the wrestling today is 10x better. Strowman is green but given a Batista like development could prosper.

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2. WWE Has Kept Him Limited in the Ring

The WWE has done a few things with Strowman that should keep fans off his back. 1. Limited him in ring and 2. Limited him on the mic. Similar to the Undertaker when he started off he wasn’t the greatest talker. Bray Wyatt is quintessentially Paul Bearer for Braun Strowman and talking about the destruction and havoc “The Black Sheep” can cause. He has had backstage segments or in ring but has been limited to a sentence or a few words. It’s perfect for him to be a soft-spoken giant who lets his actions talk for him.

When comparing Strowman to past giants he has been limited in the ring. Instead of the WWE putting him in singles matches weekly or even tag team matches weekly he has only had 2 singles matches on WWE TV. Were these matches amazing? No, but to get better he needs to be in actual matches. He has been featured in multi-man tag matches and that is the role he should be in.

For being green having him team with Luke Harper would be ideal. If I were booking Strowman I would use a similar model that the WWE used with Batista. Batista attempted a singles run after being with D’Von Dudley and it wasn’t great. The WWE put him in Evolution and had him team with Ric Flair. They went on to win WWE Tag Team Champions and I believe that his limited role in the tag team helped him develop into a singles performer.

I am not saying Strowman will be the next Batista but Strowman is as green as Batista was and throwing him into big singles matches should be saved for a little while. The WWE should put Strowman and Harper into tag titles contention. On Raw, you have The Usos, Henry & Swagger and The Social Outcasts pleading their case to be #1 contenders. Instead of having the Bray Wyatt vignette play you have one similar but with Harper’s face and Strowman with the Black Sheep mask on.

​Lights go out and Harper and Strowman destroy all 8 guys and they go on to WrestleMania and win the WWE Tag Team Titles from The New Day. If WWE does indeed have Strowman vs. Undertaker I think a No DQ stipulation would suit them the best. Will it or could it be amazing? Yes, but with his limited in ring ability it needs a stipulation.

WWE Universe, give “The Black Sheep” a chance to develop before you decide to show negativity and get him degraded down to a comedy role. The fans could ruin this guy before he even gets the chance to improve. If you give Strowman some time I think he can turn into a suitable heel monster giant and help Bray Wyatt capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship or conquer the Beast. Any thoughts on this article? Hit me up on twitter @RJ_Marceau.


SEE ALSO: "RJ's Two Cents - Why Rey Mysterio Will Be a Big Time Player in Lucha Underground"

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