10 Monster Pushes That WWE Totally Wasted
3. Braun Strowman
Few wrestlers have been pushed as strongly as Braun Strowman since the 2016 Draft. Sent to Raw last July, Strowman has excelled away from the Wyatt Family, and ended 2016 as one of WWE’s most improved wrestlers. There are still moments when his deficiencies shine through, but Strowman has almost perfected his monster act, and after spending his first few months dominating lesser competition, he was eventually thrust into the spotlight.
Strowman played a major role at Survivor Series, then feuded with Sami Zayn. After dominating the former NXT Champion, Braun entered the main event spotlight prior to the Royal Rumble, where he cost Roman Reigns the Universal Championship against Kevin Owens, then eliminated seven men in the titular match.
Braun was on fire and he was over with the crowd. His monster run had been booked to perfection, but it soon came crashing down. Strowman feuded with Reigns in the aftermath, and after going undefeated since the summer, he fell victim to a clean pinfall loss at Fastlane.
Somebody had to beat Strowman eventually, of course, but WWE essentially squandered his monster push on a transitional pre-WrestleMania pay-per-view. Where he goes from here remains to be seen, but for now, it looks like Strowman’s heat was only built-up so that WWE could use him to propel Roman Reigns towards The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33.