10 Wrestlers WWE Pushed At The EXACT Wrong Time

2. Braun Strowman

Braun Strowman
WWE

Braun Strowman was the ideal WWE headliner when he improved exponentially in early 2017.

He was a big dumb fun sports entertainer who, with his preposterous stunts, made awesome use of the backstage area with which WWE is obsessed. The super strong powerhouse character allowed WWE to build his matches in an infinitely more compelling way than contract signings and invisible wall lame scripted promo exchanges, and in the ring, his blockbuster hoss sprints were exactly what the WWE fanbase was after.

And, crucially, by 2017, WWE fans - and this was before the launch of AEW, so they felt stuck for a mainstream fix - had learned that getting behind a smaller technical marvel was a waste of time. Cheering Braun wasn't pointless; Vince was predisposed to pushing someone like him. Strowman was in fact the perfect compromise; the one act that fans and Vince liked equally.

Except he was never actually the guy. Vince still insisted that Roman Reigns was the guy, which wasn't helped, remotely, by Strowman's rise. The more popular, realistic alternative was right there.

On the subject of Roman...

 
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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!