7 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (Sept 29)
6. So, Yeah, Braun Strowman Is Dead
The hype leading into No Mercy was major. WWE beat us around the head with the idea that WrestleMania had arrived early, and for a few glorious weeks, it had. The John Cena/Roman Reigns promo barbs generated searing heat during a time in which WWE takes the cold months much too literally. Perhaps even more exciting was the prospect of Brock Lesnar Vs. Braun Strowman...
...a match in which the Monster Among Men, after a mere nine minutes, was made depressingly mortal. The idea behind the match, which so many wanted Strowman to win, was to build Lesnar as an unstoppable machine. It's all a bit depressing; if even a Vince McMahon creation isn't immune to the agonising march towards the coronation of Roman Reigns, what chance does someone like a Shinsuke Nakamura stand? To be clear: Roman Reigns is a superb worker. It's just that fans, audibly, are not accepting him as The Guy. The contrast to WrestleMania XXX will enter devastating territory, given the revisited locale of New Orleans.
On the post-PPV RAW, Strowman barked that Curt Hawkins wasn't sufficient enough competition, but his words rang hollow: he'd been handily defeated by his biggest competition yet 24 hours earlier. The inference is that we were meant to forget that match had even happened. It did, and it mattered. Even if we are to believe the ludicrous company line that wins and losses do not matter, Strowman was barely protected in defeat. The match was decisive and tedious.
Strowman worked because fans believed in him 100%. Now the subject of 50/50 booking, his value literally halved this week. You can't erase the defeat; only the aura.