7 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Raw (Sept 5)

Downs…

3. Cannon Fodder For Roman?

Bringing Braun Strowman back 15 months after they released him is certainly a decision.

Whether it’s a smart decision remains to be seen with how they use him. His first night back on Raw saw the Monster Among Men interrupt a four-way tag team #1 contender’s match, beating up eight men, just because.

While fans in the arena cheered the arrival of Strowman, it felt like WWE was just trying to reheat someone who was ice cold when they released him in June 2021 and had a horribly disappointing WWE Universal Championship reign in 2020. Braun might have been white-hot in 2017-18, but that version of Strowman has passed.

Maybe WWE is bringing him back to be cannon fodder for Roman Reigns, facing him at the next Saudi Arabia show. But it feels like the way they brought him back – and having him beat up four tag teams in the process – is more about desperation and less about (re)making a star.

We’ll hold out hope to be convinced we’re wrong, but this is just the initial feeling.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.