Csonka: 4 Reasons People Like Braun Strowman

– Welcome back to column time with Larry. Today’s column is all about the reasons I feel that people like the man, the monster and the king of hosses, Braun Strowman. If we’re being completely honest, BRAUN was called up to the main roster way too soon. He worked almost no NXT matches, and while he would be largely protected in the Wyatt family tags, was simply not ready. He wasn’t sure of himself, looked confused at times, and was nowhere near the monster he would develop into. But WWE didn’t give up, they were determined to keep Strowman in the main roster, and to his credit, Strowman has worked really hard and has improved at an impressive rate. Strowman managed to transform himself from a clumsy oaf to a competent performer and into a great hoss daddy of a monster. But why do people seemingly like a man so much that at one point they had no time for and groaned at the latest jacked up freak Vince McMahon produced? I have a few ideas and thought I’d discuss them here today…

4. He’s a Super Heavyweight Monster: Throughout history, people have been enthralled and amazed by giants and big men, whether it be in movies, TV, “sports entertainment” or “combat sports.” Back in the day, everyone knew who the heavyweight boxing champion of the world was, he was the end all be in; a true superstar and celebrity. In the 70s, Andre the Giant was a huge drawing card for all of wrestling, traveling the world and territories, drawing huge houses for everyone. Even as we move through the years, while boxing has dropped in popularity, the UFC has done well with heavyweight headlined PPVs or shows that featured multiple heavyweight bouts. Braun Strowman is a giant beast of a man who comes off as larger than life. With Kane and Mark Henry phased out late in their careers and Big Show closing in on retirement, Strowman is the heir to the monster throne in WWE. For me personally, while I love my fair share of superkicks, dives and flippity doos, I also love me a big old hoss that comes off as a true monster and destroys people.

3. He Simply Destroys Other Men: And destruction is where Strowman thrives. There is nothing fancy about Braun Strowman, and it is that fact that makes him greatly different from the rest of the WWE roster. 205 Live brings us the flippity doos (when they’re allowed), AJ Styles is a world class worker, Nakamura brings charisma and some Japanese style, Jericho is a veteran hand with a larger than life character, Dean Ambrose is a wacky brawler, and Samoa Joe is a modern day savage who is seemingly cool with being paid to take other people out; but Strowman is nothing but a giant strongman who wants to destroy people, and if he gets locked in on a goal and you get in his way, he doesn’t want to engage in a professional grappling bout, he will try to straight up murder you and even take out the ambulance before you can receive medical care. Braun Strowman gives absolutely, positively no fucks about you or your physical well-being. He looks like he’s killing guys, but from all reports, has developed into a very safe worker. Sure he’s given guys some lumps and bruises, but who on the roster hasn’t? As long as he looks like he’s killing guys and not hurting them, he’s walking the line in the right way. I love the junior heavyweight style, I love guys that effortlessly grapple and I love some string style, but sometimes there is nothing more entertaining than a giant of a man seemingly destroying another human being while not giving a single solitary fuck. The good brother Braun is just a savage.

2. He Got Away From The Wyatt Family: Another big reason for the success of Strowman is the fact that he got away from the Wyatt Family. As a group/entity, the Wyatt family has bee a colossal failure; outside of a few awesome tag matches and the cool entrance, the family has not done a damn to really do anything of note for anyone in the group. No one cares about Rowan, largely because he’s useless outside of the tags and has no detectable charisma. He’s perfect being stuck with Wyatt. Luke Harper is awesome, but all of his hype from fans and hopes from a push are based off of his work outside of WWE; if anything the Wyatt family has drastically held him back, and WWE has no idea what to do with him because he’s not Bray. At the very least, Harper should be an upper mid-card guy that constantly feuds for and wins the IC or US titles and can be occasionally used as a “b-level world title challenger.” But due to the fact that he’s been so linked with the Wyatt Family, and WWE seemingly has no clue how to use him. And then there’s Wyatt himself, sure he finally got a WWE title run, but he’s largely still telling scary stories, hasn’t evolved as a character or in the ring; Wyatt, Rowan and Harper are all stagnant due to being stuck in the family and WWE not knowing how to evolve them and move them forward. But thankfully for Strowman, he got out and it was the best thing for him. Learning in tag matches would have been nice and all, but this was the equivalent of tossing your small child in the water and hoping they can swim. This does not work with everyone, and is not the course of action I would take with a lot of talent going forward, but Strowman thrived in this environment. He was forced to improve and find himself way sooner than planned, he got to work with veterans like Goldust and Big Show on the road and then on TV & PPV with Sami Zayn. This was true on the job training, not a setting everyone would survive in, but the former strongman competitor thrived in. Many thought that Strowman’s separation from the Wyatts was way to premature, and I will admit, I was one of them. But since then, he’s exceeded all expectations. Without a doubt in my mind, Braun Strowman is the breakout star of the Wyatt Family so far.

1. He’s Not Roman Reigns: While some will think that this section is just here to be anti-Roman, I find it to be very accurate. Roman Reigns, whether we agree with it or not, is the chosen one and has been since day one. He wasn’t originally supposed to be in the Shield, but was added in by Vince because he saw him as a star. And if you look back at the run of the Shield, Reigns was out there to be protected; Ambrose and Rollins could work, and Reigns was hidden in a lot of the early tags until they unleashed him and let him run through all of his shit and shine like a king. But that’s part of building a star. They protected him, they allowed him to learn and as we have seen over the past two years, he’s had some great matches. But with Reigns being the chosen one, and being repeatedly receiving coronations as the next guy. Some will claim that it’s only an “Internet fan” thing in terms of not liking Reigns, but the fact that the live reactions are still growing in negativity to the point where WWE is doctoring the sound to drop the boos on his entrances. Fans want something different, and despite the fact that Strowman is supposedly a heel, he keeps getting face reactions, and chants like “Thank You Strowman” when he savagely beats on Reigns and commits vehicular homicide via ambulance toppling. But the funny thing is that for all of the fans that say, “He’s Not Roman Reigns,” he basically was supposed to be another Roman Reigns. Strowman was brought in as part of a bigger team, he was put in the Wyatts to be protected, and he was designed to be pushed into big matches with Taker and Lesnar. Thankfully they realized that he wasn’t ready, he wasn’t pushed into matches he wasn’t ready for and hasn’t been given the world title multiple times. He hasn’t been shoved down our throats as mush as Reigns, but they aren’t all that different when you really think about it. But there’s enough of a difference that people have noticed and have chosen their side, and right now, most people look to be team BRAUN.

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”