WWE Should Pull The Trigger On Braun Strowman At SummerSlam

Since the beginning of the year, Braun Strowman has been the best thing on RAW. He crushed jobbers, laid waste to Sami Zayn, got the biggest pop of the night at the Royal Rumble, and has destroyed anything and everything in his way.

Aside from Roman Reigns, no one has been booked stronger than The Monster Among Men. In fact, he’s the only person who has been able to make Reigns look like a mortal man. He flipped over an ambulance hoarding Roman, broke the ropes throwing him into the turnbuckle, came back two weeks after an attempted homicide, and did this…

GOAT #RAW pic.twitter.com/ro9aN3M0QG

— FanSided WWE (@FanSided_WWE) August 8, 2017

With how Braun has looked this year, it begs the question, will WWE finally pull the trigger on WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman?

WWE is already pushing the “Brock Lesnar won’t win at SumerSlam” angle. Chances are that means Brock Lesnar will win at SummerSlam. But, for the sake of this argument, let’s pretend that WWE is actually thinking of doing a title change at The Biggest Party of the Summer.

Braun Strowman makes the most sense.

Samoa Joe is hot following his feud with Brock Lesnar, but he’s the fourth fiddle in the fatal-four-way. He’s not seen as the guy to hold the Universal title. Unless, of course, Triple H returns and literally hands Joe the belt.

There’s always a possibility that WWE goes with Reigns because that’s the long-term and only plan. But SummerSlam doesn’t seem like the time for The Big Dog to have 100 percent control over the yard. Reports indicate that they once again want to wait until WrestleMania. Plus, there’s that whole Shield reunion that they are building to. Roman holding the Universal title not only overshadows the reunion, it also steals the shine. The crowd is clamoring for Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose becoming friends again. Adding Reigns, who the crowd would resent as Universal champion, lessens the impact of the reunion.

That leaves Braun Strowman.

WWE has something in Strowman. They took him from the big guy in the Wyatt Family who no one cared for and turned him into the biggest threat on the roster. But it has to go somewhere. As fun as it is watching Braun toss around opponents, vehicles, and furniture, there must be a payoff.

Thanks to his feud with Reigns, the crowd is fully behind Braun. Even though he’s supposed to be the heel, he often gets the biggest babyface reaction on the show. He’ll get the “you deserve it” chant the following night on RAW should he win at SummerSlam.

The only reason not to put the title on Braun is WWE may feel like he doesn’t need it. That might be true, just look at everything he’s done and the reactions he gets despite never holding a belt, but that’s a poor reason.

When you have a wrestler as popular as Strowman is right now, you have to strike. Failing to capitalize on a well-built and somewhat organic character and reaction can have long-term repercussions. Lex Luger and Ryback were never the same after WWE failed to pull the trigger at the peak of their powers. Daniel Bryan would have been in the same position if it weren’t for CM Punk walking out. They waited too long to put the title on guys like Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt to when they finally won, the reaction wasn’t what it could have been and the actual title run wasn’t memorable.

Braun can keep winning, but if the winning doesn’t lead to what’s supposed to be the ultimate goal, what’s the point? Either Strowman will take out everyone in his way and never get a title shot or he’ll take out everyone and never win the title.

Either way, sooner rather than later, the fans will stop caring.

SummerSlam is the perfect opportunity to cash in on what they have with Strowman. He can pin Samoa Joe, thus continuing the never-ending feud with Reigns and setting up a one-on-one bout with Lesnar whenever he returns from “quitting WWE.” He can finally end the Reigns feud by pinning him, allowing Roman to move into the Shield reunion with more fanfare, setting up the same Lesnar rematch, and getting more life out of Joe’s current streak. Or, they could really make Strowman by having him beat Lesnar.

I’m on Twitter @jeremylambert88@jeremylambert88