Stone Cold Is Right: Braun Strowman Went Down to Brock Lesnar Too Easily

Maybe WWE should have run the ending to Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar by Stone Cold Steve Austin first.

The Hall of Famer seems to have a better understanding of how to propel and protect a monster than WWE Creative. Austin was spot on about the Universal Championship match at the No Mercy pay-per-view missing a few beats.

Heading into Sunday's event, WWE played up how dangerous and overwhelming Strowman is. 

He smashed Lesnar through tables at SummerSlam. He left him crumpled on the canvas soon after on Raw.

The Monster of Men was billed as being an unprecedented threat to The Beast Incarnate, a predator unlike anything the champion has ever faced. But when it came time to do battle, Strowman didn't look special in the least at the climax of the bout.

Earlier in the night, Roman Reigns survived four Attitude Adjustments from John Cena.

Strowman, meanwhile, fell to a single F-5. Just like Samoa Joe before him. Just like any number of would-be conquerors. 

In an interview on 107.7 The Bone, Austin offered his thoughts on the ending of the Universal Championship match. 

"They have built Braun to be The Monster Among Men. And to me, maybe you got to have something, a couple of F-5s or something to put a chink in the armor before the F-5 to keep Braun Strowman The Monster Among Men down for a three-count," he said. 

Stone Cold couldn't have said it any better. The match's finale needed something more. 

Austin wasn't the only one who felt unsatisfied with how things unfolded.

Jessie Collings of Wrestling Inc wrote: "Given the terrific build both for this particular match and for Strowman, taking him from bumbling sideshow to monstrous attraction, this was a disappointing ending."

Benjamin Tucker of PWTorch was unimpressed, too:

"

Well... um..... that was a main event. Not sure how that did Braun any favors

— Benjamin Tucker (@BTuckerTorch) September 25, 2017"

That's not surprising. There was a clear disconnect with the narrative of Strowman being on a plane of his own and the reality of the in-ring action. Strowman dominated early and had Lesnar reeling, but he looked mighty mortal in the end.

Going that route was a mistake. The Monster Among Men needs to get painted as invulnerable as Reigns or Lesnar often are.

WWE has a megastar in the making in Strowman.

He can be the next Lesnar, the next Godzilla, the next force of nature no one can look away from. But the company has to remember to script endings that present him as such.  

Credit: WWE.com

Opponents should have to hit multiple finishers to keep him down. Foes should have to bury him under the announce desk or tie his legs to the ring post. Normal weapons shouldn't be enough, the F-5 included.

The ideal path for Strowman is to have him emulate those horror movie monsters who continue to get to their feet and charge at their prey after you assume them to be dead. That's how you push forward with Strowman's rise, how you maintain his growing momentum.