Will Braun Strowman's Babyface Shift on WWE Raw Speed Up His Rise to the Top?

Betrayal transformed Braun Strowman for the better, as we saw when he stormed into WWE Raw bloodthirsty and enraged.

The Monster Among Men is shifting toward a babyface role, morphing into a predatory anti-hero of sorts. That's certainly not something many would have predicted when he first started gobbling up jobbers last July. He looked then to be locked in as an unfeeling beast, a classic monster heel.

The chaos that unfolded at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view earlier this month, though, looks to have been a catalyst for a change in his character.

Kane, The Miz and The Bar turned on their partner and shoved Strowman into a garbage truck. They tried to crush him in the machine's jaws and moved on.

Like something out of a horror movie, however, The New Face of Destruction wasn't done. Strowman returned on Monday night and chased down The Miz and his Miztourage. 

He barreled toward the men who wronged him and exacted his revenge with trademark Strowman-style destruction. A broken table and bruised flesh lie in his wake.

The scene looked a lot like the old Strowman. But the target of his violence suggests he's moving away from the dark side. He can now serve as Raw's monster-knight hybrid. 

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John Canton of The Comeback is a fan of what he's seen of it so far:

The switch is a smart one. It more closely aligns his persona with how the audience has responded to him. Fans have cheered on his destruction and pulled for him to wreak havoc. It makes more sense for him to now be aiming his animosity at Raw's villains.

The Monster Among Men could be the Hulk of Team Raw. 

Raw general manager Kurt Angle seems to believe in Strowman as a fan favorite. In a September interview with Scott Fishman of The Miami Herald, Angle said: "Braun Strowman, I'm really proud at how he has come so far. He is really getting the attention of the fans, and it turns out he is this big babyface."

WWE recognizing this and acting accordingly will propel the big man. It will allow him to feed off what has happened organically. Rather than force-feeding the audience, trying to get it to hate him, the company can now ride Strowman's momentum as the most monstrous of babyfaces.

And the move will give him some intriguing opponents to take on in the coming months.

He's sure to collide with Kane to pay him back for stabbing him in his Cadillac-sized back at TLC. That's a rivalry that will be better than most expect. Strowman dominating a future Hall of Famer will boost him.

He can then move on to Raw's other heels. Strowman could take on Big Cass once his ACL has healed, tangle with Cesaro and Sheamus or face his former father figure, Bray Wyatt. Suddenly WWE Creative has fresh options to play with, and Strowman doesn't have to keep reverting back to his feud with Roman Reigns.

The immense and imposing Strowman may not be the prototypical babyface, but he's bound to thrive in the role. The Monster Among Men is due to keep surging, to remain Raw's hottest commodity, but now with the added benefit of playing the hero.

And in WWE's world, the good guys win more often (see: Reigns, John Cena). That's welcome news for those hoping Strowman will smash his way to the Universal Championship.