Braun Strowman's Wild Path of Destruction Is the Best Thing Going in WWE
June 28, 2018
It may be a family sedan or an apple, an upright bass or a man's pride, but you can count on Braun Strowman destroying something on just about every WWE show.
Thanks in large part to that steady stream of wreckage, The Monster Among Men remains WWE's most intriguing star. His eye-catching shtick is without equal, wonderfully absurd and befitting of a larger-than-life beast like him.
He is like nothing else roaming the WWE landscape right now, a predator that is part the shark from Jaws, part cartoon bully.
On Monday's Raw, Natalya scored a submission victory and Dolph Ziggler held on to his Intercontinental Championship via underhanded means. Strowman, meanwhile, left Kevin Owens' car overturned like a turtle fallen backward on its shell.
In a medium that is so often a display of repeated tropes, it's refreshing that Strowman's path is so singular.
Stone Cold Steve Austin doled out vehicular damage of his own, but he wasn't painted to be the superhuman force the current Mr. Money in the Bank is. We have seen Strowman flip over an ambulance and break through a ladder like a high school football team bursting through a paper banner.
The scenes are over the top. The results are nearly always memorable.
The approach has played up how different Strowman is.
There are plenty of 5'10" guys who can hit a great suicide dive. There is no one else like Strowman. He is the only charging colossus who can dwarf Brock Lesnar. He's the alpha among alphas.
Finn Balor, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns are all superheroes of the squared circle. Strowman is the all-powerful Thanos.
With Strowman, WWE has found the right blend of humor and havoc. When he goes on the attack, as he did backstage in January, he's terrifying. The following month had a zanier kind of moment when he strummed an upright bass before beating a human being with it.
Pro wrestling purists may turn their noses up at it all, but it's worked.
Strowman is likable and fearsome at the same time. He's able to stand out on a crowded stage brimming with wild characters.
Tim Fiorvanti of ESPN.com was spot-on with his assessment of the big man:
That dynamic has translated to an engaged audience. Few guys get as loud a reaction each week as Strowman does. There's a growing, palpable desire to see him push his way to the top of the WWE mountain and knock Lesnar off it.
As Wrestling Inc writer Brandon Thurston pointed out in January, the YouTube numbers for Strowman-created carnage are strong:
WWE has struggled to figure out how to showcase a lot of great talent.
Sami Zayn was floundering, stuck with some horrendous scripts before he got injured. Sonya Deville is not nearly the MMA fighter badass she could be. The current version of Bobby Roode is just plain boring.
The company, though, found its groove with Strowman a long while back.
Fans may be split on Strowman teaming with a 10-year-old boy to win the Raw Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania 34 or his Brain Strowman alter-ego, but he is consistently interesting.
He has provided a good chunk of the year's standout moments. WWE seems to focus much of its creativity on coming up with what Strowman will do next.
His destructive act is one of a kind. His journey is one of the most fun things about WWE right now.
And Strowman isn't straying from the spotlight anytime soon. The Money in the Bank briefcase he holds tight in his paw assures him ample airtime. Should he dethrone Lesnar and claim the Universal Championship, he will be even more prominent on Raw.
Thankfully, that means more broken ladders, more damaged cars, more men catapulted into the night air, more of The Monster Among Men's traveling circus of chaos.