Exploring the History of WWE's Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman Before Title Feud

Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt picked up two of the biggest wins in their WWE careers at WrestleMania 36. The Monster Among Men defeated Goldberg for the Universal Championship, and The Fiend beat John Cena in a Firefly Fun House match.

Friday's SmackDown ended with a segment that saw Wyatt set his sights on the blue brand's new top champion. WWE has waited a long time to make this feud happen, and now that both men are the most successful they have ever been, management finally pulled the trigger.

This is a feud that has been teased in the past but never materialized for one reason or another. With both men now on Friday nights, there is no better time.

Before these two behemoths do battle, let's take a look back at where their stories first intersected and how they were destined to meet in the ring for a showdown.

The Wyatt Family's New Recruit

After the initial push for The Wyatt Family died down and WWE tinkered with the lineup, we saw Luke Harper and Erick Rowan find a new brother in Strowman.

He was even bigger than the three powerhouses who were already in the group, and his black mask made him an intimidating presence. 

His first appearance took place on the August 24, 2015, episode of Raw when he attacked Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose on behalf of The Eater of Worlds.

Strowman defeated Ambrose the following week by disqualification in his first televised matchup. His first pay-per-view victory came less than a month later at Night of Champions 2015 when The Wyatt Family beat Reigns, Ambrose and Chris Jericho thanks to Strowman making Y2J pass out to a submission.

His success with the group continued into 2016 at The Royal Rumble. He threw five men out of the ring before Brock Lesnar eliminated him. The Monster Among Men returned to help his fellow Wyatt Family members take out The Beast in retaliation.

His final appearance with the stable was at Battleground 2016, where he, Wyatt and Rowan defeated The New Day in a six-man tag match.

The 2016 WWE Draft saw Strowman moved to Raw while Wyatt and Rowan were placed on SmackDown, officially ending his time with the group.

There was no breakup segment and no storyline to go with their separation. WWE stated he was drafted to Raw and moved on before anyone cared enough to ask why it happened. 

One Flourishes and One Flounders

After The Wyatt Family was split up, Strowman received one of the biggest pushes anyone has had in years. He was an unstoppable force for several months and took out some of the biggest stars on Raw.

He was tipping over ambulances, ripping apart sports cars and destroying parts of the set on a regular basis during his rampages against Superstars like Reigns.

At the same time, Wyatt was having trouble regaining momentum. His short alliance with Matt Hardy had its moments, and he did win the WWE title at Elimination Chamber 2017, but he lost it less than two months later to Randy Orton at WrestleMania 33.

For quite some time, the student had surpassed the teacher. Strowman looked poised to become the next big star in WWE while Wyatt needed something to pull him out of his slump.

The Monster Among Men had reigns with the Intercontinental Championship and Raw tag titles, but he still wasn't being pushed as hard as he was when he first went solo.

Unfortunately, both men's careers were stalled by injuries at different points, causing Strowman to lose a lot of momentum and Wyatt to take almost a year off. 

The Rise of The Fiend and the Return of the Monster

Wyatt returned to television in April of 2019 with a series of odd vignettes. He had completely transformed his character from the backwoods cult leader we had come to know into a deranged children's TV show host with a split personality.

The Fiend immediately became one of the most intriguing characters in all of WWE. He was different from anyone we had ever seen in a way many probably would have doubted had they heard a 30-second pitch for the character.

He first came into contact with Strowman again on September 23. The Monster Among Men was in a match with Seth Rollins when the lights went out in the building.

The Fiend appeared but instead of attacking Rollins, who was his rival at the time, he turned his attention to his former protege and took him down with the Mandible Claw.

This attack was never addressed much after that night. It had more to do with building the storyline between Rollins and Wyatt than anything else, so Strowman was viewed as collateral damage. 

Both men ended up on SmackDown in 2020, but WWE kept them apart until this week when Wyatt appeared at the end of SmackDown to taunt Strowman.

As usual, The Monster Among Men showed no signs of intimidation and even teased Wyatt using his signature sign-off catchphrase. 

Only One Can Win

Strowman is fresh off beating Goldberg for the universal title at WrestleMania. It's hard to imagine WWE would take the belt off of him so quickly, but it's just as hard to imagine Wyatt losing after beating his greatest rival at the biggest PPV of the year.

This is not an uncommon situation, but it is slightly unpredictable. With both men being pushed hard at the moment, WWE has to choose which one to sacrifice for the sake of the other.

It is possible for two opponents to come out of a feud better than they went into it. However, any storyline involving a title is going to have a winner and a loser.

Let's hope WWE finds a way to make it as painless as possible for whichever Superstar ends up coming out of this without a title around their waist.