My Monday column for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review talks about Braun Strowman and him being a top priority for WWE.
Here’s an excerpt:
Watching on-screen and hearing behind-the-scenes chatter all suggest Braun Strowman is the next big project for Vince McMahon.
Strowman made his debut in August as the newest member of The Wyatt Family. He pulled the sheep mask off and had a menacing look. With his scowl and general heel demeanor, he looks like an oversized toddler in the face, but I guess that’s good for a role as the new creepy guy in a creepy family. But, hey, I’m no George Clooney myself.
Strowman made a physical impact with his strength and power moves. He had this debut after having only a few dozen matches never televised at NXT live events primarily in Florida. It’s a rarity as some spend years on NXT television before getting the call to be on RAW. There are two sides to this coin of concern and beauty.
The concern side being how limited experience he had before becoming a significant part of WWE television being the biggest member physically of The Wyatt Family. The beauty side is he’s legitimately a mystery to much of the audience. The element of surprise is valuable in entertainment, and this might come into play.
Strowman has no indy wrestling background. You won’t find any videos or shoot interviews over the past years from him giving you insight into his life. The most you’ll find is stats of pre-WWE days when he was a decorated winner of strongman contests.
To the causal viewer, his background isn’t known nor does it matter. Viewers only care about what they see on WWE programming, which is a man who continues to be touted with growing importance as he stares eye-to-eye with the giant Big Show.
This lack of professional wrestling background does come into play with WWE’s more vocal audience, which prides itself on knowing as much as possible in front of and behind the curtain. To many, the fast track to a prominent role as the enforcer of The Wyatt Family is not justified or deserved for someone who has little wrestling background and more limited abilities.
Strowman has been in the business since 2013 when he was signed. He doesn’t have a world traveling experience to draw from and is seemingly having to learn faster from scratch. However, the limited abilities is the wild card. We only know what Strowman can do based on what he’s been able to show us so far. He hasn’t been put in many situations on his own. For the most part, he’s part of some tag match with his Wyatt Family brothers.
This is where the element of surprise comes in.
CLICK HERE for the element of surprise, which WWE star Strowman is similar to and does he take on The Undertaker at WrestleMania.