In April of 2020, at WrestleMania 36, WWE finally pulled the trigger and put a top title on Braun Strowman, as “The Monster Among Men” defeated Goldberg for the WWE Universal Championship on Night 1 of the Two-Night Event. It was Strowman’s biggest win in his entire career.
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Title wins are great, but championship reigns are even better, as it allows a wrestler to prove just how great they are via title feuds and big matches. So, how has Braun Strowman fared so far in his title reign? There are things that are great about it and things that are not-so-great, so let’s take a look at both sides to truly evaluate.
10 Great Champion: Ended Goldberg’s Reign
For many wrestling fans, Goldberg holding the WWE Universal Title in the second decade of the 21st century was a travesty -- and that was before he did it twice. His triumph at the expense of Kevin Owens was rough enough, but his win over a supernatural phenomenon like The Fiend Bray Wyatt made everyone look worse in the process. That Braun Strowman quickly put Bill Goldberg out of fans’ misery on his first title defense was enough to make this reign a success.
9 A Failure: Substitute Champion
Unfortunately, it’s hard not to look at Braun Strowman’s title reign as a placeholder. After all, the Universal Title Match of WrestleMania was supposed to be Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns in a battle of who could Spear who harder, but Roman (wisely) chose to sit out the event rather than risk getting COVID-19. It’s only a matter of time before Reigns comes back, beats Strowman for the title, and WWE continues on its previously planned title reign.
8 Great Champion: Much Deserved
Braun Strowman getting over with fans was a weird and unexpected but appreciated phenomenon. In an era when fans were paying more attention to NXT, Bray Wyatt debuted a new member of The Wyatt Family, who nobody had ever seen as a character in developmental, and his impressive size and feats of strength got WWE crowds on his side.
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As a result, fans were clamoring for Strowman to be the top guy, a rare occasion of fans supporting a wrestler who’d be considered exactly the kind of big dude Vince McMahon likes. A babyface Strowman winning the title was the ultimate vindication for fans who excitedly chanted “GET THESE HANDS.”
7 A Failure: Too Late
It’s a shame, however, that WWE took so long to pull the trigger on Strowman. Back when he was challenging Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title circa 2017 was probably the time when fans were most excited for The Monster Among Men, and it never happened. WWE not only kept the title on Lesnar, but also turned Strowman heel to attempt to help get Roman Reigns over. It didn’t work, Reigns won’t be around for a while, and excitement for Strowman seems to have cooled off.
6 Great Champion: Dominant
One great thing about Braun Strowman’s title run is that WWE seems to understand that Strowman is a huge dude who’s going to dominate his competitors. So far, his opponents haven’t been other hosses, but more cerebral challengers. First there was Bray Wyatt (the “Firefly Fun House” version), who relied more on mind games than pro wrestling acumen, then The Miz and Morrison, who played pranks and shot music videos to mess with Strowman. So of course Strowman was going to aggressively wreck those dudes, which is wise, because it’s what he does best.
5 A Failure: Weak Matches
A title reign needs great matches to make it a successful run, and Braun Strowman has yet to have a particularly good match as Universal Champion. His match with Goldberg was necessarily short, as Goldberg was 53 years old and had less than 20 minutes of actual wrestling time in the past decade. Aside from that, his match with Bray Wyatt was a 10 minute first chapter in a longer feud, and the handicap match with The Miz and John Morrison was not as memorable or as entertaining as the music video that preceded it.
4 Great Champion: He’s Great
It’s hard to deny how awesome Braun Strowman is, however. He’s a generational talent as far as giant WWE monster men go, fulfilling the promise of abortive projects like Ryback, being a ridiculously huge “attraction” who can obliterate smaller opponents and pull off absurd feats of strength.
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Those kinds of wrestlers don’t often have championship runs, but Vince McMahon isn’t going to loan out Strowman to regional promotions like his father did with Andre the Giant, so a title is crucial to sell the importance of a standout star like Strowman.
3 A Failure: No Audience to React
More than other performers on the roster, a wrestler like Braun Strowman was made for crowd reactions. The spectacle of Braun loses its appeal if he’s doing his brawn thing in front of the silent WWE production crew and scattered cheers from NXT wrestlers who are afraid of being fired. WWE’s attempts to account for a lack of audience has had its ups and downs, but it’s really detrimental to a star like Braun Strowman, who depends on huge arenas regarding him with awe.
2 Great Champion: Wyatt Family History
It’s amazing when any WWE feud involves the wrestlers’ own established history, as it seems like the company tends to stay away from acknowledging past relationships in feuds. However, they’ve seem to be willing to embrace it more lately, as Braun Strowman’s title feud with Bray Wyatt involves much use of Strowman’s origins as the “Black Sheep” of the Wyatt Family. That kind of stuff is too good not to use, and enhances the drama of Strowman’s reign, as his past has literally come back to haunt him.
1 A Failure: Bray Wyatt Matches
As great as Bray Wyatt is -- and he’s legitimately a great wrestler -- WWE seems to bungle the booking of his matches for the most part. Either there’s some nonsense that results in a cheap victory, a loss that makes Wyatt look weak, or a high concept horror movie style match that doesn’t quite work. This has so far been true of his title feud with Strowman, as their initial match was hardly a five-star epic, and their second match was one of WWE’s weaker cinematic efforts. It’s extra disappointing because this has so far been the centerpiece feud of Strowman’s run with the Universal Championship.
