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Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman: WWE’s Battle of Vince McMahon’s ‘Projects’

By Tim Sherry

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Breaking down the feud between Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns.

On May 12th, 2013, the WWE signed a 29 year old, 6 foot 8, 385 pound behemoth named Adam Scherr.  The former strongman competitor and all around frightening looking guy who would, later on, be known as Braun Strowman was immediately assigned to NXT to begin training to become a pro wrestler, a venture he had no experience in.  After 2 years, a litany of professional development, and a small handful of NXT matches, Strowman debuted on RAW as a member of the Wyatt Family.  His sheer size was absolutely staggering but at first, that’s all he appeared to be, a hulking presence used as a tool to add another haunting dimension to the group.

So when the 2016 brand split happened in July and Strowman was separated from his Wyatt cohorts, most assumed that without a supporting cast the big man would struggle.  But a funny thing happened, Strowman succeeded as a singles star as he began to run roughshod over most of the RAW roster.  Braun looked to be heading straight for a title shot, even being considered a heavy favorite to win the 2017 Royal Rumble match and/or face The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 33.  Strowman was impressive in the Rumble, eliminating 7 opponents but his title shot dreams were derailed when he was eliminated by Baron Corbin 9th overall.

Shortly after the Royal Rumble Strowman entered into a program with Roman Reigns.  You all know Reigns, right?  The 3-time WWE Champion, winner of the 2015 Royal Rumble, and the current United States champion baby face that’s been virtually booed out of every arena across the globe for the past 2 and a half years.  Yeah, that guy.  Two big men have waged war over the last few weeks and have taken up a great deal of TV time in that span.

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So why is this program taking up so much time and energy?  Why are Reigns and Strowman, two guys who have a combined 5 years on the main roster being elevated when guys like Cesaro, Sheamus, and Sami Zayn play second fiddle?  It’s a very simple answer: they’re both Vince McMahon’s pet projects.  It’s very obvious that Reigns is one.  He is universally disliked yet the WWE refuse to take their foot off the Reigns-push gas pedal.  It’s stunning that despite the repeated protests from the WWE Universe that Reigns has accomplished as much as he has.  Vince just won’t give up on the idea of Roman as a future star and has even resorted to muting the boos every time Reigns wins a match.  He makes the John Cena hatred feel tame.

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This clearly is not the first time Vince has had these gut instincts on certain guys that have completely failed.  Look no further than guys like Lex Luger, Fandango, and Vladimir Kozlov.  3 guys who Vince thought could be massive stars turned into major flops.  But the difference between these guys and Reigns was at least Vince knew when to pull the plug.  With Reigns there seems to be no end in sight.

And what is the allure with Strowman?  Sure, he shows promise but he’s completely untested and still very green.  What is Vince’s deal with him?  Well, that’s even simpler than having a gut instinct.  Vince loves the big guys.  The list of 300 pound plus guys that have been pushed for no other reason other than they’re large is astounding.  Nathan Jones, Ezekial Jackson, The Giant Gonzales, Mabel, Ryback, The Great Khali, and come to think of it, Vladimir Kozlov once again, were all guys who basically had one redeeming wrestling characteristic: they were really big.  But could they actually wrestle?  For the most part, no.  Killian Dain should be very excited about his future prospects.

So why is Vince suddenly pitting his two projects against each other?  Has he decided that it’s time to blow one up and use the fallout of it to push the other?  If that’s the case then Braun Strowman would most likely be the beneficiary of the elevation.  He seems to have garnered a bit of a fan following over the past month most likely due to the fact that he’s spent it slapping Reigns around and screwing him out of another title win.  A Reigns destruction at the hands of Braun at Fastlane would be a sure fire way to get even more fans behind this monster and may be the fodder that Roman needs to finally make his desperately needed heel turn.

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Outside of a Reigns victory at Fastlane, the other terrible booking option would be some sort of non-finish like a double DQ or a double count out.  That does absolutely nothing for either guy and would most likely mean a rematch at Wrestlemania.  We don’t need to see this match again especially not on the WWE’s biggest stage.  Fastlane’s match should have some serious ramifications for both Reigns and Strowman’s futures.  For whatever reason, and whether it’s deserved or not, they’re both near WWE Universal title contention and a victory would get either guy that much closer.  Let’s hope Vince is ready to end his Reigns obsession and allow the kid to try and get over on his own.  And that will mean Strowman will be up for big business in 2017.

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Sunday, March 5th will be about the futures of two men.  But it’s also about whether Vince McMahon still has what it takes to see his mistakes and correct them.  It’s very simple.  A Reigns win is a mistake.  A Strowman win is what makes the most sense and would also prove that he’s ready to take the talent in the right direction.

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