Braun Strowman, WWE.com
3 reasons Braun Strowman should defeat Roman Reigns at WWE Fastlane 2017.
With WWE’s Fastlane pay per view approaching, one of the main attractions at the upcoming show that is getting a lot of attention is the showdown between Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman. The two Vince McMahon “projects” have been on a collision course with each other ever since Braun interfered in Roman’s WWE Universal title match at the Royal Rumble, costing Reigns the win. Since then the two have waged a back and forth war with each other and the culmination to the animosity will occur Sunday, March 5th at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
It does seem like an odd pairing doesn’t it? One one side you have a universally hated babyface going up against a guy who is trying to get over as the most vicious, dangerous heel in the WWE. Strowman’s 2016 pairing with Sami Zayn made sense. Loveable face against a one man demolition crew was the perfect way to make Strowman like every bit of the monster he is against everyone’s favorite red head. But to battle Reigns makes no sense unless the WWE is intending on making Braun a baby face himself. You can already hear the crowd beginning to cheer Strowman and that’s most likely because it comes at the expense of Reigns, the most overly ridiculously pushed guy since John Cena.
Whatever the booking methodology is here, one thing needs to happen at Fastlane. Strowman needs to defeat Reigns. And here’s 3 reasons why.
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3. The Reigns Experiment is Over
This has been undoubtedly one of the longest and most head scratching WWE experiments of all time. We all know Reigns’ history but let’s just do a quick recap here. Really cool, dangerous, quiet member of The Shield, gets increasingly less cool as singles star, specifically any time he opens his mouth, goes on to win 3 WWE Championships as Vince’s new golden boy while 95 percent of the company’s viewership gags, falls from main event scene after an exhausting 2 and a half years at the top, and here we are with his upcoming match with Strowman. Seems like it’s time for a change, no?
Now it’s not a definite that Reigns’ career is dead and buried. This whole thing can still be salvaged. He’s only 31. He’s good looking. Great physique. And he’s actually pretty good in the ring despite what many WWE crowd chants believe. It’s time to allow Reigns to step away from the spotlight for a little while. Heck, keep him out of Wrestlemania altogether and bring him back as a heel. The company tried every way possible to get him over as a babyface. They tried the tough guy angle, the funny guy gag, the thumb your nose at authority thing, they even played the sympathy card when Triple H rearranged his face on an episode of RAW. Get the hint guys, it doesn’t work.
A Reigns heel turn is really the only way to turn things around for him but would the WWE have the stones to do it? Heck, people have been screaming for a John Cena heel turn for well over a decade to no avail. But at least Cena comes off as a baby face, Reigns comes off like a jerk. And that baby face jerk angle can work at times but it’s much more difficult to pull that off in the PG era as opposed to when guys like Steve Austin and The Rock did it. Reigns behaves like a heel. It’s time to embrace it.
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2. Strowman Currently Has the Bigger Upside
It doesn’t take a keen observer to notice the strides that Strowman has already made as an in-ring worker. His match with The Big Show on RAW February 20th is all the proof you need. In that match, Braun displayed some skills that most guys standing 6 foot 8 and weighing close to 400 pounds do not possess. He transitioned out of a basic arm wringer with a roll and kip up and the crowd ate it up. In fact, the whole match was a solid tilt in professional wrestling. Normally when you combine 800 plus pounds in a ring things don’t normally go so well. This performance was night and day better than what he produced in his first few months in the WWE. With zero experience in the business before being signed is it possible that he might develop into a very good to possibly great wrestler? Anything’s possible.
So it’s a testament to how good Strowman is beginning to get as a wrestler (let’s not forget how good The Big Show is too) and if it keeps up he’ll be in store for some major business in the WWE. Braun has what few others have: massive size. Sure there are plenty of big guys in all of pro wrestling but Strowman is an absolute monster of a man and add to the fact that he came from the world of strongman competitions and you have a very scary individual in front of you. He might not have the best microphone work but that will come with time and when you’re that big, that’s really the only fodder you need.
Strowman already seems to be garnering a cult following and as such could make some of the WWE booking decisions very difficult. One way or the other, defeating Reigns clean, in the center of the ring would show that the company is very serious about his immediate future and that Strowman may be the next title contender.
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1.Strowman, Not Reigns Should Battle The Undertaker at Wrestlemania
If you believe the rumors, and normally where there’s smoke, there’s fire, then you’ve probably have become resigned to the fact that Roman Reigns will be facing The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 33. Just a few weeks ago Cagesideseats.com reported that not only will the two face off at the grand daddy of them all but that Vince McMahon has wanted this for a while. While this will not only incur the wrath of many of Roman’s detractors for what is perceived as continued preferential treatment it also needs to be looked at as a massive mistake. It just makes no sense.
A match with The Undertaker at Wrestlemania is a no-win situation for Reigns. If he loses, people will be happy that he lost, which is not supposed to be the case when a baby face loses. If he wins, then everyone will hammer him and the WWE for Reigns defeating a 51-year-old legend and being only the second person in history to do it at this event. That means he’ll get to do something that Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Edge, Ric Flair, Randy Orton, Batista, and CM Punk could not do. If you thought the disdain for Reigns was bad before that possible scenario, get ready for backlash like never before.
The more logical thing to do would be to place Strowman in a match with Taker at Wrestlemania and that would begin with a win for Braun at Fastlane. Braun losing to Taker would do nothing to hurt him. If he goes in and puts on an even half decent match with The Deadman and loses well then he’ll join the ranks of the greats listed above and there’s absolutely no reason to hang your head for joining a group like that. And if for some reason they decide that he should go over in that match, well then he will officially be the next massive superstar in the WWE. Unfortunately for Roman, that particular ship has already sailed and therefore has no business matching up with the greatest Wrestlemania performer of all time.
Next: 20 Early Predictions for WrestleMania 33
Come on guys, do the right thing. Reigns’ time is over and Braun’s time is now.