WWE: Braun Strowman Is The New And Improved Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar has ran roughshod on the WWE for many years with his destructive, suplex-machine character that also uses elements of his UFC history where he had tremendous success.
The Beast Incarnate began his WWE career in 2002 and lasted through 2004 in his initial run, but since his return in 2012, Lesnar’s pro wrestling career has been trending downward more and more each year.
Lesnar was an accomplished amateur wrestler in college and has produced some outstanding work in the WWE, but too often these days, his presence just isn’t what it used to be. It doesn’t help Lesnar that another monster has developed into arguably the hottest superstar in the WWE.
The main roster career of Braun Strowman has skyrocketed from a lackey for Bray Wyatt to arguably the most dominating force in the WWE. Strowman was part of several of the WWE’s top moments from the past year and his momentum and character development have continued as of late.
The Monster Among Men is now a babyface and maybe the hottest babyface on the entire WWE roster. It hasn’t mattered what Strowman has been in lately because everything he touches has turned to gold.
That includes his recent Raw Tag Team Championship win alongside 10-year-old Nicholas. Strowman has kept his dominating and monstrous tendencies that got him over in the first place, but he has added elements of humor over the past couple months that have put his character over the top.
He has played a huge bass and sang to counter Elias, coined a popular catchphrase, worked alongside Alexa Bliss in a successful mixed tag team, and won tag team gold with a 10-year-old kid just to name a few. Strowman continues to impress and continues to get huge reactions from the crowd every week.
A very bright future awaits Strowman at this rate, but in the meantime, he has already surpassed Lesnar as the true dominant force in the WWE and the reasoning behind it is quite simple. Strowman just brings so much more to the table than Lesnar these days and it’s not even close.
Fans get to see The Monster Among Men every week while it’s rare when fans get to see Lesnar. That rings true for almost every other superstar, but it means more regarding Strowman because of what else he does to be entertaining and dominant.
Strowman is always an entertaining interview and every time he’s on the mic, fans remember it. He can make a serious promo feel humorous at the same time and has a unique quality that just finds a way to stand out. And it’s safe to say Lesnar never speaks on the mic and probably hasn’t for several years.
Granted, Lesnar has the best mouthpiece in the business in Paul Heyman, but even in the past, Lesnar was never the greatest on the mic. Strowman isn’t Ric Flair on the mic or anything, but he is very good at it and offers up something different seemingly every time he’s on the mic.
And then there’s the in-ring aspect and whether it’s age or pure laziness, Lesnar’s in-ring work has severely diminished over the years. He rarely goes over 10 minutes in one-on-one matches and has a repetitive move set that has watered down his matches over the past couple years or so.
That’s not to say Strowman is AJ Styles in the ring, but he is very athletic for his size and has produced some great matches over the past year. His battles with the likes of Roman Reigns and The Big Show in 2017 were memorable matches and his feud with Reigns was one of the best in the WWE last year.
He’s not perfectly polished in the ring, but Strowman has been more consistent inside the squared circle than what Lesnar has been. Which is particularly disheartening because of how many great matches Lesnar has produced over the years and his amateur wrestling background.
But unfortunately, The Beast Incarnate just isn’t what he used to be in the ring. In 2018, the only drawing power that Lesnar has, excluding Heyman on the mic, are his name and past success and his dominating, hard-hitting gimmick.
Strowman has the dominating and hard-hitting gimmick just the same or better than Lesnar, but he offers more than Lesnar as previously mentioned. Mic work, entertainment, and being on TV every week are all key attributes that The Monster Among Men possesses.
The fans are already embracing Strowman more than Lesnar as well. Strowman gets huge reactions every week and Lesnar doesn’t. The WWE universe is starting to turn on The Beast Incarnate for his lack of effort with many fans claiming he doesn’t respect the business.
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The time has come for fans to realize that Strowman is officially the new and improved Lesnar in the modern-day landscape of the WWE and the future will get these hands hopefully for years to come.