WWE Raw: Braun Strowman Solidifies His Heel Turn

Last week on WWE Raw, Braun Strowman turned on Roman Reigns in the main event of the show to align himself with Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler, who had previously been big rivals of Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. With The Shield back together, Strowman has solidified his heel turn and alliance with the powerful duo of McIntyre and Ziggler.

At WWE Hell in a Cell 2018, Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns will have a Universal Title match inside of the foreboding structure, because Strowman preemptively cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase during the opening segment of WWE Raw last week.

Although Strowman made that strong, babyface move to announce his cash-in beforehand, just as John Cena once did, he turned heel just minutes later in the main event of the show. The move stunned WWE fans, many of whom weren’t ready to boo Strowman. Some, like me, wondered if Braun didn’t actually turn heel, but merely made an “eye for an eye” (as he put it) move to get back at Reigns.

Recall that The Shield stopped Strowman from cashing in the briefcase on Reigns during the post-SummerSlam episode of Raw. Reigns defeated Finn Balor in a grueling, fast-paced main event title defense of the Universal Championship, before Strowman made his presence felt.

On tonight’s episode of Raw, Strowman cemented the fact that he is a heel. He received a generally negative reaction once he called out the fans, or, at least, a reaction that was far less positive than the usual reactions he gets.

Then, The Shield appeared from backstage to interrupt the promo Strowman, McIntyre, and Ziggler were cutting. Of course, this led to an entertaining, all-out brawl that bled into the backstage area, because the whole locker room couldn’t even stop Seth Rollins and The Shield from trying to put fists to the heel trio.

Strowman’s heel turn is surely a shock, but it sets up a more traditional Hell in a Cell encounter that could prove to be one of the most intense matches of 2018. Reigns and Strowman have unreal chemistry, as they’ve put together some of the most hard-hitting, brutal matches with Strowman as a heel and Reigns as a face.

This move should be met critically by fans who weren’t ready to see Braun turn heel, but the silver lining is that it could make the likely main event of the Hell in a Cell Pay Per View even more fire-powered. Plus, McIntyre/Ziggler/Strowman vs. Rollins/Reigns/Ambrose sounds like a damn good fight to me.