WWE: Tyson Fury vs. Braun Strowman is exactly as dumb as it should be

Tyson Fury vs. Braun Strowman is dumb. The feud is dumb, their segments are dumb, and their match at WWE Crown Jewel will probably be dumb. So, by definition, it’s perfect.

I feel like as much as we criticize WWE for lacking self awareness in producing their product, they actually have some self awareness (however minimal) when it comes to booking Tyson Fury vs. Braun Strowman for Crown Jewel.

That self awareness stemming from knowing that this match, the idea behind it, and perhaps the very situation revolving around Crown Jewel is dumb as a brick. So they’re just going to go out of their way to either enjoy the plummeting ride themselves, or produce unintentionally entertaining television.

The very foundation of this feud began on dumb grounds. Think about it. Why does this feud exist? Because Fury got mad that Braun pushed a dude into him.

Then, we got a dumb, awkward press conference filled with a goofy staredown where neither man could settle on a civil handshake, intense handshake, to share a good laugh, or ball their fists for a fight pose.

The latest episode of Raw saw the dumbness of this rivalry reach its zenith when Braun Strowman smash a table in half with his bare hands, only for Tyson Fury to retaliate by breaking a pen in half (the monster, that pen had a family). Guy couldn’t even stop himself from cracking a laugh five seconds after the fact.

That told me everything I needed to know about this storyline: nobody involved in making it cares about it. Nobody’s trying to create a serious, memorable angle, and frankly, they shouldn’t.

This isn’t Mike Tyson vs. Steve Austin. Hell, this isn’t even Big Show vs. Floyd Mayweather. It’s bordering closer to Butterbean vs. Bart Gunn to be honest. This isn’t the makings of a WrestleMania worthy altercation that we’ll be raving about for years to come. It’s a special attraction match for a Saudi Arabia propaganda show that most fans don’t even want to see because, well, it’s a Saudi Arabia propaganda show (among other things).

Beyond the propaganda, you have a dumb feud that’s only there to appease business partners, casual fans, and perhaps the boxing enthusiasts out there. For the wrestling fan complaining about how bad segments like the one above is, it’s not made for you.

And I think WWE understand that. Just by marketing a PPV in Saudi Arabia, they’ve already lost their key demographic. So they’re selling everything regarding Crown Jewel to other demographics.

And along the way, especially with these Fury vs. Strowman segments, they’re just gonna book goofy segments to pop themselves. Perhaps because they realize everything revolving around Crown Jewel is (for lack of a better phrase) a s*** show that most of their fans don’t even want to see.

Admit it, no matter how good or bad anything revolving around Crown Jewel is, people are going to complain about it anyway on grounds of everything regarding the politics of the show. No need to invest more time than necessary in storytelling for something most of their viewers hate seeing, right? No need to take it serious, especially when the feud itself will be over and done with before the PPV’s over.

Now, don’t mistake me pointing all this out as some kind of justification of WWE’s booking for their Saudi Arabia show or even as me endorsing the show. I won’t be watching Crown Jewel (not just because I have no interest in the show, but because I don’t even have the WWE Network); I’m not condemning you for watching it, either, that’s just my personal choice. I’m not even saying you have to sit back and enjoy the ride of a sinking ship. If you think these segments are dumb and don’t like them, that’s fine, too.

What I am saying is that fans shouldn’t get riled up if they see a dumb segment between Braun and Fury because they are designed to be dumb. It’s harmless entertainment. Hard to critique something when it was never designed to be great or appease us wrestling fans.