Braun Strowman is set to defend his Universal Championship against Bray Wyatt at WWE MITB 2020. Here’s why Strowman should retain his title.
What a past six weeks for the “Monster among Men” Braun Strowman.
He lost the Intercontinental Championship to Sami Zayn in a three-on-one handicap match (also involving Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro) at Elimination Chamber. As I criticized in the past, this was of Strowman’s own doing, and kudos to Zayn for taking advantage.
He then disappeared from television…until the biggest event of the year.
There’s no real need to rehash all the circumstances that led to Strowman being Goldberg’s opponent at WrestleMania. I’ll just say here that because of the prudent, smart, and understandable decision of Roman Reigns to withdraw, he is now apparently persona non-grata in WWE. It is extremely petty and disgusting of WWE, but isn’t that to be expected?
That aside, Strowman won the Universal Championship and to his credit, has been on both episodes of SmackDown since to establish himself and begin his first title defense angle against Bray Wyatt.
This brings me to the crux of the article.
While initially signaling Strowman would continue his feud with The Artist Collective trio with his non-title singles match over Nakamura on the SmackDown following his championship victory, it actually turned out to be Wyatt.
With more time left to build between now and their match at Money in the Bank (and it should be noted there’s been no gimmick or stipulation attached yet), it will be interesting to see how WWE tips their hand as to who might win depending on their interactions.
If I was booking this match, I would book Strowman to retain at WWE MITB 2020. Here are three reasons why.
A successful first title defense is better for the “Monster among Men”
If he really is the monster and force WWE portrays him to be, then Strowman needs to definitively retain his championship over his first foe in Wyatt.
I remember as a kid watching Kane walk out on RAW is War as the then-WWF Champion after having won it the night before in a first blood match against Austin. I figured of course Kane would win; he’s wearing a mask that’s partly red so even if he was bleeding, the ref wouldn’t be able to tell! (Ah, what a blissful existence it was as an adolescent wrestling fan.)
I also remember how he lost the title that same night, champion for approximately 24 hours.
Kane is a legitimate Hall of Famer and had a wonderful career. However, that stunted first championship run told fans we really should never take Kane seriously as a World Champion contender. Even when he was champion, a lot of fans had that nagging feeling that he was a transitional champion.
Let’s not go down this path with Strowman. Yes, much like Kane and The Undertaker, Strowman probably doesn’t need a title (let alone the top title) to be relevant. Since he has the title (like the other two did), make the most out of it and book him strong.
Kids seem to love him, partly due to his literal larger-than-life size and persona. Keep giving the fans the monster babyface they want to root for against dastardly, sadistic heels.
Sure, it’s hard to have serious heel contenders when the face champion is such a large individual. Building opponents similar to this feud with Wyatt should help create a sense of doubt in Strowman’s ability to retain the Universal Championship.
I imagine being able to have feuds with Sheamus and King Corbin after Wyatt. In a more neutral battle, there are the looming figures of Big E and Otis.
What about an NXT talent considering shows are happening from Full Sail and not all “main roster” talent are available? Damian Priest would be interesting.
If he’s champion for a long time, there’s the inevitable rekindling of his fantastic rivalry with Roman Reigns.
Whatever the case, none of this happens if he loses right away to Wyatt. Speaking of Wyatt…
This is the “Firefly Fun House” Wyatt, not The Fiend
This will be the second feud since the debut of “Firefly Fun House” and The Fiend where Wyatt is wrestling the match in his “Fun House” character and not The Fiend. The first was his TLC match against The Miz.
Then again, was it Wyatt, The Fiend, both, or neither in that “Firefly Fun House” match against Cena?
Whatever the case, Wyatt has from the beginning made this about Strowman’s connection to him during the days of The Wyatt Family. As I noted in my “Smacks/Downs” from two weeks ago, Wyatt didn’t just bring Strowman to WWE, he arguably created the Strowman we know today (all in kayfabe, of course).
Because of this history and the lack of one-on-one matches (they were on opposing sides of the RAW vs. SmackDown Live! Survivor Series style match in 2016), Wyatt challenging instead of The Fiend is logical. The Fiend has usually appeared to adversaries that have caused some kind of “change” in Wyatt, usually through defeat.
Including his match with The Miz, is this version of Wyatt a formidable foe to Strowman? Psychologically, we know Wyatt is unparalleled right now in WWE. Physically, however, even though he himself is a large individual, he still pales in comparison next to Strowman.
His menacing-in-a-button-up-and-sweater character works well particularly for the psychological aspects, but this character has also shown to be more timid and fearful. This should lead to a decisive Strowman victory.
An emphatic title defense for Strowman also allows him to (in kayfabe) put to rest any speculation that his status is tied to his involvement with Wyatt. By pinning Wyatt 1-2-3 in the middle of the ring, he “buries” that part of his past.
Remember how The Fiend needs some sort of impetus for appearing? Well…
Sets a path to SummerSlam for Strowman vs. The Fiend
…what better impetus for change than being pinned clean by the very “creation” Wyatt brought to WWE?
Wyatt, like with Cena, could realize his only chance to regain what he believes is his is to tap into that dark, sinister side of himself that personifies as The Fiend. Wyatt/The Fiend never did receive a rematch against Goldberg for the Universal Championship he lost, so coming full circle (in multiple ways) as The Fiend against Strowman at SummerSlam would be a great way to finish the feud.
Since I’m still not sold on Strowman as the top babyface promo, this would give him even more time to work with one of the better promos in WWE. Wyatt could carry the load with his “Fun House” segments, leaving Strowman to hit his few distinct champion lines and catchphrases. Picking up advice from Wyatt in the meantime will do wonders for Strowman moving forward.
The build, aided by Wyatt’s segments, could culminate in him revealing The Fiend as Strowman’s opponent with The Fiend choking out Strowman with the mandible claw. This would establish The Fiend as a major threat which at this point, hasn’t been established with Wyatt.
I also would have Strowman, partly to combat the psychological battle and partly to send his own message, makes his entrance at SummerSlam with the black sheep mask (if he enters second). He could stare down The Fiend, basically saying, “The black sheep of the family is coming to take you out.”
The beauty of this approach is he can turn to the mask for both being shook and being confident. He can give a strong promo where he alludes to having a countermeasure ready for their match. Conversely, showing fear after suffering the mandible claw multiple times, he can say he’s not sure what he can do, but he knows what he will do to retain the championship.
Again, either way it works, and it makes sense. The introduction of the mask on last week’s “Moment of Bliss” opened the door for this sort of scenario. I hope it happens.
Where the feud goes from there depends on emerges victorious at SummerSlam. However, none of the above happens if Strowman becomes another Kane and loses his first title defense.
For a “Monster among Men,” a loss the Wyatt at Money in the Bank will only reinforce to fans that not only is Strowman a transitional champion, but a fill-in who probably wouldn’t have won a World Championship without extenuating circumstances.
WWE can avoid all this if they just have Strowman win strong.