AEW: Why There Is No Need To Make Braun Strowman All Elite

As the latest round of WWE personnel cuts came down the news pipeline in early June, a lot of wrestling fans were left stunned by some of the names that were on this list of talent that WWE was releasing.  Among the notable names were Aleister Black, Ruby Riott, Buddy Murphy, and Lana.  But perhaps the most surprising name on the list was none other than the “Monster Among Men”, Braun Strowman.

While the other released stars are all talented, none of them had really found their niche in WWE and had only achieved at best, very moderate success within the promotion.

Braun Strowman was different though. Strowman is a former Universal, Intercontinental, and Raw Tag Team Champion.  He has the size and strength that Vince McMahon normally salivates over because as the old adage goes, you can’t teach size.

But on June 2nd Strowman and this talented group of performers were given their walking papers by the WWE.  And of course, the buzz among wrestling fans was all about where these released stars might end up working next.

And with Braun Strowman being the most decorated and successful performer of this group, much of the focus was put on his next destination.  Wrestling legend, Mick Foley even weighed in on Twitter, saying that Strowman was a “can’t miss signing” for AEW.

And while Mr. Foley has already forgotten more about the landscape of professional wrestling than I will ever know, I wholeheartedly disagree with the hardcore legend.  I feel like AEW should pass on bringing in Braun Strowman.

AEW signing Braun Strowman would be a mistake.

Given Strowman’s experience and credentials coupled with the fact that AEW lets the performers have a lot of say in the creativity of their character, it is very likely that Braun Strowman would want to come in and be pushed to the top of the card almost immediately.

Strowman’s arrival in the promotion would undoubtedly bring some new viewers with it.  But those few thousand more views would not be worth the tradeoff for the damage done by not pushing some of the monsters already on the AEW roster.

AEW already has a good number of big men, many of which are more talented than Braun Strowman.  Lance Archer, Brian Cage, Miro, and Luchasaurus are all much more versatile in the wrestling ring than Strowman has thus far shown himself to be.

Jake Hager, while the most underwhelming big man on the AEW roster, has a very real undefeated MMA record that helps to enhance and bring credibility to his character.

And let’s not forget about Wardlow.  Wardlow is a star in the making.  He is Diesel to MJF’s Shawn Michaels.  And when the time is right AEW will capitalize on the long-term storytelling of their relationship to turn Wardlow into a babyface.

And it will work because MJF is such a good heel that anyone opposing him will immediately have the crowd wildly behind them.  Sooner rather than later, Wardlow may very well be one of the most popular performers in AEW.

Braun Strowman joining the ranks in AEW will be putting “another dog at the bowl”, so to speak.  It is one more performer to give weekly opportunities to when said opportunities are already less than plentiful.  And those opportunities should be given to the wealth of talented big men already on the AEW roster.

Another reason that Braun would be better off in another promotion is Miro.  AEW does a really nice job of working with its talent to make sure each performer is unique in their character.  There really aren’t a lot of wrestlers in AEW whose character is too closely duplicated by another, unless part of a tag team.

Strowman’s strength in character is as an intense destroyer.

This is the same role that Miro has just recently started to fill in AEW.  Wrestling fans have waited and clamored for Miro to be used in this role for so long.  Now that it is happening, the last thing the promotion needs to do is water down that role by bringing in someone who is best suited to mirror it.

Part of what makes Miro so great in this role is that it is his alone.  No one else makes his/her entrance with the same intensity as Miro does.  Keeping this trait unique to Miro ensures our investment in his character.  And after a slow start in the promotion, Miro is a red hot heel in AEW.  Why would AEW do anything to jeopardize that?

Look, Braun Strowman can go to a lot of promotions and immediately be in the championship picture.  At 37 years of age, and most likely hungrier than ever to prove himself following his release, I am sure he has a lot left in the tank and would immensely help out a lot of promotions.

AEW’s momentum has increased exponentially since its inception.  And a big reason behind this is that Tony Khan has been very smart about who he brings in and when.  And now is just not the right time for Braun Strowman to become All Elite.