What exactly stops Braun Strowman from reaching the top of WWE?

Braun Strowman may be a former WWE World Champion and a legitimate attraction in the company. But he has yet to cement himself as the top star he could potentially be.

When Strowman emerged in WWE, the new black sheep of the Wyatt Family, he appeared to be the latest edition of a number of titans Vince McMahon was trying to cultivate. Lumbering and slow, lacking in any discernable quality other than raw size. However, following the 2016 brand split, Strowman benefitted from multiple enhancement matches as a highlight on RAW weekly. Perhaps with the help of James Ellsworth, whose performance in their segment was so memorable, he picked up a deal with the company. Nonetheless, he had become one of the faces of Red Brand throughout the second half of 2016.

His feud with Roman Reigns in 2017 served only to strap a rocket on his popularity. Birthing his signature “I’m not finished with you” catchphrase and committing himself to herculean acts of violence towards the Big Dog week in and week out. He was by far the hottest star in a Universal title picture consisting of the champion, Brock Lesnar, and challengers Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe. Alas, Roman had been anointed the heir to Lesnar and WWE would never capitalize on Strowman’s popularity, even as the best opportunity presented itself at SummerSlam 2017.

From there, it just appeared that Braun was on the cusp of a prize he was never due. He squashed the RAW tag division on his way to WrestleMania, winning the titles alongside a literal child, Nicholas, at the Show of Shows. Realizing he couldn’t in fact defend the belts alongside Nicholas as he would have school and the other commitments that go with being a literal child, Strowman’s first title reign in WWE was over after a day. He would go on to win the only Greatest Royal Rumble in history, another title he would win and then have nothing to do with after that day. Then he became Mr. Money in the Bank, seemingly confirming he would one day capture the title.

He failed his eventual cash-in before playing second fiddle as Seth Rollins’ RAW tag title-winning partner in 2019, as well as another accolade in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. But he was night and day from the Monster he had risen to become two years prior. Even when he won the Universal title at WrestleMania in 2020, it was to kick off the Pandemic era as a last-ditch replacement for Roman Reigns. He was the literal second choice to Roman once again, and besides the match with Goldberg did little to excite the fans stuck watching from home.

He dropped out of the Universal title picture when Roman returned later that year and then had a forgettable time on RAW until his release in 2021. In theory, Strowman should have been a mega-attraction on the independent circuit. But considering he had taken it upon himself to punch down on the workhorse circuit previously, it was very hard to see where he could go.

Sure enough, his independent appearances were reduced to an appearance in EC3’s Free The Narrative II: The Monster in Us All, which kick-started the head-scratching promotion Control Your Narrative. He made an appearance in ROH Final Battle prior to the company’s hiatus last year, but that went no further following Tony Khan’s acquisition and he has since returned to WWE after Triple H assumed leadership.

And yet he feels nowhere near the level he was five years ago. But what truly gets in his way? Has he been let down by stop-start booking? Most definitely. Could Vince have called an audible and strapped up the monster when he was at his most popular? Of course. But Braun has every chance of reaching the top of WWE once again. Despite this, he continues to let himself down on a personal level. Just like he seemingly eliminated his chances on the independent circuit, he has abrasively rubbed people the wrong way since returning to the company.

After an admittedly impressive outing against rival colossus, Omos, at the Crown Jewel event this year. Braun launched into a bizarre stretch of digs at “flippy” wrestlers which was all well and good but he shares a locker room with some of the stars that had taken exception to his words. The so-called beast known as “Social Media Braun” in Fightful Select‘s reporting of his backstage heat awoke once again.

It appears to have stunted Braun once again too. Despite being clearly positioned as a challenger to GUNTHER‘s Intercontinental title and thus a favorite to win the SmackDown World Cup. He was surprisingly eliminated by the flippiest of flippy wrestlers in Ricochet who would go on to take the trophy and title shot home last week.

So to emulate Vince’s words after the Montreal Screwjob, what if Braun Strowman is screwing over Braun Strowman?

The fact of the matter is that less is more. The less Strowman talked, the more popular he was. The whole allure of “I’m not finished with you” outside of its meme potential was the mere fact he was at-time a man of little words. The man is a leviathan, capable of moving like someone half his size, and a genuine monster attraction. But there is a reason they don’t hand Jason Vorhees lines of Quentin Tarantino dialog, monsters don’t speak. That can be even more the case when it happens that your words hold you back.