From the WWE Rumor Mill: Reason behind intense spot between Braun Strowman and Drew McIntyre
What’s the story?
On an edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio, a possible reason behind the intense spot featuring Braun Strowman and Drew McIntyre was discussed.
Apparently, the primary reason behind the spot was to get Strowman out of the match and allow the heel team to win. Besides, additional details on the highly-physical segment have also been noted.
In case you didn’t know…
This week’s episode of Monday Night RAW featured a Tag Team match that saw Braun Strowman & Finn Balor compete against Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler.
Toward the end, Strowman & McIntyre were engaged outside the ring, which served as a distraction that enabled Ziggler to attack Balor and pick up the win.
The heart of the matter
It was in the final sequence of the aforementioned matchup that Braun Strowman performed his traditional running tackle spot, something that’s been popularized by him charging Kevin Owens and tackling the latter outside the ring.
While Strowman has performed the spot on Owens on multiple occasions in the past, this past Monday night was the first time the former attacked Drew McIntyre with the very same move, sending McIntyre flying into the Greatest Royal Rumble trophy.
Veteran professional wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer elucidated that there’s indeed a key difference in the physical characteristics of Owens and McIntyre, KO being a softer target, and McIntyre a hard one akin to a wall.
Owing to which, Strowman’s running tackle had a visibly different effect on McIntyre than it did on Owens.
Furthermore, Bryan Alvarez explained that Strowman appeared to have struck McIntyre with the wrong shoulder.
However, the primary goal of the highly-physical spot, which was to take Strowman out of the match in order to allow McIntyre & Ziggler win the match, was successfully accomplished.
What’s next?
The vast majority of professional wrestling experts believe that Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler are set to receive a huge push in the weeks to come on RAW.
Meanwhile, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, and Kevin Owens are set to compete in the Men’s Money In The Bank ladder match that takes place at WWE's Money In The Bank PPV next month.
Author’s take
Kudos to Braun Strowman and Drew McIntyre for their beautiful execution of the dangerous tackle spot.
Strowman and McIntyre’s physicality on this week’s RAW serves as yet another reminder of how much grit and pain-tolerance goes into performing as a WWE Superstar.
Well, the spot undoubtedly helped McIntryre & Ziggler steal the win…and the show on Monday Night RAW.