41-year-old could be a surprise challenger for Cody Rhodes' title, WWE veteran predicts (Exclusive)
Cody Rhodes has held the Undisputed WWE Championship since defeating Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL on April 7. Vince Russo, WWE's head writer in the late 1990s, would not be surprised if Braun Strowman emerges as a possible challenger for The American Nightmare.
On September 30, Strowman defeated Bronson Reed in a Last Monster Standing Match on RAW. In Rhodes' latest bout, he teamed up with Reigns to defeat Jacob Fatu and Solo Sikoa at Bad Blood on October 5.
Russo said on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Writing With Russo that Strowman has lost credibility due to poor booking over the years. However, he still thinks the 41-year-old is a realistic opponent for SmackDown's Rhodes if a cross-promotional match can be arranged:
"Bro, he could be an opponent for Cody," Russo said. "I mean, that's the way they're booking now, bro. They're just throwing people in there. You could definitely get a pay-per-view match out of him and Cody." [7:38 – 7:55]
Even if Strowman faces Rhodes in a high-profile match, Russo thinks WWE's creative team might struggle to make fans care:
"When a character has had so much damage done to them, bro, there's nothing you can do. You can't make that stank disappear and [say], 'Okay, bro, we're gonna start new.'" [9:21 – 9:34]
In the video above, Russo revealed a rumor he recently heard about Stephanie McMahon's secret WWE role.
Vince Russo says Braun Strowman "doesn't mean anything" in WWE
In 2015, Braun Strowman began making a name for himself as a Wyatt Family member. After breaking out as a singles competitor in 2016, the RAW talent looked on course to become WWE's top star many times. However, he struggled to maintain his place at the top of the card.
Vince Russo believes Strowman's history of stop-start pushes caused him to lose popularity with fans:
"Bro, you can get away with that, Chris, if out of the shoot you've made some booking mistakes. Bro, you can't get away from that if it's years and years and years. So, my answer is, bro, there's nothing you can do. They've done too much damage to that character where he doesn't mean anything." [9:35 – 9:59]
In 2020, Strowman captured his first world title when he defeated Goldberg at WrestleMania 36 to win the Universal Championship. He received his release in 2021 before returning a year later after Triple H became the company's creative figurehead.
Do you think Braun Strowman vs. Cody Rhodes is a good idea? Hit the Discuss button and let us know.
Please credit Writing With Russo and embed the video if you use quotes from this article, giving an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.