"At that point, it's game over" - How one loss to a big star affected Braun Strowman's WWE career (Exclusive)
Braun Strowman's WWE release is easily the most shocking development in professional wrestling this year.
The unpredictable nature of the business brought upon by the pandemic has jeopardized the jobs of several talents, and even a main-event talent like Strowman couldn't escape the budget cuts.
Braun Strowman, however, was one of WWE's pet projects who was given a lot of time and creative backing to become a prominent face on TV.
The Monster Among Men was also sadly a victim of mind-boggling booking decisions. During the latest edition of Writing with Russo with Dr. Chris Featherstone, Vince Russo revealed one such call that severely affected Braun Strowman's time at the company.
Strowman was built up as a destroyer by WWE since day one, and a dream match against Brock Lesnar seemed inevitable. The Beast Incarnate beat Strowman during their first singles match at No Mercy in 2017.
As explained by Russo, WWE continued building up Strowman until he was presented with another opportunity to beat Brock Lesnar a year later at Crown Jewel 2018.
Roman Reigns was originally slated to defend his Universal title against Brock Lesnar, but an untimely leukemia diagnosis led to his removal from the match.
Strowman replaced Reigns, and the stage was perfectly set for the Monster to avenge his previous loss to Lesnar. The new match was for the vacant Universal Championship, and instead of putting Strowman over, WWE went ahead with the tried-and-tested option of Lesnar winning the belt.
The audience is going to lose faith: Vince Russo on how the loss impacted Braun Strowman's character
Russo was highly critical of Braun Strowman losing to Brock Lesnar that night and noted that it was 'game over' for the giant after the defeat.
The former WWE Head Writer stated that the audience loses faith when a character is booked to take unwanted losses, and that's what transpired in Strowman's case.
"And Chris, do you remember? They built him, they built him, he lost to Lesnar, and then they built him and built him again, and he lost again. Bro, at that point, it's game over. You can get away with that once, but the guy has got to win the comeback! When you build him up again, and it's game over at that point, bro, because the audience is going to lose faith and hope in that character, and that's exactly what happened, bro," Vince Russo stated.
While Braun Strowman experienced several memorable moments throughout his eight-year stint with the WWE, he also had a few questionable losses that hindered his rise in the company.
What do you think? Did WWE make a mistake by having Brock Lesnar beat Braun Strowman at Crown Jewel in 2018?
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