The evolution of Braun Strowman
Braun Strowman is inarguably the hottest thing in WWE right now. Braun Strowman has been the highlight reel of almost any show that he is a part of. However, his journey to the top hasn't been easy. Let's take a look at how has Braun Strowman evolved.
A Rosebud
Considering the monster that he is, it's actually shocking to know that Braun Strowman first made his debut on the main roster as a Rosebud who accompanied former WWE wrestler Adam Rose. He, however, wasn't the only big name who was a Rosebud. Becky Lynch and Simon Gotch too were Rosebuds once.
The Wyatt Family
However, Braun Stowman first came to attention when he attacked Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns on August 24, 2015, as the fourth member of The Wyatt Family. This was an important phase in his career as WWE pushed him as a powerhouse of Wyatt Family. WWE planted the early seeds by having Braun eliminate 5 wrestlers in the Royal Rumble match in 2016 before being eliminated by Brock Lesnar.
Separation from The Wyatt Family
In the 2016 WWE Draft, Braun Strowman was drafted to Raw where as Bray Wyatt and Eric Rowan were drafted to Smackdown Live. This would separate him from the Wyatt family and he would then pursue a singles career. Strowman would start by squashing multiple jobbers including James Ellsworth. This tried and tested method of pushing a monster made everyone aware of Braun Strowman's strength and power.
Feud with Sami Zayn
Braun Strowman's first feud as a singles wrestler was against Sami Zayn. This feud meant a lot for Strowman's career as it took him from squash matches to regular matches. The creatives did a wonderful job in choosing Zayn as he is one the best in-ring wrestlers in WWE. Hence, if there were any shortcomings from Braun's side, Sami would have covered it up for him. Strowman and Zayn fought at Roadblock in a ten-minute time limit match in which Strowman had ten minutes to defeat Zayn. Strowman was unable to beat Sami as Sami almost pulled an upset. A couple of weeks later, Braun defeated Sami in a last man standing match on Raw to end their feud.
In the 2017 Royal Rumble, Braun Strowman eliminated 7 superstars before being eliminated by Baron Corbin.
Feud with Roman Reigns
The feud with Roman Reigns has helped Braun become the star that he is right now. Roman and Braun feuded for the most part of the first half of 2017. Together, they put on a series of amazing matches and spots. However, what really helped Braun was the polarizing reaction of fans towards Roman Reigns. Despite being the babyface in the feud, Roman Reigns often received negative reactions from the crowd. This made them cheer Braun more and more. By the time their feud was over, Braun Strowman was legit over with the crowd despite being a heel.
The main event scene
At Summerslam 2017, Braun Strowman faced Lesnar along with Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe in a losing effort.
Despite the loss, Braun was simply the shining star of the match which received 4.75 stars from Dave Meltzer. Strowman challenged Lesnar at No Mercy in another losing effort. He faced The Shield at TLC PPV teaming with The Miz, Kane and The Bar. During the match, his teammates turned on him and put him through a garbage truck. He made his return a week later attacking The Miz and Miztourage.
At Survivor Series 2017, Raw defeated Smackdown with Braun Strowman and Triple H being the sole survivors. In the match, he eliminated Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton. After the match, he attacked Triple H who had turned on team captain Kurt Angle.
For now, Braun Strowman is involved in a feud with Kane. However, considering how strongly WWE has booked Braun, he is a strong contender to win the 2018 Royal Rumble. I believe Braun Strowman is a better choice to beat Brock Lesnar rather than Roman at Wrestlemania 34.
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