WWE Rumor Roundup - Big star played a role in Braun Strowman's release, Vince McMahon's promise to Lana, Former Champion demands power to veto losses (6th June 2021)
It's time for another edition of the daily WWE Rumor Roundup, and it's safe to say that the wrestling world is still not completely over the recent spree of WWE releases.
We have all the latest updates on Braun Strowman's status and everything that contributed to the superstar's shocking WWE release. In addition, backstage details regarding the promises made to two different recently released superstars have also come to light.
Andrade finally made his big move as he debuted on the most recent episode of AEW Dynamite, and we have all the notes regarding the demands he made before signing a deal.
WWE also announced the location of SummerSlam not too long ago, and all the rumors regarding the proposed matches for the pay-per-view event have also been covered in today's lineup.
On that note, here is the latest WWE Rumor Roundup:
#5. Details on Braun Strowman's WWE release, possible replacements, and more
Braun Strowman was inarguably the biggest name to have been featured on the list of released talents. The Monster Among Men is a legitimate main event star who tasted world championship success in WWE and was yet to truly blossom as a genuinely diverse character.
Braun Strowman's WWE exit is one of the most significant talking points, and several factors ultimately convinced the company to let him go.
During a recent Wrestling Observer Radio episode, Dave Meltzer explained why Omos' rise as RAW's 'big guy' affected Braun Strowman's standing on the roster.
Strowman was WWE's go-to monster on RAW, but Omos' arrival instantly resulted in a powershift amongst the giants. Standing at 7 foot 3 inches, Omos is taller than Strowman and a more physically imposing giant on the Red brand.
Omos essentially took Braun Strowman's position on RAW, and the former Universal Champion's uniqueness ceased to exist. WWE has Commander Azeez over at SmackDown, making it extremely difficult for Strowman to continue his run as WWE's top big guy, even on the Blue brand.
"All of a sudden, Braun Strowman at a legitimate 6 foot 6 when you got Omos, who is the new toy who is 7 foot 3…Braun Strowman's big thing was that he had size and power, and now they are going with a new giant. He can't be the giant anymore when you got this guy who is legitimately 9 inches taller than him. Granted, Strowman's got the big body and everything like that, but you can only do the giant thing when you're the giant of the company on the brand, but he isn't that guy anymore. Like with Big Show. If you remember with Big Show, when Strowman came, Big Show was obsolete. They put Big Show in there Strowman to get Strowman over because Big Show was a good enough worker and had pretty good matches with Strowman," said Dave Meltzer.
Meltzer also spoke about a possible Omos vs. Strowman angle which we sadly never got to witness. It was noted that Strowman could have put Omos over on his way out, but the match would not have been of the highest quality.
"The problem is Omos is not as good as Strowman and Strowman is not close to as good as Big Show and so the big thing, under other circumstances, if they were gonna make this cut, they would book Strowman in there with Omos and then have Omos beat him, and they would cut Strowman. The problem is if you think about that…is because [the matches would] absolutely totally s*ck. They got big guys there, you can't be the giant, and he's not versatile enough to be something but the giant monster," said Dave Meltzer.
While Braun Strowman's major WWE contract was also one of the determining factors towards his release, the influx of new mammoth wrestlers affected Strowman's stock as a performer.
"With Strowman (Adam Scherr, 37), who was on a $1.2 million guaranteed deal and had just a few weeks back denigrated all non-WWE wrestling and said he would never work anywhere else, the decision was made because of the feeling he was two years past his peak and he had become obsolete as the roster giant because of Omos on Raw, Commander Azeez on Smackdown, and perhaps Shanky on Raw, being on the main roster who were so much bigger than he is," Meltzer added in the Newsletter.
Braun Strowman recently posted a cryptic tweet hinting towards his post-WWE future, and the 37-year-old star could be preparing to make a big splash once he is free to compete again in September.
Where do you see Braun Strowman going after his non-compete clause ends?