Last month, it was revealed that Braun Strowman and WWE agreed to a new four-year contract, but it sounds like The Monster Among Men was somewhat close to leaving the promotion.

In an interview with Fightful.com, Strowman revealed that his contract was on the verge of expiring before he agreed to the new four-year deal.

"It was just winding down, I had a little over a month left on my contract and we just came to an agreement," Strowman said. "I felt like both sides of the party were happy and we look forward to four more years of people getting these hands."

Not only that, but the 35-year-old superstar was surprised that the news about his four-year pact wasn't leaked beforehand. Strowman said it was "kind of cool" in that he and WWE "were able to keep that hush-hush" before he announced the new contract himself.

WWE has made it a priority to retain as many superstars as possible here since last year. A.J. Styles, Mike and Maria Kanellis, Jinder Mahal, Sasha Banks and Kevin Owens are among the superstars to have signed new contracts.

Related: Braun Strowman Says Blunt Goodbye To Two Stars Teasing WWE Exit

via wwe.com

Strowman was being pushed towards the main event picture last year, winning the 50-man Greatest Royal Rumble and the Men's Money in the Bank ladder match. His push stopped in short time after failing to gain the Universal title, but he's now one half of the Raw Tag Team Champions along Seth Rollins.

It's also been reported that Strowman will face Rollins for the Universal Championship at the upcoming Clash of Champions pay-per-view, so it seems as though he is about to be awarded with another main event run.

What This Means

It's surprising that WWE waited so long to finalize its new contract with Braun Strowman. His main event push had been paused for quite some time, and he could have easily looked to join another promotion like AEW or New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Vince McMahon has made it a priority to retain as many superstars as possible, in hopes of them not leaving for a rival company. At any rate, The Monster Among Men is here to stay for the long run, and his main event push appears to be starting up again.

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