Early Life & Strongman Career

Adam Scherr was born on September 6, 1983, in Sherrills Ford, North Carolina. During high school, Scherr competed in football, track and field, and amateur wrestling. After graduation, Scherr attended community college and played football semi-professionally for the Hickory Hornets, supplementing his income by working as a mechanic and a doorman.

After attempting a career in the NFL, Scherr turned to strongman competitions. In November 2011, Scherr won the NAS Amateur National Championships and earned his Strongman Corporation Professional Card. He went on to win the Arnold Amateur Strongman Championships in March 2012. Scherr even competed overseas, participating in the Giant Live event in Poland in July 2012.

The Wyatt Family

Braun Strowmn Wyatt Family

In 2013, Scherr signed a contract with WWE. He began training in the WWE Performance Center and soon after adopted the ring name Braun Strowman. He made his in-ring debut at an NXT house show in Jacksonville, Florida, on December 29, 2014, by defeating Chad Gable.

On the August 24, 2015 episode of Raw, Strowman made his main roster debut and joined forces with Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Erick Rowan as the newest member of The Wyatt Family. Strowman had his first televised singles match the following week.

After being separated from the rest of The Wyatt Family during the 2016 WWE draft, Strowman embarked on his career as a singles competitor. He feuded with stars like Roman Reigns, Big Show (Paul Wight) and Brock Lesnar. On June 17, 2018, Strowman won the annual Money in the Bank ladder match and attempted to cash in his contract on WWE Champion Roman Reigns, but came up short.

Universal Championship Reign

Braun Strowman making his entrance as the Universal Champion

In the Summer of 2019, Strowman formed an alliance with the current Universal Champion Seth Rollins. The two of them defeated Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson to become Raw Tag Team Champions on August 19, but only held the titles for about three weeks; the lost them to Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode at Clash of Champions. In the main event that same night, Strowman unsuccessfully challenged his tag partner for the Universal Championship.

Shortly before WrestleMania 36, Roman Reigns pulled out of the main event due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and his immunocompromised status. Strowman served as Roman’s replacement and consequently faced Goldberg for the Universal Championship. On the first night of WrestleMania 26, Strowman defeated Goldberg to become Universal Champion, marking the first world championship win of his pro wrestling career. He held the title until SummerSlam 2020, where he lost the championship to Bray Wyatt.

WWE Departure & Return

Picture of Braun Strowman and Ricochet in WWE

In a shocking turn of events, Strowman was released from WWE on June 2, 2021, despite being a main event star. He then competed as an independent wrestler in Control Your Narrative, a controversial promotion created by EC3. The endeavor was ultimately short-lived.

Fortunately, Strowman was re-signed by WWE on September 1, 2022. He made his return to Raw four days later as a babyface and entered a feud with the heelish Omos. Strowman has also found an unlikely ally in the high-flying phenomenon, Ricochet.