Back in 2020, after several years of failed attempts, Braun Strowman finally became a world champion in WWE. At WrestleMania 36, the “Grandest Stage of Them All”, he defeated multi-time world champion, Hall of Famer, and legend of the business, Goldberg. He would hold the title all the way from WrestleMania to Summerslam, before dropping it to his former leader, Bray Wyatt. On paper, that all sounds great, winning the title on a big show, defeating a big name, and holding it for several months before dropping it to someone he had a history with. However, his reign was an absolute disaster, and one of the worst Universal Title reigns to date – so how did it all go so badly wrong?
Strowman Should Have Won The Title Years Earlier
In 2016, Braun Strowman was drafted away from the Wyatt Family faction and began his journey as a singles star on Raw. Initially, he screamed of another likely big man project which would fail, but he improved at an alarming rate, very quickly becoming a huge threat on the show, and having entertaining feuds. Notably, his rivalry with Roman Reigns turned him into perhaps the most over superstar in the entire company, with his gimmick being an unpredictable monster who achieved enormous feats of strength.
He was on an absolute tear, main eventing Summerslam, and eventually found himself going head-to-head with Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar, at No Mercy 2017. This was the perfect place for WWE to pull the trigger, as he had a world of momentum. However, he would lose, and rather decisively. Over the following months, he was given some big moments, but he lost time and time again, eventually turning face due to his popularity. He would become a joke at times, for example, teaming with a child to win the Tag Titles.
A Money in the Bank victory but failure to cash in, turning heel to form a lackluster stable in which his mic skills were clearly not up to scratch, being shunned from the WrestleMania main card, randomly turning face again, and an underwhelming IC Title reign were all factors into his momentum becoming non-existent, and his aura was diminishing. The moment for Strowman to become champion had passed, and fans weren’t on board with him as much.
Strowman’s Championship Win Came Out Of Nowhere
However, due to the circumstances of the pandemic, WrestleMania 36 in 2020 was forced to take place in an empty building, and Roman Reigns pulled out of the show, with Strowman chosen as a last-minute replacement to face Goldberg for the Universal Title. In an awful, two-minute match where the pair traded finishers, Strowman finally won the big one. It was anti-climactic, there was no build, and the match was hard to watch, but Strowman finally got his moment.
His proceeding reign suffered tremendously though, and a big part of that was due to it being two years after he should have won the title for the first time. The title win was only brought about due to several different issues that came into play, so in a way, it didn’t feel like a legitimate title win. That could have been rectified with a strong run as champion though, but WWE’s booking was poor. Strowman was booked as a babyface, with by-the-book promos, fighting for what’s right, and it didn’t fit in with the otherwise hectic nature of his character. An example of this “top babyface” promo style not fitting, was during the hit-and-run angle in which Jeff Hardy was framed for drink-driving, with Strowman being interviewed straight after.
Strowman’s Title Feuds Were Poor
Things were not helped when Strowman’s first feud was against the team of The Miz and John Morrison, with the rivalry consisting of the heels pulling pranks on the champion, as they were giggling and cackling like children, and Strowman went on a rampage. However, by that point, Strowman’s antics felt forced, and the feats of strength were not as impressive anymore. He would defeat them both with ease at Backlash.
Then came his feud with Bray Wyatt, which had a strong story at the heart of it, due to their previous alliance, but the matches were terrible. Their “Swamp Fight” at Extreme Rules was one of the worst cinematic matches put forth by WWE, with lengthy monologues, random nonsense, and awful acting. Their follow-up main event at Summerslam was a heartless brawl, with Wyatt’s “Fiend” gimmick at a low in terms of momentum. Their main event only served one purpose, and that was to host the return of Roman Reigns, who would attack both men after the match, in which Wyatt won. Strowman wasn’t helped by this reign as champion, and in fact, it probably hurt him more in the long run. It was the wrong time and place for him to be crowned champion, but the reign itself was booked horrendously anyway.