Braun Strowman has come through the ranks in WWE over the past year. After being drafted out of The Wyatt Family last summer, Strowman has finally come into his own on Monday Night Raw.
The Monster Among Men has his sights set on Roman Reigns at FastLane in a few weeks time. Over the past couple weeks, he has proved that he is the real monster in WWE by brushing aside Mark Henry and spearing Goldberg.
Braun is definitely being built up as the new monster in the company, but because of how quickly he has risen to the challenge in WWE, there isn't a lot known about the big man.
Braun is seemingly a private superstar and given that he doesn't use Social Media very often, it is hard for fans to follow him and his life outside of the company.
Ahead of what could be a huge victory for Braun and then his first WrestleMania one-on-one match, here are 15 facts about Braun Strowman that every WWE fan needs to know.
15 15. He Helped Enzo When He Broke His Leg
Enzo told the story of when he broke his leg down in NXT when he and Cass joined Stone Cold on his podcast. Enzo stated that he was in a match when it happened and didn't fully realize it was broke until afterward.
By this point, Enzo was being told that he needed to go to the hospital and he refused an ambulance as he didn't want people to make a fuss. Instead, Braun Strowman carried Enzo out to the car so that he could be driven to the hospital. The two men were working together in NXT at the time and have remained good friends ever since, even currently working on the Raw roster together. So, it seems that Enzo doesn't only have one giant as back-up anymore.
14 14. He Debuted As Braun Stowman But WWE Changed It When He Joined The Wyatt Family
Braun Strowman made his NXT debut on December 19, 2014 when he defeated current SmackDown Tag Team Champion Chad Gable at an NXT Live show. He then went on to have just eight matches over the next few months as he prepared himself for a call-up with The Wyatt Family.
He was known as Braun Stowman when he debuted in NXT, but this was then changed to Strowman when he joined forces with Luke Harper, Erick Rowan and Bray Wyatt. It is unknown why WWE made the name change or even why the "r" makes that much of a difference. He has seemingly had much more success on the main roster since the name change, which means it was obviously a good idea, right?
13 13. He Was Once Fat Shamed By WWE Fans
WWE Superstars gain plenty of attention from WWE fans, which in turn translates to merchandise sales. At times, the attention is unwanted and Braun was the victim of trolling attempts that called him fat, following his main roster debut with The Wyatt Family back in 2016.
Strowman took it with a pinch of salt before responding that he had just weighed himself and he was only 377 pounds, attaching a picture that showed his muscles. It is worth noting that WWE actually bills Braun at 385 pounds right now. It is possible that Braun has gained a couple of pounds over the past few months but it's more likely that WWE is inflating figures again.
12 12. He Is Unpinned On Raw
Braun Strowman was drafted to Monday Night Raw back in July and he has since remained unpinned on the weekly show ever since. Seven months later, Braun has still yet to be kept down on the mat for a three count.
Braun has come close, though, he failed to defeat Sami Zayn in ten minutes when they faced each other at RoadBlock: End of the line last year. At Survivor Series, he was eliminated by count-out after he tried to make it back to the ring in time as James Ellsworth held back his legs. A seven-month unpinned run is incredible for someone that has only been on the main roster for a few years, but it will be interesting to see if that all ends at FastLane in a few weeks time.
11 11. He Has Never Wrestled For An Indy Promotion
The 16-time Champion and undisputed face of WWE John Cena has never wrestled for an Independent promotion before either. Cena made his debut back in 2002 a time when the business was completely different. Strowman literally made the switch from being a Strongman competitor to a professional wrestler. He signed for WWE in May 2013 and made his debut in December 2014. This means that as an untrained wrestler walking into the Performance Centre back in 2013, it took him just over a year to earn his craft and be able to be put into a sanctioned match. That is a remarkable record, perhaps we have been forgetting to give Braun Strowman the respect he deserves.
10 10. James Ellsworth Debuted Against Braun
Braun Strowman went through many squash matches when he was first drafted over to Raw to build up his credibility as a single competitor. One of the competitors who came up against Braun was James Ellsworth—who was obviously defeated—but it seems that because the WWE Universe took a likening to James. WWE hired Ellsworth and sent him over to SmackDown. James and Braun crossed paths again when Team Raw faced Team SmackDown at Survivor Series. It was James that allowed Braun to be eliminated and helped Team SmackDown win the match, which means that technically James got his revenge in the end. Of course, at the end of the day, Strowman is going to go much farther in WWE than Ellsworth who is essentially on his way to nowhere.
9 9. He Had Some Funny Nicknames Over The Years
Braun currently has an incredible nickname on WWE TV as "The Monster Among Men" but it seems that Strongman competitions didn't have the same creative forces that WWE does.
During his time on the Strongman circuit, Braun was known as "Big Country" since he looked like a lumberjack who had just walked out of the woods. He was also known as "Mansquatch" which is a play on words because Sasquatch is a mythical hairy beast, so Strowman was basically considered to be the human form of this. Given the way he looks, both these names make sense and they don't seem to have bothered Strowman throughout his career as a Strongman either. Any nicknames that the WWE Universe can give to him will literally mean nothing at all to him.
8 8. He Is Much Better On The Mic Than WWE Realizes
Given that Braun is currently portraying an unbeatable monster, there is no reason why he should be delivering lengthy promos. However, if WWE looks back into Braun's history, they will see that he has actually already shown that he possesses natural charisma on the mic.
Many interviews with Braun can be found on Youtube from when he was part of Strongman competitions after he had brushed aside the competition, it seems that he finds it easy to talk when he isn't in character. Whether he's trying to portray a character that he's not yet comfortable with or it's just that WWE hasn't given him a proper chance on the mic yet, are different arguments, but we can expect big things from Braun in the future.
7 7. He Has Been Wrestling For Less Than Three Years
Braun Strowman made his in-ring debut on the 19th of December 2014, which means that he has only been wrestling for a little over two years. It is obvious that when Braun steps in the ring, he isn't going to be flying around and showing off some innovative movement.
It makes sense when Braun does wrestle that it is all about power and strength which means that he only has to concentrate on safely delivering moves while he's still on his feet. Working with The Wyatt Family has definitely helped him when it came to learning the craft and delivering promos, but for a man that has only been wrestling for two and a half years, Braun is doing quite well dominating the Raw roster.
6 6. He Is Actually A Lovely Guy Backstage
Braun is referred to as The Monster Among Men and his character is quite a ruthless person when it comes to other people or anyone who gets in his way, but it is reassuring to known that Braun isn't actually like that backstage.
Braun has been seen talking about nutrition and his healthy lifestyle to others, sharing many of his tips. Paige also commented on an episode of Ride Along that if she had a choice, she would marry Braun Strowman because he is her banter buddy. Probably not something WWE would want to get out about Braun, considering the fact that they're trying to build him up as a heartless monster. But at least the man behind the character seems much more approachable than he is.
5 5. Three Count
So many WWE Superstars have decided to move into acting after their career is over, mostly because the transition is quite easy. It seems that Braun Strowman had acting experience before he came to WWE and actually starred in a film.
Strowman can be seen in a film called Three Count, which is only 50 minutes long and is actually available to view for free on Youtube. The film looks like a very roughly filmed and edited piece, but it shows that Strowman is multi-talented. Strowman is much younger and hairier in the clips that have been shown of the film. It's probably no surprise that WWE was looking to hire him when you combine his bodybuilding career and acting experience, which is basically a golden ticket to WWE.
4 4. The Wyatt Family: Mistake Or Right Move?
Many of the WWE Universe consider this to have been a huge mistake, but Braun Strowman's first storyline on the main roster was when he joined The Wyatt Family. This meant that Bray's family remained undefeated whenever Braun was present, and he has maintained his undefeated streak since being drafted to RAW.
The Wyatt Family was a good stepping stone for Braun Strowman, but now that he's left them behind, he seems as though he is a much better character on his own. It seemed like a good idea to add him to the group in the beginning, but WWE was trying to build a monster while he was part of a group, and it didn't work out very well for him. Luckily, that's changed now.
3 3. He Used To Compete In Strongman Competitions
It probably comes as no surprise, given how easily Strowman throws around his opponents in the ring, but before Braun Strowman began his WWE career back in 2012, he used to compete in Strongman competitions starting in 2009 up until the end of 2012.
Braun won the Arnold Amateur Strongman Championships in March 2012, which earned him an invitation to the Championships the following year. Strowman won his first Strongman competition back in 2011 when he won the NAS US Amateur National Championships. He continued to compete throughout 2012 before he made the switch over to professional wrestling. His other accolades include Monster of the Midland Champion in 2010, Central GA Strongest Man in 2011, Summerfest Strongman Champion in 2011 and West Carry Fall Festival of Power Champion also in 2011.
2 2. He Started Off In WWE As A Rosebud
Many WWE Superstars were given their first taste of WWE TV by being part of Adam Rose's Exotic Express back in 2015. Stars like Becky Lynch, James Ellsworth, and Nikki Cross all accompanied Adam Rose to the ring for their first TV appearances when being a Rosebud was considered cool. Strowman is another star who was part of this as well.
There was never a mention of the fact that Braun had already been on WWE TV before he joined Wyatt's cult, and the WWE Universe were left to make their own decisions about his origins. He appeared many times with Rose dressed in all different disguises, and it is thought that this was WWE's way of allowing many rookie wrestlers to experience their first few minutes in front of a crowd without any pressure.
1 1. He Has A Tinder Account
Not really something WWE would have been happy about, but much like everything else that is supposed to stay personal in WWE, Braun Strowman's Tinder account was leaked to the WWE Universe.
The page was leaked back in 2016 and it shows Braun sitting in a stream of some kind under his own name of Adam. He is listed as a 33-year-old male who likes to lift weights and eat steaks. Once again, he also lists himself as 375lbs, which is slightly lighter than WWE bills him. Strowman and WWE haven't commented on this at all considering the fact that it's Braun's private life. There isn't much WWE should actually be able to say about it, other than next time use an app where he won't be as recognizable?