Tag: Braun Strowman

Anyone who didn’t get these hands from Braun Strowman during his last WWE run may have another chance, and soon.

Following up on a Fightful Select report earlier this week that a return for Strowman had been discussed, Mike Johnson of PWInsider says it’s happening, and that the big man will be on hand for the first Raw back in the U.S. after Clash at the Castle.

Former WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman is returning to World Wrestling Entertainment, PWInsider.com has learned.  Multiple WWE sources confirmed this morning Strowman will be at this Monday’s Raw in Kansas City.

Note that being at Raw isn’t necessarily the same thing as being on Raw, but certainly the expectation now is that Strowman could be back on TV within the week.

Strowman last wrestled for WWE 16 months ago, in a Triple Threat match at Backlash for the WWE Championship against Bobby Lashley (who entered and left the match with the title) and Drew McIntyre. While he never captured that particular belt, he did enjoy a stint as Universal Champion, and also held the Intercontinental Championship once and the Raw Tag Team Championship twice.

Though Strowman was often a villainous figure dating back to his introduction as a sheep mask-wearing member of the Wyatt Family, he also worked as a somewhat traditional though surly fan favorite, and managed to connect with crowds in that role as well.

The question now is how Strowman might fit into a WWE landscape that has changed rapidly since he departed. Under the creative guidance of Paul “Triple H” Levesque, there’s been a noted emphasis on the in-ring product over the past few weeks, and Raw, in particular, has had ratings bumps that suggest people are invested in the resurgence.

That said, returning talent has been an important part of the excitement as well, and Strowman may just ride that same wave. It looks like we might not have to wait past the next Raw to find out.

Under the new WWE management team, it seems like anything is possible, particularly when it comes to talent who was once let go returning to the fold. The latest name to circulate? Braun Strowman.

The former WWE Universal Champion was one of the more surprising released wrestlers in recent memory, seemingly going right from upper card status to no longer with the company in June 2021.

(Maybe not even seemingly since his final WWE match was a Triple Threat bout against Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship.)

Strowman has stayed somewhat active in wrestling since then, appearing in Ring of Honor, several indies and forming the Control Your Narrative promotion with fellow ex-WWE wrestler EC3. But considering how over he was with WWE fans for the majority of his time there, it’s likely that many fans have wondered if and when he might make his way back.

According to Fightful Select, a reunion has at least been “pitched or discussed.”

People of influence in WWE would not confirm when asked by Fightful, but also didn’t deny it.

To reiterate, we can’t confirm that he’s headed back. Only that pitches have been made and that he’s been discussed internally.

Interestingly, the report also suggests Strowman may have played a little too much hardball in his last contract negotiations with WWE. That hits differently in the wake of Johnny Gargano returning to WWE and the “always bet on yourself” theme of his first promo back.

Fightful Select added (following up on an initial report by Wrestling Observer’s Andrew Zarian) that Bronson Reed is another former talent the company has interest in bringing back. Currently wrestling as Jonah, the 34-year-old Australian recently finished up an impressive run in NJPW’s G1 Climax tournament and looks like he could make an immediate impact if given a chance on the main WWE roster.

Time will tell if either of these big men will show up on Raw and SmackDown, but even the chance they might is sure to make people prioritize watching the shows coming out of Clash at the Castle a bit more urgently just in case.