Some fans thought that a Braun Strowman WWE return was likely, but learn was the former WWE Champion is doing now!
One of the biggest names released by WWE during the cuts of the last two years has been Braun Strowman. The Monster Among Men dominated WWE in the five years since he debuted in 2015. He has had huge matches against top stars including Bill Goldberg, Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns and has wowed fans all across the WWE Universe.
The world was shocked when in June 2021 Braun Strowman was released from his WWE contract. It was one of many waves of released the WWE put on during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was one of the biggest names alongside the likes of Bray Wyatt and Keith Lee whose contract with WWE were terminated due to “budget cuts”.
It has been over six months since Braun Strowman’s WWE departure. He has kept himself busy since then, but there is always the chance for a Braun Strowman WWE return in the future, with the WWE lacking the star power in the main event scene.
Braun Strowman WWE return
Life after WWE
Fans were shocked at Braun Strowman’s WWE departure, but some felt little sympathy for his plight. He had previously stirred up controversy during his time in WWE by critisising independent wrestlers who were affected by the global pandemic. In an Instagram post, he chastised Independent wrestlers for asking for handouts in the wake of the pandemic shutting down the country and forcing them to stop working.
Strowman’s Instagram post said:
“Here we go with more of the somebody pay for my bills stuff. If you can’t afford to pay your bills maybe you should change professions. That’s why I quit strongman. I loved it, but I couldn’t afford to live so instead of making a go fund me or a Patreon wanting someone else to take care of me I went out and worked harder than I ever have in my life to get to where I am. What happened to being accountable for your own actions????!!!”
This outburst drew particular ire toward Strowman, as he had never wrestled as an independent wrestler. He was a former strongman and bodybuilder who came through the WWE developmental system, and never had to make a living in wrestling outside of the WWE bubble.
So, when he was released by WWE, many fans had little sympathy, and many others felt enjoyment from the fact. However, it did not stop Strowman from forging his own career on the independent scene, with one eye on a Braun Strowman WWE return down the line.
“Control Your Narrative” and ROH
After his release from WWE, many saw Braun Strowman signing for the next biggest company in pro-wrestling, AEW. However, Tony Khan had little interest in the monster and wanted to keep a united roster in lieu of Strowman’s previous comments surrounding indie wrestlers (of which many wrestled in AEW).
Soon after becoming a free agent, Braun Strowman (under his real name Adam Scherr) teamed up with EC3 to help form the new daring promotion called “Control your narrative”. The promotion was a new, edgy take on professional wrestling with it’s own unique ruleset. It had a fight-club like feel to it, with the first two rules of the promotion being “You are in control!”
Control Your Narrative Rules
- 1st rule: You are in control.
- 2nd rule: YOU ARE IN CONTROL!
- 3rd rule: Fights end when you tap out, get knocked out, can’t stand, or quit. Sanctioned “matches” can end via pinfall.
- 4th rule: Standard “professional wrestling” rules apply for sanctioned “matches.” Chaos ensues in the PROJECT PIT.
- 5th rule: No #Superkicks. No #TopeSuicidas. No #CanadianDestroyers.
- 6th rule: The fight isn’t with your opponent. It is with yourself.
- 7th rule: Fights will go on as long as they have to. Sanctioned “matches” HIT THEIR TIMES.
- 8th rule: If you want to #ControlYourNarrative, you have to fight.
These rules made the promotion distinct, although allegations of a Nazi or fascist presence soon gave the promotion a lot of press in the wrong way. These claims were never proven however and the promotion still remains to this day.
Control Your Narrative is probably most famous for it’s “Dark Match”. In wrestling, a Dark Match is a match that takes place before a televised show and is only seen by the fans. It gives wrestlers the opportunity to test out their skills without the pressure of live TV.
However, in CYN the match was literally in the dark. All the lights were turned off and neither the fans not the wrestlers could see anything. It was largely pointless but ultimately hilarious.
If Braun Strowman does return to WWE, lets hope he doesn’t bring his version of the “dark match” back to Vince McMahon. Otherwise he may not last long in the company.
He also made an appearance at the Ring of Honor Pay Per View Final Battle. He appeared at the end of the show to attack Eli Isom, Dak Draper and Brian Johnson with the help of fellow CYN wrestlers EC3 and Wesley Blake.
However, since then Tony Khan purchased the company and gutted the company of the bulk of it’s roster. ROH had a soft reset and changed nearly all of their champions. At the next ROH pay per view Supercard of Honor XV, he was nowhere to be seen and presumed to be not signed to the company.
Back to WWE
A Braun Strowman WWE return looks like the most likely thing that could happen for the star, should Vince McMahon decide to bring back the giant.
WWE have an obsession with giants, trying to recreate the success of Andre the Giant and Big Show with more 7 foot tall superstars. However, in recent years they have gone through many flops who haven’t show the ability that the two legendary giants showed early on in their career.
Over the past few years, huge WWE wrestlers like Great Khali, Big Cass, Omos and Commander Azeez have all tried and failed to live up to the lofty expectations of those that came before. Only one of them won a world championship (the Great Khali) but none of them showed that they could be a main event talent in the ring.
For all his flaws, Braun Strowman in WWE did show he could be a top star. During his matches with Roman Reigns he became one of the most over wrestlers in the company. It was a travesty that after that feud he did not beat Brock Lesnar, although he did later win the Universal Championship, long overdue.
His World Title victory came at the expense of WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg. Braun Strowman was a late replacement for Roman Reigns, who missed out on the match due to the COVID pandemic, at Wrestlemania 36 and defeated Goldberg for the Universal Championship.
He should have won more World Championships in his WWE career. However, he did also manage to win the WWE Tag Team Championship and the WWE Intercontinental Championship during his career, and would definitely slot immediately into the world title picture should Braun Strowman return to WWE.
With Roman Reigns heading to Hollywood and Cody Rhodes injured for months, the opportunity is ripe for Braun Strowman to become a top star again in WWE. A surprise Money in the Bank return for the former Mr Money in the Bank could be used to catapult him into the world title picture, and become the third ever two-time MITB winner (after CM Punk and Edge).
Would you like to see a Braun Strowman WWE return? Let us know if you’d like to see him return to the company and maybe even be the man to dethrone Roman Reigns as the undisputed World Champion of the WWE.
Bring strowman back