In pro wrestling, you have to strike while the iron is hot. Wait too long... and you're going to have to do a lot of work to get back to that point, and it may be something you can't get back to; the right time may have passed forever.
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WWE is approaching one of those moments with Braun Strowman, and it's something they definitely don't want to miss on.
Strowman debuted on WWE television two years ago as part of the Wyatt Family stable, and at the time, he seems like another stereotypical big guy that was brought up and would eventually fizzle out due to lack of talent.
However, Strowman hasn't fizzled out, as he has instead emerged as one of the biggest stars on WWE's Monday Night RAW. Strowman had been gaining momentum earlier this year, but it was a feud with flagship star Roman Reigns that really elevated Strowman to the next level, as Strowman was given the chance to manhandle Reigns in a way that few people had been given the opportunity to do.
What ways were that? Oh, how about FLIPPING AN AMBULANCE.
Sure, this is pro wrestling, but all the stuff that WWE had to go through to get an ambulance just so they could flip it on its side? And let's not forget that they would wreck an ambulance a few weeks later in another angle that made Strowman look like a million bucks.
Right now, Strowman is getting some of the biggest cheers and reactions of any superstar in WWE right now, and the 6-foot-8 monster is now conveniently in a feud with Universal Champion Brock Lesnar. While Lesnar has been presented as the company's monster attraction for the last five years, that is no longer the case here, as Strowman has been given the upper hand so far by being the one guy that can actually throw Lesnar around the ring for a change.
Listen to that crowd! It's not just a post-SummerSlam crowd either; Strowman has been getting those kind of roars from the WWE faithful for months now, and it's about time that WWE really did something with it...
Like have Strowman pin Lesnar at WWE No Mercy on September 24 to win the title.
No, Strowman doesn't need to lose.
No, there doesn't need to be some DQ finish that sees another superstar run in on the match.
Strowman needs to win this match, he needs to win decisively, and the pay-per-view needs to go off the air with the monster holding the championship. Why? Here's why.
Strowman doesn't benefit from losing to Lesnar
In pro wrestling, you definitely have your matches where a guy looks like a million bucks even in a loss. Just hanging in and enduring against another big star can elevate a guy to the next level, even if he's the guy that took the loss. Steve Austin losing to Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 and Jeff Hardy losing the televised ladder match for the WWE Championship to the Undertaker in 2002 are good examples of this.
That's not going to work for Strowman here.
Strowman has already been elevated to where he's at now by working so much with Roman Reigns. He's already been portrayed as a top guy that can do real damage out there. Eating a pin from Lesnar? That's not going to do anything. Strowman has already been presented as a real threat to Lesnar by throwing him around at SummerSlam and then again on RAW. He doesn't need another "presented as a threat" moment; he needs to finally go all the way and be the guy holding the top title.
The younger Strowman should serve as the natural replacement to Lesnar
Strowman isn't the one-in-a-lifetime athlete that Lesnar is, with Lesnar being the former UFC and NCAA heavyweight champion, as well as him just walking into the NFL and nearly making the Minnesota Vikings roster before an injury derailed his career there.
That being said, Strowman is still quite the athlete on his own, as his movement at 6-foot-8 and a legit 365 pounds is a frightening sight.
[H/T Reddit]
A Strowman win here can still work for WWE's plans for Lesnar vs. Reigns at WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has long been reporting that WWE has been planning to do Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania next year in New Orleans. A title chage at No Mercy doesn't have to change those plans if Vince McMahon is really gung-ho about that match.
No, that doesn't mean that Strowman wins the belt and then drops it right back to Lesnar, either. Barring injury, Strowman's first WWE title reign should at least last a few months to legitimize him as a guy that's going to be wearing that title for years going forward. Doing a quick title change and then having Lesnar win it back in a month or less doesn't do anything for anyone.
Instead, let Strowman win the Universal Championship and hold the title until the Royal Rumble in January. That's when you can restart the Reigns-Strowman program that most people really liked, and let the two have a killer match where Reigns wins the title.
Lesnar should then win the Royal Rumble in the main event of the show, and there you have it, WWE: Reigns vs. Lesnar with Reigns walking in to WrestleMania as the champion. That's not a new idea to have Reigns be the champ heading into Mania, but Reigns successfully defending the title against Lesnar would have the same effect as him winning the title at this point.
Then, of course, you can always go back to Strowman and Reigns at any point in the future with Strowman already being established as an elite guy in WWE. No need to delay things and try to elevate him next year; Strowman's time is now, and hopefully WWE can see that before they miss their opportunity to strike on a guy that should be a real superstar for the next decade.
