Stone Cold Steve Austin recently revealed that he’s concerned about Braun Strowman. Specifically, he’s worried that WWE isn’t using The Monster Among Men correctly.
Austin expressed his thoughts to Wade Keller on a recent episode of The Steve Austin Show. According to Austin, WWE might be doing too much to “humanize” Strowman by making him do comedy routines and putting him in random tag teams. Instead, Austin thinks WWE needs to return Strowman to the brutal “Monster Among Men” that made him popular in the first place.
Here is a portion of Austin’s comments, courtesy of Cageside Seats.
I don’t want to see Braun Strowman do anything funny. The thing with the Nicholas kid? Great spot for the kid, who wouldn’t want to go out there with a WWE Superstar and do something that they did. But with respect to booking Braun… they’re calling him The Monster Among Men, and Get These Hands on ya and all this other stuff. He’s a little bit like Stone Cold but he’s a lot like Braun Strowman. I don’t need to see a 6’8″, 6’9” 330 pound guy make me laugh, make me smile, bring any warmth to my body – I want to see him go out there and destroy and crush people because he’s capable of doing it and because his desire to hold a gold belt is so great that’s what drives him and spurs him on, he’s been a competitor his whole life, so I think you’ve got to book him as a power guy.
Of course, Austin knows a heck of a lot more about the wrestling business than I do, but I gotta say – I disagree with him.
Personality Pays
Austin isn’t wrong that Strowman’s relentless path of destruction is what rocketed him to the top of the Raw roster. But I think his unexpectedly comedic personality is what’s kept him there.
Throughout WWE’s history, stoic and destructive giants have been a dime a dozen. One of them is Universal Champion right now, and we see how well that’s going. Strowman, on the other hand, is a breath of fresh air. The physical comedy and chemistry of Team Little Big was the best thing about the Mixed Match Challenge. The segment where he serenaded Elias before bashing an upright bass over his back was one of the most entertaining things I’ve ever seen. Even when Strowman was nothing but a pure monster his true personality shone through. How could you not laugh at a phrase like “get these hands”?
Of course, I’m not saying that Strowman should always be funny; his path of destruction was incredibly impressive. But in a world where destructive giants are the norm, Strowman is doing something different, and I think the WWE Universe likes that.
Do you agree with Stone Cold Steve Austin? Or do you like Braun Strowman’s current character? Share your thoughts below!