WWE News: Braun Strowman Admits Having Backstage Heat After Receiving Big Main Event Push

Since breaking out as a singles star after last year’s brand draft, Braun Strowman has become one of Monday Night Raw’s biggest stars. But it wasn’t always smooth sailing for the “Monster Among Men,” as he admitted in a recent interview that he got some backstage heat for getting a main event push despite being a relative newcomer to the business.

Speaking to Pro Wrestling Illustrated (c/o Sportskeeda) for the publication’s February 2018 issue, Strowman didn’t hold back when he said that there were some wrestlers who felt it was unfair that he was getting so much attention so early on in his WWE career, despite not spending years in the independent wrestling scene like many of his colleagues did.

“Yeah, there was a little bit of animosity, I could tell,” said Braun Strowman, explaining his previous backstage heat.

“But, you know, this is a great place. It’s a great company to work for. And I won everyone over because of how hard I worked, putting my body on the line and doing everything I can to get better – listening, watching other matches, watching the whole entire show.”

Strowman did not name any specific wrestlers, but made mention of some “guys who had been working years and years and years” to earn their spot being among those who allegedly resented his main event push. But he explained that he had paid his share of dues on his part, having worked for several years in the strongman circuit before WWE spotted him and offered him a chance to work for the company.

Braun Strowman signed a WWE contract in 2013, and after just a few months competing in the developmental promotion NXT, he made his main roster debut in 2015 as the newest member of The Wyatt Family. Yet it was only after he left the faction that he became a big star, as he rose to prominence as a singles wrestler in the second half of 2016, after being drafted to the Monday Night Raw brand.

Although Braun Strowman claims to have had some backstage heat and to have dealt with veterans who didn’t appreciate his quick rise to the top of the card, he recently received praise from one of WWE’s most tenured performers, a man whom he happens to be in a storyline rivalry with on Monday Night Raw. In an interview with the Times of India, Kane said that Braun is “doing a great job” as one of Raw’s biggest names, and is on his way to having a standout WWE career. He also predicted that Strowman will one day rank as “one of the [greatest] big men” in wrestling history at some point in the future.

[Featured Image by WWE]