Last week on Monday Night Raw , Braun Strowman delivered a major beating to Roman Reigns and even tipped over the ambulance that he was loaded into. The WWE announced that he suffered internal injuries, cracked ribs, and a separated shoulder. Despite this, Roman Reigns returned four days later to attack Braun Strowman at a WWE house show.
The WWE didn’t just pull off a fast Roman Reigns return, but they had him look almost dominating against the monster Braun Strowman. Reigns had his shoulder taped up, but that was the only way he showed his injury. Roman hit a Superman punch on Braun and then speared him through a table.
While this is the WWE, the fast return for Roman Reigns goes against what one WWE Hall of Fame superstar recommended. In a blog post, Jim Ross said that he loved the angle but had the idea that Roman needed to remain away from action after the Braun Strowman beating.
“Enjoyed the Reigns-Strowman business Monday night on RAW. It felt like an old school, Mid South matter from back in the day. It will be even more effective if Roman Reigns is away for a extended length of time ‘recovering.’”
That looks like something the WWE doesn’t plan to do, with Roman Reigns returning just days after ending up in a hospital with a separated shoulder and other injuries. The shoulder injury itself normally takes an athlete six to eight weeks to return from. However, the next WWE PPV is Payback , which takes place two weeks from now.
The idea right now is for Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman to fight at Payback . The major beating at the hands of Braun Strowman needs to be underplayed to get Roman at the PPV, especially since it will be one of the top matches since WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar won’t be at the show.
The WWE can use the injury angle to play into another part of the upcoming storyline. If Braun Strowman beats Roman Reigns at Payback , the WWE can play it off as Reigns losing because of his injury to keep him strong.
The WWE can then go in one of two directions, and the most likely one is to set up a match between Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman, possibly at the next Monday Night Raw exclusive PPV at Extreme Rules . The next event after that is Bad Blood , which could see Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman fight again.
That leads to SummerSlam , which could see a three-way between Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, and Brock Lesnar. Of course, this is just speculation, but the WWE has to do something to pay off the Braun Strowman attack and the Roman Reigns injuries.
The biggest WWE rumors right now is that they want Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar to be the main event at WrestleMania 33 . The only way for this to work is for Roman to get pushed hard in the next year and that should start with his feud with Braun Strowman.
Vince McMahon has always loved the hero taking on an unstoppable monster, and that is what the WWE seems to be building with Braun Strowman. However, this may not work like Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant from 30 years ago because the WWE fans are refusing to support Roman Reigns, many chanting “you deserve it” as Braun destroyed him on Monday Night Raw last week.
While Jim Ross said that he felt Roman Reigns needed to be held off WWE television to sell the injuries, the fact that he came back at a WWE house show just four days later makes it look like that won’t happen. If Roman shows up tonight on Monday Night Raw , it will be interesting to see the reaction the fans give him.
[Featured Image by WWE]
