Braun Strowman’s ambulance-flipping act appears to be just what the Monster Among Men needed to regain his promising push on Monday Night RAW . While Strowman may have relied on the proverbial smoke and mirrors to pull off his brutal attack on Roman Reigns, the attack did make a huge impact on fans, inspiring petitions from both sides of the coin — those who want him fired and those who wanted WWE to give him a raise . More importantly, it seems to have reestablished Braun as a threat, as reports now suggest he may be due to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship in June or July.
On this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW , Roman Reigns was cutting a backstage interview that ended with a vicious beatdown at the hands of Braun Strowman and an ambulance stunt that, according to Heavy , was substantially gimmicked to allow the monster heel to appear as if he was flipping a 10,000-pound vehicle. According to WrestlingNews.co , this proved to be a very important segment for Strowman, whom many felt looked weak during the Reigns vs. Undertaker feud ahead of WrestleMania 33 and when he didn’t win the event’s pre-show Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal as was expected by most pundits.
Your tears hydrate the Monster Among Men https://t.co/SPqCTkadmk via @cagesideseats
— AttitudeOfAggression (@AttitudeAgg) April 13, 2017
In addition to making him look strong again, Braun Strowman’s ambulance segment helped inspire a new catchphrase that appears to have caught on with fans — “Your tears hydrate me.” This was his response to the aforementioned “fire Braun Strowman” petition started earlier in the week by a Roman Reigns fan who asked people to stop signing her petition after she had reportedly spoken to someone within WWE. According to the Inquisitr , the catchphrase has become so popular that several WWE fans have asked the company to release a T-shirt with the phrase on it.
Meanwhile, it would seem that WWE has taken notice of the polarizing and passionate reactions to Strowman’s Monday Night RAW attack on Reigns. According to the latest issue of the subscriber-only Wrestling Observer Newsletter , Strowman is now penciled in as Brock Lesnar’s challenger for the Universal Championship at WWE’s June or July RAW -exclusive pay-per-view.
According to Smark Out Moment’s WWE pay-per-view calendar for 2017, that would be Extreme Rules or Bad Blood , respectively. If Lesnar vs. Strowman takes place at the former pay-per-view, this could point to a particularly brutal and intense match between two of WWE’s most physically-intimidating wrestlers.
But how is Strowman going to get to Lesnar, considering the present storylines? WrestlingNews.co suggests that Braun Strowman’s ambulance stunt might be the start of a dominant run against Roman Reigns and literal payback (considering the name of WWE’s next RAW -exclusive PPV) for the loss he suffered at the hands of The Big Dog at Fastlane in March. As such, Strowman vs. Reigns at Payback may be a theoretical No. 1 contender match for Braun Lesnar’s Universal Championship.
If the rumors ring true and Braun Strowman does face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship in June or July, it will be interesting to see if WWE decides to make the 33-year-old former strongman competitor a first-time Universal champ at Extreme Rules or Badd Blood . But WrestlingNews.co predicted that Lesnar may most likely retain the belt, due to the fact that he’s still got several more appearances confirmed for this year, and the rumor that WWE is building toward Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar as the main event of WrestleMania 34 next year.
WWE Payback is scheduled to take place on April 30 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. Are you looking forward to seeing Braun Strowman build on the ambulance attack’s momentum and defeat Roman Reigns at Payback , should this match be confirmed? Do you think Strowman is due to beat Brock Lesnar for Universal Championship run, or do you think The Beast will retain against Braun if and when they fight for the title?
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