5 ways SmackDown can rebuild Braun Strowman

‘The Monster Among Men’ Braun Strowman arrived to the scene as part of The Wyatt Family and, shortly after the group broke up, was considered to be a breakout star.

Over three years later, we are still watching Strowman repeat his same old gimmick where he runs over Superstars, but falls short whenever he’s given a championship opportunity.

On top of than that, he hasn’t managed to increase his popularity in recent month due to WWE using him very inconsistently. It has cost the Superstar dearly, and safe to say, he is no longer one of the top favorites of the WWE Universe.

With his stocks currently falling, SmackDown would be well-served to build heavily on Strowman before he loses all credibility. In this article, we will look at the 5 ways creative can rebuild Strowman and bring him back to being the big-time attraction and title contender that he once was.

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#5 Form a successful tag team

Storylines like these have hurt Strowman.

We already know that Braun Strowman is a two-time RAW Tag Team Champion, and even though his general demeanor doesn't lend itself to being a member of a tag team, it’s the only department in which he’s had some success.

Strowman has been moving around as a solo Superstar for some time now, and it’s time the company starts experimenting with him before fans lose all interest in him.

One of the ways they can revive him and keep him relevant is by pairing him with someone like Cesaro or Mustafa Ali and giving him a good run as a tag team competitor.

While fans have never been in favor of odd makeshift tag teams, we have seen Dolph Ziggler push Drew McIntyre by helping him out. Apart from that, Bobby Roode is also paired with Ziggler to get a boost until the company finds a new direction for both men.

Keeping that in mind, it could be beneficial for Strowman to remain in the mix by forming a team with another Superstar who is waiting for a renewed singles push. A championship reign for the Superstars could benefit them in the long run and get them back on track.

#4 Winning the Intercontinental Championship

Strowman could get in the Intercontinental Championship scene soon

If the company does see potential in Braun Strowman, they need to give him a championship run before it is too late.

Strowman’s two RAW Tag Team Championship reigns did not last long, and they were just filler storylines that did nothing for the Superstar. He was a transitional champion. One of those two reigns (with Nicholas) was done solely to create a "WrestleMania Moment".

Currently, Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura and his mouthpiece Sami Zayn are doing a good job as heels together, and Strowman could prove to be the perfect face to take them on.

Strowman has battled for the Universal Championship a number of times and failed in the process, so maybe it's time for the company to try out a reign with a mid-card title instead.

The Monster Among Men’s previous mid-card title feud was with AJ Styles for the United States Championship, but that was just seen as a stepping stone for another rivalry.

Now that he is not engaged in any other storylines, it would make sense to have him go head-to-head with Nakamura. Building an interesting story can help Strowman move up the ladder and become a top competitor on SmackDown.

#3 Turn him heel

Being a heel has helped the Superstar get better bookings before

Since moving out of The Wyatt Family, we’ve seen Strowman largely play a face character unless he’s been put up against Roman Reigns.

Strowman has the size and strength to play a natural heel, and his below-average mic skills could be covered by a villainous run.

We’ve seen many ordinary mic workers, such as Lars Sullivan, Cesaro, and Drew McIntyre get over as heels as they can allow their actions to do the talking for them.

It’s surprising to watch the creatives portray Strowman as the underdog at times, even though there is no way he can pass for an underdog. In such circumstances, it could be beneficial for the monstrous Superstar to turn heel instead.

With men like Shorty G, Mustafa Ali, Roman Reigns, and Daniel Bryan playing babyface characters on SmackDown, it could give Strowman more talented Superstars to work with.

Strowman needs to build some strong storylines and feuds in order to move into the next phase where he can compete for a top title again, and it’d be good for him if SmackDown turns him heel and uses him to portray his opponents as underdogs.

#2 Character change

Has Strowman's gimmick gotten stale?

This is something WWE may want to look into sooner than later if they want to turn Braun Strowman’s fortunes around. The Monster Among Men was seen as a Superstar everyone feared, but that has become less true with each passing month. At this point he is very close to being just another Superstar who appears threatening but can't close the deal.

His image has taken a severe hit after several loses, most glaringly his continued failure to topple WWE’s resident Beast Brock Lesnar after multiple opportunities.

In that case, the company needs to relook at how they want to portray Strowman to the WWE Universe and turn his gimmick around.

A new and fresh gimmick could do wonders for WWE’s biggest active Superstar, similar to what it did for his former mentor, ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt.

It’s difficult to tell what role Strowman is playing in WWE's current landscape, but the company has protected him from several pins by having him win or lose matches by disqualifications and countouts.

Instead, a much more solid gimmick, one that he can follow properly, could help him make it big in the WWE Universe once again, and they can take Strowman from there and rebuild him.

#1 Feed him to The Fiend

Wyatt could help turn Strowman in the right direction

This might not sound like a good idea at first, but hear me out.

‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt is now the most threatening force in the company and may have even overtaken ‘The Beast’ Brock Lesnar’s reputation in a matter of months.

This has left Strowman nowhere, as he is no longer the most imposing or threatening Superstar on either brand.

Strowman’s restricted mic work and average bookings have dropped him down to the mid-card, and it now seems like may have been better off in The Wyatt Family with Bray leading him instead of being split from the group.

It’s never too late to return to your roots, and WWE could move to an angle where Strowman tries to stop The Fiend but falls prey to his mind games and instead joins Bray in his quest to take over WWE.

This could allow Strowman to become The Fiend’s associate, and wreak havoc on SmackDown while helping his mentor/leader/puppetmaster retain his Universal Championship.

SmackDown could build Strowman as such a threatening figure that they can run with that story for a while, and when the time is right, have him turn is back on The Fiend and take the title away from him.

This could be one of the best ways to turn Strowman’s fortunes around and give him a realistic revival without sending him on a long hiatus.

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