Braun Strowman Update: Wrestler Not 100% cleared for competition

What's the Story?

Braun Strowman is no longer challenging Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble following this week's episode of Raw.

The latest update on Strowman revealed that he is still not completely cleared, which was one of the reasons the match was cancelled.

In case you didn't know...

The Universal Championship match was cancelled by Vince McMahon after the Monster Among Men damaged McMahon's limousine while he was trying to attack Baron Corbin.

McMahon was only going to fine Strowman but ultimately decided to cancel the match and announce a fatal four way to determine the new challenger.

The heart of the matter

Strowman had surgery to fix his elbow in December and was brought back for his match against Baron Corbin at the TLC pay-per-view but was not 100% cleared to wrestle by WWE.

Mike Johnson of PWInsider reports that Strowman not being completely cleared to wrestle was a contributing factor in the match being cancelled.

Strowman's match against Lesnar was always planned to be cancelled according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, who said the decision was made around the time he had to undergo surgery for his elbow.

The match against Lesnar was viewed as a lose-lose situation for Strowman because he was not going to win the title in that match and a dusty finish wouldn't work, which lead to Finn Balor winning the fatal four way against Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre and John Cena to become the new challenger for the Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble.

What's next?

Despite not being completely cleared, the feeling is that Strowman will be ready in time for the Royal Rumble.

There are currently no plans or rumours regarding what's in store for the former Wyatt Family member for WrestleMania.