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Happy New Year everyone!
If I told you at that start of 2017 that the once often-criticized Braun Strowman was one of WWE's most popular Superstars heading into 2018, simply put, you would have laughed at me.
But, that is what he has become, and The Monster Among Men has seen one of WWE's best creative bookings in years. Strowman's feuds with Sami Zayn, Big Show and especially Roman Reigns were all fantastic in 2017.
His rivalry with Brock Lesnar, the Universal Champion, was really great heading into the No Mercy PPV in September as well, but the match that enfolded at the actual event let the feud down.
He is over with fans like no other Superstar of today is, and you can see why at the Royal Rumble PPV on the 28th of January 2018, WWE is giving Strowman his third Universal Title match since August.
However, apart from that poor Lesnar bout, the only other disappointment of Braun Strowman's 2017 was the fact he was not on the main card of WrestleMania 33, instead placed in the clustered Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the KickOff show which he was eliminated from pretty early from.
One thing for sure though is that there is no doubt that Braun Strowman will be on the main card of this year's WrestleMania if he stays fit and healthy.
But who is the giant going to take on at the Grandest Stage of Them All?
Well, before we even get there, we need to talk about the Universal Championship bout at the Royal Rumble that I previously mentioned.
On the December 19th episode of RAW, General Manager Kurt Angle announced that Brock Lesnar would put his Universal Title, that he has held since WM 33, on the line against Kane and Braun Strowman at the Royal Rumble in a triple threat match.
As the rumoured main event of WrestleMania 34 is supposed to be Lesnar vs Reigns for this championship, it has been obvious to fans and others that The Beast Incarnate will retain against Kane and Strowman.
It is also clear that the veteran Kane is in the match just order to be Lesnar's fall guy, i.e., Lesnar pins Kane to win and Strowman does not look because he was not pinned or submitted.
The fact WWE is going to these lengths for Strowman show two things:
#1. WWE sees Strowman as a top guy who is going to be a pivotal part of their new era of wrestlers after guys like Lesnar, Cena and Orton are gone.
#2. If they are so keen to protect Strowman's image in the eyes of fans at the Royal Rumble, that must mean they have big plans for him at WrestleMania.
What are those plans? Don't worry, we are getting to that, but I predict that the Elimination Chamber on February 25th will reveal them.
As Brock Lesnar is not advertised for that RAW PPV, it is presumed that the main event of the PPV will be an Elimination Chamber bout to decide who will be the No.1 Contender to Lesnar's Universal Championship at WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans on April 8th.
Note: Providing a RAW Superstar does not win the Rumble, which is what I think will be the case.
To go along with the speculated WM 34 main event, Roman Reigns is almost certainly going to be the victor among the 6 men in the match, so he goes on to face Lesnar.
As this is an Elimination match, it means that Strowman is going to be eliminated by being pinned or submitted.
However, Strowman can look strong, as he always does, in defeat. I believe that someone is going to interfere in the match and cause Strowman to lose, leading to his match at WrestleMania.
And I think that man is no other than 'The Game', WWE CEO, and 14-time World Champion: Triple H.
This makes a lot of sense, as if you remember, after the Survivor Series main event in November when Team RAW beat Team SmackDown in the 5-on-5 Elimination match, Strowman attacked fellow sole survivor Triple H when The Cerebral Assasin tried to trick him into thinking that he was going to turn on Team RAW when he pedigreed Kurt Angle.
Really, Triple H was just stealing the win for himself off of Angle and had fun teasing Strowman, but The Monster Among Men hit him with two powerslams despite Hunter's best pleas for mercy.
Since then, we have not seen Triple H on TV.
Elimination Chamber would be WWE's perfect time to have Triple H return and seek revenge, by having him come out of nowhere to attack Braun, causing his elimination and ending his chances of competing at WrestleMania for the Universal Championship
WWE could have him use his notorious hammer on Strowman to really start the feud on the front foot. It would be a clever way of having Strowman lose without damaging his character, as he would not be suffering defeat cleanly as result of HHH's assault.
A heel like The Miz or Samoa Joe would have no problems with pinning Strowman after something like that if they are in the match either.
Following this, it would be easy for WWE to have HHH and Strowman to go at it in one of the most interesting rivalries leading up to WrestleMania 34, where they would then face-off in a match.
The bout HHH and Strowman have could be really intriguing, but to add an extra dimension to it, WWE could book it to be a No Holds Barred match, with the pair playing off the hammer attack perpetrated by HHH for the reasoning of the No DQ stipulation.
Personally, I feel like WWE need Strowman to win this match to really solidify him as a top guy in the company.
But at the same time, Triple H has lost at the last two WrestleManias (at WM 33 to Rollins and in the main event of WM 32 to Reigns).
Unfortunately, as great as his career has been already, the WWE CEO is known for his ego and may not want to lose for a third consecutive time at WrestleMania considering it is the only event he wrestles at nowadays.
I confidently believe that all of what I have predicted will happen, but I really hope it is not a waste of time and that Strowman wins to further his career at the young age of 34.
Let us know here at Sportskeeda if you think Strowman will go up against Triple and if you would be excited about this WrestleMania rivalry in the comment section.
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