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Tyson Fury defeated Braun Strowman in one of the featured matches at WWE Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 31.
The rivalry began on October 4 when Fury – a guest for the first episode of SmackDown on FOX – was involved in an altercation with Strowman at ringside, prompting security to remove the heavyweight boxer from the arena.
After a contract signing and brawl on RAW, the two men settled their differences at Crown Jewel, where “The Gypsy King” picked up the victory by landing a heavy right hand to his opponent’s face on the ring apron, forcing him to fall to the outside of the ring.
A dazed Strowman tried to get back to his feet but he was unable to climb back inside the ring before the referee’s 10-count, which meant Fury emerged with the win via countout on his WWE debut.
In this article, let’s take a look at five theories why WWE booked the boxer to defeat “The Monster Among Men” in the manner that he did.
#5 Maintain Tyson Fury’s undefeated record
Let’s face it, why would an undefeated boxer sign up to compete in WWE if it meant he was going to lose for the first time in his career?
Just like in 2008 at WrestleMania XXIV, where the undefeated Floyd Mayweather defeated The Big Show, Crown Jewel saw Tyson Fury maintain his undefeated record with an eight-minute countout victory over Braun Strowman.
Fury’s boxing record currently reads 29-0-1, with his one draw coming against Deontay Wilder in December 2018, so it would not have been wise to jeopardise that record in a scripted match when he is just four months away from another Undefeated vs. Undefeated fight against Wilder in February 2020.
#4 Braun Strowman can recover from losses
A lot has been said about Braun Strowman’s run of high-profile losses throughout his WWE career so far.
Since splitting up from The Wyatt Family in July 2016, “The Monster Among Men” has unsuccessfully challenged for the Universal Championship on eight occasions, with his most recent failure coming against Seth Rollins at Clash of Champions in September 2019.
When you also consider that he has been used questionably at every WrestleMania he has competed in – from the Nicholas partnership to the Michael Che & Colin Jost storyline – there is no way that Strowman’s character should be taken seriously as a credible main-eventer and future World Champion.
But, somehow, the former RAW Tag Team Champion finds a way to gain momentum again and again, and there is no doubt that he will recover from this defeat to Tyson Fury and soon climb back to the top of the WWE card.
Fury would have had a lot more to lose if he transitioned over to WWE and failed to pick up the victory, but Strowman’s monstrous aura will be back on track if he records some dominant victories over the next few weeks.
#3 The outcome opens up the possibility of a rematch
Heading into Crown Jewel, it looked as though Tyson Fury vs. Braun Strowman was simply a one-off showcase match, with Fury getting the victory and possibly never competing in WWE again.
However, the post-match shenanigans – Strowman hit Fury with a powerslam after his defeat – seemed to suggest that the rivalry could be revived in the future.
Speaking to WWE.com after the match, “The Gypsy King” did not rule out competing in another WWE encounter following his rematch with Deontay Wilder in February 2020.
“It was absolutely fantastic. Great experience, really happy to be here in Saudi Arabia on a massive show, and Braun definitely is The Monster Among Men. When I hit him with that piledriving right hand, I can’t believe he got back up and slammed me to the floor. It was a bit of a cheap shot after the bell, but what can we do? It’s WWE. I’ve got a big fella called Deontay Wilder to see to February 22nd and then we’ll see where we go from there [regarding his WWE future].”
As Fury mentioned in the build-up to Crown Jewel, he enjoys training every day regardless of whether or not he is preparing for a fight, which is why this match against Strowman – seven weeks after his fight against Otto Wallin and four months before the Wilder rematch – came at the perfect time.
Judging by his post-match comments, a Fury vs. Strowman rematch at WrestleMania 36 on April 5 does not seem too unrealistic.
#2 Tyson Fury was the babyface in Saudi Arabia
WWE’s shows in Saudi Arabia are almost treated like WrestleMania events, with certain Superstars making their way down the enormous entrance ramp as fireworks light up the sky above the arena.
At Crown Jewel, Tyson Fury had one of the most talked-about entrances of the night, as the lights went dark and fireworks burst out of the arena’s roof while The Isley Brothers’ “It’s Your Thing” played.
Fury then appeared in traditional Saudi clothing, earning a huge cheer from the fans and cementing himself as the babyface in the match. Braun Strowman still had his fair share of supporters, but chants of “Tyson Fury!” and “Let’s Go Fury!” were much more prominent than “Get These Hands!”.
Earlier in the night, Saudi Arabia’s very own Mansoor emerged with the victory in a one-on-one match against Cesaro. Just like at Super ShowDown, the Saudi fans reacted with a huge ovation for their home country representative, so it seemed highly unlikely that Fury would go on to lose against Strowman when he had made the effort to wear Saudi entrance attire.
#1 Both men can look strong with a Tyson Fury win
As mentioned earlier in the article, there is no way Tyson Fury could have left Crown Jewel with any kind of momentum if he lost on his WWE debut. Braun Strowman, meanwhile, has lost plenty of big matches before and he is more than capable of finding new opponents and moving forward with his career.
That would not have been the case, however, if Strowman lost via pinfall or in any way that made him look like a weaker wrestler than Fury.
In these circumstances, nobody can question the former Wyatt Family member as a wrestler after Crown Jewel, as the only reason he lost was due to him receiving a huge right hand from one of the heaviest hitters in boxing right now.
Following the match, both men ended up standing tall when Strowman recovered from the countout loss and planted his opponent to the mat with his trademark powerslam.
This not only allowed Fury to look strong as the winner of the match, but Strowman was able to have the last laugh and at least leave the arena with some credit.
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