What’s the story?
On a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer speculated that the upcoming match between Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman at Payback could be a ’stretcher match’.
The Background
Reigns and Strowman have been feuding since January’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view, where Braun interfered in Roman’s match against Kevin Owens to cost him the Univeral Championship. The two men would then face each other at Fastlane where Reigns would become the first man to pin Strowman since he joined WWE’s main roster.
The Big Dog then became the second man to defeat The Undertaker at WrestleMania, and it also looks like he retired The Deadman in the process.
However, Roman’s feud with Braun has been reignited again, and it was taken up a notch when Strowman exacted a brutal, prolonged attack on his rival which resulted in Reigns leaving the arena in the back of an ambulance.
The heart of the matter
It is due to the developments on Raw that Dave Meltzer believes the eventual blow-off match of this feud will be a ‘Stretcher match’ at Payback. Not only would this makes sense after Braun’s actions this Monday, but it would also mean that Reigns could be defeated without getting pinned.
Also read: Roman Reigns sustains heavy injuries after the assault from Strowman
If this is to play out as Meltzer has predicted, it will protect Reigns while also establishing Strowman as a main event star and setting him up for his next feud.
What’s next?
It is widely expected that the winner of the Reigns and Strowman rivalry will go on to challenge the Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar, at Extreme Rules.
It has been rumoured that Reigns will face Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans, so it seems unlikely that WWE will be giving away that match before next year.
Author’s take
I think the majority of fans would be more interested in seeing Lesnar face Braun Strowman, rather than Roman Reigns. Strowman has arguably been the biggest breakout star in WWE since the brand split and has improved drastically since leaving the Wyatt Family.
His monster push was slightly derailed after his loss at Fastlane, but he is certainly back on track now after his brutal beating of Roman on this week’s Raw.
This most recent and most memorable mauling of Reigns, which ended with Braun overturning the ambulance that Reigns was in, has re-established Strowman as a force to be reckoned with on Raw.
If WWE capitalises on this momentum and gives Braun a big win over Reigns at Payback in a ‘Stretcher match’, then that would set him up perfectly for a shot at the Universal Championship and a huge match with Brock Lesnar at Extreme Rules.
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