If Strowman Does Go Over Reigns...

[Dave]

Then surely he should be given a huge match at WrestleMania, right?

I've been look at the betting odds for the Strowman versus Reigns match and, rather surprisingly to me, Braun seems to be the clear favourite heading in to the match. This is likely for one reason and one reason alone, The Undertaker gets involved to set up the match with Reigns at WrestleMania. At this point, it's pretty clear to everyone that Roman Reigns is the chosen one this year and that feud needs to get started ASAP.

But no one is talking about Strowman after Fastlane. He might walk out of Fastlane with a huge victory over a multiple time Heavyweight Champion and what is being said about Strowman? Don't get me wrong, Reigns is the more established star and deserves the match with The Undertaker. But surely Strowman deserves something too? Personally, I think Strowman ends up with a spot in the Andre Battle Royal, should that take place again this year.

But surely Strowman deserves more than that? I mean, would it really be so bad to put him in the Reigns/Undertaker match at WrestleMania?

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I agree that if he wins, he deserves a big match. Sadly I don't see it happening. The issue is that while Braun is steadily improving, he has been protected and book against mostly solid workers, and when he faces the likes of a guy like Mark Henry, he makes quick work of him. I don't know who on the roster they could book him against to continue this. Maybe a rematch with Big Show since there are rumors that Shaq has backed out of that match.

The problem with putting him in the match with Taker and Reigns is two fold for me. 1) I think the match is going to be used to turn Roman. Having Braun there would just complicate that. 2) Underaker can still work a solid match, but he needs a proper opponent who can carry him due to his age and limitations. Braun isn't there yet. I'm a Braun fan but like I said, he has been protected recently in his longer matches by being pitted against skilled workers like Sami. Plus I kind of question if Taker could actually take the brunt of Braun's offense and still come out walking. Roman wrestles a power style, but he has shown in the past he is capable of slowing it down and I think that is the type of match that Taker needs at this point.

Sad to say it, but even if he wins I can't see Braun doing any better than winning the ARMBAR at Mania.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Everything Rainbow said.

I was hoping that Braun would come out after the Shaq vs Big Show match and destroy them both. Shaq vs Show seems off the table. The only big match left for Braun is him vs The Big Show. But that match already happened on RAW.

Braun vs Cass would be fun, but neither man can afford to lose yet.

The other option is Braun issuing an open challenge and then goes off to beat however comes out to face hm (Rock, HBK, Angle, Kane). But again, that's not all that great.

So it seems like it wil be Braun winning the ATGMBR.

 

[MyndZero]

If he wins, regardless of how it happens (personally I think it should be clean, but maybe a dirty finish is a better for this idea) he should get added to the Goldberg vs Lesnar match.

This would be even better if Goldberg wins the title, as Braun wants the title anyway.

Goldberg probably won't be around much longer, probably done after Mania IMO. Brock is sort of in the same boat, but he'll only be gone for a couple months.

Big show's time in WWE is coming to an end, and Braun is their only "big" guy that could realistically replace big show, and they won't get a second chance to put him in a match with Goldberg and Brock, so doing it now is a sure fire way to raise his star power and draw interest from those who don't want another Goldberg vs Brock match after their last mania one...

 

[The Life Of Pablo Ren]

Not really. There simply isn't a place to put him. He's not gonna go up against Joe. Balor is possible but then where would that leave Joe? Is it possible that Joe doesn't have a match and he's just involved in the Rollins/HHH stuff? I doubt they're gonna go back to a program with him and Zayn and even then I'm not sure if that qualifies as a "big match" ... everyone else is seemingly booked. There is a SLIGHT possibility that based on the finish of tomorrow's match between him and Reigns plus the shape that Undertaker is reportedly in that we could see Reigns/Undertaker/Strowman in a triple threat match at WrestleMania. I'm starting to doubt if Undertaker can really pull off a full match at WrestleMania, adding Strowman in will certainly take some load off... but the idea of Undertaker in a triple threat match at WrestleMania is a weird one.

But that's all speculation, realistically he looks to be destined for the ARMBAR and in all honesty, I don't necessarily see that as a death sentence for him. Their hands aren't tied at all when it comes to how they wanna book it. It's not like the Royal Rumble, they don't really have to protect anybody, they don't have to build towards any feuds and stories, you just throw people over the top and get a trophy. The people who don't win aren't really affected in any way, almost as if it didn't happen. They can make Strowman look as strong as they want to, and in a battle royal setting... they can make him look quite strong.

 

[L@RISANO]

I understand the POV of the majority with regards to Braun getting a big match. However, I dont think it is absolutely neccessary he gets a big match as at this time, more established stars are ahead of him in the pecking order and Braun himself is still very much a WIP.
I would indeed give him a pinfall victory over Reigns tomorrow night(Taker interference to happen).

However, have him in the ARMBR at Mania, where he manages to clear the field(consider the theme of 'more competition' throughout RAW during the brand split), but instead of having him win, give another Superstar the honour of getting Braun over the top rope to take the victory instead... I actually can't think of anyone other than Sami Zayn, but maybe you guys have other possible candidates for such a rub.
What such booking does, is give Braun a spotlight coming out of Mania, and also setting up a feud which will keep him away from the Main title for a while longer which protects him from being burnt out too soon.

 

[OYDK]

I honestly don't see a problem with Strowman winning the Battle Royal, even if he does happen to beat Reigns. There's a lot of time left for Braun to get his big one-on-one Mania match later down the line and winning the ABR would still keep his momentum in full swing. If Brock or Goldberg walk out of Mania with the title and Braun beats Reigns at Fastlane, I do think that Braun is probably the most likely guy to be the next number one contender, which I'd be completely fine with.

Personally, I think Braun comes out looking like more of a star by dominating the Battle Royal than he does by beating the Big Show or Mark Henry. Probably not a popular opinion, but don't forget that guys like Cesaro and Corbin both had huge Mania moments by winning the thing. It was their booking afterwards that killed their momentum. It didn't seem like Strowman was ever in the plans for a big match at Mania; his development and reception has come as a big surprise in my opinion and while it's been very strong, I don't think it's critical or anything that he gets shoehorned onto the card.

If he had like, Daniel Bryan momentum than I could see it but the slow build is working well enough so far.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

If Braun Strowman beats Roman Reigns tomorrow night, then he definitely deserves a big match at WrestleMania. At the same time, however, even if he's relegated to the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, you could look at it as his next step of dominance towards ultimately hitting the main event picture for a while. As of right now, looking back over things and looking at the lay of the land, Strowman looks like someone that they've been focusing on for the long term because I think most of us would have laughed at the suggestion that Strowman had come as far as he has and gotten over as much as he has 6 months ago. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Strowman has been subjected to what's become strong, consistent booking, which isn't something that we see week in and week out on Raw.

That's a pretty big "if" though as booking 101 suggests that Reigns manages to rally and, despite being dominated through much of the match, manages to score the win. I've really liked how they've built the match with Strowman not only getting the best of Reigns each week but just flat out destroying him and leaving him in the middle of the ring. Strowman comes off like a major threat who looks to be able to bounce back from Reigns biggest guns, and bounce back very quickly, while Reigns hasn't displayed the same resilience to Strowman's strength. It's just hard to picture Reigns not walking out with the win, however, considering the big push he's gotten over the past few years and Vince reportedly feeling that he's "the future" of the company.