Braun Strowman on ‘Raw.’ (WWE.com)
Braun Strowman has reportedly been injured at the height of his push on Monday Night Raw.
Pro Wrestling Sheet reported on Monday that Strowman has legitimately injured his elbow and he will need to undergo a procedure that will take him out of action for four to eight weeks. The WWE still has not confirmed this report, although when wrestlers need to undergo procedures like this, the company often does not publicly confirm it.
If true, this will clearly cause the WWE to completely readjust its storylines for the next few months. Strowman looked to be all set to face Brock Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire, the July pay-per-view that was to be Lesnar’s first time defending the Universal Championship.
Assuming Strowman does take eight weeks to recover, he wouldn’t return until a few days before Great Balls of Fire, which would not allow the WWE any time to build up his storyline with Brock Lesnar.
The Pro Wrestling Sheet report also suggests that even in a best case scenario, Braun Strowman will miss Extreme Rules on June 4th. If Strowman’s absence lasts for four weeks, he would return on June 5th, after Extreme Rules.
The company already seems to have set up a Strowman hiatus last night on Raw; during the show, Roman Reigns attacked Braun Strowman’s “injured” arm, causing Strowman to retreat into the crowd. It can now be said that Strowman has been taken out of action as a result of Roman Reigns’ attack.
There is now some speculation, then, that the WWE might just date the Strowman vs. Lesnar match for SummerSlam in August rather than Great Balls of Fire in July. Even in the worst case scenario, Strowman would still be back with plenty of time before SummerSlam, which airs on Sunday, August 20th.
The other question that remains is how will Strowman’s injury affect Roman Reigns’ storyline? Reigns has been pretty deeply immersed in his feud with Braun Strowman recently, and presumably the WWE will want their top Raw performer to have some sort of a match at Extreme Rules.
One possibility is that Roman Reigns will face Bray Wyatt at Extreme Rules. After all, Bray Wyatt was theoretically about to begin a feud with Finn Balor on Raw, but this now seems to be completely dropped, with Finn Balor and Bray Wyatt not interacting at all on Raw this week. Wyatt was able to pick up a rare victory last night, though, which could earn him Roman Reigns’ attention in the coming weeks while Strowman is sidelined.