PWP Nation’s Zak Fellows wonders if the newest addition to the Wyatt Family, Braun Strowman is just another “monster of the month” or has a long-term future with WWE.
With the insurgence of NXT as a televised platform for developing wrestlers WWE has been devoid of debuts out of nowhere without fans recognizing them from the developmental territory for some time now. There have been surprise debuts of new people, don’t mistake me, but more often than not the dedicated fan will know that they are coming in, know their history and are able to translate that into an appropriate reaction once they begin on the main roster. Maybe it’s a product of the type of fan I consider myself but, in some cases, I want to watch a wrestler without knowing who they are and if I’m interested in them I’ll find out more…that’s what creates a hardcore fan of any product after all.
Thus once the latest addition to the Wyatt Family, and I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that WWE doesn’t go insane with adding more people, Braun Strowman debuted with no hype and with little wrestling history (he does have quite the record as a strongman though) I was immediately intrigued into seeing what his deal was. So far I’m invested: He fits really well into the Wyatt Family without seeming like a surrogate of his fellow stablemates, he wrestles competently enough with his style and he does have a presence and size to him that hasn’t been seen in a while outside of the usual big man suspects.
With that said a thought entered my mind when taking into account the circumstances for which he debuted: Big man debuts out of nowhere and destroys a top babyface (or babyfaces in this specific example) and is presented as this unknown force to be stopped: Yes, if it wasn’t already obvious enough from the title of this article, I came to the conclusion that Braun Strowman is a textbook example of the Monster of the Month formula.
For the benefit of those unaware of what a Monster of the Month is here’s a refresher: You see in most serialised products when there is an element of villainy present as an overarching narrative there will be a threat presented, not always linked to the overarching theme, for characters to overcome and display certain characteristics and strengths of a protagonist at once. And wrestling, being an amalgamation of different story telling methods from numerous media sources, is no different to this tested and proven formula.
To relate to wrestling a Monster of the Month is a wrestler debuted for the intent and purpose of being shown dominant and to be bested by a babyface to show the strength of said babyface. If you look back in wrestling history at some of the top babyfaces in history (not so much recent history) such as Hulk Hogan and Bruno Sammartino their title reigns were made by the building of monsters for them to overcome the odds and beat. The Monster heel helps people feed into the babyfaces character and make them want to see their hero overcome the ‘impossible’.
The Undertaker is notably known for being booked with the Monster of the Month formula in mind: In his 25 year WWE run he has contended with
- Kamala
- Giant Gonzalez
- Yokozuna
- King Kong Bundy
- Mankind
- Kane
- The Big Show
- A Train
- Heidenreich
- Mark Henry
- And Great Khali just off of the top of my head as wrestlers who were booked to be obstacles for the Deadman to best. Naturally, this may have a lot to do with the size of what Undertaker is so only way to present a challenge to this unstoppable force is to get someone bigger or crazier.
Unfortunately, the Monster of the Month formula itself comes with its own inherent issues which are made very apparent when you see the list of people that I just listed in relation to the Undertaker. The structure of this booking in of itself is fine but unfortunately it is also a symptom of the general issue that persists to this day. Big Men in wrestling, commonly, do not have a consistent life span, and this especially prevalent in hindsight to those introduced sorely as obstacles for an over babyface.
After all, once a monster of the month has lost and been overcome that’s it: They’ve lost, their mystique and threat is diminished because people have seen them lose. So what solution do WWE and other promotions go to for the next step: A Babyface turn…and more often than not…a COMEDY CHARACTER (but not a bad thing people remember that. This is a life cycle that is present to the point that it can be considered a cliché in wrestling and the perception of the wrestler can sometimes be all consumed by the cliché that they act out.
And this is a perception I hold for Braun Strowman right now, as much as I am impressed by him. I could be wrong in believing that he is meant to serve as a Monster of the Month to be built up so Roman Reigns can beat him and look good in doing so…it’s just the perception and history surrounding wrestlers of his attributes that fuel that belief. BUT…even if that is his sole purpose, as long as he does a good job as a babyface obstacle then he will serve his purpose. Every wrestler has a purpose after all…unless you’re Zack Ryder.
[Zak Fellows’ purpose depends on the day and what he thinks of you]
Oh wait… running joke… there you go, Zack.