Chris King asks a huge “What If” for Braun Strowman in his feud with Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship in 2017!

Over the past few months, there has been a lot of speculation and rumors about ‘The Monster Among Men’ Braun Strowman returning to WWE and facing ’The Ruler’ Oba Femi. The possibility of this match would be a colossal clash of titans for the ages. It’s  got me thinking about one of my biggest what-ifs in the past decade: What if Strowman defeated ‘The Beast Incarnate’ Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship back in 2017? 

Strowman made his shocking debut as ‘The Black Sheep’ of The Wyatt Family in 2015. Immediately, the giant was thrown into the sea with some of the biggest names in WWE, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Chris Jericho. It wasn’t until he was separated from The Wyatt Family in the 2016 draft that his freakish speed and athleticism were on full display on Monday Night Raw. 

Strowman began obliterating enhancement talent as well as James Ellsworth on a weekly basis. The loveable Sami Zayn stood up to the monster. The two competed in a ten-minute limit match at Roadblock, where Zayn would survive. Their feud would culminate in a last man standing match on an episode of Raw, where he would dominate his rival. The Monster Among Men shocked the world by interfering at the Royal Rumble, costing Reigns the Universal Title. 

Strowman and Reigns would have one of the most brutal and dangerous feuds, with the two rivals absolutely destroying each other at the Great Balls of Fire PLE, where he won the match. Winning wasn’t enough for ‘The Big Dog,’ as he tried to kill him by running the ambulance into a semi-truck with Strowman inside. The WWE Universe was fully behind The Monster, and their approval gave him his spot in the fatal-four-way Universal Championship match at SummerSlam. 

He absolutely annihilated Lesnar, delivering his Running Powerslam through two announce tables and burying the champion through the last one. Lesnar was stretchered out of the arena but came back to barely retain his title. The Monster Among Men would finally get his one-on-one match with Lesnar at No Mercy for the universal championship. At the PLE, Strowman dominated The Beast early on and truly showed the world what he was capable of, but just like many of Lesnar’s matches, he delivered one F5 to retain his title. 

Strowman’s monster push started off with a huge roar synonymous with his entrance music and ended in a whimper. The WWE Universe wanted The Monster Among Men to be the one to dethrone The Beast, but Vince McMahon only wanted one man to do that, Reigns. Had Strowman won the Universal Championship, he would have had a fantastic rest of the year and possibly a massive WrestleMania 34. Reigns won his “dream match” against John Cena at No Mercy and, despite the crowd’s displeasure, he would have challenged Strowman for the Universal Title over the next few months. 

The Beast Incarnate would take his yearly vacation until the road to WrestleMania 34 and demand his much-anticipated rematch against Strowman in a colossal match. The Monster Among Men could survive a slew of German suplexes and six or seven F5’s and defeat Lesnar on the grandest stage of them all. After a successful title defense, Samoa Joe has challenged The Monster for a universal championship match at Backlash. 

Joe and Strowman could have battled over the top prize on the Monday Night Raw roster until the summer, where a familiar foe reemerged. SummerSlam can end the same way as it actually does in reality with ‘The Big Dog’ winning the universal championship against Strowman in an epic battle. 

We can dive into fantasy land as much as we want, but the reality of the story is, The Monster Among Men was the hottest superstar in 2017-2018. In my opinion, he deserved to dethrone Lesnar and be the Universal Champion. 

The only time Strowman was given his true shot at becoming WWE champion was back during Covid when Reigns was missing. Had Reigns never had another leukemia scare in 2018, who knows if Strowman would have ever been given his chance at being the top star in WWE? 

While WWE is under new leadership with Triple H as head of creative, the last time The Monster was in WWE, he wasn’t booked correctly as a top-tier superstar and ultimately left the company because of salary reasons. I would love to see The Monster Among Men return to the WWE and battle Femi, but I fear the same fate may happen for his career.

Greg DeMarco builds a card for the Madison Square Garden WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event on July 18 2026!

In just a few weeks, WWE presents Saturday Night’s Main Event, live from Madison Square Garden for just the second time in the TV special’s history. The first time aired on August 18, 2007, taped just 5 days earlier.

And if you want to criticize any of today’s cards, take a look at what WWE presented nearly 20 years ago:

• Batista and Kane defeated Finlay and The Great Khali – 8 minutes
• John Cena defeated Carlito by submission – 5 minutes
• Evander Holyfield vs. Matt Hardy ended in a no contest – less than 1 minute
• CM Punk and The Boogeyman defeated John Morrison and Big Daddy V – 6 minutes

Still mad, bro?

Now, let’s look forward to the upcoming card–which is sure to outshine the effort you see listed above.

Greg DeMarco’s predicted card for WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event
July 28 2026 – Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

World Heavyweight Championship – Roman Reigns (c) vs. Austin Theory

You think I’m crazy, right? But to me, this fits for several reasons.

First off, it’s Madison Square Garden! WWE is highly likely going to present a major card for their return to pro wrestling’s (New York) Mecca, and that is going to be headlined by the top star in the business, “The Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns, defending his WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Buy why Austin Theory? That’s slightly more complicated–nut only slightly. Theory, for now anyway, is still a part of whatever is left of The Vision, a faction that Seth Rollins started with Paul Heyman. With communication issues between he and Paul Heyman, and Theory left on an island on Raw, he will be out to prove himself. What better way to do that than to try to upstage Rollins, a move that “The Visionary” takes exception to, but Reigns loves.

That’s enough for Reigns to agree to a title match. It’s a major title defense for MSG, and a huge spotlight for a star of the future in Theory.

Women’s United States Championship – Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Charlotte Flair

It’s a WrestleMania 41 rematch, where Stratton walked in as the WWE Women’s Champion, proving that it was indeed Tiffy Time when she retained against one of the greatest ever in Flair.

But now the situation is a little bit different. We are headed to a SummerSlam clash between Charlotte Flair and Jade Cargill, a match that needs no title to feel big and important.

So what better chance for Cargill, along with Michin & B-Fab, to get a measure of revenge in costing Charlotte Flair her title opportunity, setting up their SummerSlam showdown and giving Tiffany Stratton another big stage win.

United States Championship – Trick Williams (c) vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Ricky Saints

Smackdown spoilers be damned, we are obviously headed to a showdown between trick and ‘Melo. Why not build it here, and get Lil’ Yachty on a big WWE stage in the process. Here we go triple threat, featuring a finish that can help get us to the desired one-on-one match at SummerSlam between Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes.

Plus it’s another big stage for Ricky Saints, who still has a good trajectory in WWE.

Danhausen vs. Dominik Mysterio

TripleMania isn’t until September 11/September 13, and on that second night, “Dirty Dom” will defend his AAA Mega Championship, presumably against El Grande Americano, a match that would see the Lucha Libre hero capture Mexico’s biggest prize.

The flip side? That’s obvious–Danhuasen in Madison Square Garden! Plenty of shenanigans to go around, major crowd support in New York City, and either a huge win for the honorary member of the NBA World Champion NY Knicks, or another major heat drawing moment for Dominik Mysterio

If you need a fifth match, I would go with an Intercontinental Championship defense for Penta, potentially with Rusev. You get a major entrance, and a huge star as well. Can’t go wrong there.

What are your thoughts on this predicted card for Saturday Night’s Main Event in Madison Square Garden?