Instant Feedback: Keep It Simple, Stupid

Strowman's childlike id showed how simple WWE storytelling can be great
Photo Credit: WWE.com

The conceit behind Braun Strowman has never been complex, at least since the draft separated him from the Wyatt Family. He picked people up and threw them down, violently. The wave of mutilation he caused was so great that Sami Zayn didn't even have to beat him to claim moral victory with great heft. All he had to do was last with him.As the challenges got easier, he demanded more competition. In fact, those words were his rallying cry. He is pure id, driven by hunger for destruction. He has no understanding of manipulation or strategy outside of the instantaneous and instinctual reactions. He didn't lure Roman Reigns into the ambulance with wile and guile. He saw a spear charging at him, shouted "OH SHIT" and did his best olé. He is a simple character, and to the surprise of some, he has flourished.

While his actions seem to suggest malice, his simplicity is gentle. For example, Curtis Axel was doing his best to give Sheamus and Cesaro a pep talk after losing their shot at regaining the RAW Tag Team Championships. He started to address Strowman too, so much so that he let pure bravado take hold of him and claimed that he could take Reigns if he wanted to. While The Bar HOSS International played the devil on his shoulder with beguiling mischief in their voices, Strowman exhorted him to put his money where his mouth was, because to Strowman, that's all he literally knows. You say you can do something, and you do it.

And that rationale spoke volumes with Strowman's hayseed delivery when Miz asked where Axel was when he finally got back to the locker room. Him telling Miz matter-of-factly that Axel said he should just do what he wanted to do hammered it home just as much as the entirety of his post-Wyatt career, just as the last two weeks of his former mentor has encapsulated his.

Wyatt and Finn Bálor are complex characters, at least in WWE parlance. Honestly, if one were to peel back what either guy was about, that person wouldn't find much there, but they're both exercises for writers and Vince McMahon to stroke their "creativity" boners and show they're weird and edgy. When WWE's creative staff tries layering bullshit on top of bullshit, it produces the Tommy Wiseau head-ass spooky reboot of Mrs. Doubtfire that is Sister Abigail and the transition of The Daemon as psych-out tactics to some creature that somehow can now change color with the seasons. In the hands of someone who can do horror-camp or supernatural, this feud would be gold bullion, but unfortunately, Mike Quackenbush is too busy Ebenezer Scrooging at the Wrestle Factory, and I'm not sure McMahon is ready to have a meeting of the minds with the folks behind Dramatic Dream Team.

As it stands, Wyatt and Bálor only serve as the stark contrast against which Strowman looks even stronger. It should serve as a reminder that WWE keeping things simple is what gets it the biggest return on investment. Strowman as Id Personified, The Shield as roving arbiters of justice, Miz as the loudmouth no one but himself likes doubling down because he likes himself too much, these characters are the ones that get people invested, that combine artistic merit with marketability. When TLC has come and gone, I only expect this point to be hammered home even more, unless Kane has some goofy-ass fire magic left in his tank. Then again, WWE cut the pyro budget to zero, so if he has anything left, it'll have to be practical effects.