Look/Presence: Braun has got a weird dynamic going on. He is both simultaneously threatening and goofy. Remember when he looked like a giant Eugene in The Wyatt Family? He's managed to shed that with presence and slight tweaks to his look. I think his name is terrible, and that is part of his aesthetic. I think the parts that don't work, like with Miz's partnership with Maryse, are kind of weird strengths in a time where the fanbase cannot take the product completely seriously. I have a feeling that during the Attitude era, Austin is refusing to work with a dude that calls himself "Braun Strowman."
7.5
Charisma: A lot of people seem to be drawn to the Braun. I am not so much, but you have to look at what others do in this situation. The internet is in love with him, and he gets good live reactions. Ratings even seem to mildly react to him. Maybe it is because everything else is booked so shit, but for whatever reason, stuff seems to be working around this guy.
7.0
Ring Skills: There are some that think this guy is great. I am yet to see it. He's been involved in some fun brawls, but a lot of them involve him legitimately throwing shit at people's heads and genuinely risking the safety of guys he legitimately tosses over the top rope. It's fun, I get it, but I'm yet to see this guy really put on classics using the traditional tools of pro-wrestling. He's been breast-fed and protected. More power to him, but as his ring skill is exposed, that charisma might drop in future evaluations. I'm going average, because I don't think that's an offensive score at all. He's there. He does his job. If he's in there with people who matter, his work matters. If not, it doesn't.
5.0
Mic Skills: I actually like Strowman on the mic. I think his gruff voice is scarier than his appearance. He delivers lines with potency, from what I've heard, and you don't hear much about him embarrassing himself. He says he wants to kill people and it is generally received as such. There may not be a big body of great promo work, but there doesn't need to be.
7.0
Average: 6.625
Biggest Attribute: +0.875 (Look/Presence)
Biggest Detriment: -1.625 (Ring Skills)
Assessment: Braun Strowman is a big dude who captures the imagination enough and sells it with a grizzly voice. He's not offensive in the ring to effect people's enjoyment of him, and those who aren't expecting much might be genuinely surprised. A lot of guys with his size will often suck a lot more. He's also fairly consistently high across the board, which helps make him digestible, with his most noteworthy spike being that look of his, and his biggest detriment being his still relative "just thereness" in the ring.
By writing this out, I can identify what might hold me back on Braun -- he's got more of a noticable flaw, from my perspective, than a noticable strength. The Miz is fairly consistently average beyond his mic skills, but Strowman is fairly consistently "quite good" beyond his ring skills, which stands out to me. Writing this all down has helped me get more behind the things about Strowman that do work, almost instantly. It can be a good process for some.
Also, if Strowman continues to get better and better in the ring, and does work out ways to deliver better promos, and develops more of a presence, all whilst tweaking that look -- his charisma will probably go up too. There are definitely very big paws there.
09-23-2017, 04:38 AM
Great point, Dale. #DaleFail
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