Former WWE Universal Champion Braun Strowman was released from WWE for the second time over the weekend. Initially, Strowman, who was part of a mass covid layoff in 2021, returned to WWE in 2022 and suffered from injuries. Strowman also suffered a spinal injury early in his second run, and towards the end of last year, Strowman revealed that his leg was “15% paralyzed.” Despite his injuries, Strowman had rebutted Jacob Fatu on Fatu’s route to the WWE US Championship.
The need for Strowman to push through the pain is yet another case of a big WWE star dealing with injuries, like the great Hari and Andre giants before him. While all wrestlers appear to be expected to be “painful” in some way, the giants of the wrestling world often suffer from their immeasurable size pain and pain, on top of the usual uplifts and bruises of Pro Sling.
Scary situation
Strowman suffered a neck injury in the match shortly after returning to WWE, which paralyzed his arm. In an interview with Chris Van Vriette, Strowman said this was the result of an undiagnosed spinal stenosis.
“It felt like someone was pouring boiling water into my arms… I was in this really scary place for two weeks,” Strowman said. Luckily he had the advice of WWE Hall of Fame “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, who suffered a similar injury in 1997.
“His injury was almost the same as mine, and it was a little more serious,” Strowman revealed. A conversation with Austin helped Strowman realize there was hope for recovery. “It was a very big breath of fresh air.”
Strowman returned from an injury last December and feuded with Carmelo Hayes on “WWE Smackdown,” which feuded with Fat before it was released on May 2nd.
Andre’s Unfortunate Blueprint
One of Brown Strowman’s main talents is his speed. Large wrestlers are less known for their athletic ability, but Strowman was able to run, jump and dropkick at their best. But this is like anachronism. Wrestlers like Andre the Giant and the Great Hari were incredible athletes until their bodies began to break down under the weight of the huge frame.
André was known as a man who could run and jump during his time in wrestling in France. By the time he arrived in America, Vince McMahon’s WWF, especially he was worn and barely carrying it. Even his famous match with Hulk Hogan in Wrestlemania III was often suspicious until the bell rang, as Andre’s back was completely destroyed. Hogan often spoke about how the match must be adjusted for many of the physical limitations former agile wrestlers suffered. The match is often known as Andre’s final true blue main event. Andre spends years in Tag’s match before his death primarily wrestling, leaning against the ropes for support while his tag partners wrestled for most of the match. Andre died in 1993 as a result of calculations of the ends that caused his immeasurable size to begin with.
Another giant wears
The great Hari, the former world heavyweight champion, was another giant in WWE and had to suffer through his share of physical stress due to his size. Though not as athletic as the giants of Brown Strowman and Andre Andre, the big star showed some speed and agility when he was in Japan as the “Giant Sin.”
However, almost immediately after signing with WWE in 2006, Hari suffered a knee injury that required surgery and had to be depreciated from television. By the time he returned, he was much slower and despite his running as a world champion, fans were not pleased with his slow, shifted style. Khali stayed in WWE and dealt with all the struggles of the WWE tour schedule until he almost died, as Andre did. In 2012, the doctor discovered a tumor in the fibrous pituitary gland, requiring brain surgery.
The surgery was successful and Hari is no longer in WWE, but he continues to run Continental Wrestling Entertainment in India. Hari even appeared at a recent WWE event in India. So he said he felt that there might be another match for him. As it stands, he has not wrestled since Saudi Arabia’s biggest royal rumble match in 2018.
