Braun Strowman


Adam Scherr is an American professional wrestler and former strongman. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Braun Strowman, and is the current WWE Universal Champion in his first reign.
In WWE, he is a former WWE Intercontinental Champion and a two-time WWE Raw Tag Team Champion. He is also the winner of the 2018 Men's Money in the Bank contract, the winner of the titular match at the Greatest Royal Rumble event, and the winner of 2019 edition of Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. In 2020, at WrestleMania 36, he won the Universal Championship, his first world title.
Strowman has headlined many pay-per-view events. He holds the record for most eliminations in a single Elimination Chamber match with five, tied for first with Brock Lesnar for the
most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble match with 13, most eliminations in a single Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal with 14, and is tied for the most eliminations in a single Survivor Series elimination match with four. Upon debuting on the main roster, Strowman was associated with the villainous stable The Wyatt Family, wearing a black sheep mask and being physically dominant. Throughout his appearances with WWE, Strowman has been portrayed as an unstoppable monster, earning the moniker "The Monster Among Men".

Early life

Adam Scherr was born on September 6, 1983, in the Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, near Charlotte. His father, Rick "Crusher" Scherr, is widely regarded as one of the greatest slow-pitch softball players of all time, and is a USSSA Hall of Fame member who still holds the All Time World Series records in home runs, hits, and RBIs. Scherr has a younger sister named Hannah. As he grew older, he spent time in Arkansas and Tennessee. As a teen, he attended Bandys High School, where he was on the football, track and field, and wrestling teams. He went through a significant growth spurt in high school; he was 5 ft 8 in during his freshman year and grew to 6 ft 5 in by the time he graduated. After graduating in 2001, he "goofed off" until 2003, when he enrolled in a community college. He spent the next four years playing football semi-professionally for the Hickory Hornets, supplementing his income by working as a doorman and mechanic. Scherr attended the NFL Scouting Combine in 2007, but he ultimately did not turn professional. In the late 2000s, he began competing in amateur strongman competitions.

Strongman career

Scherr earned his Strongman Corporation Professional Card by winning the NAS Amateur National Championships on November 5, 2011. He won the 2012 Arnold Amateur Strongman Championships on March 4, which took place during the Arnold Sports Festival alongside the 2012 Arnold Strongman Classic. This victory earned Scherr an invite to the 2013 Arnold Strongman Classic. He competed in the SCL North American Championships on July 8, 2012, finishing in 5th place overall as well as competing in the Giants Live Poland event on July 21, finishing in 7th place overall.

Professional wrestling career

WWE

Training and early matches (2013–2015)

Scherr signed a contract with the professional wrestling promotion WWE in early 2013 and was assigned to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, where he adopted the ring name Braun Stowman. In 2014, he made appearances as one of Adam Rose's "Rosebuds" in his Exotic Express gimmick. He made his professional wrestling debut at an NXT live event in Jacksonville, Florida on December 19, 2014, defeating Chad Gable. On June 2, 2015, Stowman appeared at a Main Event taping in a dark match, where he defeated an unidentified wrestler.

The Wyatt Family (2015–2016)

On the August 24 episode of Raw, Scherr, under the tweaked ring name Braun Strowman, made his main roster debut by attacking Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns and establishing himself as the newest member of The Wyatt Family alongside Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. Strowman had his first televised singles match on the August 31 episode of Raw, when he defeated Ambrose by disqualification. Strowman wrestled in his first WWE pay-per-view event match on September 20 at Night of Champions, where The Wyatt Family defeated Ambrose, Reigns and Chris Jericho in a six-man tag team match after Jericho passed out to Strowman's lifting arm triangle choke. On December 13 at, The Wyatt Family defeated The ECW Originals in an eight-man tag team elimination tables match.
On January 24, 2016, Strowman appeared at the Royal Rumble and scored among the most eliminations in the Royal Rumble match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, eliminating five opponents before being eliminated by Brock Lesnar, only to return to the match and helping his fellow Wyatt Family members to eliminate Lesnar. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter wrote that Strowman was "put over as a monster" in the match. On February 21 at Fastlane, The Wyatt Family lost to the team of Big Show, Kane and Ryback, but they got their win back the next night on Raw in a rematch. Strowman appeared on April 3 at WrestleMania 32 during The Rock and John Cena's confrontation with The Wyatt Family. The Wyatt Family were originally scheduled to face The League of Nations on May 1 at Payback, but the match was canceled after Wyatt suffered a legitimate injury. In July, The Wyatt Family began a feud with the WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day, which saw them defeating The New Day in a six-man tag team match on July 24 at Battleground.

Undefeated streak (2016–2017)

As part of the 2016 WWE draft, Strowman was drafted to the Raw brand while Bray Wyatt and Erick Rowan were drafted to SmackDown instead, Strowman separated from The Wyatt Family and began his singles career. On the following weeks on Raw, Strowman appeared with a modified appearance and defeated James Ellsworth and several other local wrestlers who put up no challenge. On the September 5 episode of Raw, Sin Cara challenged Strowman due to him disrespecting luchadores; Strowman defeated Sin Cara by countout and by pinfall in the following weeks. On the October 17 episode of Raw, Strowman was confronted by Sami Zayn after easily defeating three local competitors in a one-on-three handicap match. Strowman was scheduled to compete against Zayn the following week on Raw, but the match never started as both men attacked each other before the bell rang. On the October 31 episode of Raw, Strowman won a battle royal by last eliminating Zayn for a spot on Team Raw for the traditional Survivor Series five-on-five elimination match. At the event on November 20, Strowman eliminated Dean Ambrose, but he was the first man to be eliminated from Team Raw after being counted out due to interference by James Ellsworth, who was put through a table after being chased up the entrance ramp by Strowman. Team Raw later lost the match. On the December 13 episode of Raw, Raw General Manager Mick Foley announced a match between Strowman and Zayn for on December 18, being announced as a ten-minute time limit match in which Strowman had ten minutes to defeat Zayn, which Strowman was unable to do. The following night on Raw, Strowman demanded a match against Zayn, but Foley had given Zayn the night off which prompted Strowman to attack Sin Cara and Titus O'Neil during their match and later attacked Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns during their match against Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens. Strowman defeated Zayn in a Last Man Standing match on the January 2, 2017 episode of Raw to end their feud.
On January 27 at the Royal Rumble, Strowman interfered during Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns' title match, helping Owens retain the Universal Championship. Later that night, Strowman would enter the Royal Rumble match at number seven, eliminating Mojo Rawley, Big Cass, Kalisto, Mark Henry, Big Show, James Ellsworth and Tye Dillinger before being eliminated by Baron Corbin. On the January 30 episode of Raw, Strowman challenged for his first world championship when he took on Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship as he was granted the match by Foley after video proof of Owens promising Strowman a title match, which Strowman would go on to win by disqualification after Reigns interfered and attacked him. Strowman then continued to demand better competition, easily defeating four local competitors and then being granted a match with Reigns at Fastlane who also had attacked him in his match against Samoa Joe, causing Joe to win. At the event on March 5, Strowman faced Reigns in a losing effort, marking his first loss by pinfall. At WrestleMania 33 in April, Strowman competed in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but failed to win.

Championship pursuits (2017–2019)

On the April 10 episode of Raw, Strowman continued his feud with Roman Reigns, attacking him and kayfabe injuring his shoulder. Despite playing a villain, Strowman received a very positive fan response, partially due to the negative fan reaction of Reigns. The two had a match at Payback, where Strowman defeated Reigns. After the May 8 episode of Raw, WWE claimed that Strowman had a legitimate injury with a shattered elbow and would therefore be sidelined for about six months. This also caused a change in the schedule, with the planned match between him and Brock Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire having to be scrapped. Strowman underwent surgery three days later in May 11. However, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that while Strowman's elbow injury was indeed legitimate, it was minor, scheduled to sideline him for only two months, with WWE exaggerating it in order for him to make a surprise return "four months early". On the June 19 episode of Raw, Strowman returned from injury, attacking Roman Reigns. This led to an ambulance match at Great Balls of Fire, with Strowman winning. At SummerSlam, Strowman would challenge for Lesnar's Universal Championship in a fatal-four-way match also involving Reigns and Samoa Joe in a losing effort. Strowman faced Lesnar for the championship at No Mercy in September, but was unsuccessful once again.
Strowman later became involved in The Miz's feud with the reformed stable The Shield, leading to a five-on-three handicap TLC match at the in October, with Strowman teaming with The Miz, Cesaro and Sheamus and Kane against Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Kurt Angle. During the match, Strowman's teammates turned on him, throwing him into the back of a garbage truck, thus turning Strowman into a face in the process. His team would also go on to lose the match. Strowman would return to Raw the following week, attacking The Miz and The Miztourage. At Survivor Series in November, Strowman appeared as part of Team Raw, defeating Team SmackDown as Strowman and Triple H were the sole survivors of the team. On the December 11 episode of Raw, Strowman fought Kane to a double countout in a match to determine the number one contender to the Universal Championship on January 28, 2018 at the Royal Rumble leading to the match being changed to a triple threat match involving also Kane and Lesnar. At the event, Strowman would be unsuccessful in winning. The next night on Raw, Strowman defeated Kane in Last Man Standing match to qualify for the Elimination Chamber match at the titular pay-per-view to determine the number one contender for the Universal Championship. At the event on February 25, Strowman eliminated The Miz, Elias, John Cena, Finn Bálor and Seth Rollins, but in the end he was eliminated by Roman Reigns.
in April 2018
On the March 12 episode of Raw, Strowman, despite lacking a partner, won a tag team battle royal to determine the number one contenders for the Raw Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania 34. Raw General Manager Kurt Angle allowed Strowman to challenge for the titles, under the provision he choose a partner at the event. At the event on April 8, Strowman chose a young fan in attendance named Nicholas to be his partner. The duo then defeated champions Cesaro and Sheamus, winning his first championship in WWE and making Nicholas the youngest champion of any kind in WWE history. The following night on Raw, Strowman and Nicholas relinquished the titles due to Nicholas' "scheduling conflict". On April 27 at the Greatest Royal Rumble in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Strowman won the namesake match and in doing so broke the record for most eliminations in a Royal Rumble match with 13, beating Roman Reigns' previous record of 12.
From April to August, Strowman feuded with Kevin Owens. He and Bobby Lashley defeated Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at Backlash, and won the Money in the Bank ladder match at the namesake pay-per-view on June 17. At Extreme Rules, Owens defeated Strowman in a Steel cage match after Strowman performed a chokeslam off the cage through an announce table on Owens, thereby giving Owens the win as his feet touched the floor first, per the rules. At SummerSlam, Strowman defeated Owens in a singles match with his Money in the Bank contract on the line in two minutes to end the feud. Later that same night, Strowman announced he would be cashing in on the winner of the main event and challenging them after the match. However, then-reigning Universal Champion Brock Lesnar attacked Strowman during his match with Roman Reigns, leaving Strowman unable to cash in when Reigns won the title after pinning Lesnar.
Strowman would attempt another cash-in on Reigns, the new champion, the next night on Raw, but was stopped by The Shield, who attacked Strowman before the match became official. Strowman then formed an alliance with Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre by helping them attack The Shield, thus turning heel. At Hell in a Cell in September, Strowman would cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Reigns, but due to interference from Brock Lesnar, the match ended in a no contest. At Super Show-Down on October 6, Strowman, Ziggler and McIntyre faced The Shield in a losing effort, before defeating them two days later on Raw. However, on the October 15 episode of Raw, Strowman, Ziggler and McIntyre lost to The Shield once again after McIntyre accidentally kicked Strowman during the match. Afterwards, Strowman powerslammed Ziggler before being attacked by McIntyre, dissolving their partnership and turning Strowman face once again.
At Crown Jewel in November, Strowman lost to Lesnar after a pre-match attack by Raw General Manager Baron Corbin and five F-5s, in which Strowman kicked out of four F-5s. Later that month at Survivor Series, Strowman was again attacked by Corbin, along with McIntyre and Bobby Lashley, after Team Raw defeated Team SmackDown in the traditional tag team elimination match. The following night on Raw Strowman would again be attacked by Corbin, Lashley and McIntyre. This was to write him off television, as WWE revealed that Strowman was suffering an legit elbow injury, which would require surgery. Strowman returned at in December, where he defeated Corbin in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match to earn a Universal Championship match against Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble and Corbin was stripped of all authoritative power. On the January 14, 2019 episode of Raw, he was removed from the Universal Championship match since he wasn't medically cleared to compete. However, he instead participated in the Royal Rumble match, being the last man eliminated by the eventual winner Seth Rollins. In February, Strowman continued his feud with Corbin, leading to a no-disqualification match at Elimination Chamber, which Strowman lost after interference from McIntyre and Lashley. However, the following night on Raw, Strowman defeated Corbin in a tables match.
Strowman then got involved in a storyline with Colin Jost and Michael Che of Saturday Night Live fame. On the March 4 episode of Raw, the SNL duo appeared and were announced as special correspondents for WrestleMania 35. They were then involved in a backstage segment with Strowman, where Jost questioned the legitimacy of professional wrestling, resulting in Strowman attacking him. On the March 18 episode of Raw, Strowman announced his participation in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. He challenged the duo to also enter the battle royal, which was made official by WrestleMania 35 host Alexa Bliss. The match, which would take place on the kickoff show, saw Strowman emerge victorious after last eliminating Jost. Strowman broke another record, of most eliminations in that particular match as well with 14 eliminations overall.
On the April 29 episode of Raw, Strowman was announced as one of the entrants in the Money in the Bank ladder match at the titular event on May 19. However, on the May 13 episode of Raw, Strowman lost to Sami Zayn, who had the help of Corbin and McIntrye, forfeiting his spot in the match to Zayn in the process. On the June 3 episode of Raw, Strowman defeated Bobby Lashley in an arm wrestling match, but was then attacked by Lashley setting up a match at Super ShowDown, which Strowman also won. On the July 1 episode of Raw, Strowman faced Lashley in a Falls Count Anywhere match where the match ended in a no contest after Strowman crashed Lashley through the LED boards on the stage where Strowman suffered a kayfabe ruptured spleen. Strowman defeated Lashley in a Last Man Standing match at Extreme Rules to end the feud.
In August, Strowman entered into a storyline with Universal Champion Seth Rollins after saving Rollins from an attack by The O.C.. Strowman and Rollins would then team together to defeat Gallows and Anderson for the Raw Tag Team Championship on the August 19 episode of Raw. Subsequently, a Universal title match between Strowman and Rollins was arranged for Clash of Champions, with the duo also having to defend the tag titles against Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode at the event. At the pay-per-view, Strowman and Rollins lost the tag titles to Ziggler and Roode in the opening match, and in the main event Strowman was also defeated by Rollins. Strowman then started an on-air feud with boxer Tyson Fury. This led to a brawl on October 7 edition of Raw, due to neither man wanting to offer an apology. Many Superstars had to try to keep them apart. Strowman lost to Fury at Crown Jewel, after he was counted out and after the match Strowman laid out Fury with a Running Powerslam to end their feud.

Championship reigns (2019–present)

As part of the 2019 draft, Strowman was drafted to the SmackDown brand. At Survivor Series, Strowman was part of Team SmackDown in the 5-on-5-on 5 Survivor Series match between Team Raw, Team SmackDown and Team NXT, in which Strowman's team came out victorious in the end.
On the January 10, 2020 episode of SmackDown, Strowman defeated the Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura in a non-title match to secure a title opportunity in the future. At the Royal Rumble on January 26, Strowman participated in the Royal Rumble match, but was eliminated by Brock Lesnar. On the January 31 episode of SmackDown, despite interferences from Sami Zayn and Cesaro, Strowman defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to win the Intercontinental Championship, his first singles title in the WWE. However, at Elimination Chamber on March 8, Strowman lost the title to Sami Zayn in a 3-on-1 handicap match, also involving Nakamura and Cesaro.
In April, it was announced that Strowman would replace Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 36, facing Goldberg for the Universal Championship, after Reigns opted to pull out of the event amid concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic that had already affected the pay-per-view. At WrestleMania, Strowman defeated Goldberg to capture the Universal Championship, his first world championship in his career. Following WrestleMania, Strowman began a feud with Bray Wyatt, leading to a match at Money in the Bank, where Strowman defeated Wyatt to retain the title.
After successfully defending the Universal Championship against John Morrison and The Miz at Backlash, Strowman rekindled his rivalry with Wyatt, who challenged him to a non-title "Wyatt Swamp Fight". The match took place at The Horror Show at Extreme Rules, which Strowman lost after he was dragged down into a lake by Wyatt.

Personal life

Scherr supports the Green Bay Packers. He is the godfather of Bray Wyatt and JoJo Offerman's son.

Other media

Scherr, as Braun Strowman, is a playable character in the video games WWE 2K17, WWE 2K18, WWE 2K19, and WWE 2K20.

Filmography

Film

Television

Championships and accomplishments

Professional wrestling