FOCUS YOUR FEUD – Colohue evaluates the Braun Strowman vs. Drew McIntyre feud, the history and the highs and lows so far

The one constant in all of WWE programming is that there will always be feuds. Sometimes over titles, sometimes over prestige and sometimes over coffee. Here, we celebrate the highs and lows of WWE feudage and, hopefully, will only ever focus on a feud once.

I’m Tom Colohue and this is Focus Your Feud.

Follow Tom Colohue at @Colohue for updates.

Braun Strowman and Drew McIntyre

I still want to type Galloway every time.

Even though these two only tangled briefly in the ring, a lot was laid out in the one segment and this looks like it could be a great rivalry that ends with nobody happy. Put these two in a match together and have Strowman lose and sure, McIntyre will have a great start and look like a genuine big deal but Braun Strowman, after being built so high that God himself would not be able to get him down for a three count, would look a bit pathetic.

Of course if Strowman goes over, as he so frequently does, Drew McIntyre becomes just another victim of the Strowman express. What then would be the point?

But let’s not be negative because any actual match is still a long way away.

Having Dolph Ziggler as Drew’s partner was a shrewd move. Having that experienced and recognisable operator beside him will help establish Drew. Meanwhile any time he’s in the ring he’ll establish his credentials. It’s also worth pointing out that McIntyre may not be one hundred per cent fit yet, which explains why he hasn’t been in the ring all that much.

On the other side, Braun Strowman is in the middle of a particularly worthwhile face push that began fruitfully shortly after Wrestlemania last year. His reactions are huge, he’s been in the main event of Raw more than anyone else since his debut and, especially after Elimination Chamber, he’s been proven to be absolutely unstoppable unless your name is Brock Lesnar.

Braun is so far into the stratosphere now that WWE has to bring him back down to Earth. He can’t be this tough; it’s awful storytelling long term. It simply isn’t possible to maintain this position without a five year long title reign in his future. He certainly could be the next Universal Champion but if he’s in his current position with the title then you might as well just keep it on Brock Lesnar given how often he’s going to be threatened by anybody not called Roman Reigns.

Drew McIntyre however is a new element. We don’t know him all that well on the main roster, or at least this incarnation of him. He stood up to Braun but ultimately ended up on his back. A slow paced build towards the top could do wonders for McIntyre and Strowman. Ziggler can keep McIntyre heel, meanwhile Strowman’s new social talent has endeared him to everybody.

So what is the feud about? Is it about the smashed trophy? The trophy that was there for reasons unknown if you believe the dirt sheets that it wasn’t supposed to break? I mean, you saw it crumple into dust, right? It would be easy to line these guys up just in pursuit of competition. Both characters are perfect for that.

But then where does Dolph Ziggler play into this? The involvement of Chad Gable and the expectation of Jason Jordan’s upcoming return suggests that the plan for the future is Ziggler and McIntyre versus a reforming American Alpha. There are a lot of things that could happen to get in the way of this feud.

And it’s a feud that could only finish badly.

But I wants it. I wants it bad.

NOW CHECK OUT THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: FOCUS YOUR FEUD: Colohue evaluates the Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor feud, the history and the highs and lows so far