Braun Strowman returns to WWE Raw after battling infection
After recovering from an infection, Braun Strowman returned to WWE television on Raw tonight.
Strowman appeared in a backstage segment with WWE authority figure Adam Pearce on tonight’s Raw. Strowman said Pearce better have a good reason why he isn’t in Sunday’s WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match. After Pearce responded by saying that the idea was to fill the match with former WWE Champions, Strowman pointed out that he’s a former Universal Champion.
Pearce said he knew this wasn’t the answer Strowman wanted and said he didn’t want to be the messenger giving Strowman the news. Strowman said he had a message for Pearce to relay to Shane McMahon: Shane has to make this right or it won’t be pretty around here.
Strowman made a post on Instagram Stories last Thursday noting that he was recovering from an infection that got into his blood system. “So a little update, I’ve been gone off here for a bit. I got really sick over the weekend,” Strowman said. “I got an infection that got into my blood system, had to get put on antibiotics for that. It was awful, I’ve dropped like 15 pounds in five days, couldn’t eat and stuff like that, but it looks like I’ve gained 50 pounds of water weight. All my joints and everything are all swollen and inflamed. But the antibiotics are working, I’m feeling better. We’re gonna nip this thing in the bud, get back to training, put that mask back on, and I’ll be back to seeing you guys very soon.”
This was Strowman’s first appearance on Raw since attacking Pearce during an angle in November. Strowman, who had a legitimate knee injury at that time, was given a storyline indefinite suspension after attacking Pearce. He returned to WWE TV on SmackDown’s Royal Rumble go-home show last month and then took part in the men’s Royal Rumble match.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.