Following WWE’s recent wave of roster cuts—which included notable names like Braun Strowman and Shayna Baszler—longtime wrestling journalist and analyst Bill Apter has offered insight into Strowman’s departure during an appearance on Sportskeeda’s WrestleBinge podcast.
While Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com reported that Strowman’s high salary played a role in WWE’s decision, Apter believes there were creative limitations to how the company saw Strowman fitting into its long-term plans.
“I think that this time around, they never envisioned him as a full-time, long storyline player,” Apter said. “I don’t want to use the term ‘filler,’ but just a good hand to have around to get the excitement going and maybe put some guys over—which he did. But nothing that they were planning on for a long period.”
Apter also speculated that Strowman himself may not have been fully committed to an extended run:
“I don’t know if he actually wanted to be part of this for long periods of time.”
Despite the release, Apter emphasized that the split appears to have been amicable, leaving the door open for future returns.
“I heard that it was not an angry break, and if they call him six months or a year down the road, ‘We need you for three or four months,’ he’d be willing to do it again.”
Strowman, a former Universal Champion and one of WWE’s most dominant big men in recent years, has recovered from major injuries and appeared sporadically in 2024. His second WWE run never quite regained the momentum of his peak years between 2017 and 2020, but many believe he remains a valuable asset for big-match scenarios or short-term programs.
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