Braun Strowman didn’t hold back when reflecting on how WWE’s locker room culture has changed since the early days of his run with the company.
During his appearance on Bert Kreischer’s podcast, the former Universal Champion laid out his frustrations with the lack of respect shown to top-level talent today—especially when it comes to sticking around to watch the main event. Strowman shared that, early in his WWE tenure, it was common courtesy—practically a requirement—to sit at gorilla position and show respect to the headliners. That standard, he said, has completely disappeared.
“So it went from that of the respect of watching the guys that were on the marquee drawing the main event and the main reason why 90% of the people were in the building was to watch that main event. It was paying your respect to go, ‘Hey thanks for the house’ to seeing that and then going out there and then like Roman Reigns and I going out there 45 minutes doing a street fight and coming back and there’s nobody in the f*cking gorilla and they’re already in their hotels in the next town. It’s like, wait a second. Like they paid to f*cking see us. You couldn’t even stay around to watch our sh*t?”
He went on to reference how, back when The Undertaker was still working shows, younger talent wouldn’t dare walk out early without consequences. Not being there to show appreciation for the main event stars meant getting chewed out—no questions asked.
Strowman also opened up about how wrestling itself has evolved—and not necessarily for the better. He misses the days of larger-than-life characters who felt like they belonged on movie screens, not just in the ring.
“It’s lost the allure of the airport test, the ‘it’ factor. Like what got me into wrestling were these larger-than-life characters that you can’t see walking around on day-to-day. Like the Andres, the Hogan, the Takers, the Kanes, the Mark Henrys. These giant human beings… I’m hoping that maybe the big screen needs the big meatheads back.”
His comments double as a critique of both wrestling and Hollywood—where he feels the age of mythic physiques has been replaced by more “relatable” faces. But for Strowman, wrestling isn’t just about moves—it’s about spectacle. And he believes that spectacle has been lost.
In an era where attention spans are short and locker room etiquette is looser than ever, Strowman is one of the few still demanding reverence for the grind of the main event.
Do you agree with Braun Strowman about the shift in wrestling culture? Is WWE losing something by moving away from larger-than-life stars? Drop your thoughts in the comments below and let us know how you see the evolution of the locker room today.
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December 16, 2025 5:14 pm