Braun Strowman recently spoke with CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri ahead of 2022 WWE Tribute to the Troops. Strowman opens up about his WWE release and return, being the last of a “dying breed” like Andre the Giant and Undertaker, and other topics.
Strowman talked about wanting to be on The Masked Singer as well as possibly recording some songs:
“I’ve been lobbying about that for a couple of years since that show started. A little known secret, I’m not that bad of a singer. But me patting myself on the back, never, right? But it’s definitely something that I’ve talked about and now being back on Fox, Friday Night SmackDown, I mean, let’s go. It’s hand in hand.”
“In all honesty, I’ve actually been talking to a buddy of mine, a good friend of mine, Jared Barnett. He used to travel the world with Cirque du Soleil. He plays the electric violin. He does it freelance now. We’re going to sit down with a couple other guys and record a few songs. It’s something that I’ve wanted to do. I’ve talked about doing it for a long time and I’m sick of manifesting these dreams in my head and sometimes pushing them off the side. It’s starting to check these bucket list things off. I’m not getting any younger, so you know what? Let’s take a shot in the dark. You never know what happens.”
On what his pressures and motivations are as a bigger man to perform in an industry that is trending towards a more dynamic, smaller performer:
“A lot of it comes out of the question of, ‘Who could I wrestle if I could wrestle anyone of all time’, and it’s the same answer every time. It’s Andre the Giant. Andre the Giant is sports entertainment. He is the reason why this industry is what it is and it’s world renowned. It’s a global entity. When you talk WWE, you cannot mention this company without saying Andre the Giant. So from him to the Big Show to Kane to Undertaker to Mark Henry to all these other giant men that have come and gone in this business, I’m one of the very last few of a dying breed of these dinosaurs that I like to call it. So in my mind, I’m carrying on a tradition and a legacy that is fading, and as much as that hurts my heart because of that exact same thing that you just talked about, the stereotype of being this bigger guy that I’ve had things handed to me in life or that I fee, fi, fo, fum my way through life, grinding up people’s kids to make my bread, there’s more to it than that. I look like this big, imposing, scary monster, but at the end of the day, I’m a passionate, caring, loving, articulate human being, and I want to be able to not only portray the aspect of the monster side of things, but I want to show the world that there’s more than meets the eye. Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
“So many people are, not just with big people, but any walk of life, some people are so quick when they get a glance at someone that they automatically have this stereotypical opinion of what this person is going to be. I love the opportunity to break these stereotypes and show the world that there’s more to me than meets the eye. But then again, at the same thing on the performing side of it, I like being able to go out there and do stuff as a big man that no one’s ever seen before. Here we go. I don’t pat myself on the back very often, but there’s no one else like me on earth and I’m a firm believer of that, because if there was, they’d have found him already.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit SHAK Wrestling (Shakiel Mahjouri) with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
