WWE Backlash 2020 Results: Braun Strowman Retains Joke Of A Universal Title

Braun Strowman defeated The Miz and Morrison in a rare two-on-one Universal Championship match to retain his world championship as his latest comedic feud mercifully came to an end.

Despite making an admirable effort in building up a credible heel for Drew McIntyre on Raw, WWE did not even pretend to do the same for Braun Strowman, who is clearly entrenched as a transitional champion with Roman Reigns immunocompromised during COVID-19, and Bray Wyatt spending time with his family after the birth of second child.Strowman has spent weeks chasing around The Miz and Morrison, a midcard tag team of otherwise capable performers, as part of a comedy act.

Strowman’s whimsical pursuit of prank-minded Miz and Morrison featured slime, car damage and even Braun Strowman’s signature stunt of tipping over vehicles in retaliation. While the 3.1 million viewers for the stunt is actually an impressive number given WWE’s falling YouTube viewership during the pandemic, it pales in comparison to the 30 million-plus viewers these type of stunts attracted at the peak of Strowman’s powers.

Despite lasting for far longer than most anticipated, Braun Strowman’s Universal Championship run has felt too little, too late for quite some time. WWE’s underwhelming booking of Strowman on Friday nights’ has done nothing to erase the damage done to the once-red-hot character after coming up short time and again in world championship matches.

As The Fiend waits in the wings, with Roman Reigns inching to return, Braun Strowman’s already forgettable Universal Championship run has run out of steam and appears to be nearing its end.