Is Vince McMahon second guessing Braun Strowman's push?

Vince McMahon's love affair with muscular monsters who can turn people's heads at airports is well known. In recent years that passion has led to a succession of inexperienced behemoths being called up from WWE's developmental system way too soon and being pushed hard on the main roster before they were ready, only for Vince to eventually sour on these acts when fans didn't react to them at the level he thought they should.

This pattern seems to be repeating itself with Vince's latest crush, one Braun Strowman. So high was Vince on Strowman's potential in late January, there were rumors that he was being heavily considered to be The Undertaker's opponent at WrestleMania 32. That spot eventually went to his son Shane, but Vince apparently still had major plans in store for his latest pet project. Strowman was apparently scheduled to win the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on Sunday to set him up for a match with Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.

However, according to Dave Meltzer in this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, those ideas are being reconsidered after the fans in Philadelphia crapped on Braun Strowman's main event match with Dean Ambrose on last week's Monday Night Raw:

"There have been second thoughts regarding Strowman, particularly given the reaction to his match with Ambrose in Philadelphia. At this point he is no longer a lock to win the Battle Royal, which he had been. They were open to other ideas this week. He still may win. But the plan for him to win the Battle Royal and face Lesnar at SummerSlam is no longer a sure thing."

Pushing Strowman down the throats of the "vocal majority" of snarky hardcore adult fans that will be in attendance in Dallas and Brooklyn is obviously a strategy that has a high risk of backfiring in hilarious fashion. So pumping the brakes on Strowman's push until he has proven himself capable of working solid singles matches in the friendlier and more forgiving environment of WWE's house shows seems like the smart decision to make. However, that may be a bitter pill for Vince McMahon to swallow, as that would be allowing a loud subgroup of the WWE fanbase to dictate his booking, when he surely believes that he is more in tune with what the casual audience wants having promoted professional wrestling for over 30 years.