A number of current and former WWE talents were out and about Monday night as the company celebrated its “WWE Raw” debut on Netflix from the city of Los Angeles. “WWE SmackDown” star Braun Strowman, however, was not among them. In a new Instagram post, the former WWE Universal Champion revealed the unfortunate circumstances behind his absence from “Raw” as well as last week’s episode of “SmackDown.”
“2025 got off to a (rough) start for me,” Strowman wrote. “I got some kind of bug last week and it totally whipped my ass. I was laying in a hotel room for four days, three with a fever of 102 or higher for the first three days .A week later, I’m finally done with what I think is the bump. My severe body pain is finally easing. Today is the first day I can move around and really do. anything. lost 36 pounds this week I took a test and all they could determine was that it was very fortunately a bad flu.
Strowman went on to note that in addition to the premiere of “Raw” on Netflix, he will also miss this week’s edition of “SmackDown,” which originates from the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. Nonetheless, Strowman plans to return “bigger, stronger and badder” than ever in the near future.
“The Monster Among Men” last wrestled on the December 27 episode of “SmackDown”, in which he defeated Austin Theory in singles action. Before that, he became the first star of the “transfer window”, officially moving from WWE’s red brand to the blue brand.
