From the WWE Rumor Mill: Braun Strowman’s injury update and when he's expected to return

What’s the story?

WWE superstar Braun Strowman is expected to return from injury much sooner than many had anticipated, as reported by WrestleZone. Strowman, who had been on quite a roll prior to this setback, suffered an elbow injury a while back that has required surgery.

In case you didn’t know...

Strowman had been initially pencilled in for a Universal Title bout against Brock Lesnar in the near future, however, many thought those plans had been shelved due to this injury.Following the initial diagnosis, a lot of people felt that the company would choose to instead put Roman Reigns in that spot, with The Big Dog set to take part in the fatal five-way at Extreme Rules to determine the number one contender.

The heart of the matter

The report suggests that Strowman is set to return “much faster” than the initial diagnosis of six months. Dave Meltzer was the first person to report that the proposed six-month figure was a worked number, with many now expecting Strowman to claim his expected match against Brock Lesnar – potentially at SummerSlam.

In terms of his return, he could be back as soon as mid-July.

What’s next?

Over the next few weeks we’ll likely see the build begin towards WWE Great Balls of Fire, with the company set to crown a new number one contender for the Universal Championship at Extreme Rules.

There’s a good chance that Strowman could return by attacking Lesnar at one of these events, however, it seems more likely that the build to their bout will take place on an episode of Raw.

Author’s take

It’s hard not to love Braun Strowman, especially when you go back and watch some of his assaults on Roman Reigns. In terms of the Brock Lesnar match, we’re not entirely sure how it’s going to play out, but the idea of Braun being F5ed is something we’re dying to see.

WWE NEWS: WWE SmackDown Live Results: News And Notes After Jinder Mahal's Coronation

WWE SmackDown Live will have added juice after Jinder Mahal's shocking WWE Championship victory over Randy Orton, but this may not translate to the blue brand pulling out of annual low viewership territory.

                                                                                                                                                        Monday's Raw achieved yet another 2017 low, with just 2.615 million average viewers. This doesn't bode well for SmackDown Live as the Tuesday night flagship has followed suit with 2017 lows two out of the last three times Raw achieved the vaunted feat. It's doubly concerning that SmackDown Live's viewership has seen a decrease from the prior-week for its last two pay-per-view fallout shows.

Mahal's victory was certainly shocking, but ticket sales slowed for the otherwise fertile Chicago market once the entire Backlash card was announced. On Sunday night, just under 10,000 fans sprinkled into the Allstate Arena, which is able to hold more than 18,000 people for a pro wrestling event.

Interest in every selling point, from Jinder Mahal's improbable rise to Shinsuke Nakamura's debut—which was heavily promoted—was soft for SmackDown Live's first brand-exclusive pay-per-view since February. Hopefully the fallout of a brand-new world champion can spark enough curiosity to breathe momentum into SmackDown Live's ratings.

WWE SmackDown Live Viewership Following Pay-Per-Views

Airdate	Average Viewership	Pay-Per-View	Viewership vs. Week Prior
September 13, 2016	2.650 Million	WWE Backlash 2016	Up from 2.450 Million
October 11, 2016	2.448 Million	WWE No Mercy	Up from 2.316 Million
December 6, 2016	2.479 Million	WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs	Down from 2.576 Million
February 14, 2017	2.626 Million	WWE Elimination Chamber	Down from 2.630 Million
Average Viewership	2.550 Million

Last Week's SmackDown Live Viewership: 2.175 Million (Down from 2.348 Million, new 2017 low) 

WWE SmackDown Live Key Competition 

• NBA Playoffs: Boston Celtics at Cleveland Cavaliers (Eastern Conference Finals, Game 4)
  • Sidebar: If NBA's TV ratings eating into SmackDown Live's viewership wasn't scary enough, this suddenly important game is being played just two hours from the Huntington Center in Ohio, which could negatively impact the already low-ceiling attendance for a "C" market in WWE.
• Tucker Carlson Tonight 

Last week's WWE SmackDown Live Total YouTube Viewership: 4,225,380 (Down from 4,612,722) 

• Most-Viewed: AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal (1,341,378) 
• Least-Viewed: Negativity Won't Stop The New Day (173,838)
  • Sidebar: The New Day's promotional vignettes have consistently been the least-viewed videos on the SmackDown Live YouTube channel. Perhaps this could explain why the otherwise popular and record-breaking trio made a rather unheralded debut during Talking Smack. It's easy to dismiss the lack of viewership by noting that these were just promotional videos, which traditionally don't get as many views as live or in-ring segments. But it's also worth noting that Lana's promotional vignette that same week drew 438,417 viewers, over 2.5 times that of The New Day. With new scenery, and hopefully a more wrestling-heavy schedule, The New Day should have no problem restoring its popularity as WWE's premier tag team.

SmackDown Live Social Media Score: 

• Twitter: 41,000 interactions with 11,000 unique authors (Up from 40,000; 10,000)
• Facebook: 69,000 interactions with 46,000 unique authors (Up from 61,000; 41,000)

Average WWE SmackDown Live Ticket Price at the Huntington Center: $111

Average SmackDown Live Attendance for "C" City: 4,546

WWE SmackDown Live Estimated Live Gate: $504,606 

WWE SmackDown Live Viewership When Raw Sees Annual Low

Raw Airdate	Raw Average Viewership	SmackDown Live Airdate	SmackDown Live Average Viewership	SmackDown Annual Low?
January 1, 2017	2.907 Million	January 2, 2017	2.533 Million	Yes
May 1, 2017	2.870 Million	May 2, 2017	2.300 Million	Yes
May 8, 2017	2.696 Million	May 9, 2017	2.348 Million	No
May 22, 2017	2.615 Million	May 23, 2017	Pending	Pending
Average Viewership	2.772 Million		2.394 Million

Baron Corbin is an early favorite to win Money in the Bank, which makes him screwed once Vince McMahon changes his mind to keep us all on our toes.

All this group warfare in the women's division is reminiscent of the ill-fated stables that launched the Divas Revolution. Remember The Submission Sorority PCB? Team B.A.D.? Team Bella? The Justice League? Which one of those did I just make up? Don't cheat by Googling it.

Sami Zayn's gimmick is basically "I can't believe he just won!"

There was nothing sinister about Jinder Mahal's grand entrance. Toledo, OH was getting a free show that just saved them $100 on tickets to Zumanity. People cheered the impressive and vibrant dance number, and why not? This is Toledo. It's either this or kayaking.

Conspiracy Theory No. 2 of why The New Day was relegated to Talking Smack: WWE had never tested so many different neon color schemes on one show and feared lawsuits stemming from blindness.

I understand Jinder Mahal going with Maharaja as a villainous nickname but it's so easy to chant.

I'm not sure what Mahal said to "his people" in "his language," but if I find out he didn't thank those awesome dancers, then that's a bigger heel move than cheating to win the WWE Championship.

WWE's segment with The Usos taking two losses to Tyler Breeze and Fandango, only to successfully defend the SmackDown Tag Team Championships moments later, is WWE's entire booking philosophy for people too busy to watch long-term.

Shinsuke Nakamura was successful in his SmackDown Live in-ring debut. Ideally he shouldn't lose for months. Philosophically? He'll be batting .500 by the end of June