Braun Strowman returned to the ring last night in his first ever match outside of WWE.
Appearing under his real name Adam Scherr, the former world champion defeated EC3 at pay-per-view event Free Your Narrative II: The Monster In Us All.
Scherr tweeted his opponent and close friend ahead of the match, saying: “All I can say is thank you @therealec3 you set me free from so many things I had locked inside me that I never thought I’d be able to over come!!! You wanna see a monster become more than he thought he was capable of!!!”
The one-time Universal Champion, who was let go by WWE at the beginning of June after spending his entire career with the company as part of Raw, SmackDown and NXT, was evidently delighted to be back in action and he looked to be in great shape too.
Earlier this week, he shared a shirtless picture of himself on Instagram, explaining how a new programme has helped him lose some excess weight.
“After five days of less than 50g of carbs a day I was 343 today,” he wrote. “Still holding some water but I’m ok with that. I have a big refeed coming to blow back up. Really enjoying this new program @mental_entity has been helping me with. I have a whole new fire lit under me to better myself not only my physical appearance but my mentality. To be a better healthier more loving person and stop being negative and hateful to things for no reason.”
But, as his tweet alluded to, in addition to overhauling his physical appearance, Scherr has also been re-working his in-ring persona, something EC3 spoke to The Wrestling Inc. Daily about earlier this week.
“The fight isn’t just between myself and Adam Scherr. The fight is between Adam Scherr and the monster within him,” he said.
“Whether friend or foe, in The Narrative, you fight because again, the fight isn’t against an opponent in the ring. The fight is against the person inside you, and Adam Scherr is going through an awakening right now.”
Thanking EC3 for the part he’s played in that process, Scherr took to Instagram after the match, writing: “You helped free me from so many monsters I had locked inside me. Thank you @therealec3 you helped take my rose coloured glasses off and truly see the beauty of the world!!!!”