Braun Strowman’s match on the January 13th episode of SmackDown was special for him. Strowman lives not too far from Green Bay, Wisconsin and is a huge fan of the Green Bay Packers.
For his Intercontinental Championship match against GUNTHER, Strowman wore custom-made boots. These one-time only boots will be auctioned off and the proceeds will go to benefit families that lost loved ones in the 2021 Waukesha Christmas Parade tragedy.
Braun Strowman wore these custom boots to honor 8-year-old Jackson Sparks, a fan of Strowman’s, who was one of the six people killed in that incident. 62 others were injured as well.
“I was his hero” – Braun Strowman
In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Strowman explained that he felt compelled to do something special to honor this fan of his, which is why he ropes that people will bid on these boots with the funds going to the affected families.
“I really want to say thank you to everyone that tries to bid on these boots and help a good cause. At the end of the day, I want to leave the world a little better than I found it and each and every one of you can help do that right now. Thank you.”
Braun Strowman fought GUNTHER for almost twenty minutes but was unable to win after GUNTHER hit a powerbomb out of the corner to win the match and retain his title.
On November 21st, 2021, a man named Darrell Edward Brooks Jr. drove through a crowd of parade onlookers in an SUV and killed six people, including the fan listed above.
After almost a year of legal proceedings, Brooks was found guilty of six charges of first-degree intentional homicide and 71 additional charges. He was sentenced to six consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 763.25 years on top.