The term gentle giant has been used for decades in and out of the ring, but if there was ever confusion about its accuracy, look no further than this documentary produced on Braun Strowman and the Sparks family.
The emotional rollercoaster that is Braun Strowman: Waukesha Strong is the most recent piece from WWE and Peacock’s documentary department. The near 30-minute feature follows the Sparks family following the death of their eight-year-old son, Jackson Sparks, which occurred in the Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, just outside Milwaukee, on November 21, 2021.
Jackson was one of six people killed, and another 62 injured, as Darrell E. Brooks Jr. drove an SUV into the crowd.
Focusing on a single victim, Jackson, is the key to the documentary.
Jackson had an appreciation for larger-than-life characters like The Hulk and pro wrestlers, especially the “Monster Among Men” Braun Strowman.
The broadcast starts off letting viewers get a glimpse into the real life of Strowman, who more accurately shows off the side of him that is Adam Scherr. This was an interesting way to learn more about Strowman, who to this point has been known as a giant in the wrestling ring, but not often has shown more of a personal side of who he truly is. Scherr talks his experience with the game of baseball including some footage of his father, who was a pro slo-pitch softball Hall of Fame player and well known in the communities they lived, primarily in North Carolina. Ultimately, this is a great tie into what truly connects the Scherr family to the Sparks family, specifically Tucker and Jackson, the two children of Aaron and Sheri Sparks, and their involvement with baseball.
Waukesha Strong does a great job of getting into who this family is and the structure that keeps them together in the opening portion of the piece. You get a feel of what the family dynamic is like and what life was like before the tragedy. A classic portion that was included was the Christmas present opening reaction of Jackson getting a WWE Braun Strowman Series 112 figure — apparently a tough find.
“We looked all over, and we could not find that figurine. I’d even go online, and I could not find it and somehow through the miracle that it was, Tucker finds one stuffed in a corner where it shouldn’t be,” says Aaron Sparks in the doc.
As it gets deeper into what led to the tragedy, you can feel something was coming. There is a heartwarming moment of Jackson attending his first WWE show — a Smackdown taping, live on July 31, 2021, in Milwaukee, just months before the attack. Narrated by Aaron Sparks, he explains how much this father-son time meant to Jackson. That feeling of being a child at your first pro wrestling show is evident in Jackson as he is visibly ecstatic and didn’t want to be anywhere else but the Fiserv Forum that night.
Sheri Sparks details the day leading up to the parade stating how they did not plan for boys to attend originally due to how they were feeling but after seeing them wrestling around, felt it was alright. Truly a heartbreaking scene is shown when the attack begins as a red SUV dangerously drives through the parade, almost hitting a little girl. This is where things get hard to watch as the entire event is detailed including news and phone camera footage of what it was like to be there on that night. In an extremely emotional segment, Aaron describes seeing Jackson after the collision. This was hard to witness, the father tearing up as he recalled some of the final moments with his youngest son.
“You don’t come back from that sometimes, it’s something that haunts me,” Aaron admits.
It is around this point where some detail regarding the sentencing of Brooks is shown. After pleading not guilty and representing himself legally, Brooks received six life sentences without parole, one for each of the deceased victims, to be served consecutively. Plus, there were a myriad of other sentences related to reckless endangerment and hit-and-run.
But this is not a documentary about Brooks and the Christmas parade attack.
Scherr is reintroduced and he said that he was paying attention to the trial. Hearing audio of Sheri’s testimony is so powerful in this part as not only does she stress the age of Jackson and how much more he had to live for, but also highlights he won’t ever be able to meet Strowman because of the incident. The power of social media comes into play which was a gratifying moment as a viewer to see how many others were watching the trial play out and were able to get the specifics of Jackson being such a big fan over on the radar of the wrestler that he idolized.
Braun Strowman (Adam Scherr) with the Sparks family.
It’s an emotional, yet charming moment, when Scherr gets to meet the Sparks family, captured on camera. This is a true highlight of the presentation as it’s a moment that can’t be created again and has a personal connection to both Scherr and the Sparks family. It’s a heartwarming scene as the family each have an opportunity to express what the giant known as Braun Strowman meant to Jackson. Even a portion of Scherr breaking down is included which is honestly a great yet bittersweet couple seconds as he explains why it’s such a big deal to him.
“It’s such an honor, I mean, never in a million years thought I would mean this much to anyone in this earth,” says Scherr.
Strowman’s gear used that night would be given to the Sparks family as well as the boots being used in an auction to help the victims of the tragedy.
Overall, Braun Strowman: Waukesha Strong was an emotional piece surrounding a family and a man wanting do as much as can to help make things right. It’s a nice way to find out more about a man who truly cares and a story that hits close to home for a gentle giant in Adam Scherr.
