In January 2018, Strowman was announced as one of the participants, along with Kane and Lesnar, in a triple threat match for the WWE Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble. On the January 8 episode of Raw, Strowman brutally attacked both Kane and Lesnar as the latter two were brawling, knocking both of them semi-conscious in the backstage area. Before anyone could aid them, Strowman took a grappling hook and pulled down a lighting truss onto Lesnar and Kane, crushing them underneath. On the Jan. 15 Raw, Angle confronted Strowman in the ring, telling him his actions went too far and, after removing him from the triple threat match, fired him. Strowman went on a rampage backstage, including destroying Angle's office, flipping over the cab of a semitrailer truck (containing the production area, this after threatening the production staff) and brutally attacking Raw lead announcer Michael Cole. Before he could do any more damage, Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon rehired Strowman, putting him back into the triple threat match at the Royal Rumble. At the event, Strowman failed to win the title after Lesnar pinned Kane. Next night on Raw, Strowman defeated Kane in Last Man Standing match to qualify for the 2018 Elimination Chamber match to determine the number one contender for the Universal Championship. At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Braun Strowman eliminated five superstars, but in the end he was eliminated by Roman Reigns.