Tommy: Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley Must Happen!

Now that WWE once again has Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley under contract at the same, it is evident that this program may actually happen soon, right?

Numerous sites have reported on Brock Lesnar’s new WWE contract status.  As per Fightful Select, Lesnar’s contract will carry through 2023.  The interesting bullet point in this new contract details the fact that Lesnar will have a guaranteed set of eight matches over the next two year stretch.  At the moment, Lesnar has reentered a program with his longtime rival, Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship on SmackDown.  However, given the creative vision WWE has for Reigns, it does not seem likely that Lesnar will be the one to dethrone Reigns’ year long title reign.

There are numerous directions that WWE could invest in for Lesnar between now and 2023.  However, the one program that continues to carry intrigue is the idea of Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley.  Whether they decide to go with the title program for the WWE Championship, or they decide to build it as a WrestleMania Dream Match, you might be hard-pressed to find a wrestling fan today that would show no signs of interest in that match either way.

Aside from the possibilities of how they could book the program, especially when you factor in the credible MMA backgrounds of both athletes, there are other reasons why a Lesnar/Lashley feud needs to happen:

Number one: Lashley has already been promised a program with Lesnar.  As per the Wrestling Observer in March, Lashley had been given a statement by WWE officials that he would get to work a program with Lesnar when he resigned with the company in 2018.  However, this report had come out earlier this year, prior to Lesnar resigning.  Now that WWE has both wrestlers under their umbrella simultaneously again, it is difficult to imagine they would gloss over this program now.

Number two: Raw needs a credible WWE Championship program.  If you look at the depth of the Raw roster at the moment, Lashley does not have many feasible main event talents that he can work with at the moment.  He has already worked with Drew McIntyre, Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman have both been released, they have done an absolutely horrible job in building up potential challengers like a Keith Lee or a Karrion Kross anytime soon, so who does that leave?  Sheamus?  Right now, they seem to want to continue the Goldberg/Lashley program, based on the afterbirth at SummerSlam.  If anyone watched that match in full, why you would want to see that feud continue is beyond comprehension.  And if they are going with the longstanding title reign for Lashley, he needs a high-level program going into WrestleMania season next year.  Lesnar would be the perfect opponent for him.

And number three: It is a program that they could book either way.  Right now, WWE has a clear-cut vision of what they want to do with Roman Reigns and the Universal Championship.  However, Lashley’s future as champion is not as predictable.  If the company decides that they want Lesnar to be the one to defeat Lashley for the WWE Championship, it may not be a bad option.  For one, it gives Raw a must-needed top star and “babyface” champion, and it would prolong Lesnar vs. Lashley into more than just a “one and done” match.  Meanwhile, it would give them time to work on developing some of their midcard talent, such as a Damian Priest, Keith Lee, Karrion Kross, etc. to eventually challenge Lesnar for the title at a later date.  Yes, that would also imply they start booking those guys well and stop with whatever the hell it is they are doing with Karrion Kross’ absurd new gimmick.  However, those options should not be completely off the table.

All in all, it is highly probable that this Lesnar/Lashley program happens within the course of the next two years.  How they get to it and how they decide to book it is something else entirely.  Given WWE’s track-record of how they handle their creative, the skepticism is highly warranted.  However, it is still a dream match and regardless of the “booking,” the pure spectacle of seeing Lesnar and Lashley standoff in the ring would be worth it in the end.

Sources:

Hall, T. (2021, March 17). WWE promised Bobby Lashley a match WITH Brock Lesnar. WrestlingRumors.net. https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/wwe-promised-bobby-lashley-match-brock-lesnar/.

Wolstanholme, D. (2021, August 27). Brock Lesnar WWE contract details revealed as per Fightful Select. Daily DDT. https://dailyddt.com/2021/08/27/brock-lesnar-wwe-contract-details-revealed-as-per-fightful-select/.