‘The All Mighty’ Bobby Lashley has found himself in a curious predicament. Despite winning his third WWE Championship in one of his biggest matches to date, Lashley has been pigeon holed with no real, obvious challenger to face him at this year’s WrestleMania. Following a divisive Royal Rumble event, the RAW brand has been left without any form of worthy contender to the top guy’s title, seeing as former champion Big E has been traded to SmackDown Live and the likes of Seth Rollins, AJ Styles and Kevin Owens are currently struggling to find a reason to be entered into such a high-profile match.
WWE have the opportunity to crown a new challenger at the next event in Saudi Arabia, when the famed Elimination Chamber will be dusted off for another round of carnage and chaos. With the RAW roster being considerably thinner that it has been in years, there’s a limited amount of challengers that could naturally fit the bill to face ‘The All Mighty’ in Dallas.
However, there must be at least one guy to step up to the plate and make a credible marquee WrestleMania bout, right? Here are five potential challengers for Bobby Lashley’s WWE Championship.
1. Seth Rollins
‘The Visionary’ Seth Rollins quickly became one of the most talked about aspects of this weekend’s Royal Rumble event, re-introducing the Shield vest and iconic entrance for his pre-match mind games against Roman Reigns. Rollins delivered one of the best performances of the evening, walking away with a DQ victory and setting himself up for a continued babyface run on Monday Night RAW.
The cackling villain may not be everyone’s first choice to be the one to dethrone Bobby Lashley, but nobody can deny that Rollins deserves a top spot following that masterful performance against his former partner. Rollins could continue to ride this wave of momentum and win the Elimination Chamber at Crown Jewel, setting himself up for a first-time-ever encounter between he and Lashley.
It would be an interesting clash of styles, with Lashley playing the big powerhouse against Rollins’ light-heavyweight style. I’d love to see this go down on the big stage, as Rollins has put in a lot of work throughout 2021 to make other stars look great — it’s time those dues are returned with success.
2. AJ Styles
AJ Styles was one of the names I pitched for the Men’s Royal Rumble winner, but unfortunately he was dumped over the top rope by Madcap Moss, of all people, bringing his WrestleMania hopes to an end for now. With the Elimination Chamber match on the horizon, AJ could be a fantastic entry into that match, not only to produce some incredible Chamber spots like he’s done in recent years, but also to give him the necessary boost back into the main event scene in time for WrestleMania.
Depending on WWE’s plans for Bobby Lashley, AJ could serve as the perfect opponent to make ‘The All Mighty’ look even more mighty, bumping like crazy for him while getting the very best out of his in-ring ability. On the other hand, Styles deserves a big WrestleMania moment. He’s yet to win a World Championship on the big stage and 2022 could be the year he finally scores that feat.
AJ/Lashley is another match that has yet to happen in WWE, and to my knowledge it hasn’t happened elsewhere either. With few ‘dream matches’ left in WWE to tick off, this could quickly become one of them if they play to each wrestlers strengths on the grandest stage.
3. Omos
From ‘The Phenomenal One’ to his former tag partner, Omos could very well be poised for his first major championship match at this year’s WrestleMania. Now, this could be quite the controversial choice, seeing as Omos is still relatively new to the WWE and still quite green in between the ropes. But he’s definitely on the rise in terms of his ability and presence and a big run as part of this year’s Elimination Chamber match will definitely set him up for future success.
What if he actually won the whole thing and secured himself a spot at WrestleMania this year? Omos/Lashley could be a huge marquee attraction, especially now that Lashley has seemingly leaned into the babyface side of his personality since defeating Brock Lesnar at Royal Rumble. WWE has always been known as the land of the giants, so pitting their biggest and most sizeable superstar against the WWE Champion could be a one of the most aesthetically-pleasing bouts of the two nights.
This could be a very interesting change in dynamic for ‘The All Mighty’, who for the first time might be on the back foot against ‘The Colossus’.
4. Rey Mysterio
WWE
The WWE 2K22 cover star is riding a big wave of momentum following the confirmation of his heavy involvement in this year’s game. Being the cover star of a WWE video game doesn’t give you much in the way of physical success in the squared circle, but it does generate some interest. Rey Mysterio could certainly benefit from having the spotlight put on him both inside and outside the virtual world, as he enters the final chapters of his wrestling career.
Rumours have suggested that Papa Mysterio may eventually face off against his son Dominik, which may take place on the big stage, but alternatively, he could enter a big-time title feud with Bobby Lashley. Mysterio is a total mis-match for Lashley but could bring out the very best from ‘The All Mighty’, showcasing a classic underdog vs powerhouse story at WrestleMania.
Mysterio has played the unlikely challenger in the past to perfection, so how about one last dance at one of the biggest WrestleMania events ever.
5. John Cena
Already confirmed for WrestleMania 38 are Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch, but there’s still room for one more major attraction.
John Cena has been absent from WWE since competing in the main event of SummerSlam against Roman Reigns in a dream return match. Cena has since retreated into Hollywood to produce the Peacemaker TV series, making him one of the most talked about stars in the world today. Booking John Cena for this year’s WrestleMania would be a huge get, and what a way to showcase him by putting him against another major star that still needs that little bit of exposure to get over as one of the biggest of this generation.
Cena/Lashley has happened before and it was a huge hit in 2007. This was during Lashley’s first run with the company, while he was slowly building his reputation as a future main eventer. Now that ‘The All Mighty’ has fully refined his ring presence, a return match between him and Cena could be absolutely huge.
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