In the second-to-last match three years ago at WrestleMania 35, as the crowd anxiously awaited the coronation of Becky Lynch as “The Man,” Bobby Lashley defended the intercontinental title against Finn Bálor.
Adorned in full “Demon” regalia, Bálor won and the match lasted barely four minutes. Despite possessing an action figure look and powerful in-ring approach, it appeared Lashley had hit his ceiling in WWE. Except it never appeared that way to him.
“After the match with Finn, I knew there was so much more in front of me,” Lashley says. “I was going to scrape and crawl if I needed to because I was going to be WWE champion.”
In retrospect, perhaps there was a ceiling—more specifically, a retractable roof, like the one at AT&T Stadium in Texas that will host this year’s WrestleMania. That is where Lashley is set to, once again, defend the WWE championship.
Lashley defeated Brock Lesnar at Saturday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view, providing a definitive answer to Lesnar’s “Bobby Who?” question. Though the match was far from a masterpiece, and Lashley ended up in the middle of the Lesnar-Roman Reigns story line, there is no arguing the result: Lashley is now a two-time WWE champion.
“This was so much deeper than a match,” Lashley says, unable to contain his smile. “My kids were in the front row, and I wanted to teach them a lesson about enduring. That’s something we talk about a lot. It’s the person who endures that wins.
“The match was a lot like life. I couldn’t escape Brock’s offense. He’s going to take you to Suplex City, he’s going to hit hard. That’s no different than life. I wanted to test myself and take his punches. I wanted to face him head on, take his best, and beat him in the end.”
At 45, Lashley is in the peak of his career. He is writing out his accolades for his WWE Hall of Fame induction, as well as following through on a lesson his father taught him more than 30 years ago.
“When I was around 12 and went into amateur wrestling, me and my dad didn’t know a whole lot about it,” Lashley says. “I’d played every sport, but this was new to me. My dad told me to go into it with everything I had. I still carry those words with me today with everything I do. The day I’m not on full throttle, that’s the day I retire.”
Ever since his return to WWE in 2018, Lashley had hungered for a match against Lesnar. They are two of the most legitimately strong, physically imposing men in the industry, and sharing the ring together represented an opportunity for Lashley to prove he belongs in the same category of greatness.
“That’s a match I wanted for a long time,” Lashley says. “Brock has the same kind of strength as [UFC heavyweight champion] Francis Ngannou. He came as advertised.”
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Along with Reigns, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, Lashley is one of the top four champions in the company, holding the belt with the most lineage and significance. Back in elite company with the belt around his waist, Lashley will begin building momentum toward WrestleMania on Monday night’s edition of Raw
As Lashley awaits his next opponent to emerge—Edge immediately comes to mind from the Raw roster—he returns to WWE’s signature show on Monday nights as the dominant face of the brand.
“We’ll see who steps up,” said Lashley. “Winning the championship was one thing, but defending it is another. Every day, every night, every morning, I’m putting in the work. I’m doing this the only way I know how, and that’s by putting everything into it.”
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Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.
