The Goldmine: What Bobby Lashley Will Do For WWE by Alex Gold

Recently, rumors were circulating that former WWE superstar, mixed martial arts standout and Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Lashley would be returning to WWE sometime in the near future. Although this has yet to be officially confirmed, speculation is running high regarding the possibility of his comeback happening at the ‘Grandest Stage of Them All’, WrestleMania 34.

But what would Lashley’s return to the roster do for the WWE going forward? It will solve a major issue with WWE‘s current roster: a lack of dominant big men that can contend regularly for the company’s main event singles titles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooQ4GYMHSVc

Imagine this if you will: it’s the end of the WWE Universal Championship match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 34. Reigns spears Lesnar. The pinfall. 1-2-3. (We all know this is what’s going to happen, unfortunately.)

Reigns stands tall in the center of the ring, WWE Universal Championship in hand, to a mixed chorus of cheers and boos, only to have Lashley rush down to the ring and go face-to-face with the ‘Big Dog’. The stare down turns into a beatdown of Reigns and Lashley stands tall as the program goes off the air. What a way to thwart WWE fans frustration over a Reigns victory and what a way to start Lashley’s return campaign with the company.

Fans would love it. In fact, if one listens closely, they could hear the entire venue erupting with sheer delight, much like they did for Lashley in the past…

If handled correctly, this potential rivalry could fuel a massive championship feud that could signal a major tonal shift of storytelling (and for those who hate him, it could be the ultimate downfall of Reigns’ WWE Universal Championship reign). To steal a line from WWE United States Champion Bobby Roode – it would be GLORIOUS.

We’ve heard it said many times in the past by both WWE CEO Vince McMahon and WWE COO Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque: professional wrestling was founded on the backs of big men – huge herculean bodybuilder types that looked like real-life comic book characters.

https://youtu.be/XZnqY-WpDtE

In the past decade or so, however, there has been an overall trend to push smaller sized but larger than life superstars as champions. Take Eddie Guerrero, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan for example, very few have been able to carry the weight (pun intended) of the entire WWE company upon their shoulders. That is why Roman Reigns, who is despised by the majority of WWE fans, is sitting atop the WWE pecking order. McMahon subconsciously believes big men draw both in regards to merchandise and ticket sales and in his eyes, Reigns is the biggest man of them all.

Enter Bobby Lashley. The former Impact Wrestling World Champion is the ultimate (and classical) representation of a professional wrestling big man. If he does return to WWE then the company may find renewed success across the board. When WWE ruled the world, it was because of the performances of heavyweight megastars like the Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan, and the Undertaker.

At the height of the company’s market dominance, the WWE World Champion was generally classified as the “Heavyweight Champion”. There’s something to be said in that statement.

• WrestleMania 34
• wwe universal championship
• ufc
• bobby lashley
• Roman Reigns
• Impact Wrestling
• wwe

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