The opening match to WWE Crown Jewel 2022 saw a rematch from the Royal Rumble, as Brock Lesnar met Bobby Lashley. It was Lashley who won their previous contest at the Rumble, regaining the WWE Championship with help from Roman Reigns, stemming from Paul Heyman reuniting with ‘The Tribal Chief’.
This time, however, it would be Brock Lesnar who reigned supreme, reversing a Hurt Lock by falling atop Bobby Lashley for the winning pinfall. The duo are now 1-1 in singles competition, putting the seeds in place for a third showdown down the line.
Speaking to Byron Saxton following the match, Lashley explained how he was “ready to die” vs. ‘The Beast Incarnate’, citing the match as a test that he failed:
“I was ready to die out there. There’s not a tomorrow for me, there is not a day after tomorrow, there is a now. That was the biggest challenge that I had, it was beating Brock Lesnar. People have been talking about it for years and I went out there and failed…I failed, that’s what happened, I failed. So back to the drawing board, Quit? Give up? What do I do? That was a test and I was supposed to win and then now what?”
Bobby Lashley Has Had An Impressive 2022
2022 has proven largely fruitful for Bobby Lashley, with ‘The All Mighty’ having been unpinned and unsubmitted for the majority of the year. In fact, Brock Lesnar’s pinfall victory over him marked just the third pinfall loss for the two-time WWE Champion.
Aside from Lesnar, only Omos and Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins can say they’ve pinned Bobby Lashley in 2022. ‘The Nigerian Giant’ did so at WrestleMania Backlash, whereas Rollins pinned Lashley on the October 10 Monday Night Raw. Even then, those came via nefarious means; MVP interfered on Omos’ behalf, whereas Brock Lesnar attacked Lashley to soften him up for Rollins.