WWE Crown Jewel 2022 was opened with only the second singles bout in history between Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley, the first having occurred at the Royal Rumble. In Saudi Arabia, it was Lesnar who scored the victory. He countered a Hurt Lock by falling on top of the ‘The All Mighty’ Lashley, putting them at 1-1 on the scoreboard.
Given this record and that Lashley left ‘The Beast Incarnate’ laying post-match, all the signs were there for a rubber match. Per Dave Meltzer on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, that’s precisely what WWE’s direction is for the pair, though they haven’t yet decided where, exactly, the match will happen:
“They are one and one now, and so there is a natural third match. I don’t know if they would save it for ‘Mania, you know, or when. Originally it was going to be Day 1. But obviously, that’s out.”
Although Brock Lesnar defeated Bobby Lashley cleanly, this wasn’t the case the other way around. Lashley only felled Lesnar after interference from Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble.
Bobby Lashley Believes Brock Lesnar Match Was His Toughest Challenge
Speaking to Byron Saxton immediately following his loss, Bobby Lashley cited the match as his biggest challenge to date. Addressing the fact that he didn’t come away victorious, the two-time WWE Champion cited it as a test 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?”
Depending on when Brock Lesnar next competes, the next available opportunity for WWE to promote the rubber match would be at either Survivor Series: WarGames or at the Royal Rumble. They take place on Saturday, November 26 and Saturday, January 28, respectively.