Bobby Lashley Beats Brock Lesnar, Wins WWE Title; Reigns Interferes at Royal Rumble

Bobby Lashley defeated Brock Lesnar in a first-time-ever dream match between the two at the Royal Rumble on Saturday night to win the WWE Championship.

With the referee incapacitated, Roman Reigns made his presence felt and delivered a Spear to Lesnar. In an even more shocking move, Paul Heyman handed the WWE Championship to Reigns, who proceeded to hit the champion flush with the belt.

That allowed Lashley to roll over and make the pin.

Fans have long yearned for a Lesnar vs. Lashley clash, and they finally got their wish Saturday following the events of Day 1 and the ensuing episode of Raw.

At the Jan. 1 pay-per-view, Big E was originally supposed to defend the WWE Championship in a Fatal 4-Way against Lashley, Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens, but a late change occurred just hours before the show.

Lesnar had been scheduled to challenge Reigns for the Universal Championship, however, The Tribal Chief announced he had tested positive for COVID-19 and would be unable to compete at Day 1 as a result.

With Lesnar needing an opponent, WWE decided to add him to the WWE title bout, making it a Fatal 5-Way.

The Beast Incarnate was a dominant force in the match, taking out competitors with suplexes and the F-5 before finally pinning Big E to become a nine-time world champion.

On the follow-up episode of Raw, the originally scheduled Fatal 4-Way between Lashley, Big E, Owens and Rollins was held to determine Lesnar's opponent at the Royal Rumble.

Lashley won after spearing and pinning Owens, ensuring a match that has been talked about by fans ever since Lashley's return to WWE in 2018 would come to fruition.

WWE seemed to be setting the stage for Lesnar vs. Lashley during the Fatal 5-Way at Day 1, as the latter speared the former through the barricade early in the match and had The Beast on the ropes on a few different occasions.

In addition to the fact that Lesnar and Lashley are physical equals in many ways, their rivalry was made even more intriguing by the presence of Heyman and MVP.

Heyman resumed being Lesnar's advocate after getting fired by Reigns, and MVP has been a huge part of Lashley's success over the past year-plus, including his first career WWE Championship win on March 1 last year.

Saturday marked a true clash of titans, and while Lesnar came close to retaining on a number of occasions, Lashley slayed The Beast and became a two-time WWE champion in the process.

Rather than getting a rematch, Lesnar might instead set his sights on Reigns coming out of the Royal Rumble.

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