WWE champion and Monday Night Raw superstar Bobby Lashley has been pretty open about his desire to face Brock Lesnar in the squared circle, so when it was rumored ahead of SummerSlam 2021 that Lesnar would indeed return, fans were excited by the possibilities. Unfortunately, we were all denied a matchup between the two behemoths, with Goldberg taking on Lashley, and Lesnar appearing at the end of the pay-per-view to confront his manager Paul Heyman's new protégé, Roman Reigns. With Lesnar back, there's surely a chance he'll take on Lashley at some stage, but fans probably shouldn't launch up their hopes anytime soon.
There's a current not-so-wild rumor running around that has Bobby Lashley being set to square off against Goldberg in a rematch set for Crown Jewel in October. The report from WrestleVotes shouldn't come as a massive surprise to WWE fans, considering Goldberg reportedly has one more match on his contract before he's met his quota, and the WWE wasn't about to let him ride off into the sunset after Lashley attacked his teen son during SummerSlam. Plus, the Saudi Arabia-based PPV event often features high-profile talent from both in and out of the wrestling world, so having a sports-entertainment legend like Goldberg on the main card is a definite draw.
Of course, the Extreme Rules PPV in September will take place before Crown Jewel, but with Brock Lesnar already fresh off of calling out Roman Reigns, it would make little sense for him to switch to targeting Bobby Lashley in the weeks up to that event. That would mean the earliest we could probably see Lesnar and Lashley squaring off is Survivor Series in November, but considering the average length of a feud between marquee wrestlers, one would think Reigns and Lesnar would still be in the throes of their rivalry at that point.
Given Bobby Lashley's enthusiasm over facing off against Brock Lesnar, and his status as the WWE Champion, one may wonder why the WWE didn't book the two to fight at SummerSlam in the first place. Some alleged insight on that matter comes from Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer, who claims Vince McMahon wasn't keen on Brock Lesnar losing upon his return. Consider it's been said for some time the WWE has a vested interest in building Lashley as a dominant champion, there really wasn't any way to appease both sides of that coin to make both Lesnar and Lashley winners in the match, so Goldberg was put in against Lashley.
As far as when Brock Lesner and Bobby Lashley could actually square off, it does only feel like a matter of time, relatively speaking. For now, though, it would make sense for Brock Lesnar to battle Roman Reigns, given their heated rivalry over the past few years. Bobby Lashley will likely get his shot to face off against Lesnar sometime before WrestleMania 38, or fans can wish it to be so, at least. Personally, I'd love to see a scenario where two "Paul Heyman Guys" control the biggest titles in the WWE, so here's hoping something like that could happen down the stretch.
Monday Night Raw airs on USA on Monday evenings at 8:00 p.m. ET. For more on the brand and its superstars, check out what Alexa Bliss had to say after someone on the internet made the mistake of criticizing her doll, Lilly.
