Bobby Lashley to retire returning WWE legend at WrestleMania 40? Exploring the chances
At the time of writing, it's unclear who former WWE Champion Bobby Lashley will face at WrestleMania 40 next April. But can he retire a Hall of Famer in a city that made him famous?
Lashley has been receiving massive cheers from crowds as of late. Hence, it seems that fans in Philadelphia could have some trouble finding a reason to boo the former WWE Champion.
WWE, however, could make The All Mighty a despised villain by having him retire Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam at The Show of Shows. In August 2022, RVD was asked at a fan convention in India who he thought would be a good opponent for his retirement match. He responded by mentioning Bobby Lashley's name, a man who, at the time, was in a good position in the company.
This match could happen at WrestleMania 40 because RVD will be forever linked to the city of Philadelphia, thanks to his time in ECW between 1996 and 2001. Lashley himself is a former ECW Champion but under the WWE umbrella. If The All Mighty got the chance to retire Rob Van Dam in, what is essentially a second home to him, fans would have no choice but to boo the former.
RVD's WWE future is uncertain at the time of writing due to his recent appearances in AEW. He claimed that WWE canceled his WrestleMania 40-related bookings due to his All Elite Wrestling dates. However, that could all change come April 2024.
When did Bobby Lashley and RVD share a ring?
WWE's version of Extreme Championship Wrestling could not replicate the brand's initial success.
One thing that WWE's version of ECW did was allow younger talent to find their feet on a big stage while learning from the veterans of the business. This is what Bobby Lashley did during his run with the brand in late 2006 and early 2007, with Rob Van Dam being one of those veterans. But how many times did the two share a ring together?
The first time was during the second-ever Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 22, which RVD won, but this was before the ECW brand had returned. Later that year, they were part of the same team at the Survivor Series event.
Once the ECW brand was resurrected, Van Dam and Lashley crossed paths eight times on TV, pay-per-views, and at house shows. Amazingly, this only resulted in two singles matches, with neither man picking up a win as both matches ended in no contests. With that in mind, a singles bout with an actual winner might be the way to go for both men at WrestleMania 40.
Would you like to see Bobby Lashley vs. RVD at WrestleMania 40? Let us know in the comments section below.