Aleister Black Defeats Bobby Lashley at WWE WrestleMania 36

Aleister Black made the most of his first WrestleMania singles match Sunday with a win over Bobby Lashley on Night 2 of WrestleMania 36.

The All Mighty had Black in position for the Dominator before Lana told him to go for a Spear instead. Lashley acquiesced, a decision he would regret after he ran directly into Black Mass.

On March 23, WWE announced out of the blue that Black and Lashley would face each other at The Show of Shows despite the fact they had little interaction previously.

It is possible the company had planned to put both men in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but due to the risks involved with having so many people in the ring at the same time amid the coronavirus pandemic, it decided to eliminate that bout from the card.

Wanting to get both Black and Lashley on the card in some capacity, pitting them against each other was a natural move even with their lack of on-screen history.

The Dutchman has clearly been a pet project for Raw executive director Paul Heyman in recent months, as he has largely dominated on the red brand with the exception of one O.C.-aided loss to AJ Styles. He got the win back at Elimination Chamber, though, and entered WrestleMania with plenty of momentum.

Lashley was mired in a long-running love-triangle storyline with Rusev and Lana for months, but it finally seems to be behind him. While the angle wasn't exactly beloved by the WWE Universe, The All Mighty did come out on the winning end against The Bulgarian Brute many times.

On paper, the matchup between Black and Lashley was an exciting one. The former is one of the most vicious strikers in WWE, while the latter is a physical specimen who has improved markedly in the ring over the years.

Both Black and Lashley have main event potential, and even though they were placed in an undercard match at WrestleMania, it was meaningful in terms of determining who WWE believes is closer to the top.

The WrestleMania bout may well have been akin to a title eliminator in boxing or MMA, with the winner moving up the ladder and the loser getting knocked down a few rungs.

If that is the case, then it may not be long before Black is vying for the WWE Championship after taking down Lashley.

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