Lashley Talks Lesnar, Vince's Reaction to WWE Title Win; Shaq Guarantees AEW Win

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Lashley Talks Possible Match vs. Lesnar

Bobby Lashley vs. Brock Lesnar is a dream match wrestling fans have often talked about over the years, and Lashley is providing some hope that it could potentially happen.

After beating The Miz for the WWE Championship on Monday's episode of Raw, Lashley spoke to Ryan Satin of Fox Sports about several topics, including The Beast Incarnate.

During the interview, Lashley expressed his belief that a match against Lesnar could be more possible now than ever before:

"Another person, The Beast. Where is he? Is he trapped in the woods somewhere? Is he hiding? Is he ready for his big return? Like, where you at, bro? Everybody knows. You know. I know. Drew [McIntyre] knows. Everybody knows that when Brock comes back, there's gonna be a lot to answer to, and I welcome it. Before, it was one of those things where everybody said they wanted to see that match, and that match was probably not ever gonna come. Didn't have anything that he wanted. But I do now. So it's different. We'll see. We'll see if The Beast comes back out to play."

It was first reported back in August that Lesnar was no longer under contract with WWE, and no reports have surfaced since then suggested that Brock was returned to the company.

WrestleMania 37 is just over one month away, though, and it makes all the sense in the world for Lesnar to re-enter the fold now for a huge WrestleMania payday.

Things seem to be trending toward a WWE Championship match between Lashley and McIntyre at Fastlane this month. If that happens, one can only assume WWE wouldn't want to go back to the exact same well for WrestleMania.

If that is the case, perhaps Lesnar makes his long-awaited return at Fastlane either during or after the Lashley vs. McIntyre match to set up a singles match against Lashley or a Triple Threat involving all three Superstars on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

If either of those scenarios come to pass, it will satiate a large segment of the fanbase that has been calling for a Lashley vs. Lesnar showdown for years.

Lashley Discusses McMahon's Reaction to WWE Title Win

Sixteen years after making his main roster debut in WWE, Lashley is finally WWE champion, as he defeated The Miz in convincing fashion on Monday's episode of Raw.

In an interview with Satin, Lashley revealed how WWE Chairman Vince McMahon greeted him backstage after the biggest win of his career: "When I was able to go through that curtain [after winning the WWE Championship] and give Vince a hug, he grabbed me, and he held me for a while and was like, 'Man, I'm proud of you."

Lashley also described how McMahon essentially helped motivate him to finally reach the top of his profession:

"You're not here to have fun. Vince doesn't want you here to have fun. Vince wants to get in an argument with you because you're fighting for something that you want. Vince wants you to step out of the box and do something bigger.

"Vince wants you to want WrestleMania so much that the crowd forces them to give you that title. I think I started to get into that point this last year, several months definitely. I've been mean, man. I've been mean. I go out there with a vengeance, and there's a whole lot of confidence running through me."

The 44-year-old Lashley made history by becoming only the third Black WWE champion in company history, joining The Rock and Kofi Kingston.

For a long time, it seemed highly unlikely that Lashley would ever get to this point, especially following his WWE departure in 2008.

Lashley was being built into a huge star during his first run with the company, winning the ECW and United States Championships, but he never quite reached the top of the mountain and set off to make a name for himself in the world of MMA after getting released from WWE.

He did precisely that, going 15-2 as a pro MMA fighter, including a 5-0 mark for Bellator.

Lashley also honed his pro wrestling craft after leaving WWE, specifically in Impact Wrestling. Lashley joined forced with MVP in Impact, and with MVP serving as his mouthpiece, Lashley won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship four times.

That likely gave him even more confidence during his second stint in WWE, and after Lashley reunited with MVP to form The Hurt Business, it was only a matter of time before The All Mighty conquered WWE as well.

Shaq Guarantees Win vs. Cody on AEW Dynamite

Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal is set to make his AEW in-ring debut on Wednesday's episode of Dynamite, as he will team with Jade Cargill against Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet.

In an interview with Dan Gelston of the Associated Press, Shaq guaranteed victory Tuesday: "Oh, I'm winning. Guaranteed."

"I'm the type, I can never back down from a challenge," he added. "I'm not a professional wrestler, but I've been in a match before. I've got a lot of moves in my arsenal. When you step inside somebody's world, you have to stick to what you're masterful at. I'm not acrobatic. I'm not going to be jumping off the ropes. I'm coming with the power game. When I get hands on him, I'm going to display this power. I'm the type that if I have a look and see you do it, I got it."

It first became apparent a couple of months ago that Shaq was destined for an AEW match when Cargill debuted by interrupting a Cody promo and brought up the four-time NBA champion's name.

That led to Cody's wife, Brandi Rhodes getting involved, as she even threw water in Shaq's face during an interview involving O'Neal and Tony Schiavone. In retaliation, Cargill later slapped Cody.

Since Brandi was no longer able to wrestle due to her pregnancy, Red Velvet stepped up and agreed to team with Cody due to her friendship with Brandi and issues with Cargill.

Wednesday won't mark Shaq's first wrestling match, as he previously competed in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WWE WrestleMania 32, but it may be his most extensive in-ring action to date.

Also, with AEW recently signing longtime Shaq rival Paul "Big Show" Wight, Wednesday may only be the beginning for O'Neal in terms of his wrestling opportunities with AEW.

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