The first championship match for WWE's second pay-per-view of 2022 has officially been set. The announcement of the main event's competitors comes after the professional wrestling company's Day 1 event, which aired on January 1.
WWE's next pay-per-view is the Royal Rumble, which will feature the annual Royal Rumble matches that will guarantee two superstars a championship match at WrestleMania. Some stars have already begun entering their names into the Royal Rumble match, including Jackass Forever star Johnny Knoxville. This past Monday on RAW, in-ring competitors like Austin Theory have been also been announced for the match.
At the Royal Rumble later this month, the WWE Championship will be on the line as Brock Lesnar will take on Bobby Lashley. This will be the first time Lesnar and Lashley will face one another one-on-one despite both men having wrestling careers that span well over a decade. Lashley earned the match against Lesnar at the Royal Rumble after defeating Seth Rollins, Big E, and Kevin Owens in the main event of Monday Night RAW. The fatal 4-way was meant to determine the No. 1 contender for Lesnar's WWE Championship, giving the victor their shot at the champion at WWE's next pay-per-view.
Lesnar and Lashley previously competed against one another at the Day 1 event as members of the fatal 5-way for the WWE Championship. The main event match included then WWE Champion Big E, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, and Lesnar and Lashley. Lesnar was originally scheduled to take on the Universal Champion Roman Reigns at Day 1, but after Reigns tested positive for COVID-19, the match was canceled and Lesnar was added to the main event for the WWE Championship. Lesnar went on to win the fatal 5-way, entering his sixth reign as WWE Champion.
Lesnar, who is a free agent within WWE's brand split, has the ability to appear on either RAW or SmackDown. After appearing on Monday Night RAW, Lesnar has not forgotten about the feud he has had with Reigns over the last few months and will appear on SmackDown on Friday. Lesnar returned to WWE in August of 2021 at the SummerSlam pay-per-view, where he made his intentions for Reigns' championship clear. At the time, Reigns was being advised by Paul Heyman, who has a long history of being the advocate for the Beast Incarnate, Lesnar. Reigns recently fired Heyman, allowing the man to return to the side of Lesnar.
The match between Lesnar and Lashley is already generating buzz, as some feel that the match is worthy of main eventing WrestleMania. With it scheduled for the Royal Rumble, many have suggested that Lesnar and Reigns' feud will be the main event of WrestleMania instead. If both men are still champions by the time WrestleMania rolls around, it would leave the winner of the Royal Rumble without a championship match. Given that WrestleMania isn't until April 3, there is no telling what will happen between then and now.
WWE's Royal Rumble will be live from St. Louis on January 29, 2022, streaming only on Peacock.
Source: WWE