WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has named his favorite for the WWE Championship match set to take place between holder Bobby Lashley and Kofi Kingston at Money in the Bank on July 18. Lashley has enjoyed a stellar run amid The Almighty Era but Kingston is looking to become a two-time WWE Champion.
Kofi has a pinfall victory over Lashley from the one time they faced off but, with the Championship on the line, his chances look grim. Odds on Money in the Bank should be available by the time the entire card is announced and fans could take advantage of PointsBet Betting odds should they be handed out ahead of the event.
Of course, this is WWE, so you just never know. But Booker is hoping Bobby puts a good, old-fashioned beatdown on Kingston.
“I’m hoping Bobby Lashley goes out there and beats the hell out of Kofi Kingston (he laughs) like a heavyweight is supposed to do,” he said on a recent episode of his Hall of Fame podcast, H/T Wrestlingnews.co. “You go out there and you beat on this man, and you beat on this man, and you beat on him until he says, ‘Please, just don’t beat me anymore.’ That’s the way I feel this thing should work out. For me, this match should be like Bobby is playing ‘Beat The Clock’ (he laughs again). It’s got to be quick, man, straight into the Hurt Locker, the one punch, right into the Hurt Locker. It isn’t going to be a competition. That’s my prediction.”
Booker, a two-time WWE Hall of Famer, is a professed Bobby Lashley fan who claims to have never seen someone in such impressive condition as Lashley is at his age.
“I’m like a fan, I’m wondering where it’s going to go,” he said back in February. “[Bobby Lashley] is looking better than I’ve ever seen any man that has ever stepped inside in that squared circle at 44-years old right now. His mind is triggered as far as working a certain way.
“When Bobby works, you think someone is getting killed, you think he definitely could be the World Heavyweight champion.”
While Booker might get his wish come MITB, he’s had to deal with the recent disappointment of having a lawsuit against video game publisher Activision Blizzard knocked back. The former WWE star had sued the company for the use of his character “G.I Bro” in their Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, with Booker alleging that the game’s character, Prophet, bore many similarities to his own.
While there are similarities in truth, with both characters looking pretty much the same, a jury sided with Activision as they deemed their arguments more persuasive.
“We are pleased with the outcome. Bottom line, to call this a frivolous case would be a massive understatement,” E. Leon Carter of Carter Arnett, the lawyer for Activision, said in a statement. “Activision creates games with the utmost integrity and is extremely proud of everyone involved with the development and creative process for all of our games including Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, including the incredible talent like William Romeo who helped bring our vision to life. Today, the jury validated that process.”
Meanwhile, Lashley was a no-show on Raw this Monday night, as was Randy Orton. The Viper’s absence was addressed during the first segment of the show as he was advertised for a Money in the Bank qualification Triple Threat match against AJ Styles and Drew McIntyre. Lashley will be going up against Kofi’s partner Xavier Woods on Raw for what will be the second time in three weeks. There was no word on why the superstars were not present this week.
Should Lashley lose at MITB, it would cast doubt on a match with Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. Lesnar has been away from WWE since WrestleMania 36, with his contract having expired, but he has been rumored to make a return at SummerSlam. Lashley, who has been keen on a match with The Beast Incarnate ever since he returned to WWE in 2018, could finally get that long-awaited dream situation but it would be harder to predict what might happen if he drops the title to Kingston.
Of course, there will be plenty of time to win the belt back. SummerSlam doesn’t come until August and we could have a nice storyline between the two stars heading into the summer’s biggest PPV. There are also rumors regarding a return for John Cena, who also hasn’t wrestled since WrestleMania 36, when he lost to Bray Wyatt in a Firefly Fun House match. Like The Rock, who is also expected to return for a match at some point, Cena is pretty busy with his Hollywood career but maintains he’d like to be part of WWE for as long as possible.
