5 Ups And 6 Downs From WWE Crown Jewel 2022

2. Brock Does His Best Bret Hart

In a match where it seemed like neither man could lose cleanly – both in storyline and in real life – WWE managed to find an interesting solution that will be ultimately judged by how they follow up on it.

Bobby Lashley played the heel against Brock Lesnar, despite being a mega-babyface in recent months. He jumped Brock outside before the match and injured his knee, then decimated Lesnar throughout the bout. Lashley hit a bunch of spears, kicked out of an F-5, and locked in the Hurt Lock on Brock.

Just as it looked like Lesnar was fading, he managed to walk the turnbuckles and get a Bret Hart-esque pin on Lashley. This just enraged the All Mighty even more, and he put the Hurt Lock back on Brock afterward to drive the point home.

So where do you go from here? Was this a heel turn or just a situational deal for Lashley? With their one-on-one matches knotted at 1-1, when will the rubber match be? Does Brock parlay this into another big money match in the near future, or disappear until the Rumble?

All of this plays together and makes for an interesting “what happens next?” moment. For that alone, this deserves merit.