3 Reasons why Bobby Lashley must face Kevin Owens for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 35  

This past week on RAW, Bobby Lashley defeated Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins to become the new Intercontinental Championship.

This is Lashley's first reign as the Intercontinental Champion and his first championship in the WWE in over a decade. Lashley's win has come at a time when the IC title picture was getting a bit stale due to the uninspiring title reign of Dean Ambrose. Ambrose's heel turn and subsequent title win was the only sore point in what had been one of the best years for the IC Title. The Intercontinental Championship was the focal point of WWE's flagship programme for the majority of the year in 2018.

From the brilliant opening match at WrestleMania 34 to the insane ladder at Greatest Royal Rumble to the excellent series of matches between Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler, some of the best matches of 2018 were for the Intercontinental Title. With Lashley's win this week, he is expected to hold the title for a while, on the road to WrestleMania.

Over the last year, Lashley has been responsible for putting a lot of superstars on the shelf. One of the biggest names among them is Kevin Owens, who faced the wrath of the Almighty One on an October episode of Monday Night Raw. This was one of those rarest occasions where the WWE managed to pull off a double turn with Owens turning face for the first time in his WWE main roster career and Lashley turning heel. Owens has been suffering from a knee injury and has been on the shelf ever since October. The Prizefighter is expected to return to in-ring action very soon with WWE airing a few vignettes hyping his comeback.

Although they have had a few singles and tag matches on TV, Lashley and Owens have never had a lengthy feud. It is being rumoured that Lashley is going to be Owen's first opponent upon his return, which the WWE Universe for one is extremely excited for. Here are three reasons why Lashley Vs Owens for the IC title must happen at WrestleMania 35:

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#3 To start off from where they left off

On the October 8, 2018, edition of Monday Night RAW, Lashley faced off against Kevin Owens in a singles match where he would be victorious, courtesy of an assist from his hype man, Lio Rush. After the match, Lashley would proceed to beat down Owens and injure him in, storyline. Owens has been on the shelf ever since and the Prizefighter would be out for the revenge once he returns to in-ring competition.

It is only imperative that Owens go after Lashley as in addition to him, Lashley was also in part responsible for the injury of his best friend, Sami Zayn. This can also be used as fodder for this feud as it will add a dash of realism to this already raging blood feud. Owens has already made his intentions clear as he recently posted a picture of himself on Twitter with the Intercontinental Championship, thereby implying that he is going after the Intercontinental title and sending a message to the Almighty One.

After a trainwreck of a re-debut in 2018 and being involved in a couple of lacklustre feuds throughout the year, Lashley needs a big-money match going into WrestleMania 35. Its been a while since we saw Lashley being prominent features in a pay-per-view. The Intercontinental title match against Owens gives Lashley the opportunity to prove himself on the Grandest Stage where he will be performing after more than a decade.

#2 To add depth to the WrestleMania 35 card

WrestleMania 35 is shaping up to be one of the best in recent years, at least on paper. The long-rumoured main-event between Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte Flair and the reported Universal Championship match between Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins are excepted to be the big money fights. But, in addition to these big matches, the WrestleMania 35 main card would need a solid upper mid-card match and this where we think Owens Vs Lashley for the Intercontinental title would truly shine in.

While Owens is renowned for being one of the best workers in the company, Lashley isn't a damp squib either. If given the right amount of time and a gripping story going into the match, the duo would undoubtedly create magic on the Grandest Stage.

Owens vs Lashley would add depth to the WrestleMania 35 and their feud could be one of the highlights of WrestleMania 35. This would once again bring the Intercontinental title to the forefront, which in itself is a welcome move.

#1 Owens needs this match to bounce back

Much like Lashley, 2018 wasn't too kind to the Prizefighter. In fact, 2018 has been one of the worst years for Kevin Owens in the WWE. The Prizefighters lost most of his matches in 2018 and recorded zero wins on pay-per-view. Owens started the year by feuding against AJ Styles for the WWE Championship. He, along with Sami Zayn, would then feud with Shane McMahon and the returning Daniel Bryan and would match a tag match against Bryan and McMahon at WrestleMania 35, which they lost.

Owens would then become a part of the red brand, courtesy of Stephannie McMahon, where he would languish in the mid-card before being written off Television in October due to a knee injury. Owens is expected to receive a Triple H-esque reaction from the fans upon returning and could very well become one of the top babyfaces on the red brand. This, however, depends on whether or not the company decides to present him as a face or continue his heel persona.

If the company decides to cash on the events that occurred on October 8 and turn Owens' face, the prizefighter would need a big feud to start of his face run and Lashley seems to the perfect foe for Owens at the moment. After a disastrous 2018, a feud against Lashley at WrestleMania 35 for the Intercontinental title would be a great comeback match for Owens.