Former WWE Champion's return confirmed ahead of WrestleMania

It has been several weeks since Bobby Lashley made his presence felt on WWE programming. The former WWE Champion has now been announced as part of a huge match ahead of WrestleMania 39.

Heading into the Show of Shows, Lashley was feuding against Bray Wyatt. The two former world champions were set to go one-on-one against each other at 'Mania but plans have seemingly been scrapped after Wyatt suffered an alleged illness.

This week on SmackDown, Lashley was surprisingly advertised as one of the entrants in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. The over-the-top-rope battle royal will take place on SmackDown, following recent tradition.

The company has already added some big names to the match, with Karrion Kross, Baron Corbin, Bronson Reed, LA Knight, and Johnny Gargano all part of the graphic released this week.

Meanwhile, Bray Wyatt hasn't been seen on WWE TV since February when he was building up his match against Lashley. The former world champion has been replaced by Uncle Howdy several times in recent weeks but both men failed to feature this week on RAW and it appears that Lashley now has a new plan heading into WrestleMania.

Reports suggested that he could face LA Knight as part of the show, and with both men in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal next week, something could be set up during the match.