BOBBY LASHLEY WINS WWE ANDRE THE GIANT BATTLE ROYAL

The battle royal came down to Lashley and Bronson Reed.

Bobby Lashley is the winner of the 2023 Andre the Giant Battle Royal.

The battle royal took place on Friday's edition of SmackDown, the go-home show for WrestleMania 39. Lashley won the match by last eliminating Bronson Reed.

After LA Knight was eliminated by Reed, the match came down to Lashley, Reed, and Braun Strowman. Reed eliminated Strowman and went to hit a Tsunami on Lashley, but Lashley moved out of the way. Lashley followed that up by giving Reed a spear. Reed then countered when Lashley tried to throw him out of the ring, but Lashley was able to hang on and throw out Reed.

This was the ninth edition of the Andre the Giant Battle Royal and the third straight year the match has taken place on SmackDown instead of WrestleMania. Cesaro, Big Show, Baron Corbin, Mojo Rawley, Matt Hardy, Strowman, Jey Uso, and Madcap Moss won the battle royal in previous years.

A match between Lashley and Bray Wyatt was originally planned for WrestleMania 39, but Wyatt hasn't been on WWE television in recent weeks. Dave Meltzer reported when Lashley was announced for the Andre the Giant Battle Royal:

The announcement of Lashley confirms what has been expected since it’s not been talked about for weeks, that Lashley vs. Bray Wyatt is off [WrestleMania] due to health issues regarding Wyatt. There have been teases in recent weeks of a Wyatt return.

2023-04-01T01:40:31Z dg43tfdfdgfd