3 Best Replacements For Bray Wyatt At WWE WrestleMania 39

WWE may be forced to find a new WrestleMania 39 opponent for Bobby Lashley if Bray Wyatt is unavailable.

According to multiple reports, Wyatt is not cleared to wrestle due to an undisclosed medical issue, which explains why Wyatt’s feud with Lashley has been essentially nonexistent over the past few weeks. With WrestleMania 39 just a week away, WrestleVotes (h/t Cageside Seats) says that “WWE has a backup plan in place for Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania 39 if Bray Wyatt does not return in time to work the event.”

While Wyatt’s WWE return has been a big swing-and-a-miss creatively, Wyatt is wildly popular—he surpassed The Bloodline as WWE’s No. 1 merchandise seller at one point—and given the amount of TV time he’s gotten since his return, his potential WrestleMania absence will leave a gaping hole on the biggest show of the year. What’s more, it will leave Lashley—one of WWE’s best performers over the past few years—without a Mania match.

Or will it? Let’s run down three ways WWE can salvage a WrestleMania spot for Lashley, who has all but confirmed he’ll be wrestling on the show even if it’s not against Wyatt.

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Let Bobby Lashley Wrestle LA Knight

That backup plan mentioned by WrestleVotes? Well, that would be Lashley working with LA Knight, another high-profile star whose recent greatness warrants a spot on the WrestleMania card.

With Lashley confirmed for the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on next week’s SmackDown, maybe Knight could cheaply eliminate Lashley from the match to set up a WrestleMania bout. Or vice versa. Regardless of exactly how WWE gets there, setting up Lashley vs. Knight feels like a no-brainer.

Knight is an amazing heel who has been generating strong crowd reactions and was even linked to a potential WrestleMania match against Steve Austin. With Austin’s status uncertain just like Wyatt’s, Lashley vs. Knight would be a solid consolation prize for both stars. WWE just shouldn’t make it a lopsided squash in favor of Lashley.

Bring Back Randy Orton

Randy Orton will reportedly be at WrestleMania 39 amid reports that his name is suddenly coming up more often in WWE.

“The Viper” has been out of action since May 2022 due to what has been described as a career-threatening back injury, but all signs are pointing to a return at some point in 2023. There is no better stage for that than at WrestleMania 39.

Prior to getting injured, Orton had emerged as one of WWE’s most beloved babyfaces, and the moment he could create with a shocking WrestleMania return would be unforgettable. What’s even better is that Orton and Lashley haven’t interacted all that much in recent years, so a surprise Lashley vs. Orton match could be a big hit a la Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 38 last year.

Call Up Bron Breakker

WWE is reportedly planning on calling up two top NXT stars—Cameron Grimes and Bron Breakker—after WrestleMania 39, presumably on the always exciting “Raw after Mania.”

But here’s an even better idea: Promote Breakker to the main roster at WrestleMania instead. A second generation performer, Breakker has become a polarizing figure in NXT, but has shown glimpses of the in-ring ability, charisma and star power that could make him a huge hit on Raw or SmackDown.

WWE, however, will never truly know what it has in Breakker until he’s given the opportunity to sink or swim outside of the confines of NXT. Thus, WWE could utilize a similar strategy to what it did when Fandango made his in-ring debut against Chris Jericho, with some minor tweaks, of course.

There is no bigger stage for Breakker to debut on, and if he were to show up as the unannounced challenger for Lashley, it could instantly put him on the path to super stardom on the main roster.