It all comes down to Friday Night Smackdown, WWE fans; if Bray Wyatt shows up and attacks Bobby Lashley before, during, or after the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, the most up-in-the-air match at Mania will be saved, and fans will get to see… whatever a Bray-Bobby match looks like at “The Showcase of the Immortals,” WrestleMania 39.

And if, you may ask, Wyatt doesn’t show up? Well, then, WWE will either have to leave Lashley off the card or find a replacement for the two-time WWE Champion. Will it be easy? No. Will fans complain about one of WWE's biggest stars landing a match with 1-2 days' notice? Totally, but at this point, there's nothing much else Paul “Triple H” Levesque, and company can do; Lashley has already declared he's going to WrestleMania, so the only thing left to do is find a challenger.

Fortunately, there are a few interesting options that could make for an interesting match, especially since “The All Mighty” will be on Smackdown for the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. If Wyatt truly is unable to wrestle on the show for one reason or another, which appears to be the case, finding a way to keep Lashley on the card might be easier than you think.

3 Replacement matches for Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania.

3. Karrion Kross

Would fans lose their minds to finally see Lashley go to the mat against Karrion Kross?

…no, but hey, that doesn't mean there isn't some merit to the idea; Kross is one of the more prolific champions in NXT history, and has taken part in some big feuds on Smackdown. While he doesn't have many big wins in his main event career thus far, his style is complimentary to Lashley's, and few fans would be particularly downtrodden if he lost an eight-minute match to Lashley.

If Triple H wants to elevate one of his guys without upsetting Lashley, this is a pretty easy way to do it.

2. Uncle Howdy

Alright, would it be weird to have a Lashley-Uncle Howdy match if Wyatt can't go? Yes, to this point, Howdy hasn't wrestled a match in WWE, and his only in-ring action has been… weird. Still, because Howdy and Wyatt share a considerable amount of thematic overlap – and maybe the same parents – WWE could effectively run the exact same angle they planned with Wyatt, only with Howdy.

If Lashley was going to win, then he can still win and take out Wyatt's top lieutenant in the process. If, however, Wyatt was supposed to win, Howdy could also secure the win, signifying that this new masked man is a force to be reckoned with in the WWE Universe. While far from a perfect replacement, at this point, it would certainly work on two days' notice.

1. LA Knight

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Jade Cargill with a text bubble reading, "Everybody wants to see me succeed" with the WWE logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Rikishi with a text bubble reading "There was a missing piece" with Jimmy Uso on the left and Jey Uso on the right with the WrestleMania 40 logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

The Rock with a text bubble reading "My MVP of WrestleMania 40 is..." next to the blacked-out silhouette of Seth Rollins with the WrestleMania 40 logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

YEAH!

Let me talk to ya; it's a borderline crime against wrestling that LA Knight is not booked for the Los Angeles edition of WrestleMania. The “Mega Star” is super over, a favorite of the fans – even if he doesn't feel the same way – and can more or less create the heat needed to make a WrestleMania-worthy feud on sight, assuming he's afforded an opportunity.

Could WWE show an interaction between the two at the start of SmackDown, then get them going during the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal – maybe with Knight eliminating Lashley in a heelish way? – before Lashley storms into Adam Pearce's office to demand a match against him at WrestleMania 39 regardless of his previous commitment with Wyatt, which can also be used as a way to acknowledge his absence formally?

Yeah, I think that could work out pretty well, indeed.

Ultimately, it's clear WWE really wanted to see Bray Wyatt make his triumphant return to WrestleMania with a big-time match against one of the biggest, baddest dudes in the promotion, signifying that maybe Bobby Lashley was meant to lose the match, but if that's no longer an option, there's no reason “The All Mighty” should be penalized for something that's out of his control and left off the biggest card of the year simply due to an unlucky break. Giving the nod to Knight, Howdy, Kross, or even another star entirely, from an oldhead like Goldberg – in the retirement match he reportedly wants – to a debuting star like “Switchblade” Jay White, or even an NXT elevatee like Carmelo Hayes or Bron Breakker could provide Lashley with a match at WrestleMania, which, again he wants, and put another Superstar on the biggest stage of the year to either elevate their status in defeat or shock the WWE Universe in victory.