FULL MATCH John Cena vs Bobby Lashley WWE Title Match WWE Great American Bash 2007

You know, King, it's obvious that Bobby Lashley, just by the naked eye, has no physical weaknesses. But, you've been in many big match situations. Here's a young man, at the Great American Bash, in his first opportunity to take the WWE title from Shawn Cena. What is the mental aspect of this challenge? Well, absolutely, the only person that can tell you that is that man, Bobby Lashley himself. But we heard him say, out of his own mouth, he welcomes pressure. Well, he should be welcoming this situation, because you don't get any more pressure than being in front of the world, at the Great American Bash, and wrestling for the WWE title against John Cena. Lashley's career, albeit a short one thus far in the WWE, includes two ECW World Heavyweight Championships, the United States Championship. Lashley's fans call Lashley the uncrowned champion. He is officially the number one contender for the WWE title. Amateur background is Sterling, former member of the United States Armed Forces, United States Army. And as we said, a lot of the fans, a lot of our fans refer to Bobby Lashley, and he refers to himself sometimes as the uncrowned champ, because he was the ECW World Heavyweight Champion, but stripped of that title. Certainly the biggest moment in the career thus far of Bobby Lashley. John Cena's 308 days into his third reign as WWE Champion. An amazing reign, when you consider the level of competition that John Cena has faced in those 308 days. Boy, listen to this. Look around you. This is what I call an ovation, JR. WWE Championship. Introducing the challenger, from Colorado Springs, calling in a 273 pounds, Bobby Lashley. West Newberry, Massachusetts, weighing in at 240 pounds. He is the WWE Champion, John Cena. Cena and Lashley, in their own right, that's what it's all about. Senior referee on Raw, Mike Chioda, holding up the WWE Championship. Without a doubt, the most coveted title in the entire WWE. We'll see a lot of our fans, JR, holding up their signs that they've brought to the Great American Badge. I saw one on about the third row that said, it's your time, Lashley. And it just may be. Lashley's fear in Dominator versus Cena's FU in the STFU. John Cena's a man that made the mighty Umaga tap at the hands of the STFU. The question would be to you, King, could John Cena make Bobby Lashley tap to the STFU? Well, that's a question I can't answer. I can only speculate. And you know what? I would have to say, I don't think so. I don't think that Bobby Lashley, I think that Bobby Lashley has the strength. And he's focused, of course, on this match that he would not tap. So it sounds as if you may be saying that you feel there's going to be a new champion here tonight. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that John Cena's gonna have to find, in my opinion, another way to win. Cena, steel blue eyes, calm. And Lashley's showing a great deal of movement before this match is officially now underway with the collared elbow tie-up. Look at the strength here, JR. Who's stronger? Cena's legs actually shaking with the force that he's trying to withstand. And look at Lashley, back Cena to the corner. And not many men can say in a collared elbow tie-up that they've backed John Cena to a corner. Lashley just did. And the mind games and the physical games certainly underway in the first minute or so of this one-fall match for the WWE Championship. Well, we saw on that tail of the tape, John Cena weighs 240 pounds. Bobby Lashley, 273 pounds. And that's a little extra weight that you can push your opponent around with when you're outweighing 30-plus pounds. That's the strength here. These two young bulls in the WWE. We have the privilege of seeing them on Monday Night Raw. But we're seeing them now in the biggest match of their respective careers. The first match for Lashley and Cena. And look at the strength here. That it seems as if Lashley is winning at this moment. Cena down to right now. Well, we've seen this. Bobby Lashley's strength is absolutely unbelievable. And right now, Cena... Uh-oh. Wait a minute. But Cena regaining his vertical base, which is imperative for Cena to do in this match-up with Lashley's amazing amateur, mat-wrestling-oriented skills. Cena right back in the face. And Lashley, the quick go-behind waist lock takedown. And Lashley again. Look at the amateur skills. Lashley getting in deep and quickly. Taking down John Cena. There's a pinning combination. Lashley, a nice ankle pick. And Lashley again, using his amateur background. Single leg, trying to get Cena too close to the ropes. I gotta tell you, that was an impressive display of mat-wrestling there by Bobby Lashley. Great fundamental mat skills by Bobby Lashley. John Cena trying to grab a quick headlock and good. And a rock toehold. Cena thugging the STFU. And Lashley thinking, not today, not now, I would rather not. So that tells me, obviously, that Bobby Lashley has great respect, as he should, for the STFU. Oh, don't think that Bobby Lashley's not concerned about the STFU. Of course he is. And Lashley steps in. And again, using his strength with a shoulder block. A modified version. Taking Cena down. Cena in the ropes. Referee calling for a break. Here comes Lashley. Oh, Cena out of the way. Lashley, look at this. Emotionally, really in this match. Overzealous, perhaps, there. Yeah, that could be a difference. Maybe you saw Lashley's head bounce off that mat. And the scoop slam. The elbow. And a near fall by the reigning WWE champion, John Cena, conversing there momentarily with the official. Well, it's gonna take more than that to beat Bobby Lashley, but I think the first really difference that's been made in this match, that was the first really heavy blow landed. Watch the athleticism here of Bobby Lashley. Look at that great vertical leap. Leap frog. And the agility, the great vertical leap, this pure athleticism by Lashley somewhat haunting. And now Cena reverses it. Fisherman's suplex. Hook of the leg was John Cena. Cena crossed with a cover. Didn't get there as quickly as I'm sure John would have liked. Cena back up to that vertical base again, as we said. It's the amateur skill set of Lashley versus the street fighting abilities, among others, of John Cena. Uh-oh. Lashley again. A little quick on the draw. Nice recovery by Cena. Nice recovery by Lashley. Almost a T-bone-like fall away. And a cover. And Cena. Boy, Cena got his shoulder up. I didn't think Lashley was gonna be able to hold Cena down. Is Bobby Lashley bleeding, JR? I believe he is. And Lashley buries knees into the abdomen and rams up John Cena by hard. Shoulder block. Listen to the impact. I hear it. We all hear it. But John Cena's feeling it. And the issue there is, ladies and gentlemen, those hard shoulder blocks just taking the air out of John Cena. So now John Cena is laboring to try to get some oxygen in that thick body of his, which is the fuel that runs the engine. Oh, look out here. Sidewalk slam. Cena slammed with authority. It might be here. And Lashley seems to be turning up the gas here. Turning up the heat on John Cena. And you know what I think that comes from? I think the fact that I don't know if Ashley realizes where his blood is coming from, but he realizes that's his own blood. And whenever you realize that you're bleeding, it creates a sense of urgency. He's got a cut over his eye, so it's not gonna affect his vision. He's cobbled his head. What a hard Irish whip. Amazing velocity. And the perseverance of Lashley as it relates to his wrestling skills and game plan, very impressive. And as the blood flows to the brain of John Cena, Lashley demonstrates his amazing, haunting strength. The suplex, the cover, and Cena barely able to roll his right shoulder off the canvas, but it was Bobby Lashley who is dominating, no pun intended, the WWE champion in the early going of this matchup. Well, we both agreed it was gonna take more than strength. And Cena shows... Look at this! Cena with a blockbuster, driving Lashley's head into the canvas. At least Cena bought himself some time here. Well, that's the, in my opinion, the experience coming into play. That's what we agreed may be the difference in this match. John Cena in the high-risk, high-risk distance. And look at that! John Cena went to the top turnbuckle, took a huge chance. You can only imagine what would have happened if Lashley had been able to counter, but that was not the case. And Cena trying to... He shoves up Lashley over. Cena hooking both legs, and Lashley kicks out. Bobby Lashley kicks out. And luckily... And John Cena, as you see there on the left side of your screen, not considered a high flyer by any means, but he flew at that point. Look out, look out, look out! And did some damage! Whoa! Gosh! And Lashley dropped the ear out of Cena. And now, lastly, with that reverse chin lock and the body scissors, and squeezing the air. Now, John Cena's gotta inhale. He's gotta inhale, exhale, obviously. And look at this. Gonna be laboring for John Cena to do that after this move right here. Nowhere! What's this? Bam! Shoulder into the abdomen. And now Cena, you can imagine John Cena being wrapped up by this bargantuanly strong man. You know, JR, we gotta think back, but I can't recall if John Cena has ever wrestled any opponent with the amateur and the wrestling ability that Bobby Lashley has. Can you remember an opponent that's faced Cena with this kind of experience? I really can't. And especially combined with the strength that Bobby Lashley has. Well, again, King, it's John Cena really thrives in these situations, quite honestly. It's a new challenge for John Cena. We have seen Cena rise to the occasion, challenge after challenge. And Lashley, that huge arm. Look at this. Look at John struggling to try to break that grip. Oh, yeah. And the strength of Bobby Lashley is Herculean-like. Which adds an entirely intangible element to the most basic and elementary of wrestling maneuvers. Well, I love to listen to what these guys say before big matches. We heard Bobby Lashley say, opportunity knocks on your door only once. And this is his opportunity, he feels like. Lashley's had trouble in those turnbuckles. Cena, averted the contact. And Cena on a modified slam there after one mistake by Bobby Lashley. Oh, Bobby Lashley's on Green Street. The back of his head bounced off that mat. He's in trouble. And Cena, again, going back to the well for the second time with high impact. Here comes the champ. Lashley may not know where he is. And Cena looking for the Ashley Escapes. Lashley Escapes. And a power slam. A power slam. The whole Power Jarilla was one second away from the champion. Oh, my gosh. What a great counter by Lashley who capitalized immediately. And this time Lashley finds success in the corner. This time John Cena could not avoid the contact. Oh, gotta be a little frustrating for Cena. He hit that five knuckle shuffle just the way he wanted to. And it had little or no effect on Bobby Lashley. And now Lashley firmly in command. Lashley with that torture rack. The overhead. Ripper with authority. What an exclamation point to the torture rack. Oh, that could have cracked ribs. Cena had this maybe a day or two. Lashley's gotta get- He can't waste any time here. Cena's very resilient. But we don't know how badly Cena's hurt. Lashley looking for a seat. So Cena slides out the back side. FU! Cena hits the FU. Can John Cena capitalize? Cena hits his FU on Bobby Lashley. But Cena had taken a hellacious amount of punishment. Cena unable to capitalize. Oh, man. I didn't think the SDFU would do it, but I thought the FU Lashley. And it's still my king. It's still mine. Everything he's got to get into a pinning situation. There it is. That'll do it. That could move the FU to the cover. Too long. Superbly conditioned Lashley. Don't sit there and think about it, Cena. You better get up and get back on the offensive. Man, the heart and the courage. Good grief. What a shot to the head. And another one by Lashley. And now Cena. Lashley's got the adrenaline. Cena doesn't know where he is. He doesn't know the way to San Jose. No. Well, the WWE title is on the line. Lashley, oh boy. Here comes Lashley. Cena's got the STL permission maneuver. He's at stake. It's a one pole match. Lashley is locked in. Lashley locked in. He's right in the center of the ring. The WWE champion is ripping and tearing. Look at this. Look at Lashley. He's scratching. He's digging his nails into the- Extraordinary perseverance by Bobby Lashley. But look at Cena's face. Look at the strain. Lashley's trying to get to the rope. Lashley needs the rope. Lashley's gonna make it. He did. He made it. Broken. Another chapter will be written in this WWE title match. What an amazing match this is. This is truly a WWE championship match with Cena. No. Cena, how close was that? Lashley seemed disoriented when he hit the spear and getting there to make the cover. That was so close. Both of these men, Lashley and Cena, have to be wondering what is it gonna take? Oh, what a great match. What a competitive match. Cena. Cena hit Lashley. John! In this match, it looked as if Bobby Lashley was gonna become a new WWE champion. John Cena barely leaving the Great American Bash with a WWE title in one hell of a wrestling match. What a main event. What a battle. Cena wrecked with pain. He could barely stand up. He could barely lift that championship title, but he is victorious. He's been in the fight of his life, JR. The intensity of both men. The passion of both Cena and Lashley. The raw emotion. On display at the Great American Bash, but on this night, it could have just as easily been Lashley's night, but on this night, it is John Cena's moment to shine. Look on the face of John Cena. Look at this. Early on. Look at the MCU. He hoped it was over, but he didn't get there to kick. What a shot. Right here to kick out. Right. That was amazing. Cena couldn't believe it. The Spear. And Lashley trying to get the cover. Lashley thought he had the title won, but Cena kicked out of the Spear. And here's how it ended. This was the Difference Maker. All the way from the top. Above the top of the MCU. And that was all she wrote. The powerful MCU brought up the top turnbuckle. What an impact. Amazing impact. And John Cena, in the match of his life at the Great American Bash, still stands tall as the WWE Champion. You know, King, there has to be so much mutual respect, or at least I hope so, between these two amazing, amazing athletes. There's the hand. You see it, ladies and gentlemen. Not one, but two Great Americans who laid it all on the line right here for each and every one of us at the Great American Bash. Wow. And John Cena knows behind those blue eyes that he was just in the match of his life. And that young man, Bobby Lashley, is a freak of nature. What an amazing wrestler is Bobby Lashley. What a night. What a bash for an event that started The American Bash started in 1985. It's made history virtually every year since. Tonight, no exception. No exception.