5 Reasons why Finn Balor became Intercontinental Champion at WWE Elimination Chamber 2019

#3 To have Bobby Lashley look strong even in defeat

Did time just run out for the #ManOfTheHour?@fightbobby is IRATE after @ItsLioRush just lost him the #ICTitle! #WWEChamber pic.twitter.com/9FBUKNAdVb

— WWE (@WWE) February 18, 2019

Yes, Bobby Lashley did lose the Intercontinental Championship at the pay-per-view event. But he was not pinned during the course of the match, and instead, it was his hype man who was.

In my honest opinion, that was the only reason why Lio Rush was inserted into what should have been a one on one match between Balor and Lashley. He was just there to take the pin and have Lashley look strong, because of the reason that will be chronicled later.

The split allows for Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush to go their separate ways, and maybe Rush, like Mustafa Ali, could become a breakout singles competitor on RAW in due course. This is because Rush must have impressed those backstage during his singles match against Finn Balor, not long ago.

So in this way, Lashley can go on to face Strowman or whoever else at Fastlane or WrestleMania.