Chris Masters has revealed which WWE star gave him the most difficulty when applying his signature Master Lock during his run with the company.
Speaking on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, Chris Masters named Bobby Lashley as the toughest opponent to lock in the hold, citing his size and build as key factors.
“Probably Bobby. Just look at his build… by the time I got it around his neck, it was probably not even fully locked in, just because he was so broad,” Masters said.
Lashley notably became the first wrestler to break the Master Lock in 2007, ending the long-running Master Lock Challenge. However, John Cena was almost the first person to break the hold, as he came close on the December 4, 2006, episode of Raw, until Masters threw him into the referee. Cena then locked Masters in the hold and forced him to submit to his own hold, retaining the WWE Championship in the process.
Chris Masters Says Putting The Master Lock On The Big Show Was A Challenge
Chris Masters also addressed attempts to apply the hold to Big Show, admitting it was largely impractical due to the size difference.
“I don’t even think it was possible with Big Show,” he said. “We tried it… and even talked about maybe using a chain, but it didn’t make sense, so we didn’t do it.”
The Master Lock was a defining part of Masters’ early WWE run, with very few wrestlers able to escape the hold during its peak.



