Since starting his career in the world of professional wrestling, even heralding back to his days as an amateur wrestler, Bobby Lashley seemed primed for greatness. At the age of 44, looking at Lashley’s physique screams genetic freak, another seemingly once in a lifetime athlete almost similar in nature to Brock Lesnar, a dream opponent with which Lashley vehemently expressed interest in going toe-to-toe. A man that size should not be able to move as swiftly as he can, making quick work of his foes as he quickly made moves within the WWE since his initial run.
Bobby Lashley went on to win the WWE United States Championship, became a two-time ECW World Champion (marking him the first African American to hold the championship), and was given a relatively high profile spot in WrestleMania 23 in WWE’s “Battle of The Billionaires” feud between Vince McMahon and Donald Trump. Lashley’s tenure in WWE would then come to an end come 2008, where he then transitioned into MMA and amassed a record of 10-2.
Bobby Lashley made quite a name for himself during his time in TNA, and speaking of more firsts, was the first African American to hold the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and held the title four times. Establishing more of Lashley’s dominance in the world of combat sports, he then signed with Bellator MMA, winning all five of his fights during his stint within the company.
Lastly, Lashley returned to WWE in 2018, heading directly towards RAW, and oddly enough floundered pretty hard before finding the success which he’s now achieved. For someone so dominant, so athletically gifted, with the physique which Vince McMahon allegedly loves, Lashley’s climb to the WWE mountaintop was still filled with its fair share of trials and tribulations.
Bobby Lashley had a seemingly never-ending feud with Elias, for starters, since returning to WWE, a man in which he attacked upon returning to Monday Night Raw on April 9th, 2018. The two were at each other’s throats for what seemed like forever and also locked up against each other yet again the following year. It’s also worth mentioning Bobby’s feud with Braun Strowman, as the potential for the brawls between the two died down relatively quickly, it, unfortunately, did not live up to the lofty expectations of the WWE Universe and in typical WWE fashion, was milked dry.
Other than repetitive feuds, lest we not forget the horrendous love triangle between Bobby Lashley, Lana, and Rusev, one of the most abysmal storylines we’ve seen on WWE TV in recent memory. What seemed destined to tarnish the careers of all parties involved (including Liv Morgan randomly being shoe-horned into the mix), garnished a staggering amount of views for WWE, with the Lana & Bobby Lashley wedding segment holding a staggering 8 million views on WWE on FOX’s YouTube channel, and 5.3 million views on WWE’s YouTube channel. All of that nonsense for a drop of temporary clout and headlines which almost ruined the legacy in which Bobby Lashley built for himself up to that point, and many of the WWE Universe feeling sorry for Rusev, as well as Lana whom the latter two are actually husband and wife.
Alas, fast forward to May 2020 with the debut of The Hurt Business, as MVP and Bobby Lashley joined forces (and thankfully ended the on-screen romance between Lashley and Lana) and MVP promised great things for Lashley, including a WWE Championship match against then-champion Drew McIntyre in which McIntyre won. This is not the first time that these two competitors squared off against each other though, as the two did battle in Impact Wrestling (formerly TNA) several times, most notably Lashley defeating Drew at Slammiversary and beginning his third reign as world champion.
With the Hurt Business establishing dominance of their own, allowing Bobby Lashley to win the WWE United States Championship once more, and now becoming the WWE Champion after making good on a promise made by MVP (with the latter threatening Drew he’d be responsible for him losing his title, ala Miz’s Money In The Bank cash-in), Lashley is on an absolute tear and is finally where he seems to be and has worked hard towards.
Lashley is on a path to meet his familiar foe Drew McIntyre yet again, this time on the grandest stage of them all, WrestleMania, to do battle in the main event for the WWE Championship at the Raymond James Stadium in front of a hopeful 25,000 fans in attendance. What happens at ‘Mania remains to be seen, but what we are guaranteed is a possible match of the year contender from two of the WWE’s very best in the game right now.
