Bobby Lashley
Franklin Roberto "Bobby" Lashley is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling, where he is a member of The Hurt Syndicate and is formerly one-half of the AEW World Tag Team Champions with stablemate Shelton Benjamin. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, while also being known for his tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. As a mixed martial artist, Lashley competed for Bellator MMA and Strikeforce.
Lashley debuted in WWE in 2005, appearing on the SmackDown brand where he became a one-time United States Champion. After being drafted to the ECW brand the following year, Lashley became a two-time ECW World Champion. During this time, he had a high-profile rivalry with company chairman Vince McMahon, which included representing Donald Trump in the "Battle of the Billionaires" at WrestleMania 23, before leaving the company in 2008.
He subsequently pursued a career in mixed martial arts and had his first professional fight in December 2008. After amassing a career record of 10–2, he signed with Bellator MMA in 2014 where he won all five of his career bouts from 2014 to 2016.
In 2009, Lashley began appearing in professional wrestling promotion TNA before leaving the company the next year. In 2014, he returned to TNA, where he became a four-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion. He was also a one-time X Division Champion and the final King of the Mountain Champion. After leaving Impact in early 2018, he returned to WWE that April, becoming a two-time WWE Champion, two-time Intercontinental Champion, and winning the United States Championship on two further occasions. He left WWE in August 2024 upon the expiration of his contract. He then signed with AEW, making his debut in October at Fright Night Dynamite.
He has headlined multiple pay-per-view events for WWE and TNA, including the 2016 edition of the latter's flagship event, Bound for Glory.
Early life
Franklin Roberto Lashley was born on July 16, 1976, in Junction City, Kansas, the son of a U.S. Army drill sergeant. Lashley is of Panamanian descent through his mother, and is of Afro-Caribbean descent through his father, who also was born and raised in Panama and immigrated to the USA before Bobby Lashley was born. Bobby grew up in a single parent household with a mother who barely spoke English and struggled to secure a good job, while his father was in the military. He has three older sisters, one of whom is still on active service in the U.S. Air Force as of 2015. The family occasionally moved from one military base to another. While his father was stationed at Fort Riley in Kansas, Lashley attended Fort Riley Middle School, where he was introduced to amateur wrestling in seventh grade as an off-season alternative to football. He later graduated from Junction City High School, where he continued to wrestle.He attended Missouri Valley College, where he was the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics National Wrestling Champion in the 177 lbs category in 1996, 1997, and 1998, and graduated in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in human-service agency management and recreation administration.
He followed his father into the United States Army after college, and continued to compete in amateur wrestling in the Army's World Class Athlete Program. During his three years in the Army, he won a gold and silver medal in the International Military Sports Council senior freestyle wrestling event. In 2003, while living and training in Colorado Springs with the goal of qualifying for Team USA to wrestle at the 2004 Olympic Games, Lashley witnessed a bank robbery and was forced to dive for cover to avoid gunfire; this resulted in a knee injury that required surgery, ending his amateur career.
Professional wrestling career
World Wrestling Entertainment (2005–2008)
Undefeated streak (2005–2006)
In January 2005, Lashley made his debut for Ohio Valley Wrestling a WWE developmental territory working as Blaster Lashley. In mid-2005, Lashley appeared at four live events for World Wrestling Entertainment, wrestling in dark matches for both Raw and SmackDown!. On September 23, 2005, he made his televised debut as a face on SmackDown! under his real name, and was introduced as a three-time National Amateur Wrestling Champion, four-time All-American, two-time Armed Forces Champion, and a 2002 Silver Medalist at the Military World Championship. In his first match, he defeated Simon Dean, whom he also defeated in his pay-per-view debut at No Mercy on October 9. On the November 11 episode of SmackDown!, Lashley defeated Orlando Jordan in a qualifying match for a place on Team SmackDown! at Survivor Series on November 27, where he was the first to be eliminated by Shawn Michaels, but his team eventually won the match.On January 6, 2006, Lashley became the first SmackDown! wrestler to qualify for that year's Royal Rumble. At the Royal Rumble on January 29, Lashley was the eighth wrestler to enter the match, in which he eliminated Sylvan, but was eliminated by the combination of Raw's then World Tag Team Champions Big Show and Kane. Following the Royal Rumble, Lashley began a feud with John "Bradshaw" Layfield, leading up to a match at No Way Out on February 19, where Lashley suffered his first loss in singles competition, largely due to interference from Finlay. This prompted a feud between Lashley and Finlay, which lasted throughout February and March, and it notably included a lumberjack match on the March 17 episode of SmackDown!, which Finlay won after using a shillelagh.
After winning a "Last Chance" battle royal on the March 24 episode of SmackDown! by lastly eliminating MNM, Lashley competed at WrestleMania 22 on April 2 in the Money in the Bank ladder match, which was won by Rob Van Dam. Lashley next entered SmackDown!s 2006 King of the Ring tournament, making it to the finals as he defeated Mark Henry and Finlay. However, in the final round – held at Judgment Day on May 21 – he was defeated by Booker T with help from Finlay. As Booker T was being crowned during his coronation, Lashley speared Booker T into the throne. These acts developed into a feud with the newly named "King Booker" and the other members of his court. During this feud, Lashley won his first professional wrestling championship by defeating JBL for the United States Championship on the May 26 episode of SmackDown!, which he lost to Finlay a little less than two months later on the July 14 episode of SmackDown!. Shortly after losing the title, a physician declared Lashley unable to compete, stating that during an annual exam, Lashley was found to have elevated enzymes of the liver and therefore, would not be cleared to wrestle until further evaluation. Lashley returned a couple of weeks later to the SmackDown! roster to continue his feud with the Court and went on to earn his first match for the World Heavyweight Championship at No Mercy on October 8 against King Booker. The bout was subsequently turned into a four-way bout, also including Batista and King Booker's ally, Finlay. King Booker won the match after pinning Finlay.
ECW World Champion (2006–2007)
On the November 14 episode of ECW, Lashley moved to the ECW brand. He debuted on the brand by making a surprise appearance to sign a contract for the final spot in the Extreme Elimination Chamber match for the ECW World Championship at December to Dismember on December 3. At December to Dismember, Lashley was the fifth person released into the match, eliminating both Test and Big Show by pinfall after a spear to become the new ECW World Champion. After winning the ECW World Championship, Lashley then had successful title defenses against the likes of Big Show, Rob Van Dam, Test, Hardcore Holly, Kenny Dykstra, and Mr. Kennedy. On the March 19, 2007, episode of Raw, Lashley officially became the first and only person to ever break Chris Masters' Masterlock hold and thus the first and only person to ever defeat the Masterlock Challenge.In early 2007, Lashley was selected by Donald Trump to represent him in a "Battle of the Billionaires" match, against Vince McMahon's representative, Umaga, which also featured Vince's long time adversary Stone Cold Steve Austin as the guest referee. At WrestleMania 23 on April 1 in a Hair vs. Hair match, Lashley defeated Umaga and helped Trump and Austin shave McMahon's head afterwards in accordance with the match's losing stipulation, saving Donald Trump's hair from being shaved off. Lashley then feuded with Mr. McMahon, who booked himself, his son Shane McMahon, and Umaga in a 3-on-1 handicap match against Lashley at Backlash on April 29 for the ECW World Championship. After two high impact diving splashes from Umaga, Mr. McMahon tagged himself into the match and pinned Lashley to win the title. Lashley legitimately injured his shoulder during the match and after an examination days later, it was revealed he had a damaged rotator cuff but would not need surgery at the time. At Judgment Day on May 20, Lashley defeated Vince, Shane, and Umaga in a 3-on-1 handicap rematch, but did not win the title as he pinned Shane instead of Vince; as a result, Mr. McMahon retained the title. On June 3 at One Night Stand, Lashley defeated Vince McMahon in a street fight to win the ECW World Championship for a second reign despite interference by Shane McMahon and Umaga in the match, making Lashley the first man to win the ECW World Championship twice since WWE reactivated the title.
Championship pursuits (2007–2008)
On the June 11 episode of Raw, Lashley was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2007 WWE draft. As a result of the move, Lashley was stripped of the ECW World Championship by Vince McMahon. He took place in a challenge match against Mick Foley, Randy Orton, King Booker and John Cena for the WWE Championship at Vengeance: Night of Champions on June 24, which Cena won to retain the title. Lashley became the number one contender for the WWE Championship by winning the "Beat the Clock" challenge on the July 2 episode of Raw. On July 22 at The Great American Bash, he lost to Cena and after the match, they shook hands as a sign of respect.On the July 30 episode of Raw, Lashley was defeated by Mr. Kennedy. During the match, Lashley was "injured" after Mr. Kennedy kicked Lashley's shoulder into the ring steps, allowing Lashley to have time off for surgery for the legitimate injury he suffered at The Great American Bash. After a six-month hiatus, WWE announced that Lashley was released from his WWE contract on February 4, 2008.