Bobby Lashley

Real Name: 
Franklin Roberto Lashley  

Birthday:
 July 16, 1976 

Hometown:
 Originally from Junction City, Kansas
Billed from Colorado Springs, Colorado  

Marital Status: 
Separated from Kristal Marshall 

Height & Weight: 
6'3" - 275 lbs 

Trained by: 
OVW Training 

Debut:
 1999  

Previous Names: 
Blaster Lashley (OVW)
"The Real Deal" Bobby Lashley
 
Finishing Move:
 The Dominator 

Favorite Moves: 
Front Powerslam
ClotheslineFallaway Slam 
Shoulder Block
Spear 
Gorilla Press
Overhead Belly-to-belly Suplex
Arm Trap Suplex 

Notable Feuds:
 Ken Doane
Simon Dean
Nunzio & Vito
Regal & Burchill
John Bradshaw Layfield
Fit Finlay
King Booker
The Big Show
Test (ECW)
Hardcore Holly (ECW)
Vince McMahon
Umaga (WM23)
Rhino
Samoa Joe
Scott Steiner
 
Title History
WWE United States title defeating John Bradshaw Layfield (May 26, 2006); 
ECW World Heavyweight title by winning an Extreme Elimination Chamber (December 3, 2006); 
ECW World Heavyweight title defeating Mr. Vince McMahon in a Street Fight (June 3, 2007); 
TNA world heavyweight title defeating Eric Young (June 19, 2014);
TNA world heavyweight title defeating Bobby Roode (January 7, 2015);

Professional wrestling

World Wrestling Entertainment

Ohio Valley Wrestling (2004–2005)

In November 2004, Lashley began working in the professional wrestling area and signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment. He was assigned to the development territory Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he was known as Blaster Lashley, and was a member of the Bolin Services stable along with Mike Mondo and Ken Doane. However during that time Bolin Services began to crumble with Lashley refusing to help Doane win matches, resulting in him turning face and going by his Bobby Lashley name.

United States Champion (2005–2006)
In mid-2005 Lashley appeared at four live events, wrestling in dark matches for both the Raw and SmackDown! brands. On September 23, 2005, Lashley made his televised WWE debut as a face on SmackDown! using the name Bobby Lashley. Lashley was introduced as a three-time National Amateur Wrestling Champion, a four-time All-American, a two-time Armed Forces Champion, and a 2002 Silver Medalist at the Military World Championship. In his first match, he defeated Simon Dean. In his pay-per-view debut at No Mercy, he defeated Dean once again. Lashley went on to defeat numerous superstars both on SmackDown! and Raw. On the November 11 episode of SmackDown!, Lashley defeated Orlando Jordan in a qualifying match for a place on Team SmackDown! at Survivor Series where he was the first to be eliminated. Prior to this elimination Lashley was dominating the Raw Superstars, showcasing various "power moves" and a finisher on Carlito. Yet a chokeslam from Kane, who was on the apron, caused Lashley to be eliminated.

On January 6, 2006, Lashley became the first SmackDown! wrestler to qualify for that year's Royal Rumble. At the Royal Rumble, Lashley was the eighth wrestler to enter the match. He eliminated Sylvain, but he was then eliminated by the combination of Raw's then World Tag Team Champions The 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. The match turned out to be Lashley's 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. This notably included a lumberjack match, which Finlay won after using a shillelagh.

On April 2, after winning a battle royal by lastly eliminating MNM, Lashley competed at his first WrestleMania (WrestleMania 22) in the Money in the Bank ladder match – which was won by Rob Van Dam. Lashley next entered SmackDown!'s King of the Ring tournament. He made it to the finals, defeating Mark Henry and Finlay in the process. However, in the final round – held at Judgment Day – he was defeated by Booker T with help from Finlay. As Booker was being crowned during his coronation, Lashley speared him. These acts developed into a feud with the newly named "King Booker" and the other members of his court (Queen Sharmell, Finlay, and William Regal). During this feud, Lashley won his first professional wrestling championship by defeating JBL for the United States Championship, which he lost to Finlay a little less than two months later. Lashley later joined forces with Batista against the Court. Shortly after losing the United States 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 against King Booker. The bout was subsequently turned into a four-way bout, also including Batista and Booker's ally, Finlay. King Booker won the match after pinning Finlay.

ECW World Champion and "Battle of the Billionaires" (2006–2007)
On November 14, 2006, 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. At December to Dismember, Lashley was the fifth person released into the match. He eliminated both Test and The Big Show by pinfall after a spear to become the new ECW World Champion. This made Lashley the first African American to hold the ECW Title.


Lashley making his entrance during an ECW house show.
After winning the ECW World Championship, Lashley then had successful title defenses against 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 in a Hair vs. Hair match, Lashley defeated Umaga following a spear and helped Trump shave McMahon's head afterwards in accordance with the match's losing stipulation. After WrestleMania, Lashley feuded with Mr. McMahon. McMahon booked himself, his son Shane McMahon, and Umaga in a 3 on 1 handicap match against Lashley at Backlash 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, Lashley defeated Vince, Shane, and Umaga in a 3 on 1 handicap rematch after hitting the Dominator on Shane McMahon. Lashley did not win the ECW World Championship, however, because he did not pin Mr. McMahon. 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.

Pursuit of the WWE Championship (2007–2008)

Bobby Lashley in 2006
On the June 11 edition of Raw, Lashley was drafted from the ECW brand to the Raw brand as part of the 2007 WWE Draft, as a result of the drafting, Lashley had the ECW World Championship taken from him. 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 which Cena won to retain the WWE championship. Lashley became the number one contender for the WWE Championship by winning the "Beat the Clock" challenge on the July 2 edition of Raw. On July 22 at The Great American Bash, he was pinned and defeated by John Cena, after the match they shook hands as a sign of respect, this was Lashley's final WWE pay-per-view appearance. On 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, this was Lashley's final appearance in WWE. After a six-month injury, WWE announced that Lashley was released from his WWE contract on February 4, 2008.

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración and independent circuit (2008)
After Lashley was released from WWE, Lashley returned to wrestling by appearing at Asistencia Asesoría y Administración's flagship event Triplemanía XVI. He, along with Kenzo Suzuki and Electroshock, defeated Chessman, Silver King, and La Parka, Jr.

Also after his departure from the WWE, Lashley would appear in many independent promotions. Such as World League Wrestling. He also appeared in the Denver-based Fusion Pro Wrestling, teaming with AJ Styles, and Paul Diamond to face the "Three Egos." He also wrestled for the Inoki Genome Federation in Japan.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2009–2010)
Lashley made an appearance at Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Lockdown pay-per-view event on April 19, 2009 and he also later appeared on that week's episode of TNA Impact!, both times pointing and smiling at The Main Event Mafia, thus appearing as a heel. On July 15, TNA announced that he had signed an official contract with the company. On July 23, Kurt Angle introduced Lashley as the newest member of the Main Event Mafia. Lashley entered the ring and hugged Angle while the rest of the Mafia held a beaten and battered Mick Foley upright. Angle then told Lashley to finish off Foley but as Lashley prepared to spear Foley, he turned on Angle and cleared the Mafia from the ring, thus making him a face.

On the July 30 edition of Impact!, Lashley made his in-ring debut for TNA in a tag team match as he and Mick Foley wrestled against World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle and Legends Champion Kevin Nash, where if Angle or Nash was pinned, whoever defeated them would win their respective title. It started out as a handicap match thanks to the Main Event Mafia attacking Lashley before the match, but eventually Lashley entered the match and helped Mick Foley pin Nash to win the match for his team and become the Legends Champion. On the August 27 edition of Impact!, Jeremy Borash interviewed him and TNA President Dixie Carter in which she said their goal was to make him a World Champion in both MMA and TNA. At No Surrender, he defeated Rhino with a knockout punch.

After No Surrender, Lashley began a feud with Samoa Joe. After teaming with Team 3D in a winning effort against Rhino and The British Invasion (Doug Williams and Brutus Magnus) on the October 1 edition of Impact!, Joe assaulted Lashley and choked him out with a rear naked choke. The following week, Lashley cost Joe the X Division Championship in a match against Amazing Red. At Bound for Glory, Lashley defeated Joe in a submission match. The following month at Turning Point Lashley's winning streak came to an end, when Scott Steiner pinned him in a Falls Count Anywhere match following a shot with a steel pipe. On November 26, Lashley defeated Abyss, Desmond Wolfe, and Robert Roode to win the TNA Championship Series tournament and earn himself a future World Heavyweight Title shot. At Final Resolution, Lashley avenged his prior loss and defeated Steiner in a Last Man Standing match with a pipeshot. On the January 4, 2010, Monday night edition of Impact!, Lashley and Kristal turned heel after requesting their immediate releases from TNA in order for Lashley to fully concentrate on his MMA career. Lashley went on to attack random wrestlers until he was granted what he wanted. On the January 21 edition of Impact! Lashley suddenly apologized to new executive producer Eric Bischoff for his actions, saying he just wanted to compete, but was nevertheless fired by him the following week. This was Lashley's last TNA appearance until 2014. On February 10, 2010, Lashley's profile was removed from the official TNA website. In an interview with Heavy Sports Lashley claimed that the release was legitimate and had been done in order for him to fully focus on his MMA career.

Return to the independent circuit (2010–present)

Lashley winning the IWS Heavyweight Championship.
After Lashley was released from TNA he made one appearance in Antonio Inoki's promotion Inoki Genome Federation (IGF). He defeated another WWE alumni The Predator. He returned to Japan in September 25, 2010 for a tag-team match with Bob Sapp against Kendo Kashin and Tamon Honda. Bob and Bobby were defeated. Since then Lashey regularly performs in IGF.

In 2011 he participated in the IGF Championship tournament. He won the 1st round match against Keith Hanson, but was defeated in semifinals by Josh Barnett.

On October 20, 2012, Lashley wrestled Jay Bradley and Robert Anthony in a three-way match for the vacant Resistance Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Championship, which was won by Anthony.

On June 26, 2013, Lashley signed a two-year contract with IGF, after winning the promotion's general election.

On December 27, 2014, Lashley defeated Mexx and Tiny Iron to win the IWS Heavyweight Championship.

Return to TNA (2014–2015)

Main article: Beat Down Clan
On March 9, 2014, Lashley returned to TNA at Lockdown in Miami, Florida, answering Ethan Carter III's open challenge after his scheduled opponent (Kurt Angle) could not wrestle due to an injury. On the March 20 episode of Impact Wrestling, Lashley and Carter had a rematch that once again ended in a no contest after an interference by Willow attacking Carter.

On the May 15 episode of Impact Wrestling, Lashley made his return after running out to the aid of Eric Young, but instead hitting Young with a spear, and allying himself along with MVP and Kenny King, thus turning heel. Soon after having his ring name tweaked to simply Lashley, he defeated Eric Young on the June 19 episode of Impact Wrestling to win the World Heavyweight Championship, his first title in TNA as well as his third world championship reign overall.He would be the first African American to hold the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. He defended the title on June 20, 2014 (aired July 3) against Young. On June 25 (aired July 17) Lashley defended the title against Jeff Hardy. At Impact Wrestling: Destination X, on June 26 (aired July 31) Lashley defended the title against Austin Aries, who had forfeited the X Division Championship for a title shot. On September 18, 2014, at the tapings for the October 28 edition of Impact Wrestling, Lashley lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Bobby Roode.

Lashley regained the championship on January 7, 2015, thanks to interference from MVP, King, Samoa Joe, and Low Ki, as well as Eric Young turning on Roode.[61] On the following night's tapings of the January 16 episode of Impact Wrestling, MVP attempted to present Lashley as the centerpiece of his Beat Down Clan, while referencing the trio of themselves and King as the foundation of the BDC. Lashley refused to become a part of this new group, however, and decided to leave, only to be attacked by the other members, with MVP saying that the title belongs to the BDC. This turned Lashley face in the process. On the March 20, 2015 episode of Impact Wrestling Lashley lost the TNA World Heavyweight Championship to Kurt Angle.