One look at Bobby Lashley and you can tell he’s always ready to put out the opponents you put in the ring with him. This wrestler is above many of his categories and has used his 100+ pounds of pure muscle to good effect in his career.
Lashley, who had two stints with WWE, has enough titles and recognition to retire, but it looks like he’s not done yet. During his first stint in WWE, Bobby was a two-time winner of the ECW World Championship and the United States Championship. He also holds an enviable four World Heavyweight Championships, an X Division Championship and a King of the Mountain title from his time with the promotion.
Bobby Lashley’s career in WWE and MMA
Bobby was born Robert Franklin Lashley on July 16, 1976, in Junction City, Kansas, USA. He attended Fort Riley High School, Junction City High School, and Missouri Valley College, earning a plethora of titles along the way.
He continued this momentum during his three years in the army. In 2004, he suffered a knee injury in a bank robbery that deprived him of the 2004 Olympics, ending his career.
That same year, as Blaster Lashley, he joined Ohio Valley Wrestling after signing a developmental contract with WWE. After a short stint as a member of Services Bolin, Lashley changed his name and made his WWE television debut in the 2005 SmackDown event where he defeated Simon Dean.
For the 2006 Royal Rumble, Bobby was the first SmackDown qualifier. He was knocked out by a combined effort of Big Show and Kane, then World Tag Team Champions. Lashley went on to win a battle royal by knocking out MNM to become the last man standing. The former Army brat went on to wrestle in WrestleMania (his first Wrestlemania appearance), and SmackDown’s King of the Ring Tournament. He advanced to the finals but was defeated to the title by Booker T. Following his loss to Booker T, Lashley defeated JBL at the United States Championship, his first professional championship title. Less than two months later he lost it to Finlay.
While Lashley was on the newly reactivated WWE ECW brand, he became the first African-American to win the ECW World Championship. In a Billionaires match, Bobby Lashley represented Donald Trump and defeated Vince McMahon’s champion Umaga. He lost the ECW title once and regained it to Vince McMahon on June 3, 2007.
After contending for the WWE Title in 2007, on July 30, Lashley suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery. After six months out of competition, WWE released him from his contract on February 4, 2008.
After leaving WWE, Boby Lashley saw him featured in many independent promotions such as World League Wrestling, Fusion Pro Wrestling, and American AAA.
He then spent a year between 2009 and 2010 with TNA Wrestling where he won the TNA Championship Series tournament on November 26, 2009. He was fired by TNA Executive Producer Eric Bischoff the last week of January 2010.
Bobby Lashley then focused on building his MMA career with regular appearances for the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF). He went on to win the IWS heavyweight title by defeating Tiny Iron and Mexx on December 27, 2014.
Lashley returned to Impact Wrestling on March 9, 2014. Three months later, he won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a victory over Eric Young. This makes him the first black American to win the title. He held the title for three months before losing it to Bobby Roode.
Bobby Lashley took over the title from Roode on January 7, 2015, he would earn two more goals against Drew Galloway and Eddie Edwards. His victory over Edwards was an all-match-winning match that won him the TNA X Division title.
Lashley’s TNA (now called Impact Wrestling at that time) contract was terminated on January 14, 2018, and he returned to WWE on April 9, 2018.
Who is Bobby Lashley’s wife?
The wrestler, as far as the public knows, has never been married. He dated Kristal Marshall from 2007 to 2010. Kristal is a former WWE Diva and a retired professional wrestler.
Although the couple separated in April 2010, their relationship resulted in two children: a son named Myles in 2008 and a daughter, Naomi, in 2011. Meanwhile, Bobby Lashley had a daughter named Kyra in 2005, from a previous relationship.
What is his net worth?
Bobby has won many titles on different promotions and sports in his wrestling career. However, not all spend the big bucks like WWE, where he spent less than five years of his 14+ career. According to a 2018 Forbes report, the Kansas wrestler has a net worth of $6 million.