One look at Bobby Lashley and you can tell that he is ever ready to punch the lights out of any opponent you put in the ring with him. This wrestler towers above many of his kinds and has used his over 250 pounds of pure muscle to great effect in his career.
Lashley, who has had two stints with the WWE has enough titles and recognition to retire on but it appears he isn’t quite done yet. In his first stint with the WWE, Bobby was a two-time winner of the ECW World Championship and the United States Championship. He also holds an enviable four Impact World Heavyweight Championships, an X-Division Championship, and a King of the Mountain title from his time with the promotion.
Bobby Lashley’s WWE and MMA Career
Bobby was born Robert Franklin Lashley on July 16, 1976, in Junction City, Kansas, United States. He attended Fort Riley Middle School, Junction City High School, and Missouri Valley College, winning a plethora of titles along the way.
He continued this streak during his three years in the army, however, he suffered a knee injury in 2004 during a bank robbery that saw him miss out on the 2004 Olympic Games, nearly ending his career.
That same year, under the name Blaster Lashley, he joined Ohio Valley Wrestling after signing a developmental contract with the WWE. After a short time as a member of Bolin Services, Lashley switched to his real name and made his WWE television debut in a 2005 SmackDown event where he defeated Simon Dean.
For the 2006 edition of the Royal Rumble, Bobby was the first from SmackDown to qualify. He was eliminated by a combined effort from Big Show and Kane who were the then World Tag Team Champions. Lashley went on to win a battle royal event by eliminating MNM to become the last man standing. The former army brat went on to fight in the WrestleMania (his first Wrestlemania participation), and SmackDown’s King of the Ring tournament. He got to the finals but was beaten to the title by Booker T. Following his loss to Booker T, Lashley went on to beat JBL to the United States Championship which was his first professional championship title. Less than two months later, he lost it to Finlay.
During Lashley’s time at WWE’s newly reactivated ECW brand, he became the first African American to win the ECW World Championship. In a Batte of the Billionaires match, Bobby Lashley represented Donald Trump and defeated Vince McMahon’s champion, Umaga. He lost the ECW title once and regained it against Vince McMahon on June 3, 2007.
After vying for the WWE Championship in 2007, Lashley suffered a legitimate shoulder injury on July 30 that required surgery. After six months away from competition, WWE released him from his contract on February 4, 2008.
Bobby Lashley’s time away from WWE saw him feature in many independent promotions like World League Wrestling, Fusion Pro Wrestling, and Mexico’s 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 in the last week of January 2010.
Bobby Lashley then focused on building his career in MMA with regular appearances for the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF). He went on to win the IWS Heavyweight Championship 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 made him the first Black American to clinch the title. He held on to the title for three months before losing it to Bobby Roode.
Bobby Lashley regained the title from Roode on January 7, 2015. He would go on to clinch it two more times against Drew Galloway and Eddie Edwards. His victory over Edwards was a Winner-takes-all steel match which saw him also win the TNA X Division Championship.
Lashley’s TNA (now Impact Wrestling at this time) contract was terminated on January 14, 2018, and he returned to the WWE on April 9, 2018.
Who Is Bobby Lashley’s Wife?
The wrestler, as far as public knowledge goes, has never been married. He did date Kristal Marshall from 2007 to 2010. Kristal is a former WWE diva and retired professional wrestler.
Although the couple split in April 2010, their relationship produced 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 prior relationship.
What Is His Net Worth?
Bobby has won many titles across different promotions and sports in his wrestling career. However, not all of them shell out the big bucks like the WWE, where he has spent less than five years of his over 14-year career. According to a Forbes 2018 report, the Kansas wrestler has a net worth of $6 million.
