Lashley’s run could culminate with a WWE Championship victory in the near future. Bobby Lashley is more determined than ever to do everything in his power to turn 2021 into his year. “I know that my finish line is soon. I won’t be here for another 10 or 15 years like Ricochet or Cedric. I’m running to the finish line, and I’m hitting it hard. This is the year for me.” At 44 years old, Lashley knows every night he has in the ring could legitimately be his last, so he is looking to take advantage of the fact that his good friend MVP has helped him as well as the rest of The Hurt Business become top draws in WWE.
15 years ago, Lashley made a promise to himself that he would become WWE Champion. Now in 2021, that appears very possible and realistic. Bobby is currently the United States Champion and is set to defend his title on February 21 at Elimination Chamber in a triple threat match against Keith Lee and Riddle.
Prior to that, Lashley returned to WWE on Monday Night Raw the night after WrestleMania 34 in April 2018 after having been gone from the company for 10 years. While he was away, he significantly improved in terms of wrestling – most notably in TNA/Impact – as well as MMA fighting in Bellator. Lashley finally feels ready to have the responsibility of carrying the company on his shoulders.
The time Bobby spent with Lio Rush in late 2018 – early 2019, being presented in somewhat of a comedic form (becoming a two-time Intercontinental Champion in the process) did wonders in terms of reacquainting him with the WWE universe after a decade away. People started to remember who Bobby Lashley was.
“The world title, that’s been my priority since I came back. That has not changed. When I returned to WWE, I came in and paid respect to the guys who were here.” That’s a good attitude – pay your dues, even if you have been with the company previously. “Ever since, I have been focused on taking steps to show I am the guy.”
A scenario could be easily envisioned for Lashley to become a contender for the WWE Championship following the Elimination Chamber Pay-Per-View heading into WrestleMania 37 (even if this were to happen, Roman Reigns would still be the main event, presumably with Royal Rumble winner Edge as his challenger). In this hypothetical scenario, Lashley would drop the United States Championship to either Riddle or Keith Lee (without being pinned) and put one of them over. This would free Lashley of a title so he could go after whoever comes out of the Elimination Chamber as WWE Champion.
Lashley is interested in a potential showdown with Drew McIntyre because he believes McIntyre has an “old-school” mentality. The two men have had matches together before and were also tag team partners for a short time. Their mentalities also differ. McIntyre was “The Chosen One,” while Lashley takes a more workmen-like approach towards life in general. Brock Lesnar could be a great possibility to make this potential Mania match a triple threat. Brock is always a possibility until the last minute because he has been inserted at the last minute before.
For right now, Bobby is taking his run as United States Champion (which has already lasted five months) seriously. WWE is working to continue to present him in a realistic manner so that his work is viewed as authentic. He is currently set to defend his title against two superstars in Lee and Riddle who have both been on the main roster in WWE for less than a year. “I thought the United States title was perceived for a long time as just another title, but it has so many great names behind it. I am legit as it gets, and I have a lot of pride in defending this title, especially against guys like Riddle and Lee. Riddle’s ideal for a Fight Pit, and I would love to do something like that for the US title.” A little backstory: Riddle’s last match in NXT came in June last year against Timothy Thatcher in the Fight Pit. Thatcher has had another match in the structure since then.
Lashley offered a unique perspective when asked by Sports Illustrated about The Undertaker saying on the Joe Rogen Experience podcast that the current WWE product is “a little soft.” Bobby somewhat agreed (so do I for that matter) saying, “Years ago when I was on the roster and we were on the road, if you ran into trouble, you knew the people with you would scrap and fight for you. This roster, you don’t know. We hardly even travel anymore. Back in the day, we used to always get tested on the road. It was so different back then. If you didn’t toughen up, you were out. I don’t think this roster would allow that to happen. It’s a different time now. That’s why what we are doing with The Hurt Business is so unique. We wanted to be different, and we were determined to capture that ground-and-pound, old-school fights style. There is no one else like us.”
Lashley and MVP, who are longtime friends from their days in WWE together from 2005 – 2008, began planting the seeds for the inception of The Hurt Business back at the 2020 Royal Rumble. MVP made his return to the company originally for a one-off appearance so his son could see him wrestle.
He and Bobby Lashley started talking backstage about ideas and angles they could do together for television, and that led to MVP appearing on Monday Night Raw the following night so his son could see his father Bobby Lashley in a match with his favorite wrestler – Rey Mysterio. It turned into a full – length contract with WWE. It’s hard to get the business completely out of your life once you get a taste of the feeling of being immersed in the energy of so many other people – who are just reflections of yourself.
Here is what Bobby Lashley had to say about MVP: “We have been friends for a long time. That extends beyond wrestling. We worked together outside of WWE, and he would come to some of my fights in Bellator. That’s the kind of friend he is. It was great that he came back to WWE (Rumble 2020), and he wanted to do a one-off at the Rumble so his son could see him wrestle. After that, we started talking. I thought he had so much more left. I said to him, ‘Let’s do something together,’ and that’s how it all started,” Bobby (the formation of The Hurt Business).
Bobby Lashley’s career is flourishing since the creation of The Hurt Business, with MVP as the mouthpiece, Shelton Benjamin as Bobby contemporary right around the same age, and Cedric Alexander as the young upstart who could one day be the face of WWE. However, Lashley would be ignorant not to recognize the fact that his career is much closer to the end than the beginning. He is using his old-school mentality to get the absolute most out of his final stretch in WWE by becoming a world champion.