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 mid-2005, Lashley appeared at four live events for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), wrestling in dark matches for both Raw and SmackDown!. In January 2005, Lashley made his debut for Ohio Valley Wrestling a WWE developmental territory working as Blaster Lashley. Professional wrestling career World Wrestling Entertainment (2005–2008) Undefeated streak (2005–2006) 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. During three years in the Army, he won a gold and silver medal in the International Military Sports Council senior freestyle wrestling event. 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. He attended Missouri Valley College, where he was the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) 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 later graduated from Junction City High School, where he continued to wrestle. 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. The family occasionally moved from one military base to another. He has three older sisters, one of whom is still on active service in the U.S. He grew up in a single parent household with a mother who barely spoke English and struggled to secure a good job. Lashley is the only wrestler to have multiple reigns with the aforementioned championships.Įarly life Lashley during his time in the United States Army.įranklin Roberto Lashley was born in Junction City, Kansas, on July 16, 1976, the son of a U.S. He is also one of the two wrestlers to have won the WWE, ECW, and TNA/Impact world championships, the other being Rob Van Dam. He has headlined multiple pay-per-view (PPV) events for WWE and TNA/Impact, including the 2016 edition of the latter's flagship event, Bound for Glory. He then won the WWE Championship twice, becoming the third African-American to hold the WWE Championship (after The Rock and Kofi Kingston). After returning to WWE in 2018, he was assigned to the Raw brand, becoming a two-time Intercontinental Champion and winning a second and third United States Championship. He was also a one-time X Division Champion and the final King of the Mountain Champion. In 2009, Lashley began appearing in professional wrestling promotion TNA (later renamed to Impact), where he became a four-time TNA/Impact World Heavyweight Champion and the first African-American to hold that championship. 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. He subsequently pursued a career in MMA and had his first professional fight in December 2008. 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. After being drafted to the ECW brand the following year, Lashley became a two-time ECW World Champion, the first African-American to hold the championship. Lashley debuted in WWE in 2005, appearing on the SmackDown brand where he became a one-time United States Champion. Lashley is also known for his mixed martial arts (MMA) career in Bellator MMA and Strikeforce. He is an eight-time world champion, having been a two-time WWE Champion, two-time ECW World Champion, and four-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Franklin Roberto "Bobby" Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist.
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