Bobby Lashley: WWE Used To Think I Should Be Like Mr. T, But That’s Not Me
Bobby Lashley is fresh off his disrupted wedding to Lana, which ended in old lovers crashing the ceremony and a screaming Lana. Since returning to WWE in 2018, Lashley has shown off a different side of his personality, doing more comedy and campy roles as opposed to the strong ass-kicker with a legit combat sports background that he played throughout his first WWE run (2005-08) and IMPACT Wrestling stint.
Speaking to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Lashley revealed that when he first joined Ohio Valley Wrestling, WWE wanted him to be more like Mr. T. But a conversation with Paul Heyman changed everything.
“When I first started out, I came to OVW in 2004. There were a lot of different people who came through, and they were bringing different trainers and different writers putting the show together. I remember when Paul Heyman first came, he called me up in the morning and said, ‘Hey man, what are you doing? Let’s go eat breakfast.’ I’d never met Paul at this point, but we go and eat breakfast. It was unbelievable, we were there talking for four hours. I felt like I’d known him forever,” said Lashley. “I didn’t know this at the time, but Paul saw me–this big, jacked up dude–and didn’t know me. And none of the other writers knew who I was. They were just writing on what they thought they knew of me–that I should be like Mr. T and run around like, ‘I pity the fool!’ But that’s not me. And that’s why Paul wanted to sit down and talk. He knew he needed to write for this guy, but he didn’t know who I was, and he wasn’t going to just guess. So we just sat and talked forever, and he said, ‘I get this guy.’ And he got me over in a short amount of time.”
Lashley continued, “I’m a very subtle person. I come from a background where you shut up, you train, and you compete. That’s what Paul saw, and everything he did from then on was highlighting who I was, not trying to put me in a box that didn’t fit. That’s why I was so excited when he came [as the Executive Director of Monday Night Raw], because I knew he gets me, could write for me, and put me in the right position and place on the show. Coming back now on the roster, it’s completely different across the board—how people act, how people get over, how the story is put together. Everything is so different. Right now, we’re trying to break me out of my comfort zone and have a little more fun.”
Lashley and Heyman work together every Monday with Heyman being the Executive Director of Raw. In the ongoing storyline with Rusev and Lana, Lashley has been a featured player each week on Raw, getting plenty of screen time to show off his acting and promo chops.
If you missed the “Wedding of the Century” you can view highlights by clicking here.
