| Bobby Lashley | |
|---|---|
Lashley at WrestleMania XL in 2024 | |
| Birth name | Franklin Roberto Lashley |
| Born | July 16, 1976 Junction City, Kansas, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Missouri Valley College (BA) |
| Partner | Kristal Marshall (2007–2010) |
| Children | 3 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Blaster Lashley Bobby Lashley Lashley |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) |
| Billed weight | 273 lb (124 kg) |
| Billed from | Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| Trained by | Ohio Valley Wrestling |
| Debut | January 2005 |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | |
| Branch | |
| Years of service | 1999–2002 |
| Rank | |
Franklin Roberto "Bobby" Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the co-leader of the stable The Hurt Syndicate and one-half of the AEW World Tag Team Champions along with Shelton Benjamin. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed from 2005–2008 and from 2018–2024, and for his time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he competed under the ring name Lashley. 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 also won the WWE United States Championship three times and the WWE Intercontinental Championship twice.
He is also an MMA fighter, where he was considered a top draw for Bellator. He has not fought professionally since 2016.
Lashley went to Missouri Valley College. While he was there, he won three national amateur wrestling championships between 1996 and 1998. During 1997 and 1998 he was the NAIA National Wrestling Champion. He wrestled at the weight of 177 pounds (80 kilograms). Lashley later joined the United States Army, where he continued to wrestle.
In January 2005, Lashley started professional wrestling. He began working for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). WWE sent him to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he started his training under Lance Storm. During 2005, Lashley appeared at four live events for both the RAW and SmackDown! brands. On September 23, 2005, Lashley made his televised WWE debut on SmackDown!, defeating Simon Dean. On May 26, 2006, he defeated JBL to win his first title, the United States Championship. He lost it to Finlay on July 14.
On November 14, 2006, Lashley moved to the ECW brand. Lashley signed a contract for the final spot in a six-man Elimination Chamber match for the ECW World Championship at December to Dismember. Lashley won the match and became the new ECW World Champion. This made Lashley the first African American to hold the ECW title. Lashley lost the title to Mr. McMahon in May 2007. On June 3, 2007, he defeated McMahon to get the title back. On the June 11 episode of Raw, Lashley was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2007 WWE draft. As a result of the move, Lashley was stripped of the ECW World Championship by McMahon. Lashley was released from WWE on February 4, 2008.
Lashley made his Total Nonstop Action Wrestling debut at Lockdown on April 19, 2009. On July 23, Kurt Angle introduced Lashley as the newest member of the Main Event Mafia, but Lashley turned on Angle and the Mafia. On the July 30 edition of Impact!, Lashley made his in-ring debut for TNA in a tag team match. He and Mick Foley wrestled against World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle and Legends Champion Kevin Nash, where Lashley helped Mick Foley pin Nash to win the match for his team and become the Legends Champion per the stipulation. On November 26, Lashley defeated Abyss, Desmond Wolfe, and Robert Roode to win the TNA Championship Series tournament and earned himself a future World Heavyweight Title shot. At Final Resolution on December 20, Lashley avenged his prior loss and defeated Steiner in a Last Man Standing match with a pipeshot. On February 10, 2010, Lashley's profile was removed from the official TNA website.
On March 9, 2014, Lashley returned to TNA at Lockdown, answering Ethan Carter III's open challenge. On the June 19, 2014 episode on Impact Wrestling, Lashley defeated Eric Young to become the first African American TNA World Heavyweight Champion. On September 18, (aired October 28), he lost the title to Bobby Roode in a match with Kurt Angle as the special guest referee. He won it back from Roode on January 7, 2015, but lost it to Kurt Angle on January 31 (aired March 20). In 2016, he became a triple champion in TNA, winning his third World Heavyweight Championship from Drew Galloway on June 12 at Slammiversary, the X Division Championship from Eddie Edwards in a Winner Takes All Six Sides of Steel on July 13 (aired August 12), and the TNA King of the Mountain Championship from James Storm on August 11. The next day he unified the King of the Mountain title with his world title and vacated the next day X Division Championship. On the October 3 episode of Impact Wrestling (aired October 6), he lost the Impact world title to Eddie Edwards. He won it back in a 30-minute Iron Man match at Genesis on January 8, 2017, eventually losing it to Alberto El Patrón at Slammiversary XV on July 2. Lashley left Impact Wrestling in 2018.

Lashley returned to WWE on the April 8, 2018 episode of Raw, the night after WrestleMania 34. On the September 17 episode of Raw, he introduced his new manager, Lio Rush. On January 14, 2019, episode of Raw, Lashley won his first Intercontinental Championship in a triple threat match also involving Seth Rollins and previous champion Dean Ambrose. At Elimination Chamber on February 17, he lost the title to Finn Bálor in a handicap match also involving Lio Rush, who was the one pinned. Lashley won it back on March 11, eventually losing it to Bálor again at WrestleMania 35 on April 7. After the event, his partnership with Rush ended.
After feuds with Braun Strowman and Rusev, Lashley started teaming with MVP in May 2020. They were later joined by Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander and created a stable known as The Hurt Business. At Payback on August 30, he defeated Apollo Crews to win his second United States Championship. At Elimination Chamber on February 21, he lost the title to Riddle in a triple threat match also involving John Morrison. On the March 1 episode of Raw, Lashley defeated The Miz in a lumberjack match to win his first WWE Championship. He went on to keep his title against Drew McIntyre, Braun Strowman, Kofi Kingston, and Goldberg. On September 13, after successfully defending it against Randy Orton, he lost it to Big E, who cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase. In a match against Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble on January 29, 2022, Lashley won his second WWE Championship after Roman Reigns interfered. He lost it to Lesnar at Elimination Chamber on February 19 after suffering a (kayfabe) concussion in the Elimination Chamber match.
At Money in the Bank on July 2, he defeated Theory to win his third United States Championship. On October 10, he lost it to Seth "Freakin" Rollins after being attacked by a returning Brock Lesnar before the match. On the WrestleMania edition of SmackDown on March 31, 2023. he won the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. In the 2023 WWE Draft, he was drafted to SmackDown. There he went on to create the stable The Pride with The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford). On August 16, 2024, his contract with WWE ended.
Lashley made his AEW debut at Fright Night Dynamite on October 30, where he attacked Swerve Strickland and reunited with MVP and Shelton Benjamin. They reformed The Hurt Business, now known as "The Hurt Syndicate". On the January 22, 2025 episode of Dynamite, Lashley and Benjamin defeated Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen) to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship, the first title in AEW for both men. On May 14 at Dynamite: Beach Break, Lashley, Benjamin, and MVP added MJF as a member of the Hurt Syndicate. In August, however, they kicked MJF out of the group because of his selfish attitude. On August 24 at Forbidden Door, Lashley and Benjamin lost their titles to Brodido (Bandido and Brody King) in a three-way match. In December, it was reported that Lashley was injured.
On the April 2, 2026 episode of Collision, Lashley returned to AEW television in a backstage segment. At Double or Nothing on May 24, Benjamin and Lashley were a part of Jericho's team in Stadium Stampede, where they defeated Ricochet's team.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | The Way of War | Tattooed Hispanic Man | |
| 2010 | Beatdown | Lucius | |
| 2011 | Blood Out | Hector | |
| Walk-ins Welcome | Felix | ||
| 2022 | Green Ghost and the Masters of the Stone |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Deal or No Deal | Himself | |
| 2016 | Rush Hour | Bar Thug | |
| 2024 | Celebrity Family Feud | Himself | Part of Team Men of WWE with The Street Profits (Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins), Austin Theory and LA Knight. |
| Year | Song | Artist | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Nightmare | Kasland | Asylum Orderly |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 15–2 | Josh Appelt | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Bellator 162 | October 21, 2016 | 2 | 1:43 | Memphis, Tennessee, United States | |
| Win | 14–2 | James Thompson | TKO (punches) | Bellator 145 | November 6, 2015 | 1 | 0:54 | St. Louis, Missouri, United States | |
| Win | 13–2 | Dan Charles | TKO (punches) | Bellator 138 | June 19, 2015 | 2 | 4:14 | St. Louis, Missouri, United States | |
| Win | 12–2 | Karl Etherington | TKO (submission to punches) | Bellator 130 | October 24, 2014 | 1 | 1:31 | Mulvane, Kansas, United States | |
| Win | 11–2 | Josh Burns | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Bellator 123 | September 5, 2014 | 2 | 3:54 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |
| Win | 10–2 | Tony Melton | Decision (unanimous) | Xtreme Fight Night 15 | November 8, 2013 | 5 | 5:00 | Catoosa, Oklahoma, United States | Won the XFN Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 9–2 | Matthew Larson | Submission (rear-naked choke) | GWC: The British Invasion: U.S. vs. U.K. | June 29, 2013 | 1 | 1:38 | Kansas City, Missouri, United States | |
| Win | 8–2 | Kevin Asplund | Submission (americana) | Titan FC 25 | June 7, 2013 | 2 | 1:23 | Fort Riley, Kansas, United States | |
| Loss | 7–2 | James Thompson | Decision (unanimous) | Super Fight League 3: Lashley vs. Thompson | May 6, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | New Delhi, India | |
| Win | 7–1 | Karl Knothe | Submission (americana) | Shark Fights 21: Knothe vs. Lashley | November 11, 2011 | 1 | 3:44 | Lubbock, Texas, United States | Won the Shark Fights Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 6–1 | John Ott | Decision (unanimous) | Titan FC 17 | March 25, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Kansas City, Kansas, United States | |
| Loss | 5–1 | Chad Griggs | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Strikeforce: Houston | August 21, 2010 | 2 | 5:00 | Houston, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 5–0 | Wes Sims | TKO (punches) | Strikeforce: Miami | January 30, 2010 | 1 | 2:06 | Sunrise, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Bob Sapp | TKO (submission to punches) | FFI: Ultimate Chaos | June 27, 2009 | 1 | 3:17 | Biloxi, Mississippi, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Mike Cook | Technical Submission (guillotine choke) | MFC 21 | May 15, 2009 | 1 | 0:24 | Enoch, Alberta, Canada | |
| Win | 2–0 | Jason Guida | Decision (unanimous) | SRP: March Badness | March 21, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Pensacola, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Joshua Franklin | TKO (doctor stoppage) | MFA: There Will Be Blood | December 13, 2008 | 1 | 0:41 | Miami, Florida, United States | Heavyweight debut. |
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