Why Did WWE Release Bobby Lashley The First Time?

Bobby Lashley was “fired” at the end of this week’s Monday Night Raw after putting his hands on a referee and shoving Adam Pearce after losing a No. 1 Contender’s match against Seth Rollins. While all signs point to this mere being a storyline for “The All Mighty,” he actually was let go by the company back in February 2008. At the time, Lashley had already been a former ECW Champion and WrestleMania headliner, but following a six-month hiatus after having surgery in 2007 he was released from his contract. 

The reason behind Lashley’s release isn’t 100% clear. For a long time, it was believed that Lashley wanted out of the promotion because of frustration regarding the release of his then-girlfriend Kristal Marshall and backstage heat with Michael P.S. Hayes. But Lashley was recently interviewed by the YouTube channel RainmakerNYC and claimed his departure was actually about him wanting to have a career in mixed martial arts. 

“No, that’s 100 percent not true,” Lashley said when asked if his initial departure was due to money. “I was making a tremendous amount of money then. It was an opportunity for me to go fight and legitimize my character a little bit. So I fought for eight years under (Scott) Coker and Bellator and Strikeforce and everything else, and now coming back I take all that with me to kinda legitimize my character a little bit.”

Lashley would have his first professional fight in December 2008 and would go on to have a 15-2 professional career, including five consecutive wins in Bellator from 2014-16. He’d continue to wrestle in various promotions from 2008 up until his WWE return in 2018, most notably in TNA/Impact Wrestling from 2014-18. That run saw him become a four-time Impact World Heavyweight Champion. 

Since returning to WWE, Lashley has won the WWE, United States and Intercontinental Championships twice apiece. He finally got the chance to have his long-awaited rivalry with Brock Lesnar earlier this year, resulting in him beating “The Beast” at the Royal Rumble (with a big assist from Roman Reigns) and losing to Lesnar at Crown Jewel. It was that second match that sent Lashley into a fit of rage, forcing Lesnar to pass out after the match via his Hurt Lock submission. Stay tuned for more updates on Lashley’s status as they become available!