Bobby Lashley Explains What Led To His 2008 WWE Departure
Bobby Lashley left WWE in February 2008 but contrary to popular belief, his departure wasn’t caused by a lack of income.
Amongst “other issues”, an opportunity to begin a fighting career was a primary reason for Bobby Lashley leaving WWE in February 2008.
This is what ‘The All Mighty’ himself has claimed in a new video posted to YouTube by RainmakerNYC. Although he was asked if a pay dispute was to blame for his departure, Bobby Lashley was quick to deny these accusations, stating that he was making a “tremendous amount” of money while under WWE employment.
Instead, he simply wanted to venture elsewhere, beginning a fighting career shortly after leaving the sports entertainment behemoth:
“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.”
Bobby Lashley officially left WWE on February 4th, 2008, making his MMA debut with the Mixed Fighting Alliance that December. He ended his MMA career in 2016 with a 15-2 record and two Heavyweight Championships.
Now back in WWE after a celebrated run in IMPACT Wrestling, Lashley has held the WWE and Intercontinental Championships twice each, and the United States Championship three times. He’ll next wrestle on November 5th when he faces Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel, stemming from their recent interactions on Monday Night Raw.