News

Bobby Lashley Reacts To Kurt Angle Recalling TNA World Title Match: “Huge Deal For Me”

kurt angle bobby lashley tna

Bobby Lashley is ecstatic to have been praised by Kurt Angle.

Kurt Angle and Bobby Lashley have never faced each other one-on-one except in TNA/Impact Wrestling. The first time they clashed was on January 31st, 2015, which was a taped episode of Impact that aired on March 20th.

On an episode of his Kurt Angle Show podcast, Angle praised that match and Lashley in particular because it gave him the confidence he needed to keep wrestling for a while longer. The match saw Angle beat Lashley for the TNA/Impact World Title.

That praise hasn’t gone unnoticed by the former WWE Champion. During an interview with CBS Sports, Bobby Lashley responded and explained how important it was to get such praise from Kurt Angle, of all people:

“Damn, that is awesome, and a huge compliment. Kurt was the one that kind of opened the doors and got me into professional wrestling from the beginning. So I’ve always had a huge amount of respect and admiration for Kurt. So the fact that he said that, it really is a huge deal for me.

But at the same time, it’s Kurt Angle, man. I believe he’s one of the best in this business, and the fact that I was able to give him that mindset, to be able to train and wanna keep going, that is a huge compliment and a huge blessing and a huge amount of respect to me.”

Bobby Lashley’s first WWE run from 2006 to 2008 was solid but many fans found it a bit underwhelming. Since he returned in 2016, Lashley has been getting much more praise from fans and commentators alike, including tons of respect for wrestling through most of 2021 with some aggravating injuries.

h/t Fightful for the transcription