Bobby Lashley Addresses Vince McMahon’s Retirement

WWE United States Champion Bobby Lashley has heaped praise on Vince McMahon and addressed what the former Chairman’s recent retirement could mean for the company.

On-screen, Bobby Lashley has often been on the opposite side of the ring to Vince McMahon, feuding with the ex-WWE Chairman and CEO in 2007 over the ECW Championship and later taking the side of Donald Trump at WrestleMania 23’s ‘Battle of the Billionaires’.

Off-camera, though, the All Mighty has nothing but good words for has praised his old boss following McMahon’s retirement.

Speaking to Kenny McIntosh of Inside The Ropes ahead of WWE SummerSlam, Bobby Lashley discussed Vince McMahon’s sudden exit from WWE and credited him for everything he has achieved.

“I think it’s great. The first thing I want to talk about is just Vince in general. Vince put a roof over my kid’s head. Vince put food in my kid’s mouth. Vince gave me an opportunity to do this. The reason I’m standing here right now today is because of Vince. The reason why I have this title is because of Vince. The reason why I just bought a Tesla is because of Vince.

Yes, I’ve worked my a** off to get a lot of the things I got, but Vince gave me an opportunity to be able to do this, to get the stage press, be able to have SummerSlam and WrestleMania and everything like that. I’ll be indebted to him for life. He has just been a blessing in my life, he’s taken care of thousands and thousands and thousands of people, and that’s what people don’t understand.

Forget about the controversy that’s going on right now, let’s look at what this man has done. He’s put the roof over heads of literally thousands of people. You’re talking about people on the ring crew, you’re talking about the cameramen, you’re talking about the wrestlers, you’re talking about so many different people he’s taken care of. I think that’s what people need to really understand. That’s a big task.”

When it comes to what the future holds for WWE under the leadership of Stephanie McMahon, Nick Khan, and Triple H, Bobby Lashley thinks Vince McMahon’s influence will endure.

“Moving forward, I don’t think that Vince’s influence is going to be gone, but I think right now with Triple H and Stephanie [McMahon] and Nick Khan coming in there, I think those are all the people that worked alongside of him for years, so they’re going to keep going on with the same philosophy, with the same mentality, and I think the business is going to keep going.

Look at this pay-per-view this weekend, SummerSlam. We have some of the greatest matches and we don’t even have our whole roster. There are certain people that are amazing that are not even on this show. You’re talking Ricochet, I don’t think Drew’s [McIntyre] on the show, I don’t think Sheamus is on this show, I don’t think AJ’s [Styles] on.

There’s some amazing talent that are not even on here that haven’t had an opportunity to be highlighted. WWE is going to keep moving in the right direction and that’s straight up. We’re the greatest organisation in the world and it’s always going to be that way.”

At SummerSlam, Bobby Lashley is set to defend the US title against Vince McMahon’s former protege, Theory.