Bobby Lashley Lays Out Reasons For AEW Switch
Bobby Lashley wants to have fun.
On the October 30th edition of Dynamite, Bobby Lashley finally made his AEW debut after leaving WWE in August. The former World Champion had been offered a new deal by the sports entertainment giant, but he elected to allow his contract to expire and make a change.
In AEW, Lashley has reunited with MVP and Shelton Benjamin as the Hurt Syndicate.
During an appearance on The Lame Guys Podcast, Lashley explained why he chose to join AEW while recalling his first meeting with Tony Khan.
“I met with Tony Khan, and Tony Khan was super cool. The whole time, I was like, there’s no way…are you trying to get me? Everybody over there says the same. They’re like, he’s saying this stuff, but I can’t believe him. But then everybody that I’ve talked to, they’re like, he really is that guy.
He’s a good dude. I think he’s great for the sport of wrestling, the business of wrestling. I think he really is a genuine dude. In wrestling business, it’s scary. It’s like, don’t let your guard down. But he has been. I’ve seen the guy go around, and he genuinely loves wrestling and the guys in wrestling. He actually treats people really well.”
Bobby Lashley Wants To End Career On A High
Continuing on, Lashley said one of the big motivating factors behind the move was the freedom he’d have to work on non-wrestling projects, including a potential return to MMA. The former WWE Champion added that working as part of the Hurt Syndicate was also incredibly important as it meant he could spend his last few years in the ring having fun and elevating those around him.
“I think part of it was because Tony [Khan] did tell me that I had the opportunity to do other things also,” he said. “So if I do really want to tackle that fight, do another fight, whether it’s boxing, bare knuckles, MMA, I think he’ll give me the opportunity to, and then all my other projects that I’ve been working on.
I think that was part of it, just having the ability to do other things. But then afterwards, I just kind of looked at it, and I was like, man, we talked about this Hurt Business and what we could have done with it, the Hurt Syndicate now…
That’s all I want to do. I want to have some fun for the last years of wrestling. I’m not gonna do it forever, so I want to have some fun with the last few years and really help some guys and elevate some guys the way that I was, like some of the guys helped me when I first started out.”
Bobby Lashley will make his AEW in-ring debut at Full Gear when he challenges former World Champion Swerve Strickland. Also at the event, Jon Moxley will put the AEW World Championship on the line against Orange Cassidy.
H/t to Wrestle Zone