Bobby Lashley recently took part in a media conference to promote Thursday’s GFW Destination X special on Pop TV. Lashley talked about various topics including wrestling WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle in his final TNA match and Alberto El Patron being stripped of the GFW World Championship. Here are the highlights:
Wrestling Kurt Angle in his final match in TNA:
“I’ve done a lot of things in wrestling – big pay-per-views all across the world, from WrestleMania to everything else – but I put that match all the way at the top. Not at the top of everything, but I think it’s my top two or three. Reason being, I’ve always looked up to Kurt. I was watching him when I was in high school wrestling and Kurt was winning nationals in college.
When I went to college and was winning national championships, Kurt was winning the World and Olympic championships. I just kind of followed him all the way up. Afterwards, when I was at the Olympic training center, Kurt came to there to do a vignette and Kurt is the one that found me. He said, ‘You ever think about professional wrestling?’ We talked for a little bit and I passed my number on. The rest is history. He’s the one that got me into professional wrestling.
For 12 years I was in pro wrestling, Kurt and I never crossed paths. When I went to WWE, he went to TNA, when I went to TNA, he stepped out and was fighting, he came back and I was out and then I finally came back. This whole time he mentored me along the way, we would always talk to me on the phone and we’d talk about different matches and what to do and he’d just help me out with the politics of wrestling. Actually having an opportunity to wrestle him, towards the end, that was the one thing that I was pulling for so hard. I was telling them ‘if Kurt is getting ready to retire, you gotta get me in the ring with him.’ It was incredible. We had two big matches in each time it was like you were in the ring with your teacher. I like Kurt’s style, I mimic Kurt’s style to a certain extent so to me it was amazing.”
GFW suspending Alberto El Patron and stripping him of the World Championship:
“If we go out there and do something we have to hold ourselves accountable for the things that we do. The company has to do what they have to do. It’s an unfortunate situation. I don’t know all of the details because I try to stay out of that. My business and my contract says for me to be a performer and do that part, not to do any of the backstage or office stuff. The one thing I do know is, who needs the title? That’s me. Give me my title back. I could care less what’s going on with him. I’m just here to compete and now there’s an open title. That’s what I’m focussed on.”
H/T to Pro Wrestling Torch for the transcript of this interview.
