Last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW ended with Bobby Lashley standing over his WrestleMania 37 opponent, Drew McIntyre. Lashley had issued a reward for any talent who could take McIntyre out of contention for their ‘Mania match in just over a week.
Both Ricochet and Mustafa Ali stepped up near the end of the show and faced the Scottish Superstar. Both men were unsuccessful against Drew McIntyre, but SmackDown Superstar King Corbin appeared right at the end of the programme and took out his former stable-mate.
King Corbin sent out a tweet saying why he chose to take up Bobby Lashley’s offer and attempt to take out McIntyre.
King Corbin on Drew McIntyre
“We used to run RAW” King Corbin wrote on Twitter; referencing when he, Lashley and McIntyre were a trio for a short time. “We destroyed monsters and punished everyone. Then one guy sold out and wanted to sell T-shirt’s.”
“Bobby Lashley made an offer and I showed up!” King Corbin concluded.
It has not been confirmed if King Corbin will now be a RAW Superstar. It’s also not been confirmed if he will be in Lashley’s corner at WrestleMania 37.
It was confirmed at the start of RAW that The Hurt Business stable as it stands is now disbanded; with Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander getting booted from the group.
We used to run #WWERaw, we destroyed monsters and punished everyone.
Bobby Lashley is set to face Drew McIntyre to defend his WWE Championship at WrestleMania 37’s Night One next month in April. The two got involved in the title picture back in February on the Elimination Chamber event. Lashley had helped The Miz to cash in Money in the Bank by attacking McIntyre after his Chamber match. While Lashley was able to face Miz for the title as part of the deal for helping him, and now that he is in a program with McIntyre, the champion admitted that they haven’t been able to develop the storyline properly yet because they haven’t had the opportunity to. Lashley’s initial time as champion was spent with Miz, while McIntyre was juggling between Lashley and Sheamus at Fastlane. “The Almighty” has said that they will try to build something up the next few weeks before their big match at WrestleMania.
Speaking to the We Watch Wrestling podcast, Bobby Lashley stated, “Me and Drew are going to go all out, we’re going to beat the hell out of each other. That’s what we always do. We’re going to have to build something up the next few weeks because we haven’t had the opportunity to. I had the match with him last year and after that, Lana cost me the win, and we never came back to it. I want to come back to it and there’s a lot of things we can do leading up to WrestleMania. Ultimately, just being in the ring with Drew, I know we’re going to steal the show match-wise. It’s going to be a different match than the other ones. We’re hard-hitting. Sheamus and I beat each other up bad. Drew is going to be that, times ten since it’s WrestleMania.” (h/t Fightful)
Bobby Lashley won a match against Sheamus on Raw this Monday. After the match, Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander came out to beat Sheamus down outside the ring. Drew McIntyre rushed down the ramp and saved Sheamus from the assault. He then went inside the ring and stared down Lashley. As they started arguing, MVP broke it up and told Lashley to save it for WrestleMania. McIntyre then went on to face Alexander and Benjamin in a Handicap match. According to the stipulation of the match, if McIntyre won the match, Benjamin and Alexander would be banned from ringside for the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania. McIntyre was able to pick up the victory which means the two members from Hurt Business won’t be present ringside for Lashley.
Former WWE Champion Drew McIntyre recently spoke to WFLA-NBC. The man who will go on to face Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania 37 in April discussed a number of topics during the interview, including WWE’s presentation during the ‘pandemic’ era.
“We have our fans back virtually” Drew McIntyre began. “We can hear them over the speakers. It’s so cool to see them on the screens reacting, but there’s nothing like our fans being their live. Our WWE Universe. Our secret sauce, they’re our number one Superstar, they create that atmosphere that’s so unique to WWE.”
Drew McIntyre on WrestleMania 37 Fans
McIntyre also talked about the expectation of fans finally being back in attendance for WrestleMania in April. Drew of course won the WWE Championship from Brock Lesnar in an empty Performance Center at 2020’s iteration of the event.
“They (the fans) have been kept away from what they love for over a year” McIntyre said. “There’s a lot of pent-up reactions that are going to come out at WrestleMania. It’s going to be loud. There might only be 25,000 limited capacity…but it’s going to sound like 200,000 people on April 10 and 11 at Raymond James Stadium.”
Drew McIntyre finished by saying that he wants to get ‘that moment’ at WrestleMania in front of fans finally. “In the end, I want my moment with the fans, with the title” McIntyre stated. “Standing on the top rope with those fireworks going off, the moment I didn’t get last year.”
As expected, Bobby Lashley will defend the WWE Title against Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 37.
WWE confirmed the match in the opening of Monday’s episode of Raw. The first segment saw Lashley cut a promo alongside MVP where he talked about how he destroyed McIntyre at Elimination chamber and will do so yet again at WrestleMania.
He vowed that he will reign supreme going forward because it’s the all-mighty era. McIntyre later came out to do a promo about facing Lashley and regaining the WWE Title. He said that they will knock the hell of each other and also called Lashley a “big bald b*tch.”
This match was expected to happen, but the way WWE handle it wasn’t as just like week it was reported the plan was for McIntyre to battle Sheamus at the upcoming Fastlane pay-per-view event in a Last Man Standing Match to determine the new #1 contender for the title. That clearly changed.
WWE presents the pay-per-view event on Saturday, April 10th, and Sunday, April 11, 2021 from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
Updated WWE WrestleMania 37 Card
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Edge
WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair
While Bobby Lashley made his return to WWE in 2018, his career really turned around after the formation of the Hurt Business which has since led to the All Mighty winning the WWE championship for the first time in his career.
The current champion recently had an interview with The Wrap where he talked about his time in the company since his return in detail including his storyline with Lana and more.
During the interview, Lashley discussed the origin of the Hurt Business. The Raw star revealed that he was the one who came up with the name for their group and explained where he got the idea from:
“It was me. I was thinking about this before, I was thinking about the whole thing before, Originally, a boxing coach that I had down in Coconut Creek at American Top Team. He used to always wear this T-shirt and I was like, man, that is incredible man, that needs to be in WWE because that’s my character.”
The former TNA star then talked about the formation of the group. He remembered how MVP’s return was originally going to be a one night thing and he explained how they chose the other members of their group:
“And then when MVP had that Royal Rumble, he was only going to do that, but when he was there, we had worked before and I told him, ‘you are kind of a mix between Suge Knight, and Don King.’ I said, ‘If you mix all those up that is you.’ And I told him about this and then me and him got together and he was like, ‘We can make a real little faction out of this.’
And of course we thought about Shelton (Benjamin), because Shelton wasn’t really doing anything, everybody knows how good Shelton is. I was like, man we got to bring Shelton, because Shelton gets it. And then we needed a young boy to come up, and Cedric (Alexander) is phenomenal.”
Lashley aligned himself with MVP in May last year. They were joined by Shelton Benjamin a month later in June to create the Hurt Business. The three fueded with Apollo Crews, Cedric Alexander and Ricochet for a while before Alexander joined the trio as well.
Apart from this, Bobby Lashley discussed how his current WWE run is different than his previous runs with the company and more. You can check out his full interview at this link.
Bobby Lashley is the WWE Champion and his Hurt Business stablemates, Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin hold RAW tag-team gold. Lashley recently held the United States title and Benjamin has held the 24/7 title during the Hurt Business’ time together as well. The only gold they are missing is in the women’s division. Lashley says he’d like to see a female wrestler join the faction.
“We want dominance and a legacy,” Lashley said recently in an interview with Complex. “That’s what we want. Another thing that we talked about, we don’t even know if we want to go there, but I’ll throw this out: Is there a female that’s going to join the group?”
Lashley also revealed that some thought has already gone into who that person could be. He noted that the faction may not end up going through with the recruiting, however, and isn’t willing to announce the name just yet.
“We thought about that. We have some definite names. And if we did go that route, I think we’re all in agreeance of who we would love to have a part of us. Can’t really say right now, but that’s something that’s [on the way]. So we’re trying to play with it, so we’re coming at all different angles.”
Bobby Lashley is the new WWE Champion and by his side are his stablemates from the Hurt Business. Recently, Lashley, other members of the faction, and the Rock traded comments about representation in wrestling and Lashley’s latest career accomplishment.
The thread started when one Twitter user posted some art work that drew the attention of Lashley and the Rock.
— Abdulmalik | عبدالملك (@97Abdulmalik) March 3, 2021
One user on Twitter objected to the picture.
“Everything doesn’t always have to be a race thing. That’s kind of what we’re trying to steer away from and you’re doing the opposite,” this person said.
The Hurt Business’ MVP then responded.
“No. He’s not. That is a beautiful statement about representation and inspiration. It means something when your heros look like you,” MVP Tweeted in response.
This led to the Rock, who is featured in the art work, to comment as well. He praised the Hurt Business and said he was very proud of them.
Well said, brother. You guys are doing GREAT. Very happy for all of you. Very proud, too. Representing
The new WWE Champion then praised the Rock for paving the way.
“You and so many others paved the way for us to do what we do. Without The Great One, there might not be an All Mighty,” Lashley Tweeted.
The Rock then responded with the following:
Appreciate the kind words brother. Very happy for you and proud. Grab that brass ring and go for it all. You know what to do, champ. Represent. #allmighty#peopleschamphttps://t.co/ZpxMd9PB9h
Bobby Lashley had his big crowning achievement by winning the WWE Title.
He did just that this past Monday night on Raw when he beat The Miz in the main event. The newly crowned champion spoke with FOX Sports to talk about it.
During it, he looked back on what WWE Chairman Vince McMahon told him after the big win. He began by noting that Booker T told him one time that he should be in the main event and realized to stop just having fun, but strive to get more of his career.
Lashley stated that McMahon doesn’t want you in the promotion to have fun, but rather wants to get in an argument with you because you’re fighting for something that you want. He said McMahon wants you to step out of the box and do something bigger such as a spot at WrestleMania and the crowd to form them to give you the title.
“When I was able to go through that curtain [after winning the WWE Championship] and give Vince a hug, he grabbed me and he held me for a while and was like, ‘Man, I’m proud of you.’”
There’s still no word yet on who he’ll defend the WWE Title against at Fastlane on March 21st.
This Monday on RAW, Bobby Lashley defeated The Miz to become the 53rd person in history to hold the WWE Championship. Lashley begins the 141st reign in the title’s lineage. He spoke to SI.com recently about what the title win means to him.
“I promised myself that this would happen,” Lashley said during the interview. “There have been times when I didn’t know if this was going to come, but I worked my ass off and refused to be denied. Now that we’re here, it’s surreal.”
“Seeing so many people ringside—like Ricochet, Elias and Braun—that meant a lot,” he continued. “I’ve shared moments with all of them. Sharing it with Shelton, Cedric and MVP, that’s very meaningful, too. I’ve had so many calls and messages—I heard from my college wrestling coach, my high school wrestling coach, even people I trained with in Japan. It’s been amazing.”
Lashley was a 4x World Champion with TNA Wrestling/Impact. He also held the ECW title while in WWE twice. Lashley is also a 2x Intercontinental and 2x United States Champion as well.
“I went into professional wrestling believing that the world title would be my world medal,” Lashley continued. “This has always been my goal. Even when times were tough, I didn’t stop. I never stopped, I kept working to get better. My dad taught me hard work, and I’m teaching that to my kids. And it’s true—the harder I work, the luckier I get.”
The Miz made unsuccessful title defense as WWE Champion on Monday’s episode of Raw against Bobby Lashley.
WWE kept delaying the time of the match as originally it was supposed to be at the top of the second hour, but Miz claimed he was sick and got it delayed another hour, but Miz ran away when the bell rang and Lashley won by count-out. Finally, the match with a few minutes left in the show after it was rescheduled took place with some lumberjacks around the ring.
Miz tried to get DQ’d by hitting Lashley with the title, but Lashley blocked it. Lashley got a hold of him and hit the flatliner before locking in the Hurt Lock for the win.
WWE set up this contest after the opening segment of last week’s Raw when Lashley told Miz that he demanded Miz to give him a title shot because he laid out McIntyre ahead of Miz cashing in the MITB briefcase.
An hour later, Miz said that he need more time, which led to Braun Strowman coming out and demanding a title shot. Lashley beat Strowman in a singles match last week. The match had a stipulation of if Strowman had won then he would’ve been added to this title match and turn it into a three-way.
After last week’s match, The Miz attempted to attack Lashley, who saw it and laid out the WWE Champion with a spinebuster and spear, standing strong to close out the show.
Bobby Lashley is currently being pushed as one of the top stars of WWE Raw, but at 44-years-old, some fans are curious as to when he plans to wrap up his pro wrestling career.
He spoke about retirement while doing an interview with Bleacher Report. According to Lashley, he has a few years left.
“I know with my career that it’s not going to be a thing where I have 10, 15, 20 more years. Some of these guys do, so mine is kind of a sprint right now. I don’t mind that. I don’t mind ramping it up a little bit because, like I said, I don’t have 10 to 15 more years. I have a few more years left. There’s a lot of goals I want to accomplish, so I have to go hard. My body’s been able to take the abuse I’ve given it, and I knew I could keep going, so I knew it was my time.”
Lashley has had two stints with WWE, the first being from 2005-2008. He then went to TNA Wrestling in 2009 and lasted a year there. He then returned to the promotion as it’s now called Impact Wrestling in 2014 until 2018. In total, he held the World Title four times. He returned to WWE in 2018.
Lashley is coming off an impressive United States Title reign, which ended at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event, and currently in a feud with The Miz for the WWE Title.
Bobby Lashley is all set to face The Miz for the WWE Championship on this week’s Monday Night Raw, after helping Miz to cash in his Money in the Bank contract by beating down former Champion Drew McIntyre at Elimination Chamber. Lashley is super confident that he’s going to win the match and become the next WWE Champion. In fact, he has already named who he is going to defend his title against at WrestleMania 37, while also talking about his dream match at “The Grandest Stage Of Them All”.
Speaking to Inside the Ropes, Bobby Lashley said that while his dream match at WrestleMania would be against Brock Lesnar, he has set his sights on former Champion Drew McIntyre simply because of the fact that McIntyre beat Lesnar in quick fashion at last year’s WrestleMania.
“As far as Brock, Brock is one person but how I look at it is Drew beat Brock in, like, no time. So, of course, my sights were set on Brock for some time but, like I said, Drew is the man, Drew is the one that beat him, Drew beat Goldberg,” Bobby Lashley said.
While Bobby Lashley acknowledged that the dream match fans want is between him and Brock Lesnar, he considers Drew McIntyre the top guy right now. And therefore, beating McIntyre comes first for him. “Of course Brock is that kind of mystery match, dream match that everybody has wanted us to have for some time now but right now, I’m looking to be the best and right now the best is Drew. Drew is the top guy. If I beat Miz, or when I beat Miz, I think Drew is the guy,” Lashley explained.
As noted before, Bobby Lashley viciously assaulted Drew McIntyre after he survived and successfully defended his WWE Championship in the Elimination Chamber match. This gave The Miz the perfect opening to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase, making him a two-time WWE Champion. The following night on Raw, it was revealed that Miz had struck a deal with the Hurt Business, according to which the Miz would give Lashley a title shot if he helped him cash in his contract.
Bobby Lashley stated that Drew McIntyre’s “the man” and that to be the man you’ve got to beat the man and therefore all his focus is on McIntyre. McIntyre meanwhile was not present at last week’s Raw but he is set to return to the show this week.
The Miz will have to defend his newly won WWE Championship next week on Monday Night Raw already as he’s set to face Bobby Lashley in a title match.
On this weeks’s episode of Raw, The Miz, with John Morrison celebrated his successful Money in the Bank cash-in on Drew McIntyre at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event on Sunday. However, the celebrations soon came to a halt as Bobby Lashley and MVP of The Hurt Business interrupted and reminded The Miz of the deal that they struck backstage prior to the cash-in. It was revealed that according to the deal, Lashley would get a title shot against Miz if the former assisted the latter by weakening McIntyre.
Miz said that he needed some more time to make the decision and Lashley gave him an hour to decide. However, he still couldn’t reach a decision and begged for more time. This led to Braun Strowman and Shane McMahon coming out. Strowman was not happy that he was left out of the Elimination Chamber match.
Shane McMahon set a matchup between Strowman and Lashley, with the stipulation that if Strowman won, he would be added to the Miz vs. Lashley title match. Lashley would go on to win the match, however, by kicking out of Strowman’s running powerslam and hitting him with a spear for a successful pinfall victory. After the match, Lashley put Strowman in the Hurt Lock and beat down the Miz with a spear.
Bobby Lashley then held up the WWE Championship as the show ended.
Bobby Lashley revealed the reasoning behind his actions on Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event where he viciously attacked Drew McIntyre after his match.
Drew McIntyre emerged the winner at Sunday’s WWE Elimination Chamber show, surviving in the hellish structure and coming out of it as the triumphant winner. The celebrations of victory were suddenly put on hold, however, as Bobby Lashley came out and hit McIntyre with a spear. Lashley issued a proper beatdown on McIntyre as suddenly The Miz’s came out to the ring with along with his Money in the Bank briefcase.
By this time, Lashley was already done attacking McIntyre, and was out of the ring. As The Miz approached towards the ringside, the two exchanged looks before the former WWE Champion made his way inside the ring.
Prior to The Miz cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase and winning the WWE Championship, he was seen backstage talking to the MVP in a backstage segment earlier during the show. While they were talking about wasn’t audible, it’s being speculated that The Miz struck a deal with The Hurt Business to weaken Drew McIntyre so he could cash in his briefcase.
This could mean that The Miz would let Bobby Lashley take a shot at his title as part of the deal. It would be interesting to see how the story goes on from here – whether the angle will be played out at the upcoming Fastlane event or it would go to till WrestleMania.
Bobby Lashley walked in, but not out of the WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event in St. Petersburg, Florida at Tropicana Field as the United States Champion.
WWE had advertised Lashley defending the strap against Matt Riddle and Keith Lee in a Triple Threat Match at this show. Lee’s status for the show was reported to be up in the air earlier this week by Dave Meltzer. Lee wasn’t on Monday’s episode of Raw.
With so little was announced for the show in advance and Lee’s status, there were a lot of unknowns about this show. There was even speculation that WWE could turn this advertised three-way match into a singles match between Riddle and Lashley.
WWE announced earlier today that Lee was pulled from the match due to injury. John Morrison vs. Ali vs. Ricochet vs. Elias took place on the pre-show with Morrison winning. As a result, he replaced Lee in the title match.
The Triple Threat Match saw the finish where Riddle hit Lashley in the back with MVP’s crutch to take care of him so he could hit his finisher to Morrison to win the title.
Bobby Lashley, who is the CEO of his faction The Hurt Business, have become a formidable force in WWE since their formation last year. The group has found championship success in that the United States Championship as well as the Raw Tag Team Championships are under The Hurt Business’ hold.
The Hurt Business gets often compared to the Nation of Domination, but Bobby Lashley does not share the same opinion. He dismissed any comparisons between the two factions in a recent interview with Sporting News. Lashley explained that they wanted to represent African-American men in a way that hasn’t been done before:
“My first thought was ‘Thank you!’ But that’s not who we were. Because you see a group of Black guys, some people immediately associate them with another group of Black guys,” Bobby Lashley said. “I love what The Nation did, but that’s not what we’re about at all. But we are totally different. It’s not about black and white; we are about green and gold. We are thugs in suits because we have a hardcore style, but want to look good doing it. We wanted to show a different representation of Black men because we haven’t seen that. We are four professional Black men who can mess you up. That’s what we’re all about.”
With leader MVP and CEO Bobby Lashley, along with members Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin, The Hurt Business does not seem like they’re looking to advance. Back in October, Titus O’Neil requested to join the group, but was rejected and brutally assaulted by the group. Since then, however, Bobby Lashley has shown interest in a member of the roster that according to him could make a good addition to the group.
Bobby Lashley has said that Keith Lee is a star who is ready to breakout and the Hurt Business would propel him to the next level. Lashley stated, “He has been going out there and doing everything he has to do. I think he’s the kind of person who might need a little Hurt Business in his life to take him to that next level. He is ready to breakout, as are others.”
Bobby Lashley says he wants Keith Lee in his Hurt Business faction. Lashley thinks Lee is a star who is ready to breakout and the Hurt Business would propel him to the next level.
While speaking to TV Insider, WWE’s reigning United States Champion was asked if he sees any similarities between himself and Keith Lee.
“Now that you say that, I kind of do,” Lashley said about seeing some of his own characteristics in Keith Lee. “When I first came in, I was a major player. Then I hovered. At certain times I faced John Cena, Booker T. and JBL, but I never broke through to get that world title. Keith has earned respect from a lot of people.”
Lashley added, “He has been going out there and doing everything he has to do. I think he’s the kind of person who might need a little Hurt Business in his life to take him to that next level. He is ready to breakout, as are others.”
Keith Lee was added to the main roster in 2020 after a great stint in NXT, where he won the NXT Championship and also the North American Championship.
Since The Hurt Business has seen some tension amongst the members, Bobby Lashley was asked if there is a possibility the group might disband.
“No. Sometimes when we disagree, it’s just being brothers — you have little spats. There’s no chance we’re breaking up.”
Meanwhile, Bobby Lashley will defend his United States title against Keith Lee himself and Matt Riddle in a triple-threat match at the Elimination Chamber event this Sunday. He defeated Apollo Crews at Payback last year to win the title for the second time in his career.
Bobby Lashley is the latest guest on Peter Rosenberg’s Cheap Heat Podcast. WWE’s reigning United States Champion spoke with Rosenberg and co-host Stat Guy Greg about a range of topics. They discussed being a muscular guy in WWE, how the Hurt Business was formed, working with Umaga and more.
Wrestling fans and pundits have long talked about a between Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar. It is an intriguing pairing that some would call a dream match. They are two of the most athletic big men in WWE history. Lashley has expressed interest in working with Lesnar, but it has never happened. Lashley was asked if Brock is ducking him, or if he’s ducking Brock.
“We can cancel that second part out, because I ain’t ducking anybody,” said Lashley. “Let’s go and cross that out.”
Lashley has heard Lesnar doesn’t want to work with him because he’s not a big enough star. He feels this is completely ridiculous, if true.
“You know, I’ve heard a couple different things, which I think is completely obnoxious, I think it’s ridiculous. I’ve heard this one time, maybe he thinks he’s too big of a star. Because if you think about it, look who he usually goes against. He’ll come back in and see who’s hot. ‘Oh, Kofi’s hot, I’ll get Kofi. Oh, Drew’s hot. Let me get him.’ It kind of takes away from the fact of what the fans want. Fans have been [wanting this match] since I began wrestling.”
Bobby Lashley Doesn’t Know Brock Lesnar
Bobby Lashley has been compared to Brock Lesnar ever since he joined WWE. People have called him the Black Brock. He corrects them and says, “No, no, no. It’s just Bobby.”
Surprisingly, Bobby Lashley says he doesn’t know Brock Lesnar. He says he’s “never” talked to Brock. In fact, he says they’ve exchanged a maybe a total of 5 words – ever.
“I’ve never talked to Brock, I don’t even know Brock really well,” said Lashley. “So, it’s usually through his advocate or someone else that you can even get any kind of dialogue. So, I’m not the one to ask that question. It’s those other guys, ’cause I’m ready.'”
Peter Rosenberg was stunned that Lashley has never had a conversation with Brock Lesnar. Rosenberg says he frankly never sees Brock at WWE shows when he’s there, but sees Lashley backstage all the time. He asked Lashley to elaborate. Lashley says he never even met Brock Lesnar until 2 years ago. He believes certain people have tried to keep them apart throughout the years.
“I’ve maybe exchanged a total of 5 words with Brock – ever,” Lashley revealed. “And, another thing is, I never met Brock until probably like 2 years ago in Saudi [Arabia]. I didn’t even know he was there, I walked passed gorilla and was like ‘hey, hey’ and that was it. We shook hands, and that was about it.’ Since then, there’s been a few other times, he’s come and it was just in passing, ‘Hey Brock, what’s going on, what’s going on.’ We shook hands, boom. We ‘know’ each other, but I think there’s people that have tried to keep us apart.”
You can check out the full interview with Bobby Lashley on Cheap Heat embedded below:
There was speculation about a United States Championship match between the current champion Bobby Lashley and Matt Riddle taking place at the TLC PPV but this bout has not been announced.
Now the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter has provided some update on the plans for the title and it claims that this bout is scheduled for the Royal Rumble PPV.
There is also speculation about Jeff Hardy possibly being added to the bout as it was teased a few weeks back but so far there is no confirmation of the same.
As of now, WWE has not announced the date for the Royal Rumble PPV either but the show is expected to take place in late January as usual.
The event will be taking place from The ThunderDome at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. WWE officials are trying to bring in live audience for the show but there hasn’t been a confirmation of the same so far.
Bobby Lashley defeated Apollo Crews to win the United States championship at the Payback PPV in August this year. This is his second run with the US title.
Lashley, Riddle or Jeff Hardy have not been booked for any match at Sunday’s TLC PPV though there is still chance that the company will include them into the show as a last minute edition.
Hurt Business member Bobby Lashley has opened up about participating in uncomfortable storylines since he returned to WWE.
Joining Corey Graves for his WWE podcast After the Bell, Lashley explained that he had to figure out “why” he was being chosen for these storylines. He believed it came down to two things.
According to him, WWE wanted people to hate him and also wanted to loosen him up as a performer.
“For me, I had to figure out the why. A lot of times people don’t want to figure out the why,” Lashley explained. “I think part of the why for me is when I came back, they wanted people to hate me. But also, I think it’s just getting me to loosen up a little bit.”
He explained how he had been wrestling for so long and that he had always been a “[…] shut up and train type of person.” He typically wanted his hard work and actions to speak for him.
According to Lashley, he was always happy being a workhouse and was a naturally quiet person. However, when he came back to WWE, he believed the promotion wanted to “[…] embarrass him enough to break out of his shell.”
Prior to joining The Hurt Business, Bobby Lashley was involved in a controversial storyline including Lana and former WWE Superstar Rusev. The storyline would unfortunately see Lashley receive online hate to the point he received death threats.
Bobby Lashley walked away as the new WWE United States Champion following his Payback matchup with Apollo Crews. This win marks the second time Lashley has held the title. In a WWE.com exclusive, Lashley and his Hurt Business stablemates addressed the victory and shared what people can expect next.
When asked what this title win meant to him, Lashley deferred the mic to MVP, who stated:
“Satisfaction. Ask Apollo about satisfaction because obviously he is another satisfied client of The Hurt Business. Our business is hurt, and I think if you talk to Apollo Crews right now, his neck is hurt, his ribs are hurt, and his feelings are hurt.”
Bobby Lashley then stressed how The Hurt Business isn’t a brand, clique, or a group. He urged people to remember that they are, simply, The Hurt Business. He promised how “This is just the first to come.”
MVP added how he had told everybody in the past that he knew what The Hurt Business could do in WWE. He explained how, “I told you when I first started talking to my man Lashley, when I first started talking to Shelton, I knew what we were capable of. This is step one. I promise you step two is coming.”
Bobby Lashley and MVP also celebrated the title win on their respective social media accounts. Lashley noted how his first and current United States Championship reign were 14 years apart. He first won the belt from JBL on the May 26, 2006, episode of SmackDown.
If you use any quotes from this article, please provide a H/T to SEScoops.
There is a new WWE United States Champion and that’s Bobby Lashley.
WWE had Lashley challenged Apollo Crews for the championship at Sunday’s (August 30, 2020) WWE Payback pay-per-view event.
This is where Lashley connected with a chokeslam and his full nelson finisher in a competitive match to win the title and end Crews’ reign. Post-match, Crews attacked Lashley before running away from MVP and Shelton Benjamin.
Crews dethroned Andrade as the champion by beating him in a match on the May 25th episode of RAW on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center.
This championship match took place just one week after Crews had successfully retained the title over MVP during the pre-show of the SummerSlam pay-per-view event.
Crews has been feuding with The Hurt Business (Lashley, MVP, and Shelton Benjamin) as of late on the red brand.
Time will tell whether WWE continues this feud or goes into a different direction heading into the Clash of Champions pay-per-view event on September 27th.
MVP is currently a member of “The Hurt Business” along with Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin on RAW. There have been rumours as of late that Vince McMahon is (or at least was) interested in rebooting the Nation of Domination stable from the late 1990s. Speaking on a podcast with former WWE writer Kazeem Famuyide, MVP says he has no interest in taking part in such an angle.
MVP On Rumored Nation of Domination Reboot
“No, no, short answer is no, because I’ve been hearing the chatter and I’ve been seeing that and I don’t wanna do the new anything. The Nation was done, it was awesome in the time that it was done. It was needed, stars were made. I don’t wanna rehash something else, I wanna bring something new, and I don’t necessarily, in our approach to The Hurt Business, me and Bobby, as you know are legitimate friends away from wrestling. We boys. Shelton is one of my closest friends. I just like making money with my friends, you know what I’m saying?” MVP said on the show.
MVP continued to say he’s excited about getting to work with Apollo Crews and Ricochet. He would also say that his current angle with The Hurt Business isn’t a statement about race.
“I have no interest in rehashing the Nation of Domination and while I do wanna present myself and Bobby and Shelton as strong black role models, successful, we’re businessmen. We’re not trying to make a statement on race. We’re trying to just make a statement.”
MVP’s last match on RAW came two weeks ago when his Hurt Business dropped a trios match to Cedric Alexander, Ricochet, and Mustafa Ali. Lashley then defeated Ali this week on RAW. MVP is also claiming to be the United States champion at the moment, though the title actually belongs to Crews.
WWE Hall of Famer and AEW Commentator Jim ‘JR’ Ross recently discussed WWE Superstar Bobby Lashley on the Grilling JR podcast. One of the topics of discussion regarding the RAW Superstar was the early comparisons made to former WWE Champion Brock Lesnar.
Jim Ross on Vince McMahon Meeting Lashley
“Vince [McMahon] did not meet Bobby like in the grandiose way that he met Brock Lesnar” Jim Ross began on the podcast. JR has previously told the story of how McMahon saw Lesnar backstage and was instantly fascinated by the charisma and physical prowess of The Next Big Thing.
“It was a different deal, apples and oranges here” JR continued. “The comparison [between Lesnar and Lashley] was physical, you know? Lashley with this great strength, and of course the amateur background. He looked great, all the same things said about Brock. So I think that was why the comparison was made.”
Amateur Star
Jim Ross elaborated further, saying “It was simply the fact that we’ve got another heavyweight amateur star that we have great expectations for. I could describe when we first signed Brock the same exact way: Amateur Wrestling Champion who we think can be a star. Let’s see how hard you’re [Lashley] willing to work.”
JR would finish by saying how hard working Lashley was when he first joined WWE and the developmental system. “The great thing about Bobby in those day? We never had any issues with Bobby working hard. Bobby was a warrior. And again, you get that when your dad’s a drill sergeant in the army. And when you’re a three time national champion? You’re used to structure and you’re used to hard work.”
Do you think that Bobby Lashey could still be a major star in WWE? Let us know in the comments
This podcast episode as well as a ton of other content is available now on AdFreeShows.com – featuring exclusive content from Grilling Jr, What Happened When (w/ Tony Schiavone), 83 Weeks (w/ Eric Bischoff), ARN and Something To Wrestle with Bruce Prichard.
Bobby Lashley continues to express his interest in a matchup with former WWE Champion Brock Lesnar. Joining the Table Talk podcast, Lashley argued how now is a good time for WWE to finally book a clash between the two Superstars.
Lashley admitted he hasn’t spoken directly to Vince McMahon about a match with Lesnar. He shared how at one point, he believed there were discussions about “maybe teasing it” to see what could happen. At the time, however, Lesnar was feuding with Roman Reigns with a Seth Rollins feud planned to follow.
“They already had things lined up for him. I think if anytime, it is now,” Bobby Lashley said. “Now is a really good time. I think I’ve done all the paying dues stuff that I’ve done since I’ve been back.”
Bobby Lashley explained how his character has begun to develop more into who he actually is as a person. He noted how he’s finally getting the opportunity to “beat people up.” He believes that part of this evolution is in how he no longer has to “lay down” to Superstars that are 100 pounds lighter than he is. As far as he’s concerned, lighter Superstars like that “shouldn’t really even be in the room with me, let’s put it that way.”
Bobby Lashley recently lost a WWE Championship matchup to Drew McIntyre at WWE Backlash.
