Bobby Lashley is a hard-hitting and soft-spoken professional wrestler who has made a significant impact in the WWE. He is notable for his suplexes, particularly his bell-to-belly suplexes.
Before his wrestling career, Lashley attended Missouri Valley College, where he won three national championships between 1996-1998. He was also the NAIA Wrestling Champion between 1997-1998, weighing in at 177 pounds. After gaining 100 pounds of muscle, Lashley now weighs between 273-279 pounds.
Lashley was signed to a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in November 2003 and spent time in WWE's farm federation, Ohio Valley Wrestling. During his time at OVW, he was known as Blaster Lashley and was part of the stable "Bolin Services" along with Mike Bondo and Keny Doane, who are now working for WWE as the Spirit Squad.
Lashley made his television debut on "Friday Night Smackdown" under the name Bobby Lashley, defeating Simon Dean and quickly becoming one of the most watched and popular rookies. He also faced Dean in a pay-per-view match at No Mercy 2005, where the loser had to eat twenty cheeseburgers. Lashley won the match, forcing Dean to eat the burgers.
Lashley later feuded with several other wrestlers, including John Bradshaw Layfield, Nunzio, Vito, John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Finlay, and others.
Lashley was also part of Team Smackdown!, which went head-to-head against Team RAW. The team included then-champion Dave Bautista, Rey Mysterio, John Bradshaw Layfield, and Randy Orton. Despite being the first to be pinned, Team Smackdown won.
Later, Lashley entered the Money-in-the-Bank Ladder Match at Wrestlemania 22, which included three Raw Superstars and three Smackdown! Superstars. Lashley lost the match, with then-Raw superstar Rob Van Dam winning.
Lashley competed in the 2006 King of Ring tournament, defeating Mark Henry in the first round by count-out. He eventually made it to the top two finalists for King of the Ring, but lost to Booker T.
During the feud between Lashley and Booker, Lashley won his first championship, the United States Championship, by defeating JBL. After the match, Lashley went back to feuding with Booker, who lost to Lashley in a Steel Cage Match.
