Bobby Lashley Addresses Rumors That He Left WWE Over Pay Issues

Bobby Lashley made his WWE debut in 2005, on the SmackDown brand, where he became a one-time United States Champion. Lashley became the first African-American to hold the ECW World Championship after being drafted to the brand the following year. Before leaving the company in 2008, he had a high-profile battle with company chairman Vince McMahon, which included representing Donald Trump in the “Battle of the Billionaires” at WrestleMania 23.

Bobby Lashley recently denied rumors that he quit WWE in 2008 due to a pay dispute. RainmakerNYC, a YouTube interviewer, caught up with Lashley for a brief conversation. He asked Bobby about the rumor that his exit from the company was related to a pay dispute, which he denied.

Bobby stated that it was never about the money because he was making a lot of money at the time. He said he only wanted to legitimize his character. Bobby started by saying, “no, that’s 100 percent not true. I was making a tremendous amount of money then.”

There was other issues and other things going on. It was an opportunity for me to go fight, and legitimize my character a little bit. So I fought for eight years. Fought under [Scott] Coker and Bellator, and Strikeforce, and everything else. And now coming back, I take all that with me and that just kinda legitimizes my character a little more.

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When Lashley returned to the company, he also acknowledged being different. He discussed the relationship between growing older and becoming wiser. Bobby claimed that he is more of a businessman now.

I’m older. [laughs] No, older, wiser — I mean, there’s there’s a little bit of everything. There’s a different kind of training that you have when you’re a little bit of an older athlete. You know, I take care of myself a little bit more, I have different — just different thoughts. Before when I was younger, it was like, yeah, early lifestyle, money you run around doing a whole bunch of different things. Now, I’m more of a businessman.

Many of his supporters may have connected with what he said about growing older and wiser. Let’s see what more he has planned for us. To get the latest updates, keep an eye on Thirsty.

What are your thoughts on Bobby’s claims? Let us know in the comments!