Bobby Lashley

1976—

Professional wrestler

As a child growing up in poverty, Bobby Lashley was fascinated by the flamboyant, theatrical wrestling matches he watched on television, and he dreamed of someday becoming a famous professional wrestler. He became a dedicated amateur wrestler, developing the skill and discipline necessary to earn a number of prestigious amateur championships before entering the professional arena. A powerhouse in the "squared circle," as insiders call the professional wrestling ring, Lashley is a soft-spoken and even-tempered athlete who has gained a reputation for congeniality among his fans and colleagues. He is also a devoted father, determined to offer support and guidance, not only to his own daughter, but also to the youth of his community.

Set Goals for Himself

Lashley was born Franklin Roberto Lashley on July 16, 1976. His father was a drill sergeant in the U.S. Army, and the family moved frequently as his career required. In 1990, when young Franklin Lashley was only 14, his father divorced his mother and left the family. Clara Lashley settled her family in Junction City, Kansas, and raised her son and three daughters on her own, often on low-paying jobs. Franklin, the only male in the family, felt both alone and responsible. He grew determined to work toward a better life and became goal-oriented and driven at an early age. Seeking an outlet for both his energy and his ambition, he threw himself into athletics, becoming a wrestler like Hulk Hogan, the Road Warriors, and the other heroes he saw on television. His coaches also became male role models in his life, teaching him valuable lessons both on and off the mat.

Lashley honed his wrestling skills as a member of the Junction City High School Blue Jays, where his coach Robert Lester emphasized that athletic ability must be accompanied by excellence in other areas of life. In 1995, Lashley entered Missouri Valley College, where he continued his successful wrestling career as a MVC Viking under Coach Mike Macholz. Macholz taught his wrestlers the value of persistence and relentlessness in pursuit of a victory and the importance of achieving the right mental attitude in approaching a contest.

At MVC, Lashley began the series of championships that would characterize his career. During his freshman season, he placed fourth in the National Amateur Championship, then won the championship three years in a row, in addition to achieving All-American status all four years of his college career. In 1997 and 1998, he won the National Athletic Intercollegiate Association's National Wrestling Championship.

In 1999, he graduated from college with a degree in human service agency management. He joined the Army, and qualified for its World Class Athletes Program. Stationed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Lashley trained in the Olympic training camp there, where his workout included brisk walks up Pikes Peak, a famous high point of the Rocky Mountains. He became a two time Armed Forces Champion and won a silver medal at the 2002 Conseil International du Sport Militaire (International Military Sports Council) World Games.

Aimed to Wrestle Professionally

After leaving the Army, Lashley qualified an alternate spot on the 2004 Olympic team. But his hopes of making the team were scuttled by a freak accident; he damaged his knee while diving to avoid the gunfire of a bank robber. With Olympic gold out of reach, he renewed his focus on his goal to be a professional wrestling star. However, in order to make the change from amateur to professional, he had to make some changes in himself and his way of viewing his sport. Professional wrestling has a unique relationship to amateur wrestling. Unlike other sports, in which the professional version closely resembles the amateur sport, professional wrestling has become a sort of spectacular theater, where good battles evil in the form of costumed wrestlers with colorful names.

The sport of wrestling has an ancient history that stretches back to the ancient cultures of Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Evidence of prehistoric wrestlers has even been found in early cave paintings. The nature of wrestling has always been highly dramatic, pitting two opponents against each other in intimate physical contact. During the 1940's in the United States, a type of professional wrestling emerged which exaggerated the dramatic aspects of the sport, adding elaborate costumes and rehearsed moves, creating an event that was more theater than athletic contest.

With the advent of television in the 1950s, the popularity of professional wrestling expanded to a wide audience. The introduction of cable television during the 1980s brought professional wrestling to even more fans, and high-powered production companies such as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later renamed World Wrestling Entertainment) added more drama. By the early 2000s, when Lashley entered the sport, professional wrestling was a carefully scripted, precisely choreographed, rehearsed spectacle, where the performers used props like tables, chairs, and ladders as weapons and were carefully trained to avoid injury.

In preparing to become a professional, Lashley's first step was to "beef up," to add pounds of bulging muscles. The majority of modern professional wrestlers have powerful physiques with huge sculpted muscles. Lashley was six feet three inches tall, and during his amateur career, had wrestled at 177 pounds. By the time he signed a contract with WWE in November 2003, he had added almost a hundred pounds of muscle, giving him the powerhouse look of a professional in the ring.

Became a "Villain"

Once his contract had been signed, Lashley was sent to the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), a training ground for beginning professionals in Louisville, Kentucky. There, he learned the theatrical side of the sport and competed in his first professional matches. Lashley was given the role of a wrestling villain and the name "Blaster Lashley." Villains in the professional ring are called "heels," and Lashley worked in a group of heels called "Bolin Services," managed and promoted by Kenny Bolin.

At a Glance …

Born Franklin Roberto Lashley on July 16, 1976; one daughter: Kyra. Education: Missouri Valley College, BA, Human Service Agency Management, 1999; United States Army, 2000-02.

Career: Wrestler, 1990s-; National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, National Wrestling Champion, 1997, 1998; Armed Forces Wrestling Champion, 2000, 2001; Conseil International du Sport Militaire (International Military Sports Council) World Games, silver medal, 2002; Ohio Valley Wrestling (as Blaster Lashley), 2003-2005; World Wrestling Entertainment, 2005-; WWE U.S. Champion, May 26, 2006-July 11, 2006; Extreme Championship Wrestling, 2006-; ECW World Heavyweight Champion, December 3, 2006-April 29, 2007 and June 3, 2007-June 11, 2007.

Selected awards: Pro Wrestling Insider, Rookie of the Year, 2005; Most Improved Wrestler, 2006.

Lashley finished his training and made his pro wrestling debut on December 4, 2004, in a "dark match," the untelevised warm-up for a televised match. He performed so well that his promoter Kenny Bolin offered other wrestlers $100 for each minute they could remain in the ring with him. Lashley spent two years in OVW, wrestling in dark matches, before his television debut with WWE on September 23, 2005. Once again, he was victorious, delighting fans by doing pushups with his opponent on his back. As a WWE wrestler, Lashley dropped his heel persona along with the name Blaster. For the rest of his career Franklin Lashley would be Bobby Lashley and a "face," or wrestling hero.

In his first month with WWE, Lashley wrestled in ten matches, a fast pace that would continue in the coming years. On May 26, 2006, he appeared on the WWE program Smackdown!, where he defeated John Bradshaw Layfield to win the U.S. Championship. He continued to provide uproarious entertainment in WWE shows like Smackdown! and Raw, and in another WWE branch called Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). On December 3, 2006, he won the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, losing it again on April 29, 2007. He regained the title on June 3, 2007, then lost it again June 11, 2007. However, each gain and loss is part of the spectacle that keeps the fans tuning in to watch, and Lashley built a large following of loyal fans.

Throughout his rise to success in the flamboyant world of professional wrestling, Lashley remembered his youth of poverty and loss, and it remained important to him to give back to his community. In addition to the public charity work connected to his career, such as participating in a celebrity bowling match for the Make A Wish Foundation, he has become a regular visitor to Harrison High School near his Colorado Springs home. There he shares his success with his community, letting young fans try on his mammoth championship belt and acting as a mentor, speaking about the importance of setting and achieving goals. He has also become a committed father, giving his young daughter the time and attention he did not receive during his own childhood.

Sources

Periodicals

Detroit Free Press, March 23, 2007; April 1, 2007.

Flex, September 2007, p. 134-146.

Miami Herald, April 2, 2007.

New York Times, April 4, 2007, p. E1.

Seattle Times, February 20, 2007, p. D1.

Sports Illustrated for Kids, June 1, 2000, pp. 60-2.

On-line

"Biography for Bobby Lashley," Internet Movie Database,www.imdb.com/name/nm2048764/bio (September 7, 2007).

Bobby Lashley Online,www.bobbylashleyonline.com/ (September 7, 2007).

"Bobby Lashley," The Accelerator's Wrestling Rollercoaster,www.accelerator3359.com/Wrestling/bios/lashley.html (September 7, 2007).

"Bobby Lashley Interview," New Zealand Pro Wrestling, www.nzpwi.co.nz/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2008&Itemid=88 (September 7, 2007).

"Lash-ing Out: Bobby Lashley Has Reached Prime Time," Black Athlete Sports Network,www.blackathlete.net/artman/publish/article_02037.shtml (September 7, 2007).

"Raw: Bobby Lashley," World Wrestling Entertainment,www.wwe.com/superstars/raw/lashley/ (September 7, 2007).