If Bobby Lashley makes it to the UFC, would the WWE resign him once he's finished?

[A11oftheLights]

I was thinking about this the other day. Bobby Lashley seems to be more interested in his MMA career than his career with TNA. If he ever makes it to the UFC, which is a big if(imo), do you think the wwe would be interested in resigning him?

Before Lashley left the WWE 2008 he seemed destined for big things, he has the look that Vince loves. Some may argue that his mic skills arent good enough to be a big star but neither are lesnar's mic skills and that hasnt stopped him.

I have no idea how good of terms Lashley is with the WWE but I'm willing to bet the WWE would love to have another UFC guy.

So do you think WWE would be interested in Lashley if he became a UFC fighter or would his time in TNA remove any interest?

 

[Rayne]

That's a pretty big if there. Like, an absolutely giant if. We don't have the font size on this board for that without screwing up the formatting.

Bobby Lashley is working for Bellator right now because he has name recognition outside of the MMA world, which Bellator is using to draw professional wrestling fans to their product who wouldn't watch otherwise. Were he not a professional wrestler with WWE pedigree, he wouldn't be in TNA or Bellator; and if he were, he'd be just another guy trying to work his way off the undercard. He's not a unique MMA talent, and while his opponents aren't blatantly fed to him like they were in Strikeforce (the FSAC once rejected three potential opponents for Lashley as they felt the matches wouldn't even resemble competition), he's still being protected. And will be, until they decide to 'give him his chance' and feed him to whatever guy they're looking to promote. (MMA and boxing do this constantly, just like professional wrestling; it's just that in MMA and boxing, sometimes the guy who's supposed to lose wins.)

The UFC isn't interested in professional wrestlers crossing over for the sake of them crossing over; their schtick is legitimate competition, sink or swim. Brock Lesnar wasn't an exception to that rule; he went out there and proved he could hang with the best. (In a heavyweight division that was horribly weak at the time.)

Anything's possible in professional wrestling, so I wouldn't rule out a someday-return to the WWE for Lashley. But if that happens, it won't be on the merit of a UFC pedigree.

 

[MoRtAnDaD]

Nothing against Bobby, but lets be honest, Brock IS a top draw, the guys is marketing dream. Bobby is nowhere near that recognized by the regular ppl, even the mma fans.

If you have the real deal, you dont need the low budget copy.

 

[Navi]

Isn't Bellator sort of the TNA, of MMA. People keep mixing up Bellator and UFC they aren't the same entities. UFC is much better run, better funded and has a broader fan base. They are both mixed martial arts, but like in wrestling you have the WWE and TNA, same sport different companies.

The WWE guys seem to go for the UFC events, hence the pictures of the Undertaker at some of their fights, and Rhonda Rousey showing up at Summerslam.

I don't think for one minute the WWE would be interested in Lashley just because he now fights for Bellator. Now if he was in Dana White's group, different story, but he isn't.

Besides his record isn't that fantastic. Sure he has a lot of wins but they've been against jobbers. One of his opponents for Christ's sake was Bob Sapp. He's the guy who is notorious for losing fights just because he can't be bothered to get back up.

 

[BigDaddyKewl]

I think The WWE would be reluctant to resign Lashley and invest time and money in him if they don't know if he's committed. Lashley got a big push in his initial run in WWE in 2006/2007 but eventually ended up quitting. Now he has been impressive in his most recent run in TNA, he's still in great shape and has had some of his best matches in the last few months. But unless he comes back full time and is truly dedicated to them I don't think WWE should bother with him. He is no Brock Lesnar and I seriously doubt WWE would give him the part time VIP treatment.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

When Lashley was in WWE, he was a legit powerhouse. I mean the guy was freakishly strong. During his feud with Big Show, I saw him hoist show up long enough to drape him over his right shoulder before doing his big powerslam finisher. Now, this was back in late 2006 to early 2007 when Big Show as legitimately north of 500 pounds. Lashley's problem was that he was as dull as dishwater when it came to charisma or personality. I don't know if that's changed or not as I haven't watched TNA in well over a year.

As to whether WWE would be likely to sign Lashley, I doubt it. Lashley's 38 years old and it's been apparent that pro wrestling has primarily been a side gig for the past 5 or 6 years. His primary focus is on mixed martial arts and there's nothing to suggest that's likely to change anytime soon. I don't know how many fights Lashley is contracted for in Bellator and his debut early this month for Bellator is his first fight in almost a year. As a result, if UFC ever does come calling, it's likely that Lashley will be in his early 40s before hanging it up. There's no way that Vince would allow Lashley to compete for both WWE or UFC and I'm sure Dana White wouldn't allow it to down either.

Another issue is that even though Lashley is another MMA fighter who started out as a pro wrestler, just like Brock Lesnar. However, he isn't Brock Lesnar. What I mean by that is that Bobby Lashley doesn't have the brand value of Lesnar, they're entire universes apart when it comes to name recognition and interest in both MMA and pro wrestling. Lashley wasn't remotely as big of a star during his run in WWE as Lesnar was, and still is for that matter, nor is he remotely as big of a star in MMA as Lesnar was. Lesnar was an extremely controversial and polarizing figure who used that to help UFC draw the biggest ppv buys in its history Lesnar can command big money in his current deal because of that recognition and drawing ability whereas Lashley simply can't.

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

I don't believe so - he was never that over and was a poor worker. His attitude after he left probably also soured relationships too.

Fact is; Lesnar was always a big star even before he went to UFC; he can demand a decent contract.

 

[Vintage]

Lesnar was a bigger star because he started like ...4-5 years before I remember Lashley debuting. I don't know what Lashley you've been watching, but Bobby is legit once the bell rings, always has been.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I'd have to say no also.

His age will work against him, and Brock Lesnar was a bigger MMA star than him. If we're comparing Lesnar and Lashley's runs in WWE before MMA...well there's no real comparison, at all.

When you think about Brock 2002-2004, you think about "The Next Big Thing." The guy, who destroyed Hulk Hogan, the guy, who defeated The Rock at Summerslam to become a world Champion, and a guy, who picked up a decisive win over The Undertaker in a bloody Hell In The Cell match. You think about a young world champion, who was loaded with the potential to be the next megastar.

Lashley? More often that not, people remember how CM Punk should've won the Extreme Elimination Chamber, and after that, what's left? Forgettable runs as ECW Champion and a forgettable run with the US Title? And you can't use the Wrestlemania 23 match with Umaga. Vince VS Donald was the main focus, and when you think about that match, a bald Vince McMahon is the first image you'll remember.