When Did Bobby Lashley Join the WWE?

Bobby Lashley joined the WWE in 2008. He was previously in the United States Marine Corps.

Bobby Lashley’s Early Career

Bobby Lashley was signed to the WWE in 2005 after a successful career in the United States Army. Lashley had a successful amateur wrestling career, winning the NCAA Division I Heavyweight Wrestling Championship in 1998. He was also a two-time All-American. After his time in the Army, Lashley began training with the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and made his debut in November 2005.

American Top Team

Lashley began his Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) career when he was recruited by American Top Team (ATT) owner Dan Lambert. After fighting in regional promotions in the Midwest and Southern United States, Lashley signed a four-fight deal with the now defunct World Fighting Alliance (WFA) in 2006. In his MMA debut, he defeated Wes Sims by technical knockout in just over a minute. He then won his next two fights against Jason Guida and Mike Cook, before facing off against Bob Sapp at WFA: King of the Streets on June 16, 2006. Sapp had just come off a loss to former PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko, and Lashley was considered to be a heavy underdog. He won the fight via knockout in just eighteen seconds

Extreme Championship Wrestling

Bobby Lashley began his wrestling career in 2002 with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). He was originally signed to a developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 2004, but transferred to ECW that year when the WWF was restructured into two separate brands, Raw and SmackDown. Lashley won his first professional wrestling championship, the ECW World Championship, in February 2006. He held the title for five months before losing it to The Big Show in July.

Bobby Lashley’s WWE Career

Bobby Lashley joined the WWE in April of 2005 and made his debut at the ECW One Night Stand Pay-Per-View event. Lashley quickly rose to prominence in the WWE, winning the ECW World Championship and United States Championship. Lashley’s WWE career has been fairly successful, though he has yet to win the WWE Championship.

Debut

Bobby Lashley made his WWE debut on the April 10, 2006 episode of ECW on Sci Fi, where he was revealed as the newest member of the ECW brand. Lashley quickly rose to prominence in ECW, winning the ECW World Championship from Big Show on June 13, 2006.

ECW One Night Stand

Bobby Lashley made his WWE debut as a surprise entrant in the ECW One Night Stand 2006 match, representing the original ECW. Lashley quickly eliminated some of the other competitors and was one of the final four men left in the match, along with The Big Show, Rob Van Dam, and Sabu. However, he was ultimately eliminated by Van Dam.

The Great American Bash

Bobby Lashley made his WWE television debut on the June 6, 2006, episode of SmackDown!, defeating Simon Dean. The following week, Lashley defeated Dean again in a steel cage match. In his pay-per-view debut at The Great American Bash, Lashley defeated Dean via submission. After the match, Vince McMahon came to the ring and announced that Lashley would be wrestling umaga at Vengeance: Night of Champions, making him the first wrestler to be booked in a match for a WWE Championship before having a singles match on television.

Bobby Lashley’s Post-WWE Career

Bobby Lashley is an American professional wrestler, actor, and former mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Lashley is a four-time WWE United States Champion, a one-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion, and the 2006 King of the Ring. Lashley is also a two-time ECW World Champion.

Independent Circuit

Bobby Lashley made his return to the independent circuit in 2008. He had several appearances with Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), a former developmental territory of WWE. In September 2009, Lashley signed a one-year contract with Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW). Later that month, he made his JAPW debut, defeating Jayson Reign in a steel cage match. On November 14 at Reckoning Day, Lashley defeated Low Ki to win the JAPW Heavyweight Championship for the first time. He successfully defended the title against Dan Maff on December 12 at Holiday Hell.

Bellator MMA

In August 2008, Lashley signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce. He made his promotional debut on September 10, 2008, atStrikeforce: At the Mansion II, defeating Wes Sims via technical knockout (TKO) in the first round. This win also earned Lashley the inaugural Heavyweight Tournament Championship.

Lashley’s second fight for Strikeforce took place on December 19, 2008, at Strikeforce: Evolution. He fought JamesThompson in the quarterfinals of the Heavyweight Tournament. Lashley won via TKO in the first round.

In the semifinals, Lashley defeated Neil Grove via unanimous decision (UD) on April 11, 2009, at Strikeforce:Shamrock vs. Diaz. He then faced Chad Reiner in the finals on June 6, 2009, at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers and again wonvia UD.

On December 4, 2009, Lashley announced that he had signed a multi-fight deal with mixed martial arts (MMA)promotion Bellator Fighting Championships and was expected to compete in their Heavyweight tournament in early 2010.