Thursday, April 24, 2008
In May, Bobby Lashley will be free to go anywhere he wants, whether it's MMA or TNA. How did he receive a complete release from WWE?
When Bobby Lashley announced that he was walking away from WWE, it stunned the entire wrestling world.
This was a guy that WWE had spent time and energy on building up, and now he was walking away. He not only walked away from a lucrative contract, but he also walked away from a future reign as the World Heavyweight Champion.
Bobby Lashley announced his intentions to leave WWE in January of 2008. On February 4, 2008, WWE announced that they had come to an agreement on his release. In a couple of days, Bobby Lashley will no longer be contractually obligated to WWE.How he got that deal has raised eyebrows across the industry.
When a rising star decides to leave WWE, usually, there's going to be a ton of restrictions on what career choice he can pursue next.Look at Brock Lesnar. WWE went above and beyond in an attempt to keep him from TNA.Many had expected WWE to do the same thing to Bobby Lashley since he was still signed to a long term deal.The belief is that Bobby Lashley was allowed to leave the company freely because of incidents involving Michael Hayes.
If you recall, in November of 2006, Bobby Lashley was moved from Smackdown to ECW. At the time, the reports were that he was being moved because of creative differences with Smackdown head writer Michael Hayes. The actual reason was a well kept secret until Michael Hayes got into a racial altercation with Mark Henry. Now, word coming out is that the situation between Bobby Lashley and Michael Hayes involved racial slurs as well. Of course, we'll probably never know the truth because Bobby Lashley is not allowed to speak negatively about WWE after his contract runs out. The belief is that he was given his complete release if he agreed not to reveal information about the incidents.
Freedom
When Bobby Lashley's contract officially ends in May, he will be allowed to sign with TNA if he chooses.The only thing for certain right now is that Bobby Lashley will be heading over to Booker T's wrestling promotion in Houston for a show on May 23, 2008.One can bet that Booker T and Bobby Lashley will have a serious discussion about joining TNA that weekend.
Closing Thoughts
Wrestling fans will anxiously be awaiting to see if Bobby Lashley will show up in TNA or MMA.
