Profile of Bobby Lashley

Franklin Roberto Lashley was born on July 16, 1976, in Junction City, Kansas. He attended Missouri Valley College where he was a four-time All-American and three-time NAIA national champion in wrestling. After graduating from college, he joined the U.S. Army where he became a two-time Armed Forces Champion. In 2002, he won the silver medal in the 2002 CISM World Championships, a competition featuring the best of the world’s military.

Lashley burst onto SmackDown in late 2005. Within a few months he became the United States Champion by beating JBL. He went on to feud with King Booker for the U.S. and the World Heavyweight Championship. In December, Paul Heyman offered an invitation to any WWE wrestler to enter the ECW Extreme Elimination Chamber Match. In a shocking move, Lashley accepted the invitation.

At the 2006 December to Dismember, Lashley won ECW World Championship when he outlasted the five other competitors in the match and pinned the 500+ pound Big Show. After sending the Big Show into retirement, he successfully defended the title against Hardcore Holly, Test, and Ken Kennedy. His next defense was for something a little more bizarre than a belt. The fate of Donald Trump’s hair is in his hands when he battles Umaga at WrestleMania 23.

Due to his victory over Umaga at WrestleMania 23, Lashley and Donald Trump shaved the head of Vince McMahon. A few weeks later, Vince won the ECW Title from Lashley in a 3-on-1 Handicap Match. Lashley was able to regain the title but was forced to relinquish it a week later because he was drafted to RAW.

During the summer of 2007, Lashley took some time off to heal from an injury he had been working through working through. In January, he posted a message on his official forum that he was going to leave the WWE. That officially came to pass a few days later.

After leaving the WWE, Lashley went into the world of MMA and opened up an online nutrition store. A high-profile match against Ken Shamrock was canceled when Shamrock failed a steroids test. A few weeks after winning his second MMA fight, Lashley made a surprise appearance at TNA Lockdown 2009.

ECW World Championship
12/3/06 December to Dismember - Extreme Elimination Chamber Match: Lashley beat ECW Champion the Big Show, Test, Rob Van Dam, CM Punk, and Hardcore Holly
6/3 One Night Stand - beat Vince McMahon in a Street Fight
US Championship
5/26/06 SmackDown - beat JBL

_{Sources: WWE.com and Onlineworldofwrestling.com}