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BOBBY LASHLEY: "I'LL WALK INTO THE CAGE WITHOUT ANY FEAR"
Bobby Lashley's career trajectory from World Wrestling Entertainment performer to Mixed Martial Arts competitor has been very different than that of Brock Lesnar. While Lesnar jumped into the fire early in his career an in effort to prove himself, Lashley has been methodical and patient in building his skills against lower-tier opponents. But as Lashley tells us in this exclusive interview, those days will soon be over.
I'll start out by asking about the TNA (Pro Wrestling) aspect of your career. How are things going with Hulk Hogan coming in?
Well, the thing is that it's competition. Before, WWE had their day and TNA had their day. WWE has always been a position of power. They've had more shows, more total dates and more stars. They could do more things. But now? I think it was a bold move to go up against RAW, to bring in Hogan and Bischoff and Hall and everyone else.
I think it's great. I think it's going to bring the level of Wrestling up. I think they fans are really going to benefit. They're going to get a lot more than they expect because both shows are really going to have to step up their game. It's a real competition now.
Yeah, you guys did a much better TV rating than anyone expected for last Monday's show. Is that exciting?
Oh, yeah. I think we did a 1.9 for one of the hours?
That's pretty good considering most people expected you to do around a 1.0 or less.
Yeah, they are used to doing something like a 0.9. To get the jump like that and to gain more viewers is always a good thing.
Have you heard if TNA will be taking the show to Monday nights on a regular basis?
I'm not sure what they're planning to do. I don't know for a fact, but I'm hoping that the long-term plan is to go ahead and reignite the Monday Night Wars. I'm sure Bischoff and Hogan would like to see that. And if those two want something done, it's probably going to happen.
The history of Mixed Martial Arts hasn't been kind to Professional Wrestlers who try to fight while maintaining a Wrestling career. How are you going to succeed at both?
How am I going to succeed at both? That's a tough question. I think that the only way to succeed at both is to really dedicate yourself fully. TNA is a different type of schedule than the WWE. We all know that. So it's going to be a lot easier for me. I do have a serious dedication to TNA, but my obligation to them is only for four or five days a month. So I think that because of that schedule, I can dedicate myself equally to both. It's five days a month for pro wrestling and TNA, and the other twenty five days are dedicated solely to mixed martial arts. So I think it's going to be great.
Now, a little farther down the line? I have my sights set on Fedor Emelianenko, because he's the best in the world. Alistair Overeem is the champion, and Fabricio Werdum is one of the top guys in the world. When we get to the point where I'm fighting those guys, I'm probably going to have to pull back a little bit from wrestling and focus on my fights a little bit more. But for right now? I think I'm good to go and I think everyone will work out.
Dana White is adamant that his guys are not going to do Pro Wrestling and MMA at the same time. How does Scott feel about it?
I think Scott's thing is that if I can do it, I can do it. You know what I mean? If it becomes a problem for either side, we'll have to sit down and talk about it. But for now, Scott knows that I am completely dedicated to fighting. So he's checking my schedule. I keep him up to date on what I have scheduled with TNA. And right now, he's cool with it. But after the April 19th fight, we're going to look at my schedule and see if TNA is causing any conflicts. If it's not causing any problems, I'm going to keep doing it.
How does stepping into the cage compare to walking into the WWE ring? Does going into a fight compare to walking out for Wrestlemania and representing Donald Trump against Vince McMahon?
That's a hard comparison. I think it's similar, but it's completely different. There's a different level of stress when you go out there for a wrestling match than when you go out there for a fight. Because you're actually putting your manhood on the line when you go out there for a fight. Wrestling brings its own challenges. I mean, you're going out there for Wrestlemania in front of 80,000 people? So there's always going to be a level of, I don't want to say fear, but nerves are definitely going to be there. The same feeling is going to be there when you walk into a fight. But I guess it's like when I first started out in wrestling, on Smackdown, in front of 17,000 people in Canada. The nerves were there. And I'm just starting out in MMA and the nerves are definitely there.
But wait until I have ten or fifteen fights under my belt. I'll be walking into the cage without any fear.
credit: Heavy.com