"He can't compete" - Wrestling veteran on whether Bobby Lashley should leave WWE
Bobby Lashley's tenure with WWE could potentially end sooner rather than later, as he's reportedly exploring options. Meanwhile, Dutch Mantell gave his take on the matter and believes The All Mighty should leave the Stamford-based promotion.
After one of the biggest WrestleManias of all time in Philadelphia, Bobby Lashley missed months of weekly television without addressing The Pride's future. Earlier this month, it was also reported that Lashley and MVP are no longer on the internal list as active competitors.
Speaking on Story Time with Dutch Mantell, the wrestling veteran believes Bobby Lashley's time with WWE could end soon. He also believes wrestlers tend to have a shelf life, and The All Mighty is reaching the end of his in the company.
"It's very simple, wrestlers have a shelf life, they do. I think the creative in WWE just said that what else can we do with him [Bobby Lashley]? What else because he's really an average talker and he's got that great body. Good guy, great guy. But, if you keep the same wrestlers over and over and over, they're not going to draw you any money. They're not going to draw you any interest. They're not going to sell any merchandise. So, it's time to go. It actually does the wrestlers a favor in a lot of places if he has somewhere to go," Mantell said. (From 46:45 to 47:46)
He added Lashley's character cannot compete with several popular stars in the company right now.
"That's exactly what I'm saying. He's competing with them, [CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Jacob Fatu, Roman Reigns, Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, and many more] and he can't compete. I don't think he can compete with them because he's like yesterday," Mantell said. (From 50:30 to 50:45)
Check out the video below:
Bobby Lashley has not held WWE gold since 2022
Bobby Lashley had a massive start in 2022 when he conquered Brock Lesnar with Roman Reigns's help and became a two-time WWE Champion. Sadly, The All Mighty lost his title without getting pinned as he was removed from the match due to a storyline concussion.
A few months later, he captured his third United States Championship in WWE when he defeated Austin Theory. Later, he lost the title to Seth Rollins as he kicked off a feud with Brock Lesnar in the coming months.
It's been a while, and The All Mighty is yet to return to weekly television and capture championship gold in the Stamford-based promotion.
If you use any quotes from the article, please credit Story Time with Dutch Mantell and provide an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.