AEW World Tag Team Champion “The All Mighty” Bobby Lashley recently appeared on the F Y’all podcast, where he discussed various topics, including the challenges of wrestling against smaller opponents and the importance of making the match believable. This was particularly relevant during their match at All In: Texas, where they faced JetSpeed, consisting of Kevin Knight and Mike Bailey, as well as The Patriarchy, made up of Christian Cage and Nick Wayne.
Lashley said, “I’m glad this is being talked about because this is something I’ve been going through a lot today and yesterday. That’s where I came from. When I first got into wrestling over 20 years ago, the people that were there were Undertaker, Batista, Matt Hardy, MVP, JBL, Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero. The biggest thing they did was, they didn’t care about the moves. They thought about the story and how it made sense. The generation has moved a little bit because it’s different now, and it’s something we’ve had a hard time adjusting to, because, just like you’re asking that question, the crowd has to ask that question too.”
He continued, “These guys, and it’s not everyone, but a lot of people that are wrestling now, they try to embrace that. ‘Everybody is the same,’ so they just have matches. When you bring someone that is not a pure wrestling fan, somebody that is just starting out being a wrestling fan and you bring them to their first show, they see me standing in front of this guy and they see this guy doing stuff to me. They’re like, ‘What, that doesn’t make sense.’ If he were walking down an alley and this guy is walking there, he would just be like, ‘You want to fight?’ And he’d just be throwing punches? He’d be like, ‘Hold on, let me try to talk my way out of this’ or find a different way to defend themselves. There is a story that you tell. For me, when we go into some of those things, we have to tell those stories. I try to push those stories, but sometimes when we’re with different people, they don’t want to think about the story, they just want to think about moves they are doing. Shelton is way better at it than me. Shelton is like, ‘Nope, we’re not doing that.’ When they try something in the ring, he just won’t let them do it. Shelton is very forgiving and he gives himself like crazy. I love working with him. Shelton is like, ‘Cool, I’ll do anything for you, but just give me some respect of saying there are certain things I won’t do because of my character.’ He does it very diplomatically and he is great with it. That’s the fun part of the story. If he comes at me, I’m going to be ripping his ass apart. He has to figure out a way to get out of that. We have to be able to fight, and sometimes it’s hard doing it to certain people because they don’t want to believe that. I’m strong and I can fight. They know this. I always tell people, that’s the hardest thing with me. Let’s figure that out. When you come to me, don’t search out certain moves you want to do. Let’s figure out how you’re going to beat me. It’s hard to do it. I have no ego, I have none.”
Lashley added, “I’m not an ego-driven person. If I wanted to have an ego, I would go back to MMA and fight people. That’s where you put your ego. You want to test yourself, test yourself there. Professional wrestling, we’re putting on a show for (the crowd). I put my ego away, but I still say, ‘This is my character. This is me,’ which is not an easy person. I have a proven track record of beating grown men bigger than me. Ass whoopings. Even on the wrestling side, I have won nationals three times, I’ve fought MMA, I know how to box. I’m not an ego-driven person, but we have to take that into consideration when we put together this match.”
On if you need an ego to have success in the business:
“I’ve made it really far, all the way to the top. It took me a lot longer because I don’t. I’m not one of those guys who is going to go out there and bury other wrestlers. I’m not one of those guys who will go to the office and fight for things. I just work my ass off. That’s all it is. I keep trying to show a better and better package. I started in WWE and then I went and fought just to better my character and then I came back. Even at my age right now, I get my ass up in the morning and do cardio, and then I lift later on.”
You can check out the complete podcast in the video below.
(H/T to Fightful for transcribing the above quotes)
