7 Mistakes and Missed Opportunities The WWE have Made with Bobby Lashley Since Return

When Bobby Lashley made his return to the WWE a couple of years back things looked pretty exciting for the returning star. His time in IMPACT Wrestling highlighted Lashley as the dominant and extremely talented star he is and its clear his skill and potential was now very much ready for the bright lights of the WWE, more so than ever before, however, it didn’t take all to long for things to go south. Looking back at the past 24 months just what has been the mistakes and missed opportunities regarding Bobby Lashley and his return to the WWE, and could these moments have resulted in a better position for Lashley on the roster today?

His Return

Returning the night after Wrestlemania is always a great booking move. The crowd is hot and most certainly one of the best of the entire year and fans all around the world are hyped waiting for something big to happen. This was a brilliant night for the WWE to book Lashley’s return and when his music hit I know I for one as defiantly exited, the issue, however, was how he was booked. Taking out Elias set the tone for the months to follow. He wasn’t thrown into a major angle or put in front of top talent and attacking a superstar like Elias who was sure to be popular with the RAW after Mania crowd did him no favours. There were many high expectations regarding Lashley’s return and the company failed to live up to those expectations. This was their chance to showcase Lashley as the new top dog, the new dominant powerhouse sure to take over and they failed to do execute exactly that. 

Character Destroying Segments

Comedic angles work for so many WWE Superstars with the likes of R-Truth and Fandango pulling it off so well, however, a talent like Bobby Lashley should most certainly have been kept out of several comedic angles since his return. From dressing up as an old lady to pointless challenges and weak segments and promos, the WWE has taken so much away from his character which in the process has made taking him seriously extremely difficult. While the WWE should have been building up a new dominant force in the WWE, a main event star with endless potential they were booking that very superstar in angles that have taken away so much of his momentum and destroyed several elements of his character. 

Not Facing Brock Lesnar

In the months leading up to his return to the WWE, there was great talk amongst fans as to what to expect from his comeback with many predicting he would, in fact, go on to challenge Brock Lesnar and even go as far as to dethrone the Beast. With their striking similarities in their skillset and dominance Lashley would have made for a legitimate threat to Lesnar’s championship and Bobby’s history would have set up a genuine strong storyline with great promos sure to come for Heyman and an epic collision between Lashley and Lesnar on PPV. This would have been a perfect opportunity to present the WWE Universe with a new beast on the scene while finally giving Lashley the spotlight and position at the top of the roster he really has always deserved, creating a legitimate and believable challenge for the beast in the process.

Dropping the Ball with Lio Rush

The one big turn around moment for Bobby Lashley was, in fact, his alliance with Lio Rush which while I wasn’t the biggest fan of originally it just made sense. The brilliant chemistry between the two and the charisma possessed by Rush made this an excellent alliance. Lashley needed someone by his side doing the talking and what the WWE was doing with these two worked incredibly well and opened up many doors of opportunities for both men involved, however, the WWE clearly began to see this fizzle out. While there has been plenty of discussion regarding  Rush and his career with the WWE but regardless, dropping the ball here with their alliance was a major mistake and set Lashley back massively! 

Yoyo Booking/ The Intercontinental Championship Reign

There have been moments of good booking for Lashley since his return but not many at all. The WWE has struggled with consistency when it comes to his booking. One minute there is sign of good direction the next he’s dressed up and apart of a comedic angle or not even booked. The WWE had an excellent chance to turn things around once again during his reign as IC champion but again the Yoyo booking put him in a weak position where again fans struggled to take him seriously. This was a great chance for the WWE to showcase him as a dominant champion with potential to go onto do more and bigger things but they missed the opportunity and put him in a position where things went backwards instead of leaps forward.  

Lack of Storytelling

Building Lashley’s character up is massively important but a key area in which the WWE has failed Lashley is booking him in storylines. The former IC Champion has been involved in on a couple of gripping genuine storylines since his return nowhere near scratching the surface of what he can do. It's so important the WWE showcase Lashley for what he really is capable of but barely showcasing him in the first place has been a major downfall for him.  If the WWE at least booked him in a big storyline with consistency and genuine entertaining elements things would turn around massively in itself and allow the WWE universe to connect with him more and understand his journey far more but that is another vital element the WWE have missed out on.

Overshadowed

Bobby Lashley genuinely does have so much potential and so much to bring. One of the key issues he has faced is being overshadowed. Whether be Brock Lesnar owning the same skill set, Seth Rollins being the man the WWE were keen to push returns from talents such as Kevin Owens or Sami Zayn, or new faces such as Ricochet and Aleister Black joining the roster, there has always been someone overshadowing Lashley and while he has so much to offer himself the WWE have failed to use his skill set to its full potential and put Lashley on the pedestal, he deserves to be on.

With so much damage already done it won't be easy for the WWE to turn things around for Lashley but its most certainly not impossible! Lashley has plenty to bring to the table and it would be a shame and a massive loss for the WWE to waste him and his talents a second time around. 

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