Bobby Lashley's WWE comeback - what went wrong?

- 6 feet 3 inches

- Weighs 273 pounds.

- An epitome of brute strength and power, one quality which the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is extremely fond of.

- A decent run with the company in his first stint from 2005 to 2008. A Former WWE United States Champion and ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) Champion. Even represented the current president of the United States of America at the grandest stage of them all.

- After honing his skills for a decade in other wrestling promotions around the globe, makes a return to the company where it all began for him.

The above-mentioned attributes should have been the perfect recipe for a triumphant return to the WWE Universe for any wrestler in the world. But seemingly, this doesn’t seem enough for Bobby Lashley.

Despite their best efforts, WWE is not able to get the fans behind Bobby Lashley in his current run. Agreed, he made a comeback only in April this year. But the return hasn’t had the impact which the WWE upper management would have hoped for. The quality of his matches and his promo skills haven’t set the world on fire. The reception from the fans has been lackluster.

One of the biggest disadvantages for Lashley has been the fact that he made his comeback to the WWE directly through the main roster, and not the NXT. NXT, which started out as a breeding ground for fresh talent, has morphed into a credible entity on its own. NXT Takeover Pay-per-view events have been extremely consistent. The excellent quality and the engaging storylines featured have helped the cause for the yellow brand. Being associated with such a show has increased the credibility and stocks of the wrestlers involved as well.

Let’s consider the example of Drew McIntyre. McIntyre was anointed as the ‘The Chosen One’ by none other than the chairman of WWE, Mr. Vincent Kennedy McMahon. But he could not live up to those expectations and left the company in 2014.

He wrestled extensively at the independent circuit and worked on his physical appearance. He, then, re-signed with the WWE and made his return to the NXT where the creative team used his unsuccessful first stint with the company as a part of his character to get the fans behind him. With such a strong background story, McIntyre went on to win the NXT Championship with resounding support from the fans. And now, his main roster run on RAW is being well received by the fans, even allowing Dolph Ziggler to move up the ladder once again.

It is not that the direct entry into the main roster is a guaranteed recipe for disaster. The rise of AJ Styles is the perfect example. However, Styles already had a huge reputation behind him as one of the best wrestlers in the world. He had earned the respect of the hardcore wrestling fans. Excellent wrestling and consistent storylines have furthered Styles to the superstar-status that he is currently.

Bobby Lashley did make a name for himself outside of WWE, with his run with Impact Wrestling being the most prominent one. His work in Impact Wrestling did get him noticed by the WWE management. However, since Lashley's stint at Impact Wrestling coincided with the time when the company was in dire straits, he could not build a significant fan base for himself.

Lashley's comeback story has been cooled off due to one more reason: the storylines. A good storyline is an absolute necessity for any wrestler, no matter how good he is between the ropes. But the WWE creative team seems to be directionless in the case of Bobby Lashley.

Initially, he was pitted in tag-team and squash matches almost every week with no coherent storyline in place. He then feuded with Sami Zayn, which included some of the most dismal promos seen in years. Due to Zayn’s injury, their match at ‘Money In The Bank’ was a disaster. Currently, he is feuding with Roman Reigns, who himself has been struggling to get the fans behind him for years.

Bobby Lashley is a wrestler with a huge potential to be one of WWE’s top stars. However, through no fault of his own, he has been bogged by the manner in which he has been presented. It is not too late, but the creative team needs to hurry up before the WWE Universe stops caring him.

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