Bobby Lashley On Leaving TNA, WWE vs. TNA, Tons More
Bobby Lashley recently spoke with heavy.com, here are the highlights?
On Monday's Live Show: "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."
On TNA Going To Monday's Permanently: "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."
On Doing Both Wrestling And MMA: "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."
On Being Ready For Top Tier Heavyweights: "Well, you know what I mean. It's going to take some time. I'm only four fights into this thing, so I have to wait a little bit. My coaches are always trying to pull me back. It's a learning process. In MMA, it doesn't matter if you have four fights or you have thirty fights. It's still a learning process. I only have four fights. So we still want to work on a few more things. I want to work on my standup a little bit more. I haven't used that much in real life situations, so I want to put myself into a couple of matches where I get to stand up with these guys. Iwant to test myself in a few different ways, and then we'll be ready for it. I'm thinking maybe two or three more fights, and I'll be ready for that competition."
On Strikeforce Working With His Wrestling Schedule: "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."
On Drama With Nate Marquardt: "I didn't think there was a falling out at all. Brandon Schaub still texts me and calls me, and we talk from time to time. The main issue, I think, is that some camps are very loyal to their people. They don't like to mix up camps and change things up. And I think that's what it was. When I came to Denver, I talked to Nate and I told him what my deal was. I told him that traveling down to American Top Team was kind of tough for me because my kids are in Denver, and it's hard getting away. I was going down there for weeks at a time and being away from my kids. So Nate told me I could come over there and train with his guys. At that time, a lot of those guys were getting ready to go different places. Schaub was getting ready for Ultimate Fighter. Shane Carwin was either having a surgery or had just come back from surgery. I loved training there, but everyone was either leaving or preparing to leave and I had a fight coming up. So I flew back down to ATT in Florida. And I think that may have been the thing that upset Marquardt, that I went to a different camp instead of staying there. But I had to go where I had training partners. I had to get ready for a fight."