Bobby Lashley Calls Out Young WWE Talent for Ignoring Veteran Advice

Bobby Lashley is no longer with WWE, but he had two stints with the company over the years and is aware of how the newer generation of talent behaved compared to his own generation. Lashley has now decided to call out the newer stars, especially in NXT, who feel like they already know everything there is to know about wrestling.

While speaking on The Lame Guys podcast, Bobby Lashley talked about how things have changed with younger WWE stars, especially those coming up from NXT. He said many of them act like they already know everything and don’t want advice from veterans like him. Lashley mentioned that when he came back to WWE, it felt different because the younger wrestlers seemed to think they were already superstars and didn’t want to listen.

“Coming back this time, it’s been a little different. It’s like the young guys are coming up and they already think that they’re superstars, so they don’t want to hear anything anyway. And some of the older guys are like, ‘I’m just doing my thing, so I’m just over here.’ So it’s kind of like, it was a little strange coming back because it seemed like everybody was kind of doing their own thing.”

Lashley shared a story about asking one of the younger guys for advice on how to connect better with the audience. The guy was surprised that Lashley asked him, and Lashley felt like the younger wrestlers were more interested in gossip than helping each other. Lashley said that if someone sees something in his match that could help him improve, they should tell him, because he wants to put on the best show.

“I came up to somebody one time just to see how they were, right? One of the guys who was in there. You know, I have plenty of years under my belt, but I just wanted to test this out. I came up and I asked one of the guys, I was like, ‘Hey man, you know it’s a different generation right now, is there anything that you think I could use to kind of help me connect with this crowd a little bit?’ And he was like, ‘H…’ He was shocked that I asked him, right? But I felt that he went into, like, little chat groups like, ‘Oh, Bob’s asking me this question.’ It’s like different, bro. I was like, ‘Yeah, like everybody can learn from something.’ Yes, so it does like if you see something in my match, talk to me about it, because I want to have the best matches, I want to have the best show, and I want to be able to engage and connect with the crowd the best I can. And if you’re watching me and there’s something that you feel that I’m losing, just tell me. Right? And that’s what I tried to do.”

The Almighty also said that, instead of kissing up to people just because they hold a title, young wrestlers should learn from the experienced stars who can help them. Lashley pointed out that when he started, everyone worked together to make the show better, but now it feels like many young wrestlers think they already know it all.

“Like, I was really… it’s hard with this, like, because guys are coming up from NXT, they don’t wear nothing, yeah, I’m the best, I don’t need anything, I know everything. It’s like, or they’ll go and try to, like, kiss ass to one person, like, ‘I’m going to go to so-and-so and I’m going to act like…’ Bro, look, I got 20 years of wrestling right now, I can help you out, Pete can help you out, Drew can help you out, Punk can help you out, you know, all these different people. Don’t go to somebody trying to kiss their ass because they got a belt. Right? So, I mean, it’s different. And I’m not harping on this day and age, I’m just saying, it was different when I came up. Everybody was just trying to work together to make the show better.”

Bobby Lashley is now a star on AEW after making his debut last month and aligning himself with MVP and Shelton Benjamin, two veterans in their own right. Ultimately, Lashley wants younger pro wrestlers to respect veterans, especially their advice and many fans will likely agree with Lashley’s comments as well.

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