Chris Cash: "I've always thought Dana White could learn a little bit from Vince McMahon when it comes to creating stars. And stars create themselves in MMA, so it's a little easier to create those stars, but I do think that things could be pushed a little bit to help elevate other stars that may need a little bit more personality, more character..make fans get emotionally attached to watch them fight. Do you think that Dana White could learn anything from Vince McMahon or do think he should stay true to his beliefs and the whole "integrity of the sport" and continue doing it the same way that he's doing it now?"
Bobby Lashley: "Well, I think that he already has – he's just doing it in a different way than we're actually thinking. He is getting himself over – his self is UFC. And I'm probably going to get burnt a little bit for saying this, but I think that they want people to know the UFC. They don't want [fans] to know individual people – the "UFC" is what people know. They're building that brand so big so somebody can't come in there and be bigger than the business. There are some stars that are building themselves. That's their job. In the wrestling world, we used to say 'You need to get yourself over because sometimes nobody else will'. In fighting, those fighters have to get themselves over. There's only so much Dana White can do. And there's a lot of people in [UFC] that are starting to do it. And some of them are taking the whole 'WWE antics' to get themselves over and they understand that business side of it…like Rampage comes down with the chain around his neck and yells – he knows how to get over…Clay Guida because he's so amped up…a lot of those guys I've talked with and they're big WWE fans, so they understand the entertainment side of it. I think it's the people that are trying to stay clear away from those that are the guys that go down in history as great fighters but never really achieve anything."
Chris Cash: "I think UFC without a question has hurt professional wrestling in certain areas. Do you agree with that or do you think that what UFC has accomplished has had no effect on WWE?"
Bobby Lashley: "I don't know if it was UFC that effected pro wrestling – it might be pro wrestling that has effected pro wrestling. [WWE] is in a changing of the era where they're bringing in a lot of fresh faces and it's going to take a little bit of time for the audience to start gravitating to these guys or getting behind these guys or hating these guys..to having any kind of emotional attachment to these guys. I think that's what we're seeing right now in professional wrestling. They've got to build these kids up – there's a lot of new people in there. I think that's more of it. I don't think [UFC] has really hurt [WWE] because they said the same thing about boxing, that UFC has hurt boxing. No, boxing's hurt boxing. There's nobody out there right now, except Mayweather. People like to be entertained and right now, UFC is doing the best job, I think."
There was a lot more discussed in my 30-minute conversation with Bobby Lashley, including whether he thinks Brock Lesnar is overrated as a fighter, the added pressure of transitioning from wrestling to mixed martial arts, what happened with him and TNA, a potential return to WWE or TNA, and much more. Look out for the full audio here on WrestleZone.com in the next couple days. As always, you can follow me on Twitter @RealityofChris and email me at wzchriscash@yahoo.com. This weekend, I'll be doing my weekly "Stars in Progress" column (to be posted on Saturday) and a new feature called "What's Bothering Me (in Professional Wrestling)" that should be posted on Sunday.
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Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
