Bobby Lashley On WWE Title Win: “I Promised Myself This Would Happen”

This Monday on RAW, Bobby Lashley defeated The Miz to become the 53rd person in history to hold the WWE Championship. Lashley begins the 141st reign in the title’s lineage. He spoke to SI.com recently about what the title win means to him.

“I promised myself that this would happen,” Lashley said during the interview. “There have been times when I didn’t know if this was going to come, but I worked my ass off and refused to be denied. Now that we’re here, it’s surreal.”

“Seeing so many people ringside—like Ricochet, Elias and Braun—that meant a lot,” he continued. “I’ve shared moments with all of them. Sharing it with Shelton, Cedric and MVP, that’s very meaningful, too. I’ve had so many calls and messages—I heard from my college wrestling coach, my high school wrestling coach, even people I trained with in Japan. It’s been amazing.”

Lashley was a 4x World Champion with TNA Wrestling/Impact. He also held the ECW title while in WWE twice. Lashley is also a 2x Intercontinental and 2x United States Champion as well.

“I went into professional wrestling believing that the world title would be my world medal,” Lashley continued. “This has always been my goal. Even when times were tough, I didn’t stop. I never stopped, I kept working to get better. My dad taught me hard work, and I’m teaching that to my kids. And it’s true—the harder I work, the luckier I get.”