On the October 30, edition of AEW Dynamite, Bobby Lashley made his long-awaited AEW debut by confronting and attacking Swerve Strickland. Lashley’s arrival comes after months of reports and speculation about him coming to Tony Khan’s first promotion and now the two-time former WWE World Champion is ready to make an impact on AEW programming.
Lashley has been under contract for some time now, but his debut with the promotion was delayed, Fightful Select reports. Initially, his first appearance was set to be at AEW WrestleDream earlier this month. Plans changed as AEW wanted to focus on Jon Moxley’s faction angle and the end of Bryan Danielson’s full-time in-ring career.
Lashley officially signed with AEW in September, shortly before AEW Grand Slam: Dynamite in September of this year. That show saw the debut of MVP while Shelton Benjamin arrived on the five-year edition of Dynamite. Benjamin was a part of Lashley’s debut as he and the All Mighty attacked Strickland while MVP held Prince Nana at bay. Strickland had previously made clear that he would be sticking with Nana rather than take on MVP as a manager.
Lashley’s arrival is a huge coup for AEW as Tony Khan now has one of WWE’s biggest stars in recent years.