Could Old Grudge Halt a Bobby Lashley WWE Return?

WWE has been on a signing spree as of late. Ricochet, Candice LeRae, War Machine, and EC3 are all headed to the WWE. Could Bobby Lashley be next on that list?

Rumors continue to persist that the former WWE main eventer could be headed back to the company he left a decade ago. Once groomed to be the future of the WWE, the former ECW champion and man who headlined WrestleMania alongside the now President of the United States would certainly make a great surprise entrant in next Sunday's Royal Rumble.

However, the terms of his exit from WWE back in 2008 could continue to haunt the prospects for a return to the company. In this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer writes of the awkward situation which Lashley found himself in as he left WWE.

Though a legal agreement between himself and the WWE prevents Lashley from elaborating too much on the terms of that exit, Meltzer notes that it involved some creative disagreements over the use of his then girlfriend (Kristal Marshall) as well as some bad (racially charged) feelings between Lashley and Michael Hayes.

WWE had planned for Marshall to do a storyline with SmackDown's GM, Teddy Long. The story would have revolved around Marshall marrying Long and learning that he suffered from a weak heart. Vignettes would have been shot where it would be alluded that sex between Marshall and Long caused him to have a heart attack so that Vickie Guerrero and Marshall could take over control of SmackDown. Marshall was then going to go on and have an on-screen affair with Edge.

Needless to say, Lashley didn't approve of this kind of television portrayal of his girlfriend at the time. That, added in with the backstage heat between Lashley and Hayes, eventually lead to his exit from WWE. Marshall once did an interview, referenced in this week's Observer by Meltzer, where she noted Lashley and Hayes didn't get along, with Hayes once saying he didn't like him or "anyone who looks like him."

So what comes next? The word has been for months now that Lashley would return to WWE upon the expiration of his Impact Wrestling contract, which has since occurred. At the Impact tapings earlier this week, Lashley even gave a farewell to the crowd.

Scoop #29: Lashley says goodbye to the crowd, takes a bow, and exits pic.twitter.com/zfbMMS5tsf

— Jacob Cohen (@MrJacobCohen) January 15, 2018

Even so, the bad blood from his 2008 exit mean a return to WWE is not a sure fire bet. Though the odds still likely weigh in favor of seeing him return for one final run under Vince McMahon, old feelings could still get in the way of working out an eventual deal. Most expected him to return to WWE years ago and that never materialized, so there's definitely something to be said for the idea that he may just flatly not want to work there again. Then again, at 41 years old, time is starting to run thin for a return and possible big money main event run.