Why Bobby Lashley Didn’t Make His AEW Debut At WrestleDream

48-year-old Bobby Lashley officially became a free agent just over two months ago after WWE lowballed him on his contract renewal, and he opted to leave. Therefore, following the recent AEW debuts of his fellow Hurt Business stablemates MVP and Shelton Benjamin, many fans have predicted that the former WWE Champion would appear during WrestleDream, potentially setting up a match with Swerve Strickland.

And while it does seem that is the match AEW is building towards, it has been reported by Ibou of WrestlePurists that Lashley didn’t appear on the pay-per-view as management didn’t want him “lost in the shuffle.”

“The Bobby Lashley debut angle was delayed to allow for it to stand out, as AEW felt they had enough big angles at WrestleDream and didn’t want it to be lost in the shuffle.”

Lashley broke into the business via OVW in 2005, which was a developmental territory for WWE at the time. However, due to his impressive look, Vince McMahon had him working on SmackDown and Raw house shows within a few months. Still, after being treated as a big deal, he departed the company in 2008, with multiple reasons speculated.