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In the past few months, a new blue chipper has scaled the corporate ladder at a phenomenal pace. He has displayed unmatchable athleticism, and gained a ring presence rivaling the greats. His following spreads like wildfire as he speeds through the competition with an unmatchable (and until recently, flawless) winning streak over the likes of former dominant world champions. He's shown great diversity for a big man within the hallowed squared circle, and has become a success over night. His name is Bobby Lashley. In the history of World Wrestling Entertainment/Federation there have been many dominant champions. Triple H, the Rock, Shawn Michaels, John Bradshaw Leyfield; the list goes on like a who's who in main eventing staples of the industry... but never in the history of this federation has there been a true black champion.

Some could argue that Booker T was champion. My only objection to this is that he was only champion because he came in riding the coattails of WCW, and the title technically wasn't a WWE title at that time. Some could claim the Rock was the first African-America champion, but he was also half Samoan and it took a pedigree of three generations in the business and a re-vamped attitude to take him to the top. With all of these debunked exceptions aside, could Bobby Lashley be the first ever to break the color barrier in World Wrestling Entertainment" Let's look at the usual path to victory within World Wrestling Entertainment.

Usually someone viable for the title captures the U.S. or I.C. title initially. Bobby Lashley has held the U.S. title, and recently lost it to the dastardly Irish Fit Finlay thanks to the help of his illusive Little Bastard. If history shows a pattern, the next step is World Title contendership, something Smackdown is lacking currently. With such a vacant world title division, could Lashley rise to the occasion and grab that fabled brass ring" Or will his star burn out too soon"

Many could compare this skyrocketing success to Brock Lesnar, a man who peaked too soon. Many have compared this phenom to the Next Big Thing, both in career path, diverse wrestling ability, and physique. Could this make the boy's in the back leery of giving such a shot to Bobby" Another recent scare behind the scenes lately is the disrespect of seasoned veterans. Recently Dave Batista, a man not unlike Lashley in rising stardom and physique, was reported to have had harsh words with the former WCW champion Booker T at a photo shoot. This allegedly ended in King Booker being crowned by a punched in the face by the disrespectful youth. Many other new bloods have displayed this disrespect toward those who put wrestling on the map, among the list rests the names of those who were given a shot early in their career. So far, no reports have shown Lashley to be a problem behind the scenes, and the NFL doesn't seem to be knocking down his door currently. Hopefully the powers that be will find Bobby is committed and able enough to brunt the load of the oncoming future of the business.

Regardless to what happens with Bobby, it's safe to say he's a breath of fresh air in an industry known for it's opportunistic and somewhat appalling approach to race, lifestyle, or religion. Bobby Lashley is truly a man making his way based on his talent and not on the color of his skin. In a sense, he's already broken so many stigma's left by Papa Shango, Virgil, Kamala and so many other misguided souls. I say it's only the beginning, and I'm letting my chip's ride on this sure-fire future icon of the industry.

by Jeff Ford..