Ex-ECW star Sandman has claimed that an former World Champion was fired after they “b*tched” about their payoff at WrestleMania 23.
At the 2006 ECW pay-per-view December to Dismember, Bobby Lashley captured the ECW World Championship and was positioned as the top star on the brand. He carried that momentum all the way to WrestleMania 23 where he was picked by former U.S. President Donald Trump to represent him in the Battle of the Billionaires against Vince McMahon. The former WWE CEO choose the powerhouse Umaga to represent him in the match.
Lashley picked up the victory at “the show of shows,” ensuring that Vince McMahon’s head was shaved bald in the process.
Although the ECW World Champion was in a featured match at Mania, one person claimed Lashley had issues with how he’d been paid. While speaking on Captain Corner’s, ECW legend The Sandman claimed Lashley was subsequently fired from WWE after complaining a bit too vociferously about his payoff.
Sandman began by discussing how much other ECW stars were paid on the show, when the conversation turned to the Battle of the Billionaires match.
“I don’t know about [Rob] Van Dam [what he was paid for WrestleMania 23] because I don’t even like asking Van Dam stuff like that but all the guys that I know are like, ‘Yeah, that’s what I got. Yeah, that’s what I got.’ So they paid eight guys so that was — they probably got off cheap too. That was a $320,000 match just in paying the guys… And also, Bobby Lashley was in that match [Battle of the Billionaires].
He got fired, you know why? Because he b*tched about getting half-a-million dollars for that match, because Bobby Lashley could not wrestle a lick back then. Now he’s pretty good, but he couldn’t wrestle really good back then. He f*cking complained about getting half-a-million dude. Vince [McMahon] is like, you’re fired. Didn’t take him back for years… He’s over as sh*t now.”
Following WrestleMania 23, Lashley would compete for the WWE Championship at The Great American Bash against John Cena. He’d take a six-month hiatus before being released from his contract on February 4th, 2008. He later returned to the company on the night after WrestleMania 34.
The Almighty is set to defend the United States Championship against The Visionary Seth Rollins on the season premiere of Monday Night Raw.
H/t – Post Wrestling