page_title: Bobby Lashley
section_title: Universal Championship pursuits (2018–2019)
hierarchical_section_title: Bobby Lashley / Professional wrestling career / Return to WWE / Universal Championship pursuits (2018–2019)
caption_attribution_description: English: The returning Bobby Lashley interrupts Elias on Raw in April 2018.
context_page_description: Franklin Roberto Lashley is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Bobby Lashley, and is the current WWE United States Champion in his second reign.
  During Lashley's first tenure with WWE, he was a two-time ECW World Champion and one-time United States Champion. Lashley is also known for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, in which he was a four-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, a one-time X Division Champion, and the final King of the Mountain Champion. After returning to WWE in 2018, Lashley would become a two-time Intercontinental Champion and won the United States Championship for the second time. He has headlined multiple pay-per-view events for WWE and TNA, including the latter promotion's flagship annual supercard, Bound for Glory, in 2016.
context_section_description: On the April 9, 2018 episode of Raw, the night after WrestleMania 34, Lashley made his return to WWE, where he confronted and attacked Elias. The first month of Lashley's return would see him in a number of tag-team matches, teaming with the likes of Braun Strowman, Bobby Roode, Finn Bálor, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns, all being in victorious efforts against the likes of Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Jinder Mahal, The Miz, Curtis Axel, and Bo Dallas. Lashley would later team with Braun Strowman at Backlash in a victorious effort against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Following Backlash, Lashley would enter into a feud with Sami Zayn, culminating with Lashley facing Zayn in a victorious effort at Money in the Bank. Lashley then entered a feud with Roman Reigns, where both men believed that they were the rightful challenger to the Universal Championship. This led to a match between the two at Extreme Rules, where Lashley defeated Reigns. The following night on Raw, two triple threat matches were set to determine who would face Universal Champion Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, with Lashley and Reigns won their respective matches, setting up a number one contender's match between the two the following week, which Reigns won. 
  On the September 17 episode of Raw, he introduced his new manager Lio Rush. On the October 8 episode of Raw, Lashley defeated Kevin Owens before viciously attacking him post-match, turning heel for the first time in his WWE career. At Survivor Series, which Team Raw won, Lashley was among the sole survivors along with Braun Strowman and Drew McIntyre. Afterwards, he reignited his feud with Elias, this included a ladder match with a guitar hanging above the ring at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs which Lashley lost, but after the match used the guitar on Elias. This sparked a Miracle on the 34th Street Fight type of match between the two, in which Lashley was defeated.
caption: Lashley made his return to WWE by interrupting Elias in April 2018
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