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What's the story?
Well, at this week's Impact Wrestling tapings, it seemed that rumours Bobby Lashley leaving the company came to fruition as the former WWE Superstar bid farewell to the crowd after his match with Brian Cage.
With the timing of this falling right before the Royal Rumble, there was a buzz that Lashley may be a surprise entrant at the Royal Rumble - however, that rumour has now, sadly, been proven untrue.
In case you didn't know...
Bobby Lashley and EC3 had been rumoured to leave Impact for a while. It was speculated that both men were leaving the company around the start of 2018, with the most recent tapings severely fuelling the flames with Bobby Lashley taking a bow upon his exit after EC3 all but confirmed his last appearance too.
The heart of the matter
A goodbye like this will always bring forward a speculation about the talent signing with WWE- especially someone who has previously been with the company and has arguably grown in stature since leaving.
However, as per PW Insider, it has now been reported that Bobby Lashley's contract with impact Wrestling runs out on February 1st - just days after the Royal Rumble - so the chances of him appearing have dropped quite significantly.
What's next?
Well, even with this news, what's next is inevitable - until Lashley appears either in Impact or elsewhere, there will be mass speculation that he will be returning to the WWE.
Two other Impact stars made an exit in recent weeks in EC3 and James Storm, so we could even see those three join the likes of AJ Styles, Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe in WWE.
Author's take
Lashley would no doubt be a huge acquisition for WWE and could easily slot straight into NXT, RAW or SmackDown. A lot of people had been clamouring for him and Brock Lesnar to square off in an MMA fight and, while that looks unlikely, Bobby Lashley could no doubt return to WWE in any capacity if both sides agree on a deal.
It'll be interesting to see what happens next.
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