The Street Profits, the team of Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins, worked hard to become one of the mainstays of WWE's tag team division. They were partnered up with Bobby Lashley until things got derailed after Lashley got injured and left WWE. That's why it comes as no surprise Ford has now vented his frustration over the Street Profits current condition after Lashley's departure.
The hope was that teaming up with multi-time world champion Bobby Lashley would elevate Ford and Dawkins' success. On-screen, Lashley took on a mentor role, guiding them toward greater achievements. This seemed to be working, especially around WrestleMania, but when Lashley got injured, things fell apart, and he is no longer with WWE now.
While speaking to Daily Mail, Monez Ford talked about trying to become heels with Lashley, but the fans didn't like the change. Even though they pushed for it, fans still saw them as the original Street Profits. Ford realized that fans steer the direction of a character -- they didn't want to see a "bad" version of the team.
Although it was short-lived, Ford appreciated the time with Lashley and B-Fab. He learned that wrestling can change quickly; anyone can leave, so you have to adapt. Now, he's moving forward, taking what he's learned.
When Lashley was in the picture, it was exciting for Ford because Lashley was a wrestler he'd looked up to. Having Lashley as a mentor felt like the start of something new. They had built momentum with moments like a WrestleMania win, but then it suddenly stopped. Ford describes the frustration of gaining momentum, only to lose it again and again, saying it's hard for fans to stay invested when a team's progress keeps stopping and starting.
'At first, we started being villains,' Ford says, reflecting on his time with Lashley. 'And the crowd just wasn't he wasn't having it. We kept trying to force them, and they said, "No, you are the same Profits". That's what I love about this business, the fans, they run everything, they'll tell you exactly what they want, and what they did not want was bad Profits.
'I'm glad with what we had for the short period of time, B-Fab and the All Mighty when he was here. But what I took from that lesson is anything can happen, anything can transition, anybody can leave, anybody can just depart at any time. And you kind of just have to pick up whatever's left and just run with it. And that's exactly what I'm doing right now.
'When all of those things were happening, we were very, very excited, because he (Lashley) was somebody we looked up to, somebody I watched as a kid, and now I'm being paired with him, and he's being my mentor, and he's ushering us in this new chapter of The Street Profits.
'All these things are running, we have a WrestleMania win, and then boom, it just stops. And it's been this constant stop and go and stop and go and stop and go with the Profits where we'll get momentum and then the momentum will stop, then momentum will start again, and the momentum will stop. And for us, that's frustrating, because it's hard to get behind a team whose momentum starts and then it shifts again."
As for Bobby Lashley, he recently made his debut on the October 30th edition of AEW Dynamite and aligned himself with MVP and Shelton Benjamin. Nonetheless, only time will tell what will become of the Street Profits in the end.
Do you feel WWE could have done more with Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits as a group? Sound off in the comments section below!