On Saturday, December 9th, the WWE returns to the Adirondack Bank Center, promising Utica fans an unforgettable evening of drama and athleticism that only the WWE can deliver.

One of the superstars advertised to appear is "The All Mighty" Bobby Lashley, who has done it all in professional wrestling. Known for his crazy strength and "action figure" physique, Lashley's reign at the top has spanned two decades, during which time he's captured the WWE Championship on two occasions.

I recently had a chance to speak with Bobby about the WWE's return to Utica:

Q: When you were first breaking into the business, was there a veteran wrestler who took you under their wing?

When I first originally got contracted, Kurt Angle was the one -- he's the one that basically found me. He saw me at the Olympic training center. He was like 'Damn, man. You got a good look, good build. You ever think about doing professional wrestling?' At the time I tried to not fanboy out, because I was a fan of Kurt from amateur wrestling. And he was like, 'This is your professional sport. This is your calling.' But then when I got in, there were so many other mentors, people that helped me out... Booker T, Fit Finlay, William Regal, Undertaker... so many people gave me some knowledge here and there. Before I debuted for the first time, Paul Heyman gave me great advice, he said, 'Take your job seriously, but don't take yourself too seriously.'

Q: In the WWE, you get to essentially be a role model. What's it like to have so many kids look up to you?

I told a story one time when I was walking down the street in Spain. Some little kid was like walking towards me, and we were about to cross each other... kid was probably like 4 or 5 years old, holding hands with his mom... and I had a tank top on, I was just coming back from the gym, got a little sweat, good pump going... and as this kid's walking by, he just stopped. And his mom's like trying to pull him, she's like 'why can't I move this kid,' and he was just staring up at me. He spoke Spanish, so I couldn't understand him. And the mom's like looking at him, looking at me, and I'm like, 'I don't know what I did to this kid.' And then like a tear goes down his eye and he just grabs me and hugs my leg. And the mom said, 'You're a superhero.' And that was like a light that turned on. And I started understanding what this business was about. I have to understand where I'm at, what I'm doing, the people I'm impacting.

Q: Anything you'd like to say to the WWE Universe here in Utica ahead of your return on December 9th?

The live events are just a really fun time for the family to come out. Bring your kids and meet some wrestlers. Come out there before the show, we'll be pulling up. Some people don't wanna sign autographs, but I love it. I love meeting people. So come meet me before the show, after the show, show me around, give me some advice, anything, man. This is an opportunity that you can become a little more personal with us. Definitely come out to the live events because we have a great time and we love to meet you.

Don't miss the hard-hitting action of the WWE when they return to Utica on December 9th! Get your tickets now through this link.