Original Artwork The Xavierite
On Wednesday Oct. 30, Bobby Lashley made his All Elite Wrestling (AEW) debut, adding an important piece of the puzzle to “The Hurt Syndicate.” Though the group may be under a new company and identity, this will be their second coming, which wrestling fans would agree was mishandled by the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
Lashley debuted on the Halloween special, “AEW Fright Night Dynamite”, instantly aligning himself with MVP and Shelton Benjamin’s “Hurt Syndicate” faction. This was a pleasant surprise for fans of the former “Hurt Business” faction which briefly dominated the WWE.
MVP and Lashley’s WWE contracts ran out in 2024, giving them the opportunity to start fresh in another company. MVP was the first to do so by making the jump to AEW on Sept. 25.
MVP joined AEW with a goal set in mind; to give the group the second chance it deserves. The first step was bringing in Benjamin, who was released from WWE in Sept. 2023.
So far, this has been the best Benjamin has looked in his career, finally being treated as a true threat to the roster. As of now, his only loss has been to former AEW world champion Swerve Strickland at Fright Night Dynamite.
After the match, MVP made a call to Lashley, who came out to lead an attack on Strickland and Prince Nana. MVP then picked up a microphone and stated, “Guess who’s back in business!”
This was in reference to the Hurt Business, which originally formed in WWE in late 2020, during the pandemic. The original members included MVP, Lashley, Benjamin, and Cedric Alexander.
MVP was the group’s mouthpiece, while Lashley brought an imposing presence as a two-time WWE world champion. Benjamin and Alexander were the tag-team of the group, making the faction a formidable unit as a whole.
From the beginning, the faction had strong chemistry and lots of potential. The group started with MVP returning to WWE in early 2020 and managing his longtime friend, Lashley. Their partnership helped Lashley re-focus on his career and reach new heights after constantly being involved in bad storylines.
They later recruited veteran Benjamin, who had never been given his due in the company. The Hurt Business was the biggest opportunity of Benjamin’s career to finally prove himself as a top talent. They then added the talented prospect Alexander, who captured the Raw tag-team championship title belts with Benjamin on Dec. 20, 2020.
However, things unfortunately didn’t last. Tensions arose within the group, particularly between Alexander and Benjamin. MVP tried to settle these conflicts but was unsuccessful as the Hurt Business was disbanded twice; once in March 29, 2021, and again in Sept. 2022 after a brief reunion.
MVP moved on to managing Omos, while Lashley formed his own trio with the Street Profits, Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins.
Neither partnership lasted or became close to replicating the chemistry between the Hurt Business, which fans still hoped would be brought back with Paul “Triple H” Levesque now managing the company.
Just a few months back, rumors said that the WWE would not be renewing MVP and Lashley’s contracts. This sparked conversations online about how the company dropped the ball with the Hurt Business.
The conversation started over replies MVP made under a June 18 post on his Instagram account. The post featured a picture of the former group, captioned, “The world was in chaos. We were in harmony.”
A fan commented “Should’ve kept ya’ll together, damn you Vince [McMahon]” under the post. MVP replied, “Triple H had the power to fix it. He chose not to. Go figure.”
Another fan said that they wanted the group back, but only if Benjamin would return alongside the members. MVP responded that it was the only way to do it, however the current WWE regime was unwilling to make it happen.
This showed that though it was short lived, The Hurt Business left a lasting impression on fans who thought they never received a true chance to show their full potential as a group. Many of us believed they could have achieved greater heights as a cohesive unit and potentially became one of the greatest factions in WWE history.
With all three original members now in AEW, there is a chance for the group to live out its true potential. Though Alexander remains in WWE, we can hope that one day he joins his former teammates to enjoy the new found glory first hand.