Since joining AEW in 2024, the trio of Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, and MVP have had great success, capturing gold and solidifying their place as one of the roster's most dominant factions. As many fans should recall, the group now known as The Hurt Syndicate isn't original to AEW. They first aligned onscreen in WWE as The Hurt Business, but a potential roster mistake made by the promotion resulted in three of the four members deciding to take their chances elsewhere.
The onscreen origins of The Hurt Business date back to May 2020, with MVP offering to manage Lashley. Soon, Benjamin joined the group, and they'd later be rounded out with the addition of Cedric Alexander. Over the course of their initial run, Lashley would win both the United States Championship and the WWE Championship, while Benjamin and Alexander captured the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship.
Shortly after Lashley's world title run began, less than a year into the group's existence, the decision was made to remove Benjamin and Alexander from The Hurt Business. Though Lashley and MVP would continue to use the name, this was the first of multiple endings for the faction. The four would reunite just six months later, but it was short-lived. By January 2022, The Hurt Business had broken up for a second time.
Over the next couple of years, the members of the faction all moved on to different endeavors. MVP began managing Omos and Lashley briefly joined up with the Street Profits to form The Pride, while Benjamin and Alexander continued teaming for a time.
Benjamin was released from his WWE contract in 2023, while Alexander was sidelined without much to do. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, MVP was attempting to convince Lashley to not sign a new contract with WWE so they could reunite the core trio somewhere else. He must've made a strong argument, as both MVP and Lashley departed WWE when their contracts ended in the summer of 2024. A few months later, The Hurt Syndicate was (re)born, and they'd go on to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship at the beginning of 2025.
Much of the trio's success can be credited to a real bond between MVP, Lashley, and Benjamin, dating back to their shared time inside and outside WWE. That relationship lends an undeniable chemistry to the group, and it's something that AEW seems to have capitalized on.
