Posted on 4/24/125 by Colin Vassallo
The Hurt Syndicate, the faction consisting of Bobby Lashley,
Shelton Benjamin, and MVP, appeared on Insight With Chris
Van Vliet.
They talk about getting the group back together, a possible
Shelton Benjamin World Title run, whether MVP has retired
and more!
Some of the most interesting quotes are below:
On knowing that the group would one day get back together:
Bobby Lashley: “I did. I mean, it was inevitable. When we
came together originally, it was so natural, it was so real.
The crowd, you guys knew it. This isn’t just a couple of
guys that got thrown together. You see it all the time. You
see it in WWE, you see it in AEW, guys that get thrown
together and the minute they leave the show, they all go
their separate ways. That’s not how we work. We are really
friends, we really do stuff together, we really argue, we
really fight like brothers. This is real, you guys feel it,
and that’s why it gets over so well.”
On the plan to reunite the group:
MVP: “Well, the plan originally was to get Bobby to join me.
I was like, ‘Bobby, let’s go man, let’s get out of here.
Shelton’s already at home. All we gotta do is just not sign,
get Shelton back and we can run this back. Our final act, we
could do this.’ Bobby, finally, he relented, and he said,
Alright.”
On what the group can do now that they couldn’t in WWE:
Shelton Benjamin: “Well, first of all, being actually seen
in front of a live crowd. That’s a good start. But I think
this time around we have a bit more control of our destiny,
obviously, a lot more. What happened before, everything
ended way prematurely. None of us were happy about that, and
by us, I mean everyone. So the fact that we’re able to come
here and give you the product that we want to give you, and
everything’s going great. Like I said, we’re having the time
of our lives.”
On a possible Shelton Benjamin World Title run in AEW:
Shelton Benjamin: “I’m going to just say yes. I definitely
still want a world title. If you watch my performances, I’m
not performing like a guy who wants to just retire and ride
off into the sunset. While I definitely want to help elevate
other talent, because that’s a big part of why we’re here, I
still have goals. Being a World Champion in a prominent
company is definitely on top of that list. Now, I have been
World Champion for Puerto Rico, WWC, but I don’t know if we
want to count that one. It counts? ok. But as far as WWE,
AEW, the big name companies, I want a World Championship,
and I’m working every day to make sure that dream stays
alive.”
On whether MVP has retired from the ring:
MVP: “No, not yet. I got a little bit left in me. It’s
funny. We did a six-man about a month ago now, give or take,
and they were teasing me because I was actually in there for
a little while, and it felt good. It was coming back to me,
and Shelton said, ‘Are you ever gonna tag out?’ I’m like oh
yeah, maybe I should.”
On the WrestleMania 37 rain delay:
Bobby Lashley: “When you have a match with somebody like
Drew, because Drew brings out a lot of intensity there. I
remember at one point we said, I was telling MVP, man, I’ll
just go fight him backstage, just bring a camera back.
Because once you get so amped up and go and get ready for a
match like that and it starts raining, you don’t want to
just break that. You don’t want to keep waiting and waiting
and going back and forth. I knew something was going to
happen. I knew we were going to go out there eventually, but
I think at some point I was just going to go and punch Drew
in the mouth and maybe we start just fighting. Because Drew
was actually one of my favorite opponents. He’s up there on
my list, just because he brought something out of me that a
lot of guys didn’t. Because I think a lot of guys get out
there and they hide behind a microphone, they can say
whatever they want, try to be a tough guy. You really know
they’re not. Drew just embodied a little bit more than that,
and that’s why I was really amped up to have that match with
him. So I was ready to go. We kept walking by, and I was
like we might just have to start fighting back here. And
then if it stops and we can just take that out to the ring.
It was going to happen, especially just coming out of the
pandemic; this was the first opportunity for us to be in
front of a crowd. We were going to have a match no matter
what.”
On what’s next for them in AEW:
MVP: “Look, I’m spoiling it for you. I’m telling you what’s
going to happen. We are going to hold these Tag Team Titles
until we’re done, until we decide as a group that okay,
we’re now ready to move on to that next level and then we
are coming for singles championship gold. No tag teams,
that’ll be done, but we gotta beat a few more people first
and imprint The Hurt Syndicate label on these tag team
titles so people will know we were here. They will remember.
Then it’s on to the next phase, and that’s singles
championships for these two gentlemen.”