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Time flies so fast sometimes, it’s unreal to think that MVP and his Hurt Syndicate faction members, Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin, have been with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) for almost two whole years.
MVP first debuted on September 25, 2024 after another stint with WWE. Lashley and Benjamin would debut at “Dynamite” a few weeks later. Since then, MVP has guided the duo to an AEW Tag Team Championship.
He reflected on his time with AEW in a recent interview with Pakinomist Digital, contrasting the company with other places he’s worked.
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Bobby Lashley, MVP, and Shelton Benjamin leave Swerve Strickland and Prince Nana lying in the ring during AEW Dynamite on October 30, 2024 at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio. (Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)
“AEW is really cool because the corporate culture there is so different from the other places I’ve worked. Tony Khan is extremely passionate about pro wrestling. For him, it’s not just a business venture, he really loves pro wrestling,” he said. “He eats it, he drinks it, he breathes it. He’s been a wrestling fan since he was a little kid. He probably knows more about wrestling than anyone I know, just because of his encyclopedic knowledge of history. And it’s a pleasure to work for him. The climate, the atmosphere there is so relaxed and everyone is passionate.
“Everybody knows we have an opportunity with AEW to create something new. And WWE has been “the company” and AEW has come along and given wrestling fans a legitimate alternative to the WWE brand. I’m not into tribalism. I love professional wrestling and I don’t care what three letters are in front of it. The tribalism is ridiculous at this McDo King stage and I eat in Burgers and my Burger. career, AEW has a lot of young talent that has big advantages, but many of them are still learning how to do television and how to approach professional wrestling from a television perspective.
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Bobby Lashley makes his way to the ring during AEW Dynamite on October 30, 2024 at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio. (Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)
“So, I have enough experience working across different companies and doing TV literally around the world that I’m able to impart some of my experience to them to hopefully grow individual talent and collectively contribute to the growth of the company. So I love it just because the atmosphere there is so comfortable and you know, at least from my experience and what I think most people from AEW will tell you, it cares who cares about a professional, and who really cares about a professional as an art form, as a form of entertainment and not just a bottom line business.”
Benjamin and Lashley still look and perform as well as they did when they started with WWE. Benjamin turns 51 and Lashley turns 50 in July.
MVP said the duo is “still capable of pretty much anything,” even at their age.
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“Bobby and Shelton, they didn’t tell me, but they found the fountain of youth,” he told Pakinomist Digital. “I wish they would wise me up because I don’t know where it is. It looks like Shelton, now 50 years old, is better than he’s ever been and he hasn’t lost a step. He still looks great. Bobby, if you take a picture of Bobby from when he debuted and put it to a picture of him right now, there’s pretty much no difference in anything that can still be matched with young people. of what the untapped potential is, we’re the syndicate man – dominance.”
The Hurt Syndicate plays a big role at Double or Nothing on Sunday night in New York. Benjamin and Lashley will team up with Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, Jack Perry, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson in a Stadium Stampede match against Ricochet, Bishop Kaun, Toa Liona, Mark Davis, Andrade El Idolo, Clark Connors and David Finlay.
Wrestlers Shelton Benjamin and MVP attend the Los Angeles premiere of “Queen Of The Ring” at AMC The Grove 14 on March 6, 2025. (Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)
What can pro wrestling fans expect from a Stadium Stampede match that debuted at Double or Nothing in 2019? MVP put it simply.
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“I would sum it up in two words: chaos and violence.”
