MVP has pushed back publicly against reports claiming the Hurt Syndicate has been reluctant to put other wrestlers over in AEW, calling the rumors “blatant lies.” The spokesperson for Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin used a series of social media posts on Saturday to directly refute speculation that the trio has clashed with creative or resisted losing matches.
The chatter stemmed in part from the Hurt Syndicate’s prolonged absence from AEW television, which had fueled speculation about backstage friction. MVP specifically addressed the team’s AEW World Tag Team Championship reign, stating that Lashley and Benjamin had actually wanted to drop the titles back to Private Party, the team of Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen, after winning them.
The Hurt Syndicate captured the AEW World Tag Team Championship from Private Party on the January 25, 2025 edition of AEW Dynamite. According to MVP, the plan or preference on the team’s part was to eventually return the belts to Kassidy and Quen, directly contradicting narratives that the group was unwilling to lay down for other talent. The Hurt Syndicate’s reign did not last indefinitely, as they eventually lost the titles, though the circumstances of that loss were not detailed in MVP’s statements.
MVP’s response came as a direct reaction to what he described as false reports circulating about him, Lashley and Benjamin. He framed his social media remarks as an effort to set the record straight after what he characterized as a pattern of inaccurate reporting on the group’s standing within AEW’s creative process.
The denial addresses a broader narrative that had taken hold amid the team’s TV absence, with multiple outlets picking up on the rumored friction before MVP’s rebuttal. His comments specifically target claims that the Hurt Syndicate refused to put talent over, using the Private Party title exchange as his central piece of evidence that the opposite was true.
As of this report, AEW has not issued any official comment confirming or further detailing the creative discussions MVP referenced, and the exact timeline for any future Hurt Syndicate appearances on AEW programming remains unclear based on the available reporting.
