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Former WWE star Stevie Richards recently called breaking up a popular group a few years ago the "stupidest thing ever." The company was still under Vince McMahon at the time, and in the latter years of the former Chairman's tenure, a lot of the decisions made were not very popular among fans.
The Hurt Business thrived during the pandemic era when WWE abruptly scrapped the group to focus solely on Bobby Lashley. Fast forward to four years later, Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin and MVP are all in AEW as The Hurt Syndicate.
With Cedric Alexander's recent release, there are rumors that all four original members could reunite in AEW. Stevie Richards commented on the group's success and eventual downfall under Vince McMahon in a recent episode of his self-titled podcast.
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"When they came in as a group, they were stars. And that's why in the first time that they decided to cut that short, that was the stupidest thing ever. That was probably the most over act that they had from guys, that in the past Shelton, Cedric, and then you talk about Bobby Lashley and MVP, didn't really truly reach their full potential. Now, it felt like they all together were going to rise up as singles and as a group act and then they just cut it short. It was so stupid," Richards said. [9:45 - 10:18]
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There were teases of a potential reunion in 2023, but nothing came to fruition. WWE parted ways with Shelton Benjamin later that year, with MVP and Bobby Lashley leaving in 2024. Cedric Alexander was released earlier this month.
Bobby Lashley explains WWE's decision to not move forward with The Hurt Business reunion
In an appearance on the K&S WrestleFest back in October, Bobby Lashley confirmed that there were plans to reunite The Hurt Business.
Lashley explained that plans changed and the new regime didn't want it to happen and he was eventually paired with the Street Profits.
"We got overlooked. That was a little bit of a spit in the face. I think we could have come back and done some big things together. They just didn't want us. Different strokes for different folks. Different people like different things. When the regime changed, the regime wasn't too high on me at all," Lashley said. [H/T Fightful]
Now with AEW as The Hurt Syndicate, Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin are the reigning AEW World Tag Team Champions with MVP serving as their manager.
