Bobby Lashley says he and MJF are following separate paths, with the Hurt Syndicate moving in a different direction than the Salt of the Earth.
MJF joined the Hurt Syndicate in May, but his association lasted only two months. A few weeks later, a backstage segment showed Bobby Lashley giving him the thumbs down, with MVP confirming his exit from the faction.
In an interview with the F Y’all podcast, Bobby Lashley said the original Hurt Business, consisting of himself, Shelton Benjamin, MVP, and Cedric Alexander, represented the realest thing I’ve been through in pro wrestling.
“When we had the Hurt Business originally, Me, Shelton, MVP, Cedric, when we talk about that, it was the realest thing I’ve been through in pro wrestling. There are a whole bunch of reasons why. For me personally, a lot of times we’re portrayed in certain ways. We have to dance, we have to be a certain character. I’m a businessman for real. I have a tremendous amount of real estate, I’m an intelligent person. I have a college degree, and I like to dress. When we came at it, we were like, ‘We’re going to show ourselves in a different light.”
Bobby Lashley reflects on the legacy of The Hurt Business
Bobby Lashley reflected on the impact of the original Hurt Business, saying it gave fans a new perspective on wrestlers. “I was having DMs from parents telling me, ‘My son is saying he wants to wear a suit. Nine years old.’ This was giving a different look for boys and girls like myself. They’re seeing us in a different light. It was a big deal, and it was a big deal because of who I was doing it with.”
“Shelton Benjamin has been on top of the business forever. Has he been treated that way and gotten his flowers the way he should’ve? Absolutely not, because he was very humble and giving. He’s great at what he does. Cedric, the same thing. He was amazing, and he didn’t have the opportunity to get as far as he could’ve. For me, I hadn’t won the world title yet. That’s where I needed to get. We all formed together to push each other. There was more behind that. How we carried ourselves, and the fans got behind us, it was a big deal.
Bobby Lashley says MJF is on a different path than The Hurt Syndicate
Bobby Lashley said he is very protective of the Hurt Syndicate. Over time, it became clear that MJF was focused on his own path. “I’m very protective of that. It got taken away from us very soon when we were doing the Hurt Business. Now, we’re the Hurt Syndicate. The core is here. Me, MVP, and Shelton. Cedric was core of the Hurt Business. Whoever we bring in, I’m going to be very protective of that core.”
“With that being said, with MJF, I gave him the thumbs down because if I don’t trust you, that’s a big deal for me. I didn’t trust him, bringing him in originally. Since we’ve gotten in, I see he’s focused on his own path. Instead of having to stay with us and now we’re all moving in different directions, I was like, ‘Just go on your own path.’ You go on your path and we’ll go on ours. We’ll both be super successful. He’s very successful in AEW and I have no ill will towards him. He’s amazing. We have a different path than he does.”
Although the storyline between MJF and The Hurt Syndicate was short-lived, reports reveal it was originally meant to run much longer. The change didn’t come from MVP but from another member of the faction.
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