Cedric Alexander On Why Heel Turn Was Necessary For Him In WWE, His Relationship With Shelton Benjamin

In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Cedric Alexander discussed his relationship with Shelton Benjamin, why a heel turn was necessary for him in WWE, and much more. Here are some of the highlights:

Cedric Alexander on turning heel and joining The Hurt Business was necessary for his character in WWE: “I needed a change of pace and the chance to let out a new side that people aren’t used to seeing. One of the things that made me love wrestling, in general, was my career in amateur wrestling in high school and college. Just being on the mat made me feel a type of aggression I wasn’t really able to produce in my regular life. Now, with the Hurt Business, this is my chance to let loose. Before, when I was frustrated, I couldn’t let it out. Sometimes being a bad dude just feels a lot better. I knew I needed this, and it feels good.”

On his feud with Ricochet: “I’d only worked with Ricochet two other times before this. A.J. Styles told me once, ‘You hit your friends hardest.’ I remember being in the ring with Ricochet right after the turn thinking, ‘I must really like him and he must really like me.’ I was trying to rip his head off and he had my jaw ready to fall off. We are very excited to have the ability to go out there and tell a complete story, and we have a lot of story left to tell.”

Cedric Alexander on his relationship with Shelton Benjamin: “I’ve known Shelton since the start of my career. I’ve known MVP and Bobby for years, too, and we’ve always been really cool and tight. So this is an opportunity to work with some of my best friends. When I started wrestling state-to-state on the East Coast, Shelton was just hitting the indies. I remember running into him 10 years ago at a show in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and he was wrestling Christopher Daniels that night. I remember he watched my match that night, and he was really impressed. Ever since, we kept tabs on each other.

“I’ve said numerous times that Shelton should have been a three- or four-time world champ by now. If I could, I’d work singles matches with him all day, every day for the rest of my career. He’s an opponent I get excited about wrestling. You just know it’s going to be good, and he’s always teaching. I’ll always learn something new, usually the small things that people overlook, those small nuances that can make you great.”