MVP Recalls Connecting With Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin, Hurt Syndicate’s Origin

MVP recently looked back at the early origins of the Hurt Syndicate and his connections with Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley. The AEW star spoke about the group’s pre-launch origins in an interview with the F Y’all Podcast, and you can see highlights below (h/t to Wrestling Inc):

On the early origins of the group: “So when I left WWE, I asked for my release, cause I just wasn’t enjoying wrestling anymore and I wanted to go wrestle in Japan because that was always my dream to wrestle in Japan. WWE was my goal. Japan was my dream, and when I was over there they told me, ‘hey man you need a tag team partner,’ … so I called Shelton, I said ‘man you want to come wrestle in Japan be my tag team partner,’ he’s like ‘yeah sign me up.'”

On going to TNA and connecting with Bobby Lashley: “I went to Impact and I was supposed to win the Impact World Heavyweight Title, but I was in England on an independent show and I blew out my knee. So they came up with this idea, ‘Do you know Bobby Lashley,’ I said ‘yeah he’s a good friend of mine.’ ‘So how do you feel about us bringing him in where you bring him in to be your ringer and he competes for you and he wins the title?’ I said ‘let’s do it.'”

On the group forming in WWE after the 2020 Royal Rumble: “I got a text message, ‘You’ve been released from your contract.’ Then I got a text message on Friday that they needed me at TV on Monday. So I said, ‘I think you guys made a mistake’ … Paul Heyman, he’s the reason that I was able to come back, cause he set everything up. So in summation, initially it was Bobby’s idea and then Bobby and Shelton were talking about it and they said, ‘No, MVP’s that guy,’ and it came together. And the reason it works is because it’s organic. Like I said, I gave you that background, these guys are my friends, they’re my brothers. We made money in different companies all around the world. We really hang out, we train together, we eat together. So it’s not a group with just two random guys.”