Another former WWE champion could soon jump to AEW.
And he might not make the leap alone.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio added some additional context to the rumors surrounding Bobby Lashley and Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP), two members of “The Hurt Business,” a once-popular faction in WWE.
“I know there is talk of them trying to get into AEW — it’s one of those things where technically nobody can talk to them, because I don’t believe either’s contracts has expired, but their contracts are going to expire and they are at this point, as things stand right now, WWE is under the assumption that they’re gone and that they are going to try and revamp ‘The Hurt Business,’ ” Meltzer said, as transcribed by Cageside Seats.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported Sunday that Lashley’s contract with WWE is set to expire soon. Subsequent reports shed more light on The Almighty’s potential plans should he leave the company, with MVP’s possible involvement being an interesting wrinkle.
“I don’t know if they’ll use that name or not,” Meltzer said of “The Hurt Business” stable moniker, per Cageside Seats. “I guess it depends on the ownership of the name. I think I saw MVP try to register to own the name, which would mean that they would maybe even try to use the name. But whatever it is, they want to get Shelton Benjamin, who’s also a free agent, and revamp the group in AEW. Whether this happens or not, I mean it depends on (AEW president) Tony Khan. But it’s definitely something that is under consideration. I don’t believe it’s a done deal or anything like that, but it is something that is alive.”
Lashley, in particular, has had a very successful run with WWE, even though he hasn’t appeared much recently on TV. He’s won a bunch of titles since debuting in 2005 and even has crossover appeal based on his foray into mixed martial arts.
Bringing back (and revamping?) “The Hurt Business” would be fascinating, if only to see how it would translate with the AEW audience — especially if the group is given more creative freedom outside of WWE.
