WWE Raw: Breaking up The Hurt Business is NOT good business

Well, it finally happened, and this might be one of the worst booking decisions when we look back on 2021 for WWE depending on the next weeks and months play out.

The Hurt Business is no more as WWE Champion Bobby Lashley officially kicked out Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin on WWE Raw.

From Lashley’s perspective, I can see why he would kick them out in story: Alexander & Benjamin have basically been on a losing streak for two months or so. Not only did they lose the Tag Team Championship to The New Day (who are busy with game shows), but they lost clean in a handicap match to Drew McIntyre last week.

That loss was the last straw, prompting Lashley to dismiss them with some harsh words. He said the constant losing by Alexander & Benjamin was tarnishing his image (he’s right) and that he’s worked far too hard for far too long to be associated with incompetence.

That’s right, he didn’t call them bad; he called them incompetent. Maybe it’s just me, but incompetent just has a worse connotation than bad even though bad is, well, bad.

To their credit, Alexander & Benjamin didn’t take the dismissal meekly. Benjamin basically implied Lashley wouldn’t be WWE Champion without their help. He tried stepping to Lashley only for M.V.P. to intervene, leading to mayhem.

After their scuffle, the two dismissed members approached Adam Pearce and demanded singles matches against Lashley starting with Benjamin and then Alexander next week. In a nod to Pearce’s role on Smackdown, Alexander asked Pearce if he had match making powers or if he had to consult with Lashley first like he does Roman Reigns (nice dig from Alexander).

Unfortunately for Benjamin, while he had a good showing, he was utterly dominated by Lashley in a little over four minutes. I assume the same will hold true for Alexander next week, possibly in less time.

It’s just…literally, over the pandemic era, The Hurt Business has been one of the links holding the show together. It’s not just that there were four members, leading to any combination of two to four matches per show if necessary, but their presence brought an aura to Raw that few acts possess.

You just knew when you heard that imposing music, you were going to see four exquisitely dressed, accomplished, and confident men. Their confidence wasn’t arrogance, but one of just understanding that their skills were top tier.

Now, while Lashley & M.V.P. still have a definitive aura about them, it’s a bit diminished without Alexander & Benjamin flanking them as strong acts.

Further, The Hurt Business has been one of the few acts on Monday nights that fans actually want to see. Sure, maybe that means they’re veering too far toward the face side (and there are concerns if McIntyre or Lashley will be cheered in two weeks), but they were a reason fans kept coming back to watch what’s been a terrible show for months!

Some might argue they were the reason people wanted to watch Raw.

To the larger issue: what does this implosion actually achieve? If WWE needed Lashley to win some matches heading into the big show, why not use any of the wrestlers in the locker room that McIntyre barged into earlier in the night?

I’ve long been a proponent of keeping all members of The Hurt Business strong, on record on podcasts saying they should have been the Raw version of The Undisputed Era fulfilling the prophecy. Instead of being the best four-man faction in WWE probably since Evolution, just like that they’re done.

They were so close, too! At one point, Alexander & Benjamin held the Tag Team Championship while Lashley held the United States Championship. They should have just kept the Tag Team Championship on Alexander & Benjamin.

Think of how much more formidable Lashley (and THB by proxy) would seem while holding two of the three men’s championships on the show, including the top title. It would be very similar to Evolution, especially if M.V.P. were to recapture the championship with the most resonance to his career in the U.S. Championship.

On the bright side (there is one!), peep this promo from Alexander & Benjamin, a WWE Network Exclusive (are they going to be called peacock Exclusives soon?).

Benjamin has never been all that great on the mic, and Alexander has been prone to reaching his zenith in intensity too soon, leading to a good bit of yelling. However, both earlier in the night and with the above promo, they’ve shown growth (being with M.V.P. probably didn’t hurt).

Alexander is intense yet restrained. Benjamin is calm yet calculated. Benjamin placed the emphasis at exactly the right moment with his “son of a bitch” line. Alexander capped it with perfect facial reactions and intonation when he asked just how long Lashley would remain WWE Champion by himself when (in their eyes) they helped Lashley become WWE Champion in the first place.

Hopefully, the future is still bright for Alexander & Benjamin. Maybe they turn this into one of those “families have fights” angles and they reunite. Maybe it was a ruse the entire time to lull McIntyre into a false sense of security.

Unfortunately, I think we all know where this is most likely to end for Alexander & Benjamin: right back to the 24/7 Championship crew.

BIG sigh, indeed.