The Hurt Syndicate is one of the most overacts currently in All Elite Wrestling. Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, and MVP started out hot, getting the placement and booking fans wanted to see when they were the Hurt Business in WWE. However, heading into AEW Revolution 2025, there’s rumbling that this tag team run isn’t the right move for such an important act.
The Hurt Syndicate versus The Outrunners is a match that should not happen, at least not at this time. Truth Magnum and Turbo Floyd are great acts. They fit in AEW and are another example of why this promotion is so important. AEW gives performers an opportunity that would typically not come in WWE, the largest promotion in the business.
These are all great things but still don’t justify why Benjamin and Lashley are in this particular match heading into AEW’s first PPV of the year. There’s a reason Lashley has never held tag team titles before this run. He’s a bigger act than this division, especially in AEW at this time. Tony Khan may be trying to revitalize the division, which makes sense, but Benjamin and Lashley aren’t the duo to carry that load; they are the duo to take the belts off the team that sparked the change. Which is what Private Party’s run should have been.
Lately, fans have showered Benjamin with praise for his contributions in professional wrestling. Deservedly so, as a 25-year veteran. Yet, slotting him right into the tag division doesn’t seem right. Imagine Benjamin as the Ring of Honor World Champion or battling Daniel Garcia for the TNT Championship. This should be a run where he’s getting more shine as a singles performer, not in a tag team.
The other side of this conversation points toward AEW’s stacked main event scene featuring several top names in the business. Yet, there’s still space for Lashley and Benjamin as individual performers. Lashley started in a hot feud against Swerve Strickland, but that came to an immediate halt after Lashley smashed Strickland, and the latter just moved on, which is not true to the character he portrays on screen.
Think about a potential feud between Kazuchika Okada and Bobby Lashley for the AEW Continental Classic. The ball hasn’t completely dropped, but fans should begin to question the long-term booking of The Hurt Syndicate. Just getting them on television every week is not enough.
The Hurt Syndicate versus The Outrunners should be absolute squash. That doesn’t seem to be the case heading into AEW Revolution, but fans will agree that Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin should be in bigger angles as singles performers.