Swerve Strickland Reportedly Planned To Get Win Back Over Bobby Lashley In 2024

More has emerged on The Hurt Syndicate’s initial AEW run.

Of late, there has been talk online regarding the status of The Hurt Syndicate in AEW. Since losing the World Tag Team Championships, the group’s appearances have been inconsistent, with speculation persisting around the faction not wanting to lose certain matches during their first year with the promotion. Now, an update has emerged on plans that got continually delayed, and a roadblock with regard to Lashley and Benjamin’s title reign.

According to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it’s believed Swerve Strickland was meant to even the score with Bobby Lashley having initially lost to the former WWE Champion at Full Gear 2024. Also, it’s believed The Hurt Syndicate didn’t agree with an idea for them to lose their gold to FTR.

“We were told from the start that Strickland would eventually beat him (Bobby Lashley) back but then the program ended and they never went back to it. Then we were told it would happen a few months later. It made perfect sense for Lashley to beat Strickland to set up a title match, but we also had no title match. Strickland ended up back in the title picture and never got his win back. Then it never happened so it made no sense in hindsight since Strickland is still a top guy and Lashley is never used and also hasn’t lost a singles match. They did make it clear they wouldn’t drop the tag titles to FTR, and when they did drop them they didn’t lose a pin and it was turned into a three-way with Brodido.”

-Dave Meltzer

It’s important to note that MVP himself has entirely refuted these reports via social media, and even noted some time back that both he and Shelton Benjamin have signed extensions with AEW. However, many will still be wondering what happens next with them, given the sporadic nature of their appearances.

They were last seen at AEW All In: London, where they had a pre-show tag team match with Boom and Doom against Shane Taylor Promotions, though there was no follow up. However, they have now officially been confirmed for AEW Collision on Saturday, which could be considered a restart for the group. What the future holds for The Hurt Syndicate, though, remains to be seen.

For more AEW news, you can click here.

As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on The Hurt Syndicate as soon as we hear more.