MVP has revealed that he will be a part of AEW for the foreseeable future.
Speaking with Adventure Gamers for an interview, Montel Vontavious Porter thanked Tony Khan while also confirming that he will remain All Elite “for quite a while” as both a manager and as an active performer:
I do want to say this. I want to say thank you to Tony Khan, because recently I signed an extension and I’ll be with AEW for quite a while in my current capacity and hopefully beyond in a managerial capacity and to whatever extent, possibly behind the scenes. I’m very happy where I’m at right now in my career at this stage to be able to continue to contribute to the business and make money with my friends and entertain at the level that we’re still able to maintain. I appreciate Tony Khan for giving me, Bobby and Shelton an opportunity to get the team back together for a final run and the future looks bright.
Although MVP has predominantly been the mouthpiece for The Hurt Syndicate Faction, which also includes Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin as members, the veteran has also had a handful of matches while in the promotion, which recently included an opportunity at The Opps’ Trios Championships. While Lashley and Benjamin are former Tag Team Champions in the promotion, Montel Vontavious Porter is yet to hold gold.
When Did MVP Join AEW?
Following his and Bobby Lashley’s WWE depature in the summer of 2024, which saw both men choose to not renew their contracts, MVP made his shock arrival in All Elite Wrestling at the Grand Slam special, interrupting Prince Nana. As fans were aware that Lashley and Benjamin were also free agents, it was only a mater of time before the group got back together.
The other member of the original Hurt Business, Cedric Alexander, has since gone on to sign with TNA. Also in the interview, MVP was asked about the possibility of adding another member into the faction:
We’re open to it. It’s something that we want to do. I don’t know what’s going on and it’s above my pay grade, but we’d love to have Cedric Alexander back. But that’s above my pay grade. But if Cedric’s not available, or for some reason we can’t have Cedric, there are a few other guys that we’ve talked about amongst ourselves that we’d like to have. But the issue with The Hurt Syndicate is that our relationship is organic. We weren’t just three random guys that were thrown together and had to learn to get along. We’re three guys that are legitimate friends that actually hang out away from work. We train together, we go to events together. We’re actually friends, so you can’t just throw some random guy with us that we don’t vibe with because then that throws off the whole group. It’s not organic and it comes across as such. So we would like it if at some point when a new member is added that we have some input into who that person is because we don’t want to throw off the chemistry of the group. It’s got to be an organic fit so that that younger person, whomever it may be, can vibe with us, learn from us, grow with us, and we can have a relationship. Because after every show, me, Shelton and Bobby go somewhere and we get something to eat and we talk about what happened that night, we’ll find a nice steakhouse and we’ll get some nice steaks and I’ll sip on some Macallen 18 or something, and then Shelton will sip on his Sprite and Bobby will drink his water. You don’t get a physique like Bobby and Shelton by drinking anything but water! Bobby will have a drink on occasion, but he’s not a drinker. Shelton, he doesn’t drink at all. Nothing. Not a drop. He drinks Sprite by the gallon. Sprite and Lemonade. That’s why I laugh, I see sometimes in comments or some of the talent going against us in promos will call us old and talk about how old we are. Dude, I can literally be your dad, but I’m more fit than you. I can beat your ass into a coma if I wanted to. There’s nothing you can do about it. So if you are calling me old and you don’t look half as good as I do, and I’m twice your age, what’s your problem? The fact that we’re all where we’re at, and we can still go the way we do. And like I said, Bobby and Shelton, they look better now than they did 10 years ago. I laugh at the old comments because yeah, I’m a grey beard, but you should be aware of an old man in a game where men die young.
Featured image: AEW
