In a jaw-dropping twist that’ll have Swerve Strickland reconsidering all his life choices, Bobby Lashley bulldozed his way into AEW after the main event on Dynamite Wednesday night. With Shelton Benjamin already on board, Lashley’s arrival hints at a full-blown Hurt Syndicate reunion, ready to make waves and possibly terrify every tag team in sight.
The night’s main event pitted Strickland against Benjamin in what was supposed to be a straightforward grudge match—no MVP interference, no legendary WWE wrecking machines dropping by unannounced. Strickland, fresh off a loss from another AEW brutality special against Hangman Page, started strong, hitting moves left and right, including his House Call kick and a daring 450 Splash. But Benjamin, who clearly didn’t get the memo about “straightforward” wrestling, answered every move with a counter, making it clear that MVP’s latest recruit still had a few tricks up his sleeve.
Finally, Strickland scored a hard-fought win with a Swerve Stomp—but there wasn’t much time to celebrate. MVP, with a devious gleam, made a phone call mid-ring, and with a few flickering lights, the ominous strains of Lashley’s theme music filled the arena. The All Mighty arrived, glaring at Strickland with a look that said, “You could have joined us, but you chose Prince Nana.”
In a sequence of organized chaos, Benjamin and Lashley closed in on Strickland, with MVP choking out Nana for good measure. Lashley then clamped Strickland in his famous full nelson, squeezing so hard that even the ringside EMTs looked nervous. Strickland passed out, the refs scrambled in, and MVP sent a message to everyone watching: “Guess who’s back in business?”
Looks like AEW just got Hurt.