Veteran wrestling commentator TonySchiavone has seen wrestlers of all shapes, sizes, demeanors, and dispositions in his nearly 40 years in the business. On his "What Happened When?" podcast, Schiavone had high praise for one of AEW's newest signees, who's a seasoned veteran in his own right, calling him one of the "toughest men I've ever met in my life."
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"I have a lot of time for Shelton Benjamin,"Schiavone said."Not only as a wrestler, but as a human being. God, he's legit. The word was always that, when it comes right down to it, SheltonBenjamin's probably the toughest guy in wrestling. I've heard that for years. And after seeing him in the ring, Ican see why they say that." AEW signed the 49-year-old former WWE Intercontinental Champion in an effort to recapture the magic of his former stable, The Hurt Business. Now called The Hurt Syndicate, the faction is managed by MVP and includes WWE defector Bobby Lashley, who debuted on the October 30 "AEW Dynamite."
By forming the Hurt Syndicate, AEW owner Tony Khan has seemingly responded to fans who believed its former WWE version, The Hurt Business, was written off prematurely. MVP reportedly lobbied WWE to reform the group, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Benjamin spent most of his career in WWE, from 2000 to 2010, and again from 2017 to 2023. He first appeared with AEW on "Dynamite"'s fifth anniversary show. The following week at WrestleDream, Benjamin and MVP attempted to recruit Swerve Strickland, which was unsuccessful, igniting a feud between Strickland and The Hurt Syndicate. In the time since,Benjamin has picked up two wins in AEW, against Lio Rush and Sammy Guevara, but lost to the group's nemesis Strickland on October's "Fright Night Dynamite."
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