Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin are once again at the center of a growing fan backlash after the August 22 edition of Collision, taped in Reading, Pennsylvania.
The Hurt Syndicate members teamed with ROH Pure Champion Lee Moriarty to take on Ryan O’Neill, Nic Nolan, and Matt Mako. Lashley and Benjamin dominated the opposition, left the ring before the finish, and let Moriarty submit Mako with the Border City Stretch.
The frustration from a vocal portion of the fanbase is that yet another dominant squash did nothing to move Lashley and Benjamin forward.
“Someone please tell me why the only thing AEW has for The Hurt Syndicate — Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin is for them to squash jobbers. These two legends deserve more, man.”
Another fan was even more blunt:
“I hate how little I care about The Hurt Syndicate these days. I wish Shelton Benjamin was doing something of substance.”
Fans also pointed to All In: London, scheduled for August 30 at Wembley Stadium:
“All In is in 8 days and The Hurt Syndicate are running squash matches. Where’s the outrage from MVP? Funny how that works. #AEWCollision”
This isn’t a new development. On August 15, Lashley and Benjamin joined Shane Taylor and Moriarty in another lopsided match against Sonico, Juli Montaña, Ro Montaña, and Jake Redondo. Once again, both left the ring before the finish.
In April, Lashley and Benjamin teamed with Chris Jericho to face The Demand and lost the match on Collision.
The lack of direction stands out given where the team was earlier this year. Lashley and Benjamin captured the AEW World Tag Team Championship on January 22, 2025 and held the titles for 214 days before dropping them to Brodido at Forbidden Door.
As of the latest card update, neither Lashley nor Benjamin was announced for a match at Wembley.