New Trademark Filing Indicates Hurt Business Reunion Outside Of WWE

A new trademark filing lends to the belief that The Hurt Business is due to reunite outside of WWE. Two of the three original members of the faction, Bobby Lashley and MVP, have been the center of speculation after it emerged they were likely to leave the company at the end of their deals, joining Shelton Benjamin in free agency after his 2023 release.

Per USPTO, a trademark filing was registered on August 14 for "The Hurt Syndicate" pertaining to merchandise. The company filing for the trademark, Totally Harmless Concept LLC, previously filed for trademarks on "MVP" and "Ghetto Strong Style" in September 2013, the latter of which being MVP's moniker while wrestling in NJPW. Though they have both been abandoned in the years since. 

MVP and Lashley's WWE contracts were reportedly up some time in the summer, and they were further moved to the Alumni section on WWE's website this past week to effectively confirm their departures. Neither had been used extensively since Triple H assumed creative control of WWE, with MVP last seen on "WWE SmackDown" prior to WrestleMania 40 in April alongside his managerial client, Omos, and Lashley last wrestling at a live event in May. It could be said that the writing on the wall was clear for weeks, with MVP publicly addressing Triple H's refusal to reunite The Hurt Business by clearly indicating racism was a factor. Instead, Lashley had been aligned with The Street Profits to become The Pride, picking up a win against The Final Testament at WrestleMania in their last moment of significance.