AEW Star MVP Reflects On Injury That Canceled Plans For Impact World Title Win

While younger fans might only know MVP as the man tasked with leading the likes of Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin to gold in WWE and AEW, those who have followed his career for many years will recall a time where MVP was not only a fierce competitor, but world champion material. Back in 2014, there were a number of reports circulating that MVP was supposed to be the man to dethrone Eric Young as the Impact Wrestling World Champion, but due to a knee injury, those plans were scrapped. MVP recently opened up about this period of his career on the "Marking Out" podcast and how he got injured.

"I was slated to win the Impact Heavyweight Championship. I went over to the UK to do an indie loop, and the craziest thing in the world, it was a tag match. I hit the ropes and I was running my knee just went out. I didn't do anything, nobody did anything to me, it was the weirdest thing ever. I just felt my knee go out, it just hurt and wasn't working, and I fell, I rolled out to the floor, and I tried to get up and I couldn't stand, and I was like 'Oh man I'm hurt.' Like 'No, I'm not hurt, I'm injured.' Like I couldn't walk, and I told the ref 'hey tell the boys to call an audible, I can't walk.'"

The match in question was the main event of PCW's "Supershow 4" in May 2014, where MVP and Joey Hayes were defeated by Kris Travis and Danny Hope, with MVP tearing his meniscus. MVP did hope to be healthy enough to wrestle at Impact's Slammiversary event, but it wasn't to be. However, he did end up having fun with former WWE Superstar Chris Masters, with "The Masterpiece" pushing him around in a wheelchair throughout Europe looking for places to chill and smoke.

As fate would have it, when MVP got back to the United States, Impact were already working on a replacement that could potentially tie-in to his injury, someone who MVP knew, and still knows, very well. "They asked me 'What's your relationship with Bobby Lashley?' I said 'Man that's my boy we were tight, we're cool.' They asked 'What would say if we brought him in and we do angle where you brought him in as your stand-in and he wins the title?' And I was like 'I'm with it let's go.'"

Given the nature of the injury, many people thought that MVP might have missed his final chance to win a major world title. However, due to who was being drafted in to replace him, MVP did the one thing that he has since prided himself on in recent years, doing business. "When people asked me like 'Man how do you feel? Man that was your chance to be the guy, to win the title,' I'm not bothered by it at all because, again, from a business standpoint, it worked out way better that way. I mean yeah, I could have had the title and it would have been me and Kenny King, but then you wouldn't have had that run with me, Kenny, and Bobby."

MVP's meniscus would eventually heal, and while he never ended up winning the Impact World Championship, his relationship with Lashley would become one of the strongest in all of wrestling. MVP and Lashley are still extremely close to this day, and as part of The Hurt Syndicate with Shelton Benjamin and MJF in AEW, they are still doing business their way, all thanks to a knee injury at an indie show in the UK.

Please credit "Marking Out" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.