Bobby Lashley is reportedly dealing with a legitimate and significant injury that will keep him out of action for the foreseeable future. The news was first broken on AEW Collision: Winter is Coming by his Hurt Syndicate stablemate, MVP, and later elaborated upon by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
According to Meltzer, the specifics of the injury have not been disclosed, but the situation is serious enough to sideline the former World Champion for “at least for a while.”
“MVP noted on Collision that Bobby Lashley was injured. The only thing we know is the injury is legit and it’s significant,” Meltzer reported. “But the actual injury hasn’t been disclosed. He’s not going to be around at least for a while and Shelton Benjamin will be working singles for now unless they add a new team member.”
This update aligns with a report from Fightful Select, which confirmed the injury is legitimate and noted that Lashley is expected “to miss quite a bit of time.” Lashley has been absent from AEW programming since Full Gear 2025, where he competed in the Casino Gauntlet match but failed to capture the AEW National Championship, which was won by Ricochet.
In Lashley’s absence, Shelton Benjamin is pivoting to singles competition. He competed in the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royale on the Holiday Bash edition of Dynamite, but was eliminated by Josh Alexander. Ricochet and Bandido were the final two survivors and will face off next week for the ring.
The injury is a significant blow to The Hurt Syndicate, which has been a dominant force since Lashley’s arrival in October 2024. Lashley and Benjamin enjoyed a 214-day reign as AEW World Tag Team Champions earlier this year before dropping the titles.
