Cedric Alexander was a key a part of The Hurt Business in WWE but opted not to affix AEW and The Hurt Syndicate after his WWE release in 2025.
While many assumed that Alexander would reunite with MVP, Bobby Lashley, and Shelton Benjamin, he joined TNA and is the present X-Division Champion.
Chatting with “The A2theK Wrestling Show,” Alexander shared why he opted for TNA over AEW, admitting that he did take into consideration joining the Hurt Syndicate. He said,
“You understand, it was certainly one of the things, yes, people thought that was going to be the primary thought is ‘He’s going to leap ship to be back with the syndicate and The Hurt Business and stuff like that. And to be honest, it was a thought process for me too. I believed, as soon as I got released, that’s what I believed was going to find yourself happening.”
Despite speculation from fans, Alexander signed with TNA Wrestling, debuting in June 2025 in a program against fellow WWE alum Mustafa Ali.
For Alexander, concerns about feeling stuck in a ‘bubble’ just like the one he experienced in WWE kept him from AEW and into TNA. He said,
“The Lord works in mysterious ways and I used to be sent to TNA and I feel prefer it’s a way higher fit. I feel like I’m happier. I feel like if I were to go someplace else, I will not be as blissful.
“I will not be as free to precise myself and find a way to not only help the product, but help myself. I feel like I’d perhaps be stuck in a bubble. And you understand, I just got here out of a bubble. I don’t need to be stuck in a bubble. I would like to be at liberty.”
Alexander won the X-Division title in May 2026, ending Leon Slater’s record-tying 298-day reign, sooner or later in need of breaking the record.