AEW star MVP breaks silence after wrestling first match in more than two years
AEW recently welcomed MVP to the roster, not long after his WWE contract expired. The veteran star was then joined by Shelton Benjamin, and they eventually called on Bobby Lashley to reunite The Hurt Syndicate. The fan-favorite faction has dominated ever since, and now MVP has issued a statement on his status and future following his first match in quite some time.
Montel Vontavious Porter went into this weekend with a bit of ring rust, as it had been more than 28 months since his last match. Airing on WWE RAW in July 2022, MVP and Omos lost to The Street Profits by DQ, just one month after MVP's squash win over Cedric Alexander. Porter went from wrestling a few dozen matches in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 to one dozen in 2021, half that in 2022, and none last year.
The Ballin' Superstar officially returned to the ring at Josh Barnett's Bloodsport XII, and with that came a much-needed recharge. MVP headlined Sunday's unique MMA-style wrestling event put on by GCW. The 51-year-old manager lost to Barnett via TKO in just over 13 minutes. He took to Instagram today to share a photo and message to fans.
"Thank you, @JoshLBarnett and GCW! Last night recharged my batteries. My 1st match in over 2 years, and you all made it special!" MVP wrote with the photo below.
You can check out the original tweet here.
MVP has not competed for AEW as of this writing, but he recently confirmed plans to wrestle for the promotion. NJPW's inaugural IWGP Intercontinental Champion also said he plans to eventually make his official retirement in AEW.
WWE, AEW, and TNA stars work GCW event
Game Changer Wrestling hosted Josh Barnett's Bloodsport XII event on Sunday at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, NJ. The event featured wrestlers from GCW, AEW, ROH, TNA, WWE NXT, and other promotions.
In addition to Barnett's win over All Elite Wrestling star MVP as the main event, rumored All Elite prospect Mike Bailey worked the co-main event, losing to TNA's Josh Alexander. AEW World Champion Jon Moxley was also present as he accompanied Marina Shafir to the ring for her win over Jody Threat. The TNA Knockouts World Championship was also defended on Sunday as Masha Slamovich retained over Lei Ying Lee.
WWE had several NXT talents on Sunday's GCW card. NXT's Karmen Petrovic defeated Sumie Sakai by TKO, and then Charlie Dempsey defeated Tracy Williams, but his NXT Heritage Cup Championship was not on the line. Dempsey was accompanied to the ring by Myles Borne, who later lost to NJPW's Royce Isaacs, while Dempsey was in his corner.