The 6 WWE heroes of the Pandemic Era
WWE had a difficult challenge ahead of them when the global pandemic took hold and forced them to discontinue live events. Having to film their television and then WrestleMania 36 from the Performance Center was a huge hurdle for them to overcome. Superstars would have to push themselves like never before without the WWE Universe watching them live.
The transition from the Performance Center to the WWE ThunderDome helped alleviate some of the stress for the entire company. With the state-of-the-art arena, it added a new element and was a wonderful presentation that helped improve their weekly product. However, it was all on the performers who stepped up during this trying time and overachieved during this period.
For 16 months, the men and women of the WWE were able to perform at a peak level and achieve great things during the hardest period in company history. In this article, let's take a look at the six WWE heroes of the pandemic era.
#6 MVP - WWE RAW
MVP made his return to WWE at the Royal Rumble 2020. What was supposed to be a short-term stint in the company has gone on for over 18 months now. The former United States Champion was used to elevate Drew McIntyre on the road to WrestleMania 36, but he found a real role when he aligned himself with Bobby Lashley following The Grandest Stage of Them All.
MVP brought a new fire out of Lashley and separated him from his ex-wife Lana. This led to Lashley getting a WWE Championship shot at Backlash, which he came up short in. However, this was just the start of more opportunities for The All Mighty and others in the company.
Bobby Lashley went on a run of wins following his WWE Championship loss. This got the attention of Shelton Benjamin, who saw the impact that MVP had on Lashley's career. He quickly aligned himself with both men. The group became known as The Hurt Business and targeted United States Champion Apollo Crews. MVP helped Crews get some TV time and gave way to a brand new US Title.
At Payback 2020, Bobby Lashley defeated Apollo Crews to win the United States Championship. Following this victory, Cedric Alexander joined The Hurt Business, making them one of the dominant stables in WWE. Alexander and Benjamin would defeat The New Day to win the RAW Tag Team Championships at TLC 2020.
Upon losing the United States gold, Lashley set his sights on the top prize on RAW. Lashley would defeat The Miz on the March 1st edition of the Red brand to win the WWE Championship. This gave The Hurt Business all the gold and made them even more formidable.
In addition to his own group, MVP brought new focus to stars like Ricochet and Kofi Kingston along the way. His impact across many different superstars is why he has become a key contributor.