Shelton Benjamin
Shelton James Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
Shelton Benjamin | |
---|---|
Born | Orangeburg, South Carolina | July 9, 1975
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Shelton Benjamin Shelton X Benjamin |
Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
Billed weight | 248 lb (112 kg) |
Billed from | Orangeburg, South Carolina |
Trained by | Ohio Valley Wresting |
Debut | 2000 |
He is best known for working with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and has also worked for Ring of Honor from 2010 to 2013. He also wrestled for New Japan Pro Wrestling under the ring name Shelton X Benjamin.
Career
changeBenjamin started his career in Ohio Valley Wrestling and stay with them from 2000 to 2002. During his time there he won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship three times with Brock Lesnar and one time with Redd Dogg.
He was called up to the WWE in 2002 and debuted on the WWE SmackDown roster on December 26, 2002. During his early career in the WWE, he, along with Charlie Haas formed Team Angle with Kurt Angle as their on-screen mentor. They began a feud with Chris Benoit. They became two-time WWE Tag Team Championship twice. Benjamin then was drafted to Raw and won the WWE Intercontinental Championship after he defeated then-champion Chris Jericho at the 2004 Taboo Tuesday.
He was part of a storyline where he was on a losing streak for many weeks which led his "momma" (played by actress Thea Vidale) to come to Raw to scold him. She assisted him in matches and sometimes interfered in them. She was taken off television when she was (kayfabe) undergoing heart surgery in the hospital and wouldn't be returning to the WWE.
In 2007, he started wearing gold attire and dyed his hair blond. He also began referring to himself as "The Gold Standard". Benjamin won the WWE United States Championship after he defeated then-champion Matt Hardy at the 2008 Great American Bash. Benjamin was released from the WWE on April 22, 2010 along with Jimmy Wang Yang, Kung Fu Naki, Slam Master J, Mickie James and Katie Lea Burchill.[1] He then wrestled on the Independent circuit, for Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
On August 17, 2017, Benjamin officially re-signed with WWE.[2] He returned on the August 22 episode of SmackDown and was put in a tag team with Chad Gable. During the 2018 WWE Superstar Shake-up in April, Gable was traded to Raw, disbanding the team.[3]
On the July 20 episode of Raw, Benjamin officially joined MVP and Bobby Lashley's stable The Hurt Business.[4] During his time with the stable, he would win the 24/7 Championship three times.[5][6] On December 20, at TLC, Benjamin and Cedric Alexander (who also joined The Hurt Business) defeated The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) to win the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship.[7] This made Benjamin a three-time (Raw) Tag Team Champion. They lost the titles back to Kingston and Woods on the March 15 episode of Raw. Benjamin was released from his WWE contract on September 21, 2023.[8]
On the October 2, 2024 episode of Dynamite, Benjamin made his All Elite Wrestling (AEW) debut. He was introduced as a business partner by MVP.[9]
Championships and accomplishments
changeTrack and field
change- National Junior College Athletic Association
- Junior College 100 meter Champion
Amateur wrestling
change- National Junior College Athletic Association
- Junior College National Wrestling Champion
- National Collegiate Athletic Association
- All-American (1997, 1998)[10]
Professional wrestling
change- Millennium Wrestling Federation
- MWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[11]
- Ohio Valley Wrestling
- OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Brock Lesnar (3) and Redd Dogg (1)[12]
- Danny Davis Invitational Tag Team Tournament (2015) – with Charlie Haas[13]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Tag Team of the Year (2003) with Charlie Haas[14]
- Ranked No. 9 of the 500 top wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2005[15]
- Ring of Honor
- ROH World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Charlie Haas
- World Wrestling Council
- WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[16]
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Most Underrated (2005–2007)[17]
- WWE/World Wrestling Entertainment
- WWE 24/7 Championship (3 times)[18]
- WWE United States Championship (1 time[19]
- WWE Intercontinental Championship (3 times)[20][21][22]
- WWE (Raw) Tag Team Championship[a] (3 times) – with Charlie Haas (2), and Cedric Alexander (1)[23][24]
- Slammy Award (1 time)
- Trash Talker of the Year (2020) as The Hurt Business, shared with Lacey Evans[25]
Footnotes
changeReferences
change- ↑ "WWE cuts six talent from roster on Thursday". WrestleView. Archived from the original on April 14, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
- ↑ Johnson, Mike (August 17, 2017). "Former WWE Intercontinental Champion signs to return to WWE". Pro Wrestling Insider. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
- ↑ "Get live results from the two-night WWE Superstar Shake-up". WWE. Archived from the original on April 21, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ↑ Tees, David. "WWE Raw 7/20/20 Results: An Unsanctioned Match, Mustafa Ali Returns & Sane vs. Bayley". Fightful. Archived from the original on July 21, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ↑ "Raw results, July 20, 2020". WWE. July 20, 2020. Archived from the original on July 21, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ↑ "Mustafa Ali Returns On WWE Raw, Shelton Benjamin Joins The Hurt Business". Fightful. Archived from the original on July 21, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
- ↑ Powell, Jason (December 20, 2020). "WWE TLC results: Powell's review of Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens in a TLC match for the WWE Universal Championship, Drew McIntyre vs. AJ Styles in a TLC match for the WWE Championship, The Fiend vs. Randy Orton in a Firefly Inferno Match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
- ↑ Jenkins, H. (September 21, 2023). "Shelton Benjamin Has Been Released From His WWE Contract". Ringside News. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
- ↑ "Shelton Benjamin Makes AEW Debut At AEW Dynamite Fifth Anniversary". Fightful. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
- ↑ "GOPHERSPORTS.COM :: University of Minnesota Official Athletic Site :: Wrestling". Gophersports.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
- ↑ "Solie's Title Histories: MWF - MILLENNIUM WRESTLING FEDERATION". www.solie.org. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
- ↑ "OVW Southern Tag Team Championship history". Archived from the original on April 5, 2011.
- ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "OVW Brews & Bruises « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". Cagematch.net. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
- ↑ "PWI Awards". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Kappa Publishing Group. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
- ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Top 500 for 2005". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
- ↑ Pineiro, Anthony (August 1, 2010). "Resultados "La Revolución": Shelton Benjamin nuevo Campeón Universal – Gilbert aparece y le causa la derrota a Ray González – Carlito supera la prueba del Vampiro Canadiense". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 3, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
- ↑ Meltzer, Dave (January 26, 2011). "Biggest issue of the year: The 2011 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, CA: 1–40. ISSN 1083-9593.
- ↑ "WWE 24/7 Championship". WWE. Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ↑ "WWE United States Championship". Archived from the original on December 12, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ↑ "Shelton Benjamin's first Intercontinental Championship reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012.
- ↑ "Shelton Benjamin's second Intercontinental Championship reign". Archived from the original on August 9, 2012.
- ↑ "Shelton Benjamin's third Intercontinental Championship reign". Archived from the original on April 19, 2007.
- ↑ "Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin's first WWE Tag Team Championship reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 28, 2012.
- ↑ "Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin's second WWE Tag Team Championship reign". Archived from the original on July 28, 2012.
- ↑ "2020 SLAMMY Award winners announced". WWE. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
Other websites
change- Official website Archived 2011-04-30 at the Wayback Machine
- Shelton Benjamin on New Japan Pro Wrestling
- Shelton Benjamin on WWE.com