Shelton Benjamin

Shelton Benjamin
Benjamin at Supercard of Honor VII on April 5, 2013
Born (1975-07-09) July 9, 1975 (age 51)
Orangeburg, South Carolina
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Shelton Benjamin
Shelton X Benjamin
Billed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Billed weight248 lb (112 kg)
Billed fromOrangeburg, South Carolina
Trained byOhio Valley Wresting
Debut2000

Shelton James Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the stable The Hurt Syndicate and one-half of the AEW World Tag Team Champions along with Bobby Lashley.

He is best known for working with WWE, where he performed from 2000–2010 and from 2017–2023. He also wrestled for Ring of Honor from 2010 to 2013 and for New Japan Pro Wrestling under the ring name Shelton X Benjamin.

Career

Benjamin 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 WWE's main roster in 2002 and debuted on the SmackDown brand on December 26, 2002. During his early career in WWE, he, along with Charlie Haas formed Team Angle with Kurt Angle as their on-screen mentor. They began a feud with Chris Benoit. Benjamin and Haas 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.

In 2006, 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 insult 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 never returned to WWE.

In 2007, Benjamin started wearing gold attire and dyed his hair blond. He also began referring to himself as "The Gold Standard". He 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. 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. 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, so the team broke up.

On the July 20, 2020 episode of Raw, Benjamin officially joined MVP and Bobby Lashley's stable The Hurt Business. During his time with the stable, he would win the 24/7 Championship three times. 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. This made Benjamin a three-time Tag Team Champion in WWE. 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.

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. Shorty thereafter he was rejoined by Bobby Lashley to form the stable called the Hurt Syndicate. On the January 22, 2025 episode of Dynamite, Benjamin and Lashley defeated Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen) to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship, the first title in AEW for both men.

Championships and accomplishments

Track and field

  • National Junior College Athletic Association
    • Junior College 100 meter Champion

Amateur wrestling

Professional wrestling

Footnotes

  1. ↑ During his first two reigns the title was called "WWE Tag Team Championship" and was exclusive to SmackDown. His third reign happened when the title was exclusive to Raw and was renamed "WWE Raw Tag Team Championship".

References

  1. ↑ "WWE cuts six talent from roster on Thursday". WrestleView. Archived from the original on April 14, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ "Get live results from the two-night WWE Superstar Shake-up". WWE. Archived from the original on April 21, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ "Raw results, July 20, 2020". WWE. July 20, 2020. Archived from the original on July 21, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  6. ↑ "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.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ Jenkins, H. (September 21, 2023). "Shelton Benjamin Has Been Released From His WWE Contract". Ringside News. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Shelton Benjamin Makes AEW Debut At AEW Dynamite Fifth Anniversary". Fightful. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  10. ↑ Berge, Kevin. "AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From January 22". Bleacher Report. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  11. ↑ "GOPHERSPORTS.COM :: University of Minnesota Official Athletic Site :: Wrestling". Gophersports.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Solie's Title Histories: MWF - MILLENNIUM WRESTLING FEDERATION". www.solie.org. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  13. ↑ "OVW Southern Tag Team Championship history". Archived from the original on April 5, 2011.
  14. ↑ 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.
  15. ↑ "PWI Awards". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Kappa Publishing Group. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Top 500 for 2005". Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  17. ↑ 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.
  18. ↑ 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.
  19. ↑ "WWE 24/7 Championship". WWE. Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  20. ↑ "WWE United States Championship". Archived from the original on December 12, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Shelton Benjamin's first Intercontinental Championship reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012.
  22. ↑ "Shelton Benjamin's second Intercontinental Championship reign". Archived from the original on August 9, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Shelton Benjamin's third Intercontinental Championship reign". Archived from the original on April 19, 2007.
  24. ↑ "Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin's first WWE Tag Team Championship reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 28, 2012.
  25. ↑ "Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin's second WWE Tag Team Championship reign". Archived from the original on July 28, 2012.
  26. ↑ "2020 SLAMMY Award winners announced". WWE. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.

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