Every Version Of Shelton Benjamin, Ranked
Since joining The Hurt Business earlier this year, Shelton Benjamin has seen a bit of a career resurgence, capturing the 24/7 Title in the spring, and recently becoming half of the RAW Tag Team Champions. But although he is one of the most athletically-gifted superstars that wrestling has ever seen, it seems he is one who has never been able to get to the main event level.
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While some of this can be blamed on a perceived lack of skills on the microphone, Benjamin has also been subjected to some questionable booking decisions and silly storylines. At the same time, he has often risen above these obstacles and has been given a chance to really shine as a competitor.
8 MANAGED BY MOMMA BENJAMIN
In early 2006, WWE decided Shelton Benjamin needed something to spice up his character. Was it new music? A flashy new finisher? No, it was a comedian (Thea Vidale) portraying his 'momma.' Igorning the stereotypes, which were lame by 2006 standards, cringeworthy in 2021, it made Shelton look like a joke. So naturally, he beat Ric Flair for the Intercontinental Title in February 2006.
7 WWE RETURN 2017-2019
When WWE decided to bring the brand split back in mid-2016, there was plenty of rumors abound on who would be returning to the company. Benjamin was originally scheduled to return to SmackDown in August 2016, but he tore his rotator cuff.
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He would start teaming with Chad Gable in 2017. After that, he basically wrestled a handful of matches in 2018 and 2019 without any storylines.
6 THE HURT BUSINESS
The Hurt Business has been one of the most pushed acts on RAW throughout 2020, and it has allowed Benjamin to find a regular role, winning the 24/7 Title without being damaged too much, and helping out in the feud against Retribution. He is currently one half of the RAW Tag Team Champions with Cedric Alexander. However, there is already tension between the tag champs.
5 THE GOLD STANDARD
In 2007, Shelton Benjamin started sporting nearly platinum blonde hair, and calling himself "The Gold Standard."
This part of Benjamin's career was actually pretty successful for him, as he split his time between the new version of ECW and SmackDown, winning the US Title from Matt Hardy and holding it for several months. He was eventually released in April 2010.
4 RING OF HONOR
In early 2010, Benjamin was released from WWE in the then-annual post-WrestleMania contract purge the company usually went on. In addition to other indies, he resurfaced in Ring of Honor (ROH) with former partner Charlie Haas.
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During the time, the duo won the ROH World Tag Team Championship twice, facing teams such as The Kings of Wrestling and The Briscoe Brothers. Haas eventually turned on Benjamin, but both men left ROH before they could face off one-on-one.
3 NEW JAPAN
In late-2011, Benjamin made his debut with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he first teamed with MVP as 'Black Dynamite.' They competed in the 2012 World Tag League tournament but didn't win. He also faced off against Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship and was in the 2012 and 2014 G1 Climax tournaments.
2 THE WORLD'S GREATEST TAG TEAM
In the storyline, Benajmin and Haas were introduced as proteges/backup for Kurt Angle by his then manager Paul Heyman. First known as Team Angle, and then The World's Greatest Tag Team, they had a great run of tag matches from 2003 to 2004 with matches against The Guerreros, Rey Mysterio, and Billy Kidman, and others.
After they broke up in the 2004 WWE Draft, they would reunite in late 2006 and would have a series of great, but forgotten matches with The Hardy Boyz before being separated when Benjamin went to ECW.
1 FIRST BABYFACE RUN/INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION
When he moved to RAW in 2004 and turned babyface, Shelton Benjamin was immediately given three straight victories over Triple H and was shown teaming with superstars such as Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit, and Mick Foley. He later won the Intercontinental Title from Chris Jericho, holding it for 244 days with defenses against Y2J, Maven, and Christian. After his title loss, it ended basically the biggest push he ever got in WWE.
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