Shelton Benjamin... what happened?

[Kaze Enigma]

I was watching on old Goldrush tournament match between shelton and hbk and i dont think shelton has had a better match since that time.

What happened to him since then?

heres the link to the match in case you need a refresser. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1vmy3_hbk-v-shelton-benjamin-gold-rush-ra_shortfilms

[justinsayne]

Simple, he stopped having matches with HBK, and started relying on high risk spots to get him over rather than charisma (which he lacks), ring psychology, or storytelling, the guy can't cut a promo worth a shit and botches about every other move he does, there is nothing special about Butterfingers Benjamin, nothing special at all, the reason the match with HBK was so good was because it was with HBK, the guy also managed to drag a decent match out of Chris Masters as well, HBK is one of the few guys who can drag good matches out of just about anyone he gets in the ring with

[TL]

It's called Shelton Benjamin being content with where he's at. He's happy with being a US Champion and if he ever wanted to be pushed to the moon, he'd get it. Why? He can flat out wrestle, work the mic a little bit, and can draw some good heat, too. He was partners with Brock Lesnar as part of the Minnesota Stretching Crew in the OVW. Youtube some of those matches. Seeing those two freaks as a tag team would be scary as all hell these days.

And...he even help make Haas passable as a character when they were the World's Greatest Tag Team and with Team Angle.

He's content. That's what happened.

[Kaze Enigma]

Simple, he stopped having matches with HBK, and started relying on high risk spots to get him over rather than charisma (which he lacks), ring psychology, or storytelling, the guy can't cut a promo worth a shit and botches about every other move he does, there is nothing special about Butterfingers Benjamin, nothing special at all, the reason the match with HBK was so good was because it was with HBK, the guy also managed to drag a decent match out of Chris Masters as well, HBK is one of the few guys who can drag good matches out of just about anyone he gets in the ring with

Did you actually watch the match? Shelton was carying HBK all the way through it. And if shelton has no ring psychology then why does he all ways do incredble things in the ring(im not talking about his spots either).

[justinsayne]

Did you actually watch the match?

Yes, I seen the match plenty of times it's one of Sheltons few good matches as a singles guy

Shelton was carying HBK all the way through it.

:lmao::lol::lmao:, that may be one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read in my life, clearly you are a biases Benjamin fan, perhaps you need to go back and re-watch the match...

And if shelton has no ring psychology then why does he all ways do incredble things in the ring(im not talking about his spots either).

Like what?!, do you even know what ring psychology even is?, seriously please name one incredible thing Shelton has ever done that was not a spot

[JuviJuiceIsLoose]

Um, he just came off of being U.S. Champion for 8 months. Pretty much the longest reign of any champion in the WWE for the entire year.

People who say that he's only good in matches with crazy spots like Money In the Bank aren't paying attention, or they're lying.

He's had plenty of really good matches over the past year.

The match against Matt Hardy were he won the U.S. Title was a really good match.

As was his short feud with the Undertaker leading up the Royal Rumble.

He also had a good match against Triple H.

Of course his rivalry with MVP was great.

I read that Vince was really pleased with his U.S. Title Reign.

Which means that Vince thought he made the most out of the time he was given.

I can guarantee that he'll be contending for a title wherever he goes in the Draft.

The biggest difference between that Shelton and Shelton now is that Shelton was a face, and it was easier for him to get noticed. Because he was in matches with HBK, and feuding with Evolution.

Like the poster above me said. Shelton is content with his position. He's not raising hell backstage. He's not badmouthing people like Triple H who can hurt his career. He hasn't been suspended, or been in any trouble of any kind. He's been a model citizen since his little rift with that Road Agent.

It also seems that Vince looks at Shelton to be the Role Model to the rest of the Black Wrestlers in the Locker Room for some reason. When MVP got into trouble with his lack of professionalism. Vince told him to be more like Shelton. The same with R-Truth.

I think Vince is high on him, because he always seems to have gold around his waist. Probably the reason why Shelton isn't a Main Eventer, is because he doesn't want to be. Which worrys me, because I believe that EVERY wrestler should want to be a Main Eventer.

[JGalaxtic]

I'd have to say Shelton is one of my favorites out of all the rosters at the moment. He's full of potential - capable of putting on good spots and thrilling matches - and positive that WWE wants to shape him out to be a world champion - that is if he snaps out of whatever funk and realizes that all he needs to do is give alittle more and he'll be able to reach for any star he wants. His gimmick is absolutely brutal - Golden Standard - I think its about time we have another african american world champion - when was the last? Booker T? it'd really bring in the african american crowd to WWE.

[GameOver]

He is a top notch performer but lacks passion and seems happy to stay in midcard status. He has the US/IC title around his waist fairly often but thats just a reason to keep him near the upper tier, there will come a point where WWE will say stuff it we've done all we can, if he doesn't want to take that extra step he can wollow in misery.

Can ya remember when he first went singles and moved to Raw, he beat Triple H 3 times in a row, they threw a huge bone to him and nothing came of it.

[stillboy21]

I hate the Gold Standard persona he's gotten but I'm still a big fan. I would actually like to see him wrestle Swagger in that amuteur wrestling only stipulation Swagger put on Dreamer. Shelton would undoubtedly be ECW champ then. Shelton was the one that finally ended Kofi Kingston's undefeated streak too. The thing about the top stars is that WWE is the majority of their lives, they base their priorities around the bussiness and put their whole selves into it. I don't think Shelton has that kind of passion for wrestling, I'm sure he likes putting on great matches and fan support. But how often does he make out of ring appearances? He likes the mid card status he's got and to earn World Championships he can't be comfortable with just mid card. Hell yea he has the talent but doesn't want to apply himself (flashback to highschool). Anyways for most of his fans we've gotten accustomed to his in ring performance so if he was to decide to finally step up his game then he would have to work harder then ever to get to beat the exceptional job he's been doing for almost the past ten years. And with all that hard work, this applies to every wrestler, comes chances at World Titles.

[ztwhite]

I'd have to say Shelton is one of my favorites out of all the rosters at the moment. He's full of potential - capable of putting on good spots and thrilling matches - and positive that WWE wants to shape him out to be a world champion - that is if he snaps out of whatever funk and realizes that all he needs to do is give alittle more and he'll be able to reach for any star he wants. His gimmick is absolutely brutal - Golden Standard - I think its about time we have another african american world champion - when was the last? Booker T? it'd really bring in the african american crowd to WWE.

The last African-American world champ was Mark Henry on ECW.

[Reg]

Um, he just came off of being U.S. Champion for 8 months. Pretty much the longest reign of any champion in the WWE for the entire year.

People who say that he's only good in matches with crazy spots like Money In the Bank aren't paying attention, or they're lying.

8 month reign how many defences?

MITB at WM25 also most f!#kd him self with the flip off the ladder by not rotating enough. messed up the powerbomb off the ladder waht could have messed up MVP.

what happened? he sucks.

[suleman09]

Shelton needs to be in the ring with someone like HBK more often, even Rey, Evan Bourne, Jeff, Kofi, those guys are exciting to watch...

shelton is no good on the mic, he needs to wrestle his way to the top, not talk or anything else...he was better as a face character

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

It is a bit difficult to compare the Shleton Benjamin of 2005 in the ''Gold Rush Tournament'', to today's Shelton Benjamin. In 2005, Shelton Benjamin was a face that really got noticed and I believe he was the Intercontinental Champion at the time. Now, Shelton Benjamin is a heel and hardly gets noticed at all. If Shelton is involved with more high-profile matches, with more high-profile wrestlers, like HBK, then he can gain more credibility. If Shelton says that he does not want to be a main eventer, it still won't hurt him to have matches with main eventers and shows that he's still capable.

I think a little face turn would really help him. It would have to come completely out of nowhere, similar to his face turn in 2004. No one was expecting it. Shelton needs to be involved in a storyline that will get everyone's attention. Just because Benjamin doesn't have very good mic skills, it doesn't mean he can't get his point across. Some get their points across by talking, others do it by action. Shelton is more of an action guy.

I think Shelton Benjamin is an amazing athlete and I will continue to be a fan of him no matter what. He is a loyal employee and doesn't like to get into trouble off-screen. He's a great role model for other superstars, which is why Vince McMahon likes him.

[MrT302]

Here is the difference for Shelton Benjamin... He's on smackdown and the level of talent too be noticed i small... Dont get me wrong there is some great talent but they are all locked into fueds examples Edge is in something with Cena, Triple H is with Orton. MVP well he just got out of a thing with MVP so past that and Undertaker just got out of a spiff with HBK. Put him back on raw with the draft get rid of the Gold Standard gimmick make him face and have him fued with a Randy Orton and Legacy after Backlash and the title is back on Orton

[Y 2 Jake]

If he can't make it as a heel on Smackdown then it's not likely he'll make it at all. It's easier to be a heel, if you can't get get people to hate you then you must be as inept as Vladimir Kozlov. Smackdown is also the show with a more varied mid card. Not many Smackdown mid carders go to Raw and get a weekly spot. But a move from Raw to Smackdown often means you'll at least get a short push, see The Brian Kendrick.

[justinsayne]

Um, he just came off of being U.S. Champion for 8 months. Pretty much the longest reign of any champion in the WWE for the entire year.

You mean the 8 month title reign where he rarely defended a meaningless title that no one cares about?

People who say that he's only good in matches with crazy spots like Money In the Bank aren't paying attention, or they're lying.

Or they aren't as delusional as all the Butterfinger Benjamin fans out there

He's had plenty of really good matches over the past year.

Umm not really, dude sucks

The match against Matt Hardy were he won the U.S. Title was a really good match.

That match was mediocre at best

As was his short feud with the Undertaker leading up the Royal Rumble.

He was working with one of the best workers in the history of the WWE, the only people who pull out shit matches with Taker weigh over 400lbs.

He also had a good match against Triple H.

I don't even remember him having a match with Triple H this year, if you can't even remember the match than it can't possibly be worth a shit

Of course his rivalry with MVP was great.

In which MVP carried his ass...

I read that Vince was really pleased with his U.S. Title Reign.

Vince also thought it would be a good idea to do an incest angle with his daughter

Which means that Vince thought he made the most out of the time he was given.

Once again Vince has proven time and time again that he is retarded, therefore I couldn't give a shit less what Vince says

I can guarantee that he'll be contending for a title wherever he goes in the Draft.

:lol::rolleyes: yeah right, good one

The biggest difference between that Shelton and Shelton now is that Shelton was a face, and it was easier for him to get noticed. Because he was in matches with HBK, and feuding with Evolution.

Not really, being a heel should be far easier, I mean how hard is it to make people hate you?, all you have to do is take cheap shots and steal victories, attack women, etc.

Like the poster above me said. Shelton is content with his position. He's not raising hell backstage. He's not badmouthing people like Triple H who can hurt his career. He hasn't been suspended, or been in any trouble of any kind. He's been a model citizen since his little rift with that Road Agent.

It has been said many many times by many many different wrestlers, if you are not her to be World Champion, then you should just GTFO

It also seems that Vince looks at Shelton to be the Role Model to the rest of the Black Wrestlers in the Locker Room for some reason. When MVP got into trouble with his lack of professionalism. Vince told him to be more like Shelton. The same with R-Truth.

A mid-card spot..err make that botch monkey?

I think Vince is high on him, because he always seems to have gold around his waist. Probably the reason why Shelton isn't a Main Eventer, is because he doesn't want to be. Which worrys me, because I believe that EVERY wrestler should want to be a Main Eventer.

The US title was the first time he's had gold around his waste in years, WTF are you talking about

[Big Pimpin]

Shelton needs to be in the ring with more quality opponents if he's gonna make it. I personally think that they shoud just drop the Gold Standard gimmick, either keep him on Smackdown or move him to RAW & turn him into a face again & let him become a face who only wrestles his way to the top. Or if that idea doesn't pan out then just give him a manager(who has mic skills) to be his mouthpiece.

[Blade]

It turned out he had all the charisma of an empty bottle is what happened.

He's been given chances to be over. He was made Angle's protege and was half of a very successful tag team. He beat Triple H like 3 times when Evolution was at the height of his power. Was part of a comedy act with his "momma". Given a long US title reign. And he does death defying spots whenever he can squeeze one in. But he still gets fuck all reaction from the crowd.

Simply put, when Shelton isn't wrestling he's horrible to watch. And since main eventers only spend about 50% of their time wrestling, if that much, Shelton will never be a main event star.

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Everything that's wrong with Shelton Benjamin starts and ends with him. It seems he doesn't have the determination or passion to do better than where he already is. He seems complacent and that should be for somebody at the end of their career as opposed to at the prime of said career.

That match against HBK was his best match and that was four years ago. He hasn't had one memorable win since. His U.S. Title reign was ok, more better than MVP's in my opinion. He has no ring psychology whatsoever and botches all the time. Like others have stated, it is easier to be a heel than a face and if Benjamin can't get decent heel heat especially on Smackdown, then he's not going to get it anywhere else. I can see a face turn in the near future because I believe it will be a whole lot better for him. He has the potential but he has to wake up and realize that instead of just settling.

[tommyg]

Crikey some of you are talking out your backside. Shelton is one of the best athletes in the WWE, has more talent in the ring than most of the roster and has had some very good matches (and no not just four years ago).

The only thing that is keeping him from challenging at main-event level is his lack of charisma on the mic. They have tried giving him air time to improve that on ECW and SD but he just hasn't got that in him. What he needs is a manager to do the talking for him. He has that and he can go all the way.

True he does botch a few moves but so does Jeff Hardy, and so do a lot of the guys. Someone says he almost broke his neck with the flip from the ladder at Mania, well so did Taker diving over the top rope.

Shelton has had a good feud with MVP which has seen some solid wrestling. After dropping the US title, I expect him to come over to RAW where hopefully he'll be given a mouthpiece. I don't expect 2009 to be his year but in the next few years, Shelton will be a much bigger player.

[rowdy ruben]

despite all the haters out there shelton is the best in the business. i think with him droping the u.s. tittle he will once again face main eventers on what ever brand he gets drafted to. he deserves to be wh or wwe champion more then punk, hardy, edge, nd kane. he i s way more talented then all those guys combined

[JGalaxtic]

your definitely right about Mark Henry being the last african american world champ- and hear me out - I hate to say this but the ECW title isnt important as the WWE or WHC - its terrible that it isn't. Glad you made that correction for me - but we need an african american highlighting ppvs - Shelton B. or R-Truth seem to be the only ones who could pull that off - I guess some would say MVP, but I still think he's mid-card.

[hollowpoint]

I am actually a huge fan of Sheldon Benjamin. He is an incredible athlete with a less than steller gimmick. I dont know if he is content or what, but I do know he desrves at least a shot at a title. It's kinda ridiculous to see someone like CM Punk come up and surpass Sheldon when he has nowhere near the talent Sheldon has nor the ability. I think it's about time. The natural progression from Mid Carder to Main Eventer is right there for him to take. Another run at the U.S. or the I.C. championships will only stall his career even further than it already has been stalled.

[Arrynboot]

Sheltons downfall is that WWE creative don't seem to be able to come up with anything for him, he's only ever been shelton and the gold standard gimmick isn't even a gimmick, he just has blond hair. Raw and Smackdown are 25% commercials, 50% promos and 25% actual wrestling and the commercials always run during matches, so a guy like Shelton who has all the in ring talent anyone could want, will never be able to shine in WWE because he doesn't have much in the way of charisma or mic skills, and they don't allow him enough time to put on the amazing matches everyone knows he is capable of. Shelton is too good to succeed in WWE unless they cut down on the crap and give more time to wrestling, afterall it is (supposedly) a wrestling company, correct me if im wrong.

[HBK-aholic]

The problem with Shelton Benjamin in comparison to then is that his matches aren't with Shawn every week. That match is one of my favourites, I think it's easily Benjamins best match, and it was entertaining. I'm a big fan of Benajmins ability, but I don't think he has the charisma to make it to being on the same level as HBK/Cena/Orton etc.

That match was a classic example of /shaen being able to pull great matches out of anyone. I'm not trying to say that we shouldn't praise Benjamin at all for it, simply that he benefitted from working with someone like HBK.

[Stickstar 16]

What happened to Shelton is what happens to a lot of stars in the WWE. He gets brought in because they see some promise and potential in him, put him under the wing of an established superstar to give him some credibility and backing for his intial push, then he is put into a program for a mid card title, then slowly he is put into a program with some serious main eventers because they have the talent and ability to put him over and make him look legit, only to discover he lacks the ability to talk and has about as much charisma as a tree stump.

To be honest Shelton should wake up every day thanking the lord that he is still employed by the WWE. He has been given every opportunity to shine and show the WWE that he has what it takes to become a World Heavyweight or WWE Champion, and he hasn't taken it. Matt Hardy is better on the mike than Shelton, even Jeff, and even though they're two of my fav wrestlers i can't help but laugh when they speak. Jeff Hardy has been fired once, suspeneded twice, and still has had a WWE title reign, albeit for only a month, but he has been headlining PPV for the last half a year. How bad does that make Shelton look when a druggie is seen as a more reliable champion than him.

What i remember Shelton most for is being a guy with ability, but who is mainly a spot monkey known for jumping off shit, running up ladders, and jumping into a Superkick. Shelton was part of the reason for Matt Hardy's US title reign being so boring and when he was given the title he did nothing with it in any of his matches that brought presteige or got him any closer to the WWE title than being filler or pinfall material in the Scramble matches at Unforgiven.

So Shelton is what happened to Shelton.

[Hardinhoff]

Has anyone ever thought that the reason that Shelton is content is because he LIKES doing high spots and LIKES being involved in show-stealing matches? Maybe he realizes that if he becomes a main-eventer, he'll have to succumb to the watered-down main event wrestling that normally takes place. He won't be able to do those spots.

I agree with everyone that says Shelton is the reason, but not with why. It's not mic skills...his aren't great but they aren't horrible either(anyone heard a Khali promo? My point exactly). He's a little charismatic (I must be the only one that watched him on ECW when he was gunning for the title). I also feel he is capable of telling a story in the ring (Again, ECW push). I could be a bit biased but I feel like eventually we will see Shelton in the spotlight...maybe when we least expect it.

[mikeRC]

Shelton Benjamin is just building his character and he's been doing it well since he first tried out the whole "Gold Standard" thing on ECW which ultimitely along with his very good feud with Kofi Kingston brought him to Smackdown. The Shelton Benjamin of today is far more interesting than the up and coming rookie of 2004 or 2005. He's entertaining in the ring and can pull off some good matches especially with high profile stars (see his recent matches with HHH).

People say that he's terrible on the mic but there are far worse people in higher positions like Jeff Hardy or CM Punk.

I believe he was looking to be brought up to main event status on Smackdown however the main event was completely full at the time with Edge, HHH and Jeff Hardy. I doubt there would have been any room for Shelton whilst Hardy was on his hunt for the title or when HHH was ruining the Edge/Vicky wedding. So instead of bringing him up they still build on his character with feuds with R-Truth and MVP.

Main event status will come for Shelton Benjamin and right now he's not in a bad position. He's in a better spot now than he was when he was on ECW last year or when he was jobbing on Raw in 2007.

[daring2defy]

To be quite honest, everytime I see Shelton Benjamin get into the ring, I fear for his life! I mean, the guy has TONS and TONS of athletic ability, don't get me wrong, but after performing highspot after highspot, each getting more and more dangerous.....Shelton is an injury waiting to happen. Thats goes without saying, the guy has talent, but he could put his talent to better use by telling a story in the ring, and building a match appropriately to one or two highspots, which will always get a bigger pop than one crazy move, after another, after another. His mic work isn't the greatest either, and by "isn't the greatest", I mean REALLY bad. Thats not to say it can't get better in time, I mean, from what I can remember, Chris Jericho's promo's weren't always amazing (pre-WCW days). My final verdict, Shelton is talented, but overrated, and until he stops being a "spot monkey", and begins to learn how to build a match, he will always be a mid card talent in my mind....thats with, or without a push.

[Chris in SC]

I don't really know what it is, but he's just missing SOMETHING. Maybe charisma is the right word? For me personally, there's just nothing about him that makes me give a crap about him one way or the other. I don't like him, I don't hate him, I certainly don't say 'I hope Shelton gets TV time on Smackdown this week.'

Everybody talks about bathroom-break matches and promos and Benjamin is definitely that for me.

I guess I just don't see the give-a-damn in him. Maybe earlier posters were right and that he's content to be a mid-carder and that's it.

[Kaze Enigma]

Ok well it seems most of you guys agree that shelton has no charisma and yeah i see your point.

Still one of the best pure wrestlers in the wwe and would go over massive in ROH and TNA as they actually appreciate what the WWE used to be about....... WRESTLING

[kaoscage]

I would love to see Shelton go to main event status, heck I would like it more if Haas went to the main even since I like Haas more. But lets look at him. As some one send before he is content at being a midcarder. In the wrestling you really have to give 110% to be the top and Shelton does not do that. He does great spots all the time, but all his good matches have been with Haas either one vs one or as a tag team.
Haas and Benjamin as a team can be the next guys to bring Tag Team back to the spot lights. With the Colons, Rhodes and DiBiase and Cryme Tyme we can have so great Fatal Four way tag team matches. I hope they leave Haas and Benjamin as a team, it seems to be the only way WWE will let these guys get over. Maybe they could even have them go singles, but stay as a faction always looking out for one another...ala Triple H and HBK, Samoa Joe and Styles, Flair and Batista.

[S.K. Cid]

It would be nice to see Shelton go Main-event, but I don't see it.

Look, there's nothing WRONG or SHAMEFUL about him being in the midcard. He's a great midcarder, and he has the respect of a lot of fans. He still looks good and domineering in the ring, but I don't think he has the charisma to be in the main event.

He still looks strong in the midcard. Sure he's kind of jobbing now, but he's being used as he should: A stepping stone for face talents into the higher echelons of wrestling. He's only losing to Jo-Mo because Jo-Mo's getting pushed high.

In conclusion, I think Shelton Benjamin will be a mid card for life, and I dont thin kthat it is a bad thing. He's great, and he doesn't HAVE to be in the main event to impres us and gain the respect of the fans.

[The Palace of Wisdom]

Shelton is fine. We live in the moment a little too much as wrestling fans sometimes. Shelton, barring anything tragic, still has a few years left in the tank. He has PLENTY of time to become a World Champion. Just because he hasn't been elevated yet doesn't mean he won't be. And from accounts I've read, Shelton is happy with his role, because he's respected and has already made more money than he ever thought he could.

I think Shelton is going to get a title run at some point in the next handful of years. It will be one of those "late in the career thank you" title reigns, and it will probably only last a couple of months.

But it will shut all of us up.

[Razor]

Simple, he stopped having matches with HBK, and started relying on high risk spots to get him over rather than charisma (which he lacks), ring psychology, or storytelling, the guy can't cut a promo worth a shit and botches about every other move he does, there is nothing special about Butterfingers Benjamin, nothing special at all, the reason the match with HBK was so good was because it was with HBK, the guy also managed to drag a decent match out of Chris Masters as well, HBK is one of the few guys who can drag good matches out of just about anyone he gets in the ring with

^^^This. Replace HBK with Cena and it still works!

Benjamin never really tried, I believe. He just relied on jumping really high to get people to like his matches. He was never really good on the mic. He has the heel smirk down....then he tries to speak and fucks it all up. He doesn't understand anything about wrestling, really. Unless you count getting a lot of people to make excuses like "He has potential! He's athletic!" as being good.

Give Benjamin a match against HBK or Cena again, and you'll be saying "Wow! what a great match! This is the Benjamin I remember!" I mean, Cena got a match out of Khali for christ's sake. and as said, HBK got a match from Chris Masters for fuck's sake.