GAB: Matt Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin

[Y 2 Jake]

On Smackdown just announced Matt Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin. Yet WWE.com doesn't have anything about it. Ross is a geriatric so possibly he was just saying what he though WWE should book. Kinda when grandads let out a little bit of accidental racism.

Should be a good match. I couldn't care less who wins it. Both are pretty dull. Although I still think Matt has plenty still to do as champion. It takes him nearly a year to get the title, then he drops it on only his second PPV.

Putting the title on Shelton is pointless. He's done nothing for years now. He also didn't do too much with his I.C. title reign. If they insist on putting the belt on somebody then Kennedy would be the better option. He needs all the help he can get.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Frankly, I just see this as a way to get the US title back on Smackdown without demoting the likes of MVP, Hardy, Kennedy, or Umaga.

Shelton won't really have many people to defend it against (unless they just use Hardy and Kennedy as midcarders for now) but I haven't enjoyed Matt's title reign anyway, as I think he's overrated, so I'd rather see Shelton with some gold than to just have Matt keep it for the hell of it. Maybe Shelton could use this as the confidence boost he needs to really step up his game and learn the last few things that are holding him back from being an important member of the WWE roster.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

WZ is reporting this as an actual match as well, however I didn't hear anything of it on Smackdown and I just watched it.

When I checked wwe.com, they also haven't updated anything regarding it, and that doesn't make sense if it was announced on Smackdown and still not updated on Saturday morning.

If this match does happen, I'm sure it'll be a classic, as far as Shelton Benjamin matches go. Will it mean anything though, that's the true question. It's also rhetorical, because the answer is already no.

Shelton Benjamin shouldn't be the guy to unseat Matt Hardy. There wasn't any build to this match, and outside of Benjamin getting a victory over Hardy the other week, nothing more was said or done about it through interviews, storylines, or even promos. So it's highly unlikely Benjamin will gain a second straight victory, this time winning a Championship.. when nothing was even built up for it to happen.

I just can't see them wasting Matt Hardy's push year long, plus, push on someone who's had multiple chances to be someone important and he's failed (Benjamin) at every attempt.

 

[daveluna]

I agree with TheOneBigWill, taking the strap off Hardy and putting it on Shelton would make no sense at all, especially after no build up. The only feasible reason to take the strap off Hardy and put it on Benjamin would be to get it on Smackdown. ( but ECW guys wrestle smackdown guys all the time on smackdown, so this could be done any week) i would also have to see Henry interfering here to set up an ECW title match between the two. Only problem is Henry has no reason to cost Hardy the match. Bottom line here, Hardy retains with a twist of fate.

 

[The Dungeon]

It is on wwe.com now!

Yeah, I think hotshotting Benjamin would have the fans crapping all over it and then some, and nobody would care! It's obvious to me anyway, Matt should take Punk's spot as ECW's top babyface, and I think he can make it work!

I like Shelton...but at the same time....I sometimes think I'm in the minority for that!

 

[The Instant Classic91]

Am I in the minority here that thinks this could be a fantastic match?
But I agree that Shelton shouldnt take the strap from Hardy, not at this moment anyway.
When Hardy gets his worlds title push (assuming that ever happens I guess) perhaps he is the man for another run at the second tier title.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

Am I in the minority here that thinks this could be a fantastic match?

That's just it though, how could you claim it's the minority that feel this could be a great match, when over half of everyone feels that way?

The fact is, I don't think anyone is really discounting how great this match could likely be. Shelton Benjamin is a great athlete and an incredible wrestler, that's never been questioned. The point "I" along with a couple others are getting at, is this match doesn't serve a greater purpose.

It had next to no build, other than Matt Hardy saying a long time ago that if someone defeats him in a non-title match, they'll be able to challenge him and get a Championship match. Then Benjamin a couple monthes after Hardy said that, defeats him on a random episode of Smackdown. Now we have a rematch, this time for the title.

Outside of that, there has been zero build for this match, so other than a filler, which is all it is and ever will be.. what purpose does it have, and what purpose does it serve? None, is the answer.

But I agree that Shelton shouldnt take the strap from Hardy, not at this moment anyway.

Not at all, ever, is more like it. Benjamin might be way ahead of Matt in technical skill, but for as shotty as Matt is on the mic and with charisma.. he's still way ahead of Benjamin, which makes him more valuable.

Benjamin wouldn't even be in the W.W.E., if he wasn't talented with wrestling skill. And I highly doubt Benjamin will be the guy to take the Championship off of Matt Hardy, not Sunday, not ever. If it does ever happen, then something is seriously wrong.. including but not limited to the shear fact that the W.W.E. has lost all faith and trust in Matt Hardy.

When Hardy gets his worlds title push (assuming that ever happens I guess) perhaps he is the man for another run at the second tier title.

Shelton Benjamin was an Intercontinental Champion for monthes. One of the longer reigning Intercontinental Champions, even within recent memory to be exact. But the fact is, he did next to nothing as I.C. Champion.. so why toss another mid-card title on him, for him to continue doing what he's always done. Nothing.

Benjamin is going to forever be the guy who has great matches, because he has tremendous wrestling skill, yet he'll never win another Championship more than likely in his career.

 

[Seal]

Matt brings a lot of natural charisma to the ring, and is a decent competitor. Nneeds to do some more exciting moves in his matchs though.

Shelton makes an awful heel, the whole gold standard gimmick is pointless. I guess if he wins the title he could start bragging, I wouldn't mind him winning hte title so long as the reign is short. I find his matches very enjoyable to watch, he could make an ok babyface, relying on his in ring abilities alone to get over. I predict this will be the GAB opener, and a good one too, so long as it doesn't have a sloppy ending like their match on SD! a few weeks ago. Hardy will likely retain.

 

[osu187]

i think they should give kennendy a major mid card push as us champ u see how the crowd reacts to him already imagin him as us champ defending every ppv succesfully for a while it will build him up and bring respect back to the title!!!

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Shelton Benjamin is one of the most overrated wrestlers out there. What exactly has the guy done to recieve all the praise he gets? Yes he's consistently solid. But he's not consistently great. Some might argue that he's not given the oppertunity. But he was. 2004 wasn't Benoits year. It was Sheltons. The end result was that we got some entertaining. But forgettable matches. He was then pushed again around draft time in 2005 & 2006. And it appears as though he's getting his chance again in 2008. The real reason fans like him is because he's athletic, he jumps around a lot and does impressive shit with ladder. They forget that he has almost zero personality. This match will bore more people than it entertains.

 

[Sparky]

I for one am not looking forward to this match as it is just a filler. With some hope Morrison drops the tag team championship and challenges mat for the US title. Besides having a couple of matches together in the last couple of weeks there is no storyline to this Fued. I predict that hardy will win this as He has only had the belt for so long, And i couldnt see him dropping the title so fast when they pushed him for it for so long. This is the match i am least looking forward to watching in the morning. I dont see what people see in Shelton. I dont think he would make a good US Champion with the current lame gimmick he has at the moment.

 

[The Encore]

Im really looking forward to this match, but when it comes down to everything
i say that give shelton the title let them fued but also build WAY I MEAN WAY
more character for shelton and maybe get matt back to mattitude era?
but yeah its my opinion cause i think if we always see everything sheltons made of which isnt really ever seen we could have a good midcard champion.

 

[Ad!]

Hopefully Shelton can win and feud with Jeff Hardy/Mr Kennedy to elevate one of them to a main event match (preferrably Kennedy)

I used to find Matt exciting, but his title defences and general matches lately have been poor, giving fuel to the thinking that he needs MVP (arguably, MVP needs Matt too). A great match at this pay per view is what's needed. They are likely to be out 1st/2nd/3rd though, which is a testimony to how the US title is valued these days.

Surprisingly looking forward to this one.

 

[phat_inallthegoodplaces]

based on how suddenly they threw this match together, the only way i see benjamin getting the title is if matt broke the wellness policy and got himself suspended, kinda like jeff and the IC title with jericho.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Well their SD! encounter from last week was one of my favorite matches of the year, so im hoping this one measures up. I just cant see them having Hardy drop it here, becuase he has done next to nothing with thte title. if you think of it though, it was fucking APRIL when he won the fucking title. yes, the april that was damn near 4 months ago. Who woulda thunk it?? Well. This is as good a time as any for him to drop it, really. Its obvious the underdog story coming of Hardy taking the title off of Henry eventually. And I abo****ely cant see more than another month of suffering through teusday night Mark Henry. SO that change will most likely come at SumerSlam. So we very well could see Benjamin take it tonight.

 

[chasingamy]

Wow talk about a match thrown together and added last minute. Talk about booking day to day. I just can’t bring myself to get excited about a title match without any build and no feud. Wrestling wise, these two should give us a good match. That is if they give them more than the 5 minutes they had on Smackdown the other week.

I understand needing to get the US title off Hardy so they can push him toward the ECW title, but I can’t help feel they let the best way to get the belt off Hardy in the Fatal Fourway match on Smackdown the other week pass by as he could’ve dropped the belt without being pinned. As it stands now, a second straight loss to Benjamin would only make Hardy look weak. And while I’d like to see Shelton get a US title reign, I just don’t see it happening tonight. Maybe next month as a Summerslam rematch.

 

[Agrex]

Please get the strap off Hardy. He has done nothing in the last four months. Sure Shelton Benjamin won't do much better, but he'll still do better. With Shelton there are many different feud possibilities, but with Matt there's no one. Matt Hardy should move up to the main event scene on ECW, and stop bitching about on Smackdown.

So in a match that I hope will be decent. Shelton wins, hopefully.

 

[Stryfe]

On Smackdown just announced Matt Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin. Yet WWE.com doesn't have anything about it. Ross is a geriatric so possibly he was just saying what he though WWE should book. Kinda when grandads let out a little bit of accidental racism.

Should be a good match. I couldn't care less who wins it. Both are pretty dull. Although I still think Matt has plenty still to do as champion. It takes him nearly a year to get the title, then he drops it on only his second PPV.

Putting the title on Shelton is pointless. He's done nothing for years now. He also didn't do too much with his I.C. title reign. If they insist on putting the belt on somebody then Kennedy would be the better option. He needs all the help he can get.

Kennedy hasn't done shit for 3 years now. He's all hype and no substance. Can't buy the guy a decent match and his selling is fucking goofy these days. The belts is on the right guy and his IC title reign was during the whole "push HHH/Michaels/Cena/Main event" scene no matter what. Jeff Hardy had a horrible IC title reign. Carlito had a pathetic reign. Flair didn't defend the belt. Nitro was Melina's errand boy. And Jericho didn't defend the belt.

Benjamin has outwrestled every praised worker talked about on this forum in the WWE at one point or another. The gold on the Gold Standard is a sight long missed. Shelton vs Kofi was a superior feud to the Cena/HHH kid friendly garbage that was pushed on Raw with it culiminating in HHH tripping Cena on the announce table. It's amusing to see Shelton and Kofi hold both midcard titles after leaving ECW. Kofi won't have Benjamin to carry those matches anymore so we'll see how things work out.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

If this match does happen, I'm sure it'll be a classic, as far as Shelton Benjamin matches go. Will it mean anything though, that's the true question. It's also rhetorical, because the answer is already no.

Well, you were wrong, buddy! Whether you wanted the match to mean anything or not, they forced you to make it mean something because Shelton Benjamin beat hell and won the United States Championship!

Shelton Benjamin shouldn't be the guy to unseat Matt Hardy. There wasn't any build to this match, and outside of Benjamin getting a victory over Hardy the other week, nothing more was said or done about it through interviews, storylines, or even promos.

I completely agree. It shocked me to see Benjamin win as well. Infact, I literally sat up from my chair and just stared blankly into the television set wondering.. What the fuck did Matt Hardy do, to deserve this.

So it's highly unlikely Benjamin will gain a second straight victory, this time winning a Championship.. when nothing was even built up for it to happen.

You'd of thought so, huh.

I just can't see them wasting Matt Hardy's push year long, plus, push on someone who's had multiple chances to be someone important and he's failed (Benjamin) at every attempt.

Agreed, again. I'd of never thought in all my years of watching Professional Wrestling that someone without any proper build into a match, or without any credibility going into.. well wait.. there was that time when Punk won.

But that's different, Edge was heel. Matt Hardy had been pushed solidly for over a year to unseat M.V.P., who is arguably their future Main Event star. And for Matt to lose the Championship in Punk like fashion to someone else.. someone none the less that has even less mic skills than Matt, and hardly any charisma.

I just don't get it. I just don't get it. We got tricked though. You and I both.

 

[Stryfe]

Hardy is going after the ECW title. Even a Cena fan can see that. Benjamin with the US title after carrying Kofi for months on ECW works and since he can't be outworked, it will make for good matches until they screw it up and give it to a lackluster guy like Kennedy.

 

[Theo Mays]

I'm a big Shelton Benjamin fan, and I am kind of suprised that he won, though I'm happy. Now hopefully he takes advantage of this oppurtunity and runs with it, and has a successful US title run, and maybe make his name as one of the better mid carders.

 

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

Besides Colin Delaney becoming a heel, Matt Hardy losing the ''United States Championship'' was the most shocking part of the ppv, in my opinion. It took Hardy over a year to get his title win and he loses it after less than 3 months? How is that fair? If Benjamin's U.S. title reign is anything like his 1st IC title reign was, then his reign will give him many more fans, which he deserves. As for Hardy, I can't see him defeating Mark Henry to win the E.C.W. Championship anytime soon.

 

[TheEdgeTheorum]

Have'nt really seen Shelton Benjamin alot. He competed in 3 matches with matt hardy and gets a title shot? Doesnt really make sense right? Could have at least given Koslov a push or Morrison since he lost the titles to the Edgeheads. If Michael Hayes had kept his mouth shut Someone with x2 the potential of matt hardy could have won this.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

HELL fucking yes. I marked out at the finish of this. word to ya mutha. Veyr good match, besides the botches. I dont know WHAT the fuck he was thinking on that moonsualt. Benjamin didnt even have to do anything and he wouldve missed anyhow LOL. Very good back and forth action though, with great crowd heat. Sadly, most probably MOTN. Very good looking pay dirt by Benjamin at the end, with a fine sell by Hardy.