Shelton Benjamin

[KoC417]

to the nerd KoC417, first off I'm a Black American. Secondly most Black Americans born in America don't like to be called African American... they prefer to be called Black American or just American.. why? because most Black Americans aren't from Africa... secondly big shout out to my homie... Hollywood E Rock cause he is absolutely right. Now lets be honest... Zeke isn't a Black American or as the ethnic way to say it "African American," the dude is from South America... secondly he isn't to well on the mic so I really don't see that going to far for him unless they do the Batista thing (give him some shades and let him look down at the mat the whole time he speaks). Your other claim to fame was who Bobby Lashley... seriously he was in ECW and the title he had didn't have much matter to it.. remember even Matt Hardy burred the ECW title,, and lets not forget what he got called by the HEAD WRITTER.. MICHAEL PS HAYES.. And Mark Henry.. I love the dude but he is a fall guy... Seriously he been in WWE/WWF for God knows how long, and his major accomplishment is what the ECW title.. not even the European Title or the Hardcore title, at least he got a hand from Mae Young right so seriously dude come a little harder with your facts fam... Learn ya self before you burn your self bro

wtf are you trying to get all ebonics on me for? Learn myself? Where I come from and where I was raised African American is the term we use. It goes along with Native American, Hispanic American etc etc. Yes it may be a very loose word but at least I'm not using racial or offensive terms yea?
Ok SO what about Jazz and Jackie? You neglecting the women? Are you going to try and tell me THEY aren't black? Last I checked they pushed JAZZ over TRISH when TEDDY LONG was in her corner. And Jackie was being pushed at the same level as SABLE. Lashley was in ECW and was feuding with the BOSS for cryin out loud man. He was having KILLED moments (Powering himself thru the steel cage, oh yeah if I'm not mistaken the masterlock challenge too)
Mark Henry's major accomplishment isn't where his potential is sadly. He was being pushed as a big time contender with Teddy Long behind him. Then he got Tony Atlas. Mark Henry needs a mouth piece in his corner to get any sort of reaction. Guess what... white wrestlers need that too. However you brought the race card into this. Couldn't you just classify Shelton as a sports entertainer? Did you really HAVE to go racial with it? Nobody else was making it a point to single out his face. Yet for some odd reason you decided to bring it up. It's about the POTENTIAL and the ABILITIES of the superstars, not the color of their skin. smh. And "nerd" really?

 

[achromat666]

Ok, this is getting a bit out of hand.

There are many talents of different colors that don't get pushed the way people feel they should be. That in and of itself is not something that should be an issue. As for the race card you could make the case that some of the talent I the business feel slighted in that regard (MVP, Shad) and even that opinion largely rests on where they are in the company by comparison to where they think they are.

Does that mean race is or isn't an issue? Hard to say as for a long time Hispanic people felt largely the same way up until the likes of Eddie and Rey Mysterio got the title. Was it because no one else of color was worthy or simply because other bigger stars were being pushed?

Don't get me wrong, I believe valid questions can be asked here on the subject but the thread wasn't designed as a catalyst for this question I don't think. And if we're talking about Shelton, then here's what I have to say:

He's a very gifted athlete that excelled against any opponent. He can do great things in the ring and has been given a number of title runs other than the world titles. I don't think overall that he was undervalued but while his mic skills do lack others without great mic skill have been given a run with it. Swagger and Benoit are examples of this. So could he have had a run with the title? Possibly but with the silly gimmicks they've tried (momma, the Butch Reed like gold standard) there's no telling how long it would have lasted or whether he would have simply been buried right after getting it like the people mentioned earlier.

A lot of guys have been in the business a lot longer than Shelton and not had the success he's had overall. I think the decision to go to ROH as opposed to TNA speaks volumes of his interests in wrestling. If he wants come back it'll happen. What the WWE does with him from then is anyone's guess.

 

[PhD]

I just read the off-air notes for this week's Smackdown!, and apparently Shelton Benjamin wrestled Curt Hawkins in a dark match. Apparently Benjamin tweeted the following after the match:

"for now all i can say is i may or may not be returning to wwe, but tonight was a good time."

http://twitter.com/Sheltyb803

This strikes me as quite odd for a few reasons.

1. Benjamin was cut by WWE not even a year ago

2. He and Charlie Haas are signed full-time to ROH, and just went over the Briscoes to earn a tag-team title shot at ROH's Wrestlemania weekend PPV.

3. With all the new talent signed in the last year, where could Benajmin possibly fit in if he did return?

4. The guy has always been a great worker and terrible on the stick, and given that he hasn't had to do any talking while in ROH, it's hard to imagine his mic skills have improved at all.

I saw WGTT's match against the Briscoe's in Chicago, and Shelton looked better than he ever has, and he absolutely stole the show in the main event. However, it was also a brutal match, just like every match in ROH. Is it possible Shelton has found that the grass isn't really greener, and is coming back to WWE for less money? What are your thoughts?

 

[Youngsleez]

@KoC417 for crying out loud the womens division isnt = to the world title by far... who are you fooling. I'm talking about black male athletes, in general good entertainers like Benjamin. You can live in fantasy land, but truth be told people like MVP, Lashley, Benjamin, and even Mark Henry (when he had the push with Long as you mention) never got the title... If you look at the whole thing at a real angel it doesn't happen. Booker T, and Simmons were WCW made champions true story... if Booker T would have been a WWF/WWE made wrestler he would have never gotten the belt. further more I like how you ran from the Michael Hayes statement that was fact. No time soon will happen. It's not the race card its the truth. I've watched wrestling my whole life, and fallow it closely, fact is women lie, men lie the numbers don't the max potential for a black wrestler (even one as good as Benjamin) is the IC/US title... the ECW title dosen't exist any more. And of course Lashley was fueding with the boss over the Trump storyline... why? It showcased the ECW championship at WM....like i stated once.. Learn ya self before you learn ya self

 

[thatcrazybiatch]

i would MARK OUT MAD if he came back, but I dont see it happening sadly,
shelton never went wrong imo he just didnt work as a heel and WWE kept him as such for too long

he was pretty darn over as a face intercontinental champ at one point, bring him back build him as face and if he has to go heel make sure hes pretty darn over as a face first so it has more impact, but as much as WWE needs someone who can create good matches (without jericho, hbk etc) i just dont see them using him proper

as a wrestler hes just too good for wwe

 

[kodiak69]

OK everybody is talking about MIC skills and skin color and all of this bogus crap. I would like to point out that 6 years ago people were saying Vince would never give a WWE or WHC title on Jeff Hardy well in my opinion Shelton is 50X better then the enigma and I am a J Hardy Fan I also would like to remind alot of you old timers about his match against HBK where he fell off of the top rope on to the back of his head since then he wasn't the same. With his in ring ability I would love to see him return to WWE and face people like Bryant, Tyson, Kofi, Miz, JOMO, Cena even a few rematches with THE VIPER anyway you cut it Shelton could be a plausable WHC or WWE contender not saying he will win but could be that upper midcard main event character they need to buffer the new guys

 

[tablekorner]

Shelton Benjamin is an underrated superstar, and if he returned I do not think this would change. He would probably be overlooked like usual and have no point in even being in the show because he wasn't really doing anything anyway. But I do want him back, I just don't think they would give him what he deserves if he did make his WWE return.

Personally I would like him to see him do one of two things.
1. Be in the World Title run on Smackdown, even if he doesn't win any at least give him some bigger matches
2. Rekindle the tag team division, because lately I find myself saying "What tag team division?"

 

[jacdnwarrior]

They did a lot of silly things with Benjamin though. He goes from beating Triple H, having a good match with HBK to some ridiculous angle where his mother helps him win. Haas is going around impersonating former wrestlers, and WWE has had several talented performers only to come with up the dumbest storylines for them. WWE looks like crap in terms of mid card and I could easily see a match between Benjamin and many performers including Bryan, Swagger, Ziggler etc.

 

[WWE_Colonel]

Do you think he will return?
Yes I do.
Do you want him to return?
Definitely, he was not the best on the mic and at times he was terrible, but he is a flat out athlete and there is nothing wrong with the WWE using that as an advantage. I think he can put on great matches, and get him a manager or something he will be good.
If he does return what will he do?
I hope they finally allow him to win the MITB. And then the next night he walks out with a manager. He has too much talent to waste and just because he doesn't cut a good promo that doesn't mean he can't be champion. Also, a pro on Nexus and maybe a tough enough gig. He can teach younger talent in-ring skills.

 

[rge2010]

I actually like Shelton Benjamin. He is a good solid mid-carder who could reignite the Tag Division if he is given the correct partner.

Also, long term this could be benificial. Benjamin is very good friends with Brock Lesnar. Lesnar has 1 more fight in his UFC contract and that is against Dos Santos. IF he loses that, I see him making the move back into pro-wrestling. If he wins, then obviously he will continue, probably until he loses again.

Brock will return to WWE in some shape or form when he is done with UFC. That's pretty much a given. Vince is a big fan, Brock is a big draw and Brock loves his $$$.

 

[KoC417]

@KoC417 for crying out loud the womens division isnt = to the world title by far... who are you fooling. I'm talking about black male athletes, in general good entertainers like Benjamin. You can live in fantasy land, but truth be told people like MVP, Lashley, Benjamin, and even Mark Henry (when he had the push with Long as you mention) never got the title... If you look at the whole thing at a real angel it doesn't happen. Booker T, and Simmons were WCW made champions true story... if Booker T would have been a WWF/WWE made wrestler he would have never gotten the belt. further more I like how you ran from the Michael Hayes statement that was fact. No time soon will happen. It's not the race card its the truth. I've watched wrestling my whole life, and fallow it closely, fact is women lie, men lie the numbers don't the max potential for a black wrestler (even one as good as Benjamin) is the IC/US title... the ECW title dosen't exist any more. And of course Lashley was fueding with the boss over the Trump storyline... why? It showcased the ECW championship at WM....like i stated once.. Learn ya self before you learn ya self

Man for the love of god did you graduate? "angel" I think you mean angle...You fallow (i think you mean follow) it closely? fueding (feuding right?)? Man you see the little red lines under your words? That is a neat invention called spell check. It helps you correct errors.... Learn ya self before you learn ya self? Seriously I kind of have a feeling this conversation is being held with a 9 year old. I mean holy hell. The Max potential is not the IC/US title. If you honestly believe that then you would've stopped watching wrestling years ago .

So what if Black Men haven't dominated the World Heavyweight title picture. Sometimes being in the main event spotlight isn't the best thing for an athlete. Think about it. If a guy makes it to the top (black, white, hispanic, asian) and the crowd never reacts their character risks being killed off. I think people would be more upset if they brought a guy (say Mark Henry) all the way up, gave him the WHC then suddenly ripped it off of him and buried him than have him sit in the mid-card area and provide decent matches.

All you are doing is yapping on and on about racism and Black people being mistreated. Oh yes they are very persecuted. Oh yes, so horrible. I mean damn Devon Dudley has been held back BIG time.. I mean he was never even relevant in sports entertainment. The Rock, man WWE sure held him down (and yes Rock is 1/2 Black and since he observes and follows his black heritage I feel he is able to be classified as black). So what's your logic behind Rock? Was it because he was only HALF black that he was given that many titles? Booker T it doesn't matter if he was WCW champion before hand. The fans got behind him. They like him. THAT is what matters in wrestling kid, FAN REACTION. I really hope you discontinue watching, and discontinue posting on here if you are going to spew the racial garbage. Because to be honest, we're in 2011 give me a Black athlete that isn't generic and boring and I'll cheer my ass off for him. As will other people.
JYD JYD JYD. Black..and the fans LOVED him!
Tony Atlas....go look up his bio. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/t/tony-atlas.html <~~ Yeah he held championships.
Elix Skipper....Dude could've done wonders for the WWE Cruiserweight division!
Rocky Johnson....http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/r/rocky-johnson.html <~~~~We all know who that is
Ahmed Johnson..another guy that had a great following
Abdulah The Butcher http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/a/abdullah-the-butcher.html
Give us athletes with THIS kind of charisma and athletic abilities all mixed into one and boom they'd make it big. Shelton has the ABILITY, he doesn't have the charisma. Don't you ever confuse ABILITY with CHARISMA. The other problem is Shelton can't always have good matches.

Let's evaluate somebody for a minute shall we... Rob Van Dam....It took him how long to get the WWE Championship? And IMO he ONLY won it because WWE was planning the ECW One Night Stand. The fans kept pushing, and pushing and pushing and pushing and RVD got it. That's what a Black Athlete needs. He needs the ability to captivate the fans, and something to keep them interested even if he is defeated.



I've nearly lost track of what I was even saying to you. Oh yeah...Racism...only in your eyes. Just because they don't make it to WWE world heavyweight champion. Everything isn't about race. Have you ever thought it's not all about the backstage area? No offense bro, but I'd venture a guess that you keep it as a strictly racial backstage thing...Fact is, the writers don't dictate who gets a championship. The fans do. I can guarantee if Kofi chants started to break out and continued to happen at every event WWE was having then yeah things would be different.

Sorry if my post was a bit off the wall and random at times. It's almost 4am here and I'm getting sick to death of reading racist crap. Save the racist shit.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Good stuff. I was a bit suprised at how he went out, as at long last, he was beginning to improve. I think the entire release thing may have been a long term plan by WWE, to try and get him to wake the fuck up and work harder.

I have been watching a lot of shows from when he was in WGTT and when he first got out on his own, as well as WM21....and just so, so confused as to what the fuck happened to this guy? Looks like he will get one last shot to fufill that potential, and this entire thing may have been just a motivation ploy by WWE to get him to do so. I hope he worked on his craft while down in the indies

 

[Trill Co$by]

I seriously doubt it... Benjamin's got a lot of bookings coming up and I don't see him going back to the WWE. If memory serves me correctly, it was Benjamin who asked for the release from his contract so I've gotta guess that he's more happy in ROH and NWA. And to be honest, I am too. Shelton could come back, and he may even have a successful run, but at the same time they'll probably make him do his little Dennis Rodman gimmick that, I believe, was a huge let down for him.

Plus, unless the guy is heel (again, IMO) then the guy's very limited in the ring. Seriously Gold Standard would've been perfect to carry the ECW brand on his back or even the US title, but WWE just let it go and turned him face again.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Well the thing is, his moveset is that of a face. High flying crowd popping spots very rarely, if ever, work as a heel. You cant use the stinger splash and be a heel. He would do fine as a face, just needs the proper feud and character development to get him over as one.

 

[Youngsleez]

@ KoC417, you are seriously proving my point that I stated, Rock fell through the cracks. If you want to talk about education with me well I graduated with a BS in History of Liberal Arts from CSU. But like I was stating Rock was something else. Rock was acceptable in the black audience true, but as I was stating to begin with WORLD CHAMPIONS BEING BLACK don't just happen in the WWE. It's not racist. I love the WWE, I love watching it, it entertains me, but I have accepted every time I see a brother on the screen that he will either be the US or IC championship. At least Henry had the chance to be the father of a Hand and a ECW Champion. Dude you got your thong all tied in a not over nothing. Seriously in the last decade name 3 black WORLD CHAMPIONS. Now out of those three, which one was breed in WCW, and if he wasn't he would have been place back in a program with Harlem Heat or stuck in a Gold Dust Storyline ... wait... it would have started earlier my bad the story line did happen. And which Champion really was more excepted in the Samoan light then the black light. In the last 10 years we haven't had 3 black champions no. Plenty of Black talent though. Benjamin should have had the same chance Orton got, or MVP should have had the chance Batista got. The Great JOBIE had a world title reign for crying out loud. Ray has had another title reign, nerds made MIZ seem important. Bobby Lashley was Name called out the door, he could have been what most are trying to make Mason Ryan.... look it's not racism when someone points out a fact, it's called being real. If you don't like the facts, that's your problem. I live in the "hood." And a lot of my "homies" watch wrestling every week, and we know almost everything you can know about it. One of my "homies" currently wrestles for the EWA, we all notice what we see on WWE TV. We except it because it entertains us. It's cool though, we got football and basketball to excel in as athletes, soon as we learn how to swim and skate, we going to kick Mike Phelps ass in swimming, and we going to play for the Capitals lol.

 

[Nate DaMac]

I've stated my dislike for Shelton on so many occasions over the years. I hated him. I would have rather seen Khali on my TV.

Lately though, I've grown to only hate him slightly. I'm to a point where I wouldn't mind seeing him back in a day and age where the mid card could definitely use some solid stepping stones for stars with actual talent to elevate from.

That being said, he's not World Championship material, not in any fucking way. Despite what people say about Jeff Hardy or Jack Swagger, they actually illicit a reaction from the crowd while Shelton draws crickets. There was justification in giving them the title, just as there was justification in giving Shelton his release.

 

[stasheroo]

As I am a fan of actual in-ring action and not the other nonsense, I would love for the WWE to correct their previous error and bring Shelton Benjamin back.



I thought the 'Gold Standard' was a very good idea and I thought his matches were highly-entertaining.

I look forward to hopefully seeing him return.