Shelton Benjamin

[THTRobtaylor]

So... Teddy wasn't talking total horseshit eh MVP?

WWE is now advertising that Shelton will indeed be returning to Smackdown in the not too distant future across all their media channels.

I for one will be glad to see him back, he was always an exciting talent that suffered only for the horrific idea to bring his "mama" in... Sadly it's too late for MITB this year, but it could be very interesting next year with he, Neville and a few others potentially involved in a match (would rather see one for both brands) of that type.

What's ahead for Shelton? I can see him being heel and his first feud being against Dolph Ziggler. Zig has been on the wane for a while but he's the perfect tune up opponent for Benjamin to have a "wow" match with... Perhaps he then moves onto Apollo Crews or maybe even AJ Styles... but with the talent on Smackdown it's defo a good move by WWE.

 

[Khalifa]

Really, really happy he's back. Hope he uses the "Ain't no stopping me now" theme. That was my favourite back in the day. Anyways terrific for Smackdown. Dude is good in the ring and with Smackdown saying they are focusing on in ring ability it just makes total sense. Wasn't the best on the mic but his amazing athleticism alone I thought made up for that. Add someone as a threat for the IC title straight away and maybe potentially a main event run if SD are a little low on options at the time. Right off the bat he would probably have better matches on Raw against Cesaro,Owens,Zayn, Kofi, Rollins and a huge spot fest with Nevill to just name a few. However, Smackdown could use him definitely and not getting all sick matches straight away is probably a good thing.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I wouldn't go expecting too much. This is a guy they released during what was likely his prime. He's there to pad out the roster. I can't see him being anything but an opening match act.

 

[Aquaman6686]

In theory, Shelton's return is a boon to a very weak SmackDown roster.

In reality, he should stay away. Benjamin is just going to be buried, fed constantly to every NXT call-up and made to look like a joke, like all veteran talents.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

As with Rhyno, Shelton Benjamin will be on SmackDown to pad the roster; he's 41 years old and will ultimately be used to put over and elevate younger talent.

I was never a huge fan of Benjamin as an on-screen character, I mean I respected his athleticism and enjoyed watching him in the ring, but the guy was strictly a mid-card and tag team wrestler, which is exactly where he's been in almost every other promotion he's worked since leaving WWE. When it came to charisma, the guy was always pretty low on the totem pole and a lot of fans just never really connected with him despite having a couple of really strong mid-card title runs and wins over guys like Triple H, RVD and Chris Jericho. Sheldon will be a good hand to have around, but don't expect to see him rocketed to the top of the roster.

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

Once Dolph Ziggler is back in the midcard where he belngs I think it would be cool to see a tag team with Ziggler and Shelton. They both have legit amateur wrestling backgrounds and they both have that sort of "show stealer" persona. It would be a cool dynamic seeing them always trying to upstage each other atheltically and steal the spotlight. Plus it would make for a natural feud with American Alpha.

 

[wrestler36]

these veterans are perfect foils to the 50/50 booking that's going on in the WWE right now. Just like Jericho, these guys rarely need to win and can make the up and comers look great. When someone like AJ moves on from a feud with Cena and may not be seen as a contender yet, he could fight someone like Shelton and it wouldn't feel like a 'downgrade.'

 

[SharpShootingCrossface]

He's Lesnar's old roomy and partner, he's either coming for a reason and gonna get pushed, or fuck around in mid card jobs. Nothing to see here, the guy WAS quality, let's see if he can still go.

 

[SharpShootingCrossface]

these veterans are perfect foils to the 50/50 booking that's going on in the WWE right now. Just like Jericho, these guys rarely need to win and can make the up and comers look great. When someone like AJ moves on from a feud with Cena and may not be seen as a contender yet, he could fight someone like Shelton and it wouldn't feel like a 'downgrade.'

Anyone with an ounce of brain who's watched AJ for more than the past few months knows he is more than capable of moving past any loss to cena.

Off topic but;
What'll be funny is if Austin aries, Bobby roode and Samoa joe come up to fued with AJ styles on the main roster. TNA TNA TNA hahahahaha

 

[The Samoan Heritage]

I'm excited about Benjamin returning. The biggest interest I have about him is how will he be used? I've seen people say on various website that Benjamin said that he would only sign if he would be pushed as a main event talent. I don't know how true that is, but I am defiantly not objecting.
If Smackdown is the show were the "glass ceiling gets broken", as wwe tried to show by Ziggler becoming number one contender, I can see Benjamin being given a shot.

Ambrose will have to lose the title one day and when AJ beats him, I would enjoy an AJ vs Benjamin match/feud.

 

[stingray11214]

Shelton was doing so well in Japan, he probably felt that if Styles and Co. could make the transition, why not he? Problem is that unlike the Bullet Club, Benjamin never really had a cult-like following here in the States. Sure, he was on RoH, but that was before RoH was cool. The reality is that Benjamin is 41. Though he can still go, he is not, unless it has been negotiated for him, going to get anything resembling a push.

Fun Fact: Did you know that Shelton Benjamin being signed the first time was a "drop dead" condition to Jim Ross made by someone Ross wanted to sign? The person who once made that a condition to sign with WWE was someone named Brock Lesnar. Benjamin was his roomie at the time.

 

[Test]

Wrestling news sites has for weeks been reporting that WWE has been contacting veterans to return for the brand split so Benjamin returning is not a surprise to me. If he returns as a heel he would put on killer matches with the up and coming Apollo Crews. In fact I feel this will be his first feud on return.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Once Dolph Ziggler is back in the midcard where he belngs I think it would be cool to see a tag team with Ziggler and Shelton. They both have legit amateur wrestling backgrounds and they both have that sort of "show stealer" persona. It would be a cool dynamic seeing them always trying to upstage each other atheltically and steal the spotlight. Plus it would make for a natural feud with American Alpha.

Ziggler/Benjamin would be a great way to build-up Smackdown's new Tag Team division, sort of like Angle/Benoit did in 2002 or Edge and Rey Mysterio.

 

[OYDK]

Good move by WWE, Benjamin is a guy who could be used in a bunch of different ways. He can form a tag team to pad SD's tag division, he can work the mid-card, possibly even for the IC title here and there, he can help with the credibility of some of the younger guys, hell he can even go the Angle route and take a guy like Apollo Crews under his wing.

Diversity people, diversity is good.

 

[ghost94]

In theory, Shelton's return is a boon to a very weak SmackDown roster.

In reality, he should stay away. Benjamin is just going to be buried, fed constantly to every NXT call-up and made to look like a joke, like all veteran talents.

Feud with The Miz? Let Miz do the talking and Shelton do the wrestling. I could see Shelton holding the title. Isn't this one possible positive thing for Shelton?

 

[Sean Valjean]

I always liked Shelton, especially in 04/05. He'll be a welcome addition to Smackdown, but I'm not expecting him to receive a huge main event push.

Shelton was always great at wowing people with his athleticism and wrestling prowess, but his promo ability and personality were almost non-existent. He was basically Rob Van Dam minus the charisma. Unless he's acquired a distinct personality during his time in the indies/Japan, I see his run going similarly to RVD's last stint: the veteran flippy guy who wins now and again but is ultimately hired to shine up the current/younger stars. I wouldn't mind that too much. It's not like Shelton was winning world titles and lighting up the WWE during his last few years with the company, so my expectations are in check.

On a side note, Ziggler must be salivating the chance to recreate HBK's amazing superkick to Shelton when he comes back .

 

[nWo2]

Shelton Benjamin BETTER get the WWE title during this run or he has no reason to be back in the WWE.

I would love to see him cost Randy Orton the match at Summerslam and begin his own program with Randy to finish the year and finally rub it off during the Royal Rumble.

 

[mont3818]

I don't expect Shelton to get much of a main event push, but I at least hope his booking gets treated with respect. As long as he's not jobbed out to guys like Apollo Crews, Rusev, and Baron Corbin. There are many great matches to be had with Shelton, you name it: Styles, Rollins, Cesaro, Owens, even Balor and Ziggler.

I hope the hardcore wrestling fans treat him with the same kind of rabid fandom they treat guys like, AJ Styles, KO, and Cesaro with. He needs his recognition and WWE booking should respect that! A few main event quality matches, even interchanging wins/losses, is all I can ask for. Maybe ONE World Championship shot (not necessarily winning it) just as a thank you for being a great athlete would be nice. The dude should be a future legend and maybe future HOFer in my opinion.

Heck, I'd bring match The Minnesota Wrecking Crew back for just one night. Something like Lesnar and Benjamin vs. Reigns and Ambrose (or versus The Club Styles and Balor) for one night only at the Survivor Series this year!! But they probably pay Lesnar too match, and have too limited of dates for him to justify it.. Still it could set up a future feud for him. We never got the Lesnar/Reigns rematch for example. Or when Kurt Angle comes back have it involve Shelton somehow, since Angle was a mentor of sorts and brought him in.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Also, given that we're in an era where Shelton's style won't be considered just a flipping monkey (thank you NXT), I wouldn't be surprised if Shelton gets super over and actually get a mid card title run.

However, Shelton's definitely not coming back to be pushed by the WWE as a top star.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Benjamin is one of the most overrated wrestlers ever. He was pretty good but nothing more than a mid-carder. However with how weak Smackdown's mid-card is, he would be a welcomed addition. Charlie Haas should also return and reform the World's Greatest Tag Team.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Shelton Benjamin BETTER get the WWE title during this run or he has no reason to be back in the WWE.

I would love to see him cost Randy Orton the match at Summerslam and begin his own program with Randy to finish the year and finally rub it off during the Royal Rumble.

There's virtually no chance whatsoever of Shelton Benjamin becoming WWE World or Universal Champion; if it didn't happen 10 years ago, it's almost certainly not gonna happen now. The reason Shelton Benjamin is coming back to WWE is because of good money. Benjamin was an uncharismatic mid-card/tag team wrestler when he was in WWE and that's what he's been since he's been gone from WWE. Benjamin had some significant mid-card title runs back in the day, he had wins over some of the top names in WWE but many fans never really warmed up to him in a way that warranted a main event push. Of course, that didn't stop Vince from pushing Roman Reigns but Vince saw something in Reigns that he didn't see in Benjamin years back and it's doubtful he sees it now. Benjamin is there to beef up the roster, to be counted on to perform good quality matches and to ultimately help elevate fresher and younger talent. That's not to say that he couldn't have some success as a mid-card singles or tag team wrestler, but he's not a main eventer; never was and probably never will be.

 

[kadroan]

I wouldn't go expecting too much. This is a guy they released during what was likely his prime. He's there to pad out the roster. I can't see him being anything but an opening match act.

It'd be cool to see him get atleast one title match with Ambrose. Ultimately, I think he'll help elevate the midcard. Him vs. Ziggler, Orton, Cena, etc. should be good.

 

[ShinChan]

I am really glad for a Shelton Benjamin return as I loved this guy while I was a child.

I can't see him being in the main event picture but I am all okay for him being in Upper Mid Card or Mid Card. He can be utilized nicely to put over young talented wrestlers. The guy is good enough in ring to entertain with his wrestling itself. So I am really optimistic to see how his return goes on in future.

 

[nWo2]

Benjamin is one of the most overrated wrestlers ever. He was pretty good but nothing more than a mid-carder. However with how weak Smackdown's mid-card is, he would be a welcomed addition. Charlie Haas should also return and reform the World's Greatest Tag Team.

You do know Shelton Benjamin > Bryan Danielson (in-ring), right?

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

You do know Shelton Benjamin > Bryan Danielson (in-ring), right?

LOL, okay. What about charisma and crowd control? Bryan had/has more of that and Benjamin ever will.