Considered the best pure athlete and one of the most talented wrestlers who never won a world title in WWE, Shelton Benjamin stood out in his heyday for his tremendous athleticism, which he combined with great technical quality.
Born on July 9, 1975 in Orangeburg, in the US state of South Carolina, Shelton James Benjamin began practicing amateur fights, having twice reached the top five places in the ranking of the heavyweight division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which made him think about trying to qualify for the Olympic Games in Sydney (2000). However, Shelton eventually decided to pursue a career in pro wrestling instead .
On January 10, 2000, he signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was placed in the developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he formed a tag team with longtime friend Brock Lesnar .
He made his main roster debut on the December 26, 2002 episode of SmackDown! , as part of Team Angle , along with stable leader Kurt Angle and Charlie Haas. After some success alongside Haas in the tag team division, he started a solo career when the March 2004 draft took him to Raw , surprising everyone and everything with three victories over Triple H .
From then on, many ups and downs followed until 2010, when he was fired by WWE, at a time when he had the Intercontinental Championship (three reigns) and United States Championship (one) on his resume, in addition to two tag team titles (both alongside Charlie Haas).
He would return to the promoter in August 2017. Since then, he has already won the Raw Tag Team Championship with Cedric Alexander, as members of The Hurt Business, a stable that also included Bobby Lashley and MVP.
It is therefore worth remembering Shelton Benjamin’s ten best matches in WWE, in chronological order.
Monday Night Raw (March 29, 2004)
Triple H vs. Shelton Benjamin
On the March 22 episode of Raw, there was draft . Shelton Benjamin was transferred to Raw , breaking the tag team he had with Charlie Haas, while Triple H headed to SmackDown! , which displeased The Game and caused Shelton to laugh.
Meanwhile, Triple H returned to Raw in exchange for Booker T and The Dudley Boyz .
The following week, Evolution ( Triple H , Randy Orton , Batista and Ric Flair) were talking backstage when Shelton walked by.Batista intercepted him, confronted him face-to-face and raised his voice, while Triple H attacked Shelton from behind and told him not to disrespect him.
Meanwhile, Shelton went to Eric Bischoff and asked him to do something about the attack he was subjected to, while Sheriff Steve Austin advised Shelton to challenge Triple H to a match. That said, Shelton asked Bischoff for the fight and he agreed to book it. Still backstage , Shelton was encouraged by world champion Chris Benoit, legend Mick Foley and The Hurricane.
Bad Blood 2004
WWE Intercontinental Championship :
Randy Orton (c) vs. Shelton Benjamin
After the surprising victory via pinfall over Triple H in his Raw debut , on March 29, Shelton Benjamin again got the better of The Game on April 5, via countout .
Meanwhile, Ric Flair asked to face Shelton at Backlash , but was defeated following a Diving Clothesline . At the same event, Randy Orton defeated Cactus Jack in a Hardcore match to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship..
The day after the pay-per-view , Orton spat in the face of the legendary Harley Race, in the ring, prompting Shelton Benjamin to intervene, engaging in a brawl with Orton .
Weeks later, on Raw on May 17, Orton went to the ring to brag about his victories over Mick Foley and Edge , as well as having the longest reign of an Intercontinental Champion in seven years. Shelton interrupted Orton and challenged him to an Intercontinental Championship match , but Orton rejected the idea, which led to Shelton attacking him and Flair having to intervene. That same night, Shelton eliminated Orton (and was eliminated by Triple H ) in a battle royal to determine the top contender for the World Heavyweight Championship .
A week later, Shelton and Chris Jericho defeated Randy Orton and Batista in a tag team match, with Shelton giving his team the win by landing on Orton after a Powerslam .
On the May 31 episode of Raw , it was announced that Orton would indeed defend the Intercontinental Title.opposite Shelton at the Bad Blood pay-per-view .
Survivor Series 2004
WWE Intercontinental Championship :
Shelton Benjamin (c) vs. Christian
On the October 4 episode of Raw , General Manager Eric Bischoff announced that fans could vote for any wrestler on the roster to face champion Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship on Taboo Tuesday.
Not only was Shelton Benjamin chosen by the public (with 37.48% of the votes) but he ended up winning the title – his first solo in WWE – after a T-Bone Suplex .
About a week later, on the October 25 episode, Shelton Benjamin successfully defended the Intercontinental Championship against Jericho , but after the match he was attacked by Christian, who applied an Unpreitter to it .
The following week, Bischoff scheduled a title match between Shelton and Christian for Survivor Series .
Backlash 2005
WWE Intercontinental Championship :
Shelton Benjamin (c) vs. Chris Jericho
At WrestleMania 21, Shelton Benjamin was one of the first participants in the first ever Money in the Bank Ladder Match , which was won by Edge – Chris Jericho , Chris Benoit , Christian and Kane were the other competitors.
On the following night’s Raw , Shelton retained the Intercontinental Championship , which he had held since the previous year’s Taboo Tuesday, in a triple threat match that also involved Jericho and Christian , by landing at Y2J after a Flying Bulldog .
A week later, Chris Jericho invited Shelton to the Highlight Reel and made a point of stating that he wanted the Intercontinental Title back before both engaged in an exchange of insults and consequent brawl .
The match between the two for the Intercontinental Championship at Backlash ended up being officially announced on the April 18 episode of Raw .
Monday Night Raw (May 2, 2005)
Gold Rush Tournament Quarterfinals:
Shawn Michaels vs. Shelton Benjamin
The day after Batista retained the World Heavyweight Championship at Backlash by defeating Triple H , Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff announced the holding of the Gold Rush tournament to determine the top contender for the title.
Christian vs. Kane, Shelton Benjamin vs. Shawn Michaels , Edge vs. Chris Jericho and Triple H vs. Chris Benoit were scheduled for the first round of the tournament, to be played on Monday Night Raw following Backlash , on May 2.
Monday Night Raw (August 22, 2005)
Kurt Angle vs. Shelton Benjamin
There was no big story behind the marking of this match. It was marked and that’s it.
It should only be noted that Kurt Angle and Shelton Benjamin had been Team Angle teammates between December 2002 and June 2003 and that the Olympic champion was a newcomer to Raw , having beaten Eugene via submission at SummerSlam , on the eve of episode 22 of August.
Backlash 2006
Winner Takes All match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship and Money in the Bank contract:
Shelton Benjamin (Intercontinental Champion) vs. Rob Van Dam (contract holder)
At WrestleMania 22, Rob Van Dam won the Money in the Bank Ladder match , in which Bobby Lashley, Finlay, Matt Hardy, Ric Flair and Shelton Benjamin also competed.
On the following episodes of Monday Night Raw , Shelton, who was the Intercontinental Champion, challenged RVD to put his Money in the Bank contract on the line in a match. However, RVD fought back, asking Shelton for a match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship .
On the April 17 episode of Raw , RVD chose a mystery opponent for Shelton and Shelton did the same for RVD, with the stipulation that whoever lost would have to put their prize on the line at Backlash . Well, Shelton was defeated by the returning Charlie Haas, while RVD lost a match to all five Spirit Squad members. As such, both the Intercontinental Title and the Money in the Bank contract would be on the line at Backlash .
The Great American Bash 2008
WWE United States Championship :
Matt Hardy (c) vs. Shelton Benjamin
In late June 2008, Shelton Benjamin was transferred from ECW to SmackDown in that year’s supplemental draft, while United States Champion Matt Hardy moved the other way around.
On the July 4 episode of SmackDown , United States Independence Day, Matt Hardy beat Mr. Kennedy, Chavo Guerrero and Shelton Benjamin in a fatal four-way match to retain the United States Championship , by settling on Chavo.
A week later, Shelton defeated Matt Hardy, which put Gold Standard back in the title race .
SmackDown (August 8, 2008)
Shelton Benjamin vs. Jeff Hardy
A fight without much history in its genesis. United States Champion since defeating Matt Hardy at The Great American Bash 2008, Shelton Benjamin beat Jimmy Wang Yang and lost to Mr. Kennedy in the weeks that followed, in non- title matches . Jeff Hardy was already involved in a feud with MVP.
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2009
Ladder match for the ECW Championship:
Christian (c) vs. Shelton Benjamin
The ECW Championship was going through a less positive phase, since it was no longer defended on pay-per-view since Hell in a Cell, in September.
On the November 24 episode of ECW’s Weekly Show , Shelton Benjamin defeated Zack Ryder to become the top contender for the title. And Christian , champion since July, stressed that the title wasn’t getting the attention it deserved and that’s why he challenged Benjamin to a Ladder Match at PPV TLC .