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Shelton Benjamin

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Shelton Benjamin
Born (1975-07-09) July 9, 1975 (age 49)
Orangeburg, South Carolina
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Shelton Benjamin
Billed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1]
Billed weight248 lb (112 kg; 17.7 st)[1]
Billed fromOrangeburg, South Carolina
Trained byOhio Valley Wrestling
DebutNovember 2000[2]

Shelton Benjamin[2] (born July 9, 1975)[2] is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) working on its SmackDown brand, where he is the reigning WWE United States Champion.

Benjamin has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling in high school and at the University of Minnesota. After spending time in Ohio Valley Wrestling,[2] WWE moved him to the SmackDown! brand, where he is the current United States Champion. During his tenure with the company, he has also won the WWE Intercontinental Championship three times, and he has held the WWE Tag Team Championship and OVW Southern Tag Team Championship two and four times, respectively.

Benjamin has also acted as an assistant coach in amateur wrestling. He has an extensive interest in video games, winning the WWE THQ Superstar Challenge four times before retiring from the contest.[3]

Amateur wrestling

Benjamin grew up in Orangeburg, South Carolina where he was an accomplished amateur wrestler.[1] He began wrestling while in the 10th grade at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School.[4] While in high school, he achieved a 122–10 win-loss record and was a two-time South Carolina state high school heavyweight wrestling champion, earning the title in both 1993 and 1994.[1][2][4][5] He also was a Junior College National Track Champion in the 100 meter and won the junior college national wrestling heavyweight title in 1996 while attending Lassen Junior College in Susanville, California.[4][5] He was then accepted to attend the University of Minnesota, where he achieved a 36–6 win-loss record.[2] Moreover, while attending the university, he was a two-time All-American heavyweight wrestler.[4] After graduation, he served as an assistant coach at the University and trained with future OVW tag team partner Brock Lesnar.[4][5] In 1997, Benjamin went 36–6 and made 12 pins in the Big Ten Championship, in which he placed sixth.[5] Instead of trying to qualify for the 2000 Olympics, Benjamin decided instead to try and pursue a professional wrestling career.[5]

Professional wrestling career

Ohio Valley Wrestling (2000–2002)

Benjamin was offered and accepted a contract from World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was placed in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) as one half of a tag team with Brock Lesnar, who was a wrestling teammate at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.[6] Together they were known as the "Minnesota Stretching Crew,"[5] and they held the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship on three occasions.[7] The first two reigns occurred during February and July 2001.[5] They were scripted to win the titles for a third time from Rico Constantino and The Prototype on October 29, 2001.[5] After Lesnar was called up to the main roster in November 2001, Benjamin formed a tag team with Redd Dogg Begnaud called "The Dogg Pound" and once again won the OVW Southern Tag Team Title on July 17, 2002.[2][5] Throughout the remainder of 2002, Benjamin wrestled at several house shows for the main WWE roster and eventually on Sunday Night Heat as a fan favorite.[5]

World Wrestling Entertainment

World's Greatest Tag Team (2002–2004)

Main article: The World's Greatest Tag Team

Benjamin was offered a full-time World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) contract in September 2002.[5] He joined WWE's SmackDown! brand as a villain on December 26, 2002, forming Team Angle along with Charlie Haas, with Olympic gold-medalist wrestler Kurt Angle as their on-screen mentor.[8] Their first official match together in WWE was on the January 2, 2003 edition of SmackDown! against Edge and Chris Benoit.[9]

File:TWGTT-Haas-&-Benjamin-Postmatch-crop,-RLA-Melb-10.11.2007.jpg
Benjamin with Team Angle/The World's Greatest Tag Team partner Charlie Haas

They continued their storyline feud with Benoit until No Way Out, when Benoit teamed with Brock Lesnar to defeat Team Angle.[10] The duo were scripted to win their first WWE Tag Team Championship just a month after their debut by defeating the champions, Los Guerreros (Eddie and Chavo Guerrero) on February 6, 2003.[11] The two then went on to compete in their first WrestleMania match at WrestleMania XIX, retaining their tag title in a triple threat match against Los Guerreros, and Chris Benoit and Rhyno.[5] Team Angle later lost the title to Eddie Guerrero and his new partner Tajiri at Judgment Day in a ladder match.[5]

The storyline concluded on the June 12, 2003 SmackDown!, when, as part of the scripted events, Angle confronted Benjamin and Haas and fired them from Team Angle.[12] They began referring to themselves as The World's Greatest Tag Team and won the tag title back on the July 3 edition of SmackDown!.[13] They lost the title on September 18, after Benjamin suffered a legitimate knee injury during a match against Los Guerreros.[14] He was sidelined for approximately one month,[5] but the pair competed together again, taking part in a Fatal Four-Way match at WrestleMania XX.[15]

Intercontinental Champion (2004–2006)

On March 22, 2004, Benjamin was scripted to be moved to the Raw brand as part of the 2004 Draft Lottery.[16] After arriving, Benjamin quickly became a fan favorite when, in his new storyline, he won a pinfall victory over Triple H.[17] Benjamin then feuded with Triple H, beating him three times in total: once by pinfall, once by countout, and once by disqualification.[18] As part of the storyline, Benjamin then feuded with the other members of Triple H's stable Evolution. Benjamin defeated Ric Flair at Backlash and lost to Randy Orton in a WWE Intercontinental Championship match at Bad Blood.[19][20]

Shelton Benjamin at a house show in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.

During a match with Garrison Cade on Heat, Benjamin punched Cade's knee brace, legitimately breaking his hand in the process and briefly taking him out of action.[5] Benjamin returned in the fall of 2004 and was chosen by the fans to compete for the Intercontinental Championship in a match against then-champion Chris Jericho at Taboo Tuesday. Benjamin was scripted to win the match,[21] giving him his first singles title in the company.[2] During his reign as Intercontinental Champion, Benjamin retained the title against challengers such as Christian at Survivor Series in November,[22] Maven at January's New Year's Revolution,[23] and Chris Jericho at Backlash in May.[24] Benjamin lost the title to Carlito when he debuted on Raw during the June 20, 2005 episode, ending the longest Intercontinental Championship reign of the decade.[25]

Benjamin's next storyline began on the December 5, 2005 edition of Raw, when Shawn Michaels was scripted to give Benjamin a speech to get him "psyched" for their tag match together later in the night.[26] As a part of the scripted ending to the match, Michaels was preparing to finish the match when Benjamin tagged himself in and missed a crossbody, allowing Carlito to pin Benjamin.[2] Benjamin was then depicted as having a "losing streak" over the next several weeks,[2] which led to Benjamin's noisy, scolding and domineering "Momma" (played by comedian/actress Thea Vidale) coming to Raw to confront Benjamin. Momma slapped and yelled at Benjamin anytime he lost a match.[27] Before long, she assisted Benjamin in his matches, often interfering on his behalf.[28] This led Benjamin once again becoming a villain. In 2006, Benjamin had a staged on-screen rivalry with then-Intercontinental Champion Ric Flair. On the February 20 edition of Raw, Benjamin defeated Flair to regain the Intercontinental Championship after Momma faked a heart problem, causing enough of a distraction to allow Benjamin to cheat and win the title.[29] Benjamin continued to feud with Flair, but Momma no longer accompanied him to ringside. As part of the scripted events, Benjamin stated that she was undergoing heart surgery in the hospital and that he held Flair responsible.[30]

Benjamin competed in the second Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 22.[31] He then had an on-screen rivalry with the winner of that match, Rob Van Dam, in an attempt to take Van Dam's Money in the Bank contract. During this time, Benjamin emphasized his new villainous persona with a new gimmick: wearing shades, jewelry, and occasional colored shirts while entering the ring.[32] At one point, Benjamin was defeated by his former tag team partner, the returning Charlie Haas, during an episode of Raw. A predetermined stipulation added to this loss meant that Benjamin had to defend the Intercontinental Title in the same match as his shot at Van Dam's contract,[33] meaning at Backlash it would be a "Winner Takes All" match. Rob Van Dam was scripted to win at Backlash and take Benjamin's Intercontinental title.[34] Benjamin regained the title from Rob Van Dam in a Tornado Tag Team match, pitting Benjamin, Triple H and Chris Masters against Van Dam and WWE Champion John Cena;[5] both the WWE Championship and WWE Intercontinental Championship could be won by whoever pinned the appropriate champion. After Triple H Pedigreed Van Dam, he turned his attention to John Cena and went for the pin on the WWE Champion. In accordance with the predetermined outcome of the match, Benjamin got to Van Dam first, picking up the pin and his third Intercontinental Championship.[35] Subsequently, Benjamin feuded with Carlito and others for his Intercontinental Championship before losing the title to Johnny Nitro in a Triple Threat match also involving Carlito at Vengeance.[36]

During December 2006, Benjamin's former tag team partner Charlie Haas came out to celebrate with Benjamin after he defeated Super Crazy.[37] The World's Greatest Tag Team was officially reunited when they defeated the Highlanders on the December 11, 2006 episode of Raw.[38] The duo feuded with Cryme Tyme and competed mainly on Heat.[39]

The Gold Standard (2007–present)

On the November 20, 2007 airing of ECW on Sci Fi, Elijah Burke introduced Benjamin as the newest ECW superstar. On ECW, Benjamin began once again receiving more airtime and higher profile matches, defeating Tommy Dreamer in his debut.[40] He then qualified for the 2008 Royal Rumble match and won an over the top rope preview. Benjamin appeared in the Rumble match, entering at number 17, but was eliminated by Shawn Michaels.[41] He suffered his first loss since coming to ECW, to Kane, by count-out, on the January 29, 2008 edition of ECW on Sci-Fi. On the February 22 edition of SmackDown!, Benjamin defeated Jimmy Wang Yang in a qualifying match for the Money in the Bank ladder match scheduled for WrestleMania XXIV,[42] which was won by CM Punk. After WrestleMania, Benjamin began an on-screen rivalry with Kofi Kingston. Kingston defeated Benjamin on the April 22, 2008 edition of ECW via his finishing maneuver, Trouble in Paradise. During the rematch on April 29, Kingston won again. On ECW's 100th episode, Benjamin defeated Kingston, thus ending the latter's undefeated streak.

As part of the 2008 Supplemental Draft, Benjamin was drafted to the SmackDown brand.[43] On the July 11, 2008 airing of SmackDown!, Benjamin defeated WWE United States Champion Matt Hardy in a non-title match, earning himself a future title shot. At the Great American Bash on July 20, Benjamin once again defeated Hardy to win the title.[44][45]

In wrestling

Shelton performs a T-Bone Suplex on Carlito
Benjamin performs a clothesline on Lance Cade

Championships and accomplishments

Benjamin has been a two-time Tag Team Champion in WWE.
  • Black Athlete Sports Network
    • African-American Wrestler of the Year award in 2005[51]

Outside of wrestling

Shelton is an avid video gamer. He won WWE's THQ Superstar Challenge, a video game tournament that takes place every year during WrestleMania weekend, four years in a row before retiring in 2007.[3][56] He spends time every day playing.[56] He has also appeared in five Smackdown! series video games, including all but one Smackdown! vs Raw game.

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d e "Shelton Benjamin's WWE Bio". wwe.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "OWoW Profile". onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  3. ^ a b Kapur, Bob (2007-05-11). "Shelton Benjamin hard to faze". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  4. ^ a b c d e Scales, Jason (February 2002). "It's all about the Benjamin". Wrestling Digest. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Milner, John (2005-04-17). "Shelton Benjamin's Profile". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  6. ^ "Ohio Valley Wrestling Alumni". ovwrestling.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  7. ^ a b "OVW Southern Tag Team Title". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  8. ^ "SmackDown! Results - [[December 26]], [[2002]]". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  9. ^ "SmackDown! Results - [[January 2]], [[2003]]". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  10. ^ "No Way Out 2003 - [[February 23]], [[2003]]". prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  11. ^ "WWE Tag Team - Benjamin & Haas". wwe.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  12. ^ "SmackDown! Results - [[June 12]], [[2003]]". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  13. ^ "SmackDown! Results - [[July 3]], [[2003]]". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  14. ^ "SmackDown! Results - [[September 18]], [[2003]]". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  15. ^ "WrestleMania XX - [[March 14]], [[2004]]". prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  16. ^ "RAW Results - [[March 22]], [[2004]]". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  17. ^ Blackjack Brown (2004-04-04). "Benjamin stuns HHH – and WWE". Chicago Sun Times. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  18. ^ "RAW Results - [[April 5]], [[2004]]". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  19. ^ "Backlash 2004 - [[April 18]], [[2004]]". prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  20. ^ "Bad Blood 2004 - [[June 13]], [[2004]]". prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  21. ^ "Taboo Tuesday 2004 - [[October 19]], [[2004]]". prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  22. ^ "Survivor Series 2004 - [[November 14]], [[2004]]". prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  23. ^ "New Year's Revolution - [[January 9]], [[2005]]". prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  24. ^ "Backlash 2005 - [[May 1]], [[2005]]". prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  25. ^ "Intercontinental title reign: Carlito". wwe.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  26. ^ "RAW Results - [[December 5]], [[2005]]". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  27. ^ "RAW Results - [[January 2]], [[2006]]". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  28. ^ PWI Staff (2007). "Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts". "Wrestling’s historical cards". Kappa Publishing. p. 119.
  29. ^ "RAW Results - [[February 20]], [[2006]]". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  30. ^ "RAW Results - [[March 13]], [[2006]]". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  31. ^ "WrestleMania 22 - [[April 2]], [[2006]]". prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  32. ^ "Picture of Shelton Benjamin". Retrieved 2007-07-20.
  33. ^ "RAW Results - [[April 17]], [[2006]]". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  34. ^ "Backlash 2006 - [[April 30]], [[2006]]". prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  35. ^ "RAW Results - [[May 15]], [[2006]]". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  36. ^ "Vengeance 2006 - [[June 25]], [[2006]]". prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  37. ^ "RAW Results - [[December 4]], [[2006]]". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  38. ^ "RAW Results - [[December 11]], [[2006]]". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-17. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  39. ^ "The World's Greatest Tag Team OWoW Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  40. ^ "Heating up for the holidays". WWE.com. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessdaymonthyear= ignored (help)
  41. ^ "2008 Royal Rumble Statistics". WWE.com. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessdaymonthyear= ignored (help)
  42. ^ DiFino, Lennie (February 22, 2008). "Results: Two roads diverge". WWE.com. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
  43. ^ "Official 2008 WWE Supplemental Draft Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
  44. ^ a b "History Of The WWE United States Championship - Shelton Benjamin". WWE. 2008-07-20. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
  45. ^ DiFino, Lennie (2008-07-20). "The Great American Bash: Midas Touch". WWE. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
  46. ^ "A Barbaric Batista". WWE.com. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  47. ^ "McMahon to Bischoff: "You're fired!"". 2005-12-05. Retrieved 2008-07-15. {{cite web}}: Text "publisherWorld Wrestling Entertainment" ignored (help)
  48. ^ "Celebrating Eddie Guerrero". WWE.com. 2005-11-14. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  49. ^ Rote, Andrew (2007-12-02). "Shelton Benjamin raises the bar". WWE. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  50. ^ "WWE Music Volume 8 CD". WWE. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  51. ^ Thompson, Korbid (2006-01-03). "2005 African-American Wrestler of the Year". Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  52. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 - 2005". Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  53. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Award Winners - Tag Team of the Year". Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  54. ^ "WWE: Inside WWE > Title History > Intercontinental". wwe.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  55. ^ "WWE: Inside WWE > Title History > WWE Tag Team". wwe.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  56. ^ a b Gaudiosi, John (2007-05-18). "Shelton Benjamin: WWE Superstar and PSP® Fan". Retrieved 2007-06-18.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shelton Benjamin.


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