Shelton Benjamin

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Shelton Benjamin
Shelton Benjamin at a house show in November 2006.
Shelton Benjamin at a house show in November 2006.
Statistics
Ring name(s) Shelton Benjamin
Billed height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1]
Billed weight 245 lb (111 kg/17.5 st)[1]
Born July 9, 1975 (1975-07-09) (age 32)
Orangeburg, South Carolina
Resides Houston, Texas
Billed from Orangeburg, South Carolina
Trained by Ohio Valley Wrestling
Debut November 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 ECW brand.

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. During his tenure with the company, he has 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]

Contents

Career

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.[2][4][5] In 1997, Benjamin went 36–6 and made 12 pins in the Big Ten Championship, in which he placed 6th.[5] Instead of trying to qualify for the 2000 Olympics, Benjamin decided instead to try and pursue a professional wrestling career.[5]

World Wrestling Entertainment (2000–current)

Ohio Valley Wrestling (2000–2002)

Benjamin was offered and accepted a contract from World Wrestling Entertainment 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.[2][6] Together they were known as the "Minnesota Stretching Crew,"[2][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 booked 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 2002, Benjamin wrestled at house shows and eventually on Sunday Night Heat as a face, where he defeated the likes of Justin Credible, Shawn Stasiak, and Crash Holly.[8][5]

SmackDown! brand (2002–2004)

Benjamin with Team Angle/The World's Greatest Tag Team partner Charlie Haas.
Benjamin with Team Angle/The World's Greatest Tag Team partner Charlie Haas.

Benjamin was offered a full-time WWE contract in September 2002.[5] He joined WWE's SmackDown! brand as a heel on December 26, 2002, forming Team Angle along with Charlie Haas, with Olympic gold-medalist wrestler Kurt Angle as their kayfabe mentor.[9] Their first official match together in WWE was on the January 2, 2003 edition of SmackDown! against Edge and Chris Benoit.[10] They continued their storyline feud with Benoit until No Way Out 2003, when Benoit teamed with Brock Lesnar to defeat Team Angle.[11]

The duo were booked 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.[12] 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][13] Team Angle later dropped the title to Eddie Guerrero and his new partner Tajiri at Judgment Day 2003 in a ladder match.[14][5]

The angle concluded on the June 12, 2003 SmackDown!, when Angle kayfabe confronted Benjamin and Haas and fired them from Team Angle.[15] They began referring to themselves as The World's Greatest Tag Team,[2] and "won" the tag title back on the July 3 edition of SmackDown!.[16] They dropped the title on September 18, after Benjamin suffered a legitimate knee injury during a match against Los Guerreros.[17] He was sidelined for approximately one month,[5] but the pair competed together again, taking part in a fatal four-way WWE Tag Team Title match at WrestleMania XX.[18]

Raw brand (2004–2007)

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

On March 22, 2004, Benjamin was booked to be moved to the Raw brand as part of the 2004 Draft Lottery.[19] After arriving, Benjamin quickly became a face when, in his new angle, he won a pinfall victory over Triple H.[20][21] Benjamin then feuded with Triple H, beating him three times in total: once by pinfall, once by countout and once by disqualification.[22] As part of the storyline, Benjamin then feuded with the other members of Triple H's stable Evolution. Benjamin defeated Ric Flair at Backlash 2004 and lost to Randy Orton in a WWE Intercontinental Championship match at Bad Blood 2004.[23][24]

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.[2][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 booked to win the match,[25] 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,[26] Maven at January's New Year's Revolution,[27] and Chris Jericho at Backlash in May.[28] Benjamin finally dropped the title to Carlito when he debuted on Raw during the June 20, 2005 episode,[29] ending the longest Intercontinental Championship reign of the decade.[30]

While he was Intercontinental Champion, Benjamin also participated in the first Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 21 but came up short.[31] He later lost a match on Raw against Shawn Michaels in the "Gold Rush Tournament," but whilst losing, it was considered one of the greatest matches of the year.[32] For months afterwards, Benjamin jobbed to wrestlers on the Raw roster such as Carlito,[33] Chris Masters,[34] Snitsky,[34] and Rob Conway.[35] Benjamin then engaged in a brief feud with Kerwin White (Chavo Guerrero's golfer gimmick) and his caddy Nick Nemeth.[2]

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.[36] As Michaels was preparing to finish the match, Benjamin tagged himself in and "missed" a crossbody, allowing Carlito to pin Benjamin.[2] Benjamin was booked into a storyline "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 about his losing streak. Momma slapped and yelled at Benjamin anytime he lost a match.[37] Before long, she assisted Benjamin in his matches, often interfering on his behalf.[38] This led to a second heel run for Benjamin.

In 2006, Benjamin feuded 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.[39] Benjamin continued to feud with Flair, but Momma no longer accompanied him to ringside. As part of the on-going angle, Benjamin, in kayfabe, stated that she was undergoing heart surgery in the hospital, and that he held Flair responsible.[40]

Benjamin delivers a clothesline to Lance Cade.
Benjamin delivers a clothesline to Lance Cade.

Benjamin competed in the second Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 22.[41] He feuded 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 heel turn with a new gimmick: wearing shades, jewelry, and occasional colored shirts while entering the ring.[42] 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,[43] meaning at Backlash 2006 it would be a "Winner Takes All" match. Rob Van Dam came out on top at Backlash to take Benjamin's Intercontinental title.[44] 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.[45]

Subsequently, Benjamin kayfabe feuded with Carlito and others for his Intercontinental Championship before dropping the title to Johnny Nitro in a triple threat match also involving Carlito at Vengeance 2006.[46]

During late 2006, Benjamin began a new racial gimmick and storyline by kayfabe complaining how other African American wrestlers reflected a negative stereotype,[47] and that he was being discriminated against in the company because he was black.[48] During December 2006, Benjamin's former tag team partner Charlie Haas came out to celebrate with Benjamin after he defeated Super Crazy.[49] The World's Greatest Tag Team was officially reunited when they defeated the Highlanders on the December 11, 2006 episode of Raw.[50] The duo feuded with Cryme Tyme and competed mainly on Heat.[51]

In the fall of 2007, Shelton Benjamin was pushed to compete in several number one contender matches for the Intercontinental Championship, yet often lost to Jeff Hardy and Santino Marella. After Hardy won the title, Benjamin challenged for the title, but did not win it.[52]

Extreme Championship Wrestling brand (2007–current)

On the November 20, 2007 airing of ECW on Sci Fi, Elijah Burke introduced Benjamin as the newest ECW superstar. On ECW, Benjamin received another push, defeating Tommy Dreamer in his debut.[53] 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 for the third straight year.[54][55][56]

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,[57] which was won by CM Punk. Since then he has entered a feud with Kofi Kingston. Kingston defeated Shelton on April 22, 2008 edition of ECW via Trouble in Paradise. A rematch occurred on April 29, 2008 of ECW which Kofi Kingston won again. On ECW's 100th Episode Shelton defeated Kofi Kingston, thus ending the latter's undefeated streak.

In wrestling

Shelton hits Carlito with his T-Bone Suplex.
Shelton hits Carlito with his T-Bone Suplex.
  • Nicknames
    • The Gold Standard[58]

Championships and accomplishments

Benjamin has been a two-time Tag Team Champion in WWE.
Benjamin has been a two-time Tag Team Champion in WWE.
  • Black Athlete Sports Network
    • African-American Wrestler of the Year award in 2005[60]

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][65] He spends time every day playing.[65]

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d e Shelton Benjamin's WWE Bio. wwe.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q OWoW Profile. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  3. ^ a b Bob Kapur (2007-05-11). Shelton Benjamin hard to faze. SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved on 2007-06-18.
  4. ^ a b c d e Jason Scales (February 2002). It's all about the Benjamin. Wrestling Digest. Retrieved on 2007-06-18.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p John Milner (2005-04-17). Shelton Benjamin's Profile. SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved on 2007-06-18.
  6. ^ Ohio Valley Wrestling Alumni. ovwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  7. ^ a b OVW Southern Tag Team Title. wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  8. ^ 2002 WWF/WWE results
  9. ^ SmackDown! Results - December 26, 2002. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17. “Paul introduces Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin, dressed in Kurt Angle outfits..”
  10. ^ SmackDown! Results - January 2, 2003. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  11. ^ No Way Out 2003 - February 23, 2003. prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  12. ^ WWE: Inside WWE > Title History > WWE Tag Team > 20030206 - Benjamin & Haas. wwe.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  13. ^ WrestleMania XIX - March 30, 2003. prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  14. ^ Judgment Day 2003 - May 18, 2003. prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  15. ^ SmackDown! Results - June 12, 2003. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17. “Kurt Angle says that he is the founder of Team Angle, and fires both Shelton and Charlie!!”
  16. ^ SmackDown! Results - July 3, 2003. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  17. ^ SmackDown! Results - September 18, 2003. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  18. ^ WrestleMania XX - March 14, 2004. prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  19. ^ RAW Results - March 22, 2004. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  20. ^ RAW Results - March 29, 2004. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  21. ^ Blackjack Brown. "Benjamin stuns HHH -- and WWE", Chicago Sun Times, 2004-04-04. Retrieved on 2007-06-18. 
  22. ^ RAW Results - April 5, 2004. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  23. ^ Backlash 2004 - April 18, 2004. prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  24. ^ Bad Blood 2004 - June 13, 2004. prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  25. ^ Taboo Tuesday 2004 - October 19, 2004. prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  26. ^ Survivor Series 2004 - November 14, 2004. prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  27. ^ New Year's Revolution - January 9, 2005. prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  28. ^ Backlash 2005 - May 1, 2005. prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  29. ^ RAW Results - June 10, 2005. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  30. ^ WWE: Inside WWE > Title History > Intercontinental > 20050620 - Carlito. wwe.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17. “Shelton Benjamin had been enjoying the longest IC reign in 10 years”
  31. ^ WrestleMania 21 - April 3, 2005. prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  32. ^ RAW Results - May 2, 2005. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  33. ^ Vengeance 2005 - June 26, 2005. prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  34. ^ a b RAW Results - July 25, 2005. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  35. ^ RAW Results - September 5, 2005. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  36. ^ RAW Results - December 5, 2005. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17. “Shawn Michaels was just getting Shelton pysched [sic] for their match later..”
  37. ^ RAW Results - January 2, 2006. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17. “Shelton Benjamin's Mama showed up and yelled at Shelton Benjamin for going soft lately”
  38. ^ PWI Staff. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts", "Wrestling’s historical cards", Kappa Publishing, 2007, pp. 119. (English) 
  39. ^ RAW Results - February 20, 2006. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  40. ^ RAW Results - March 13, 2006. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17. “Shelton Benjamin said his Mama wasn't there tonight because she was having heart surgery and blamed Ric Flair!”
  41. ^ WrestleMania 22 - April 2, 2006. prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  42. ^ Picture of Shelton Benjamin. Retrieved on 2007-07-20.
  43. ^ RAW Results - April 17, 2006. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  44. ^ Backlash 2006 - April 30, 2006. prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  45. ^ RAW Results - May 15, 2006. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  46. ^ Vengeance 2006 - June 25, 2006. prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  47. ^ RAW Results - December 4, 2006. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17. “Shelton Benjamin came in and said Cryme Tyme was perpetrating a bad stereotype and that he didn't find it funny..”
  48. ^ RAW Results - November, 6 2006. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17. “Shelton Benjamin said the fans wasted their vote and said they didn't vote for him because he is black!”
  49. ^ RAW Results - December 4, 2006. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  50. ^ RAW Results - December 11, 2006. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  51. ^ The World's Greatest Tag Team OWoW Profile. onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  52. ^ Glamazon on the warpath. WWE.com.
  53. ^ Heating up for the holidays. WWE.com.
  54. ^ WWE: TV Shows > Royal Rumble > 2008 Royal Rumble Statistics. WWE.com.
  55. ^ WWE: TV Shows > Royal Rumble > History > 2007 > Exclusives > Entries and eliminations. WWE.com.
  56. ^ WWE: TV Shows > Royal Rumble > History > 2006 > Matches > Match Results. WWE.com.
  57. ^ Lennie DiFino (February 22, 2008). Results: Two roads diverge. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  58. ^ Rote, Andrew (2007-12-02). Shelton Benjamin raises the bar. WWE. Retrieved on 2008-03-27.
  59. ^ WWE Music Volume 8 CD. WWE. Retrieved on 2008-03-27.
  60. ^ Thompson, Korbid (2006-01-03). 2005 African-American Wrestler of the Year. Retrieved on 2007-06-18.
  61. ^ Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 - 2005. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  62. ^ Pro Wrestling Illustrated Award Winners - Tag Team of the Year. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  63. ^ WWE: Inside WWE > Title History > Intercontinental. wwe.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  64. ^ WWE: Inside WWE > Title History > WWE Tag Team. wwe.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  65. ^ a b John Gaudiosi (2007-05-18). Shelton Benjamin: WWE Superstar and PSP® Fan. Retrieved on 2007-06-18.

References

External links

Professional wrestling
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Persondata
NAME Benjamin, Shelton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Professional wrestler
DATE OF BIRTH July 9, 1975
PLACE OF BIRTH Orangeburg, South Carolina
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH