Shelton Benjamin
Shelton James Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler. He currently wrestles for New Japan Pro Wrestling under the ring name Shelton X Benjamin.
| Shelton Benjamin | |
|---|---|
 Shelton Benjamin in April 2013 during his time with Ring of Honor | |
| Born | July 9, 1975 Orangeburg, South Carolina |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Shelton Benjamin Shelton X Benjamin |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Billed weight | 248 lb (112 kg) |
| Billed from | Orangeburg, South Carolina |
| Trained by | Ohio Valley Wresting |
| Debut | 2000 |
He is best known for working with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and has also worked for Ring of Honor from 2010 to 2013.
Career
Benjamin started his career in Ohio Valley Wrestling and stay with them from 2000 to 2002. During his time there he won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship three times with Brock Lesnar and one time with Redd Dogg.
He was called up to the WWE in 2002 and debuted on the WWE SmackDown roster on December 26, 2002. During his early career in the WWE he along with Charlie Haas formed Team Angle with Kurt Angle as their on-screen mentor. They began a feud with Chris Benoit. Benjamin won the WWE Intercontinental Championship after he defeated then-champion Chris Jericho at the 2004 Taboo Tuesday.
He was part of a storyline where he was on a losing streak for many weeks which led his "momma" (played by actress Thea Vidale) to come to Raw to scold him. She assisted him in matches and sometimes interfered in them. She was taken off television when she was (kayfabe) undergoing heart surgery in the hospital and wouldn't be returning to the WWE.
In 2007, he started wearing gold attire and dyed his hair blond. He also began referring to himself as "The Gold Standard". Benjamin won the WWE United States Championship after he defeated then-champion Matt Hardy at the 2008 Great American Bash. Benjamin was released from the WWE on April 22, 2010 along with Jimmy Wang Yang, Kung Fu Naki, Slam Master J, Mickie James and Katie Lea Burchill.[1]
Championships
- Ohio Valley Wrestling
- OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (four times) (with Brock Lesnar (three) and Redd Dogg (one))
- Millennium Wrestling Federation
- MWF Heavyweight Championship (one time)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI Tag Team of the Year (2003) (with Charlie Haas)
- He was ranked #9 of the 500 best singles wrestlers by the PWI in the PWI 500 in 2005.
- Ring of Honor
- ROH World Tag Team Championship (two times) (with Charlie Haas)
- World Wrestling Council
- WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship (one time)
- World Wrestling Entertainment
- WWE Intercontinental Championship (three times)
- WWE Tag Team Championship (two times) (with Charlie Haas)
- WWE United States Championship (one time)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Most Underrated Wrestler (2005–2007)
References
- "WWE cuts six talent from roster on Thursday". WrestleView. Archived from the original on April 14, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
Other websites
- Official website Archived 2011-04-30 at the Wayback Machine
- Shelton Benjamin on New Japan Pro Wrestling
- Shelton Benjamin on WWE.com