Shelton Benjamin

**Shelton James Benjamin** (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the stable The Hurt Syndicate and one-half of the AEW World Tag Team Champions along with Bobby Lashley.

He is best known for working with WWE, where he performed from 2000–2010 and from 2017–2023. He also wrestled for Ring of Honor from 2010 to 2013 and for New Japan Pro Wrestling under the ring name **Shelton X Benjamin**.

## 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 WWE's main roster in 2002 and debuted on the SmackDown brand on December 26, 2002. During his early career in 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 and Haas became two-time WWE Tag Team Championship twice. Benjamin then was drafted to Raw and won the WWE Intercontinental Championship after he defeated then-champion Chris Jericho at the 2004 Taboo Tuesday.

In 2006, 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 insult 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 never returned to WWE.

In 2007, Benjamin started wearing gold attire and dyed his hair blond. He also began referring to himself as "The Gold Standard". He 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. He then wrestled on the Independent circuit, for Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

On August 17, 2017, Benjamin officially re-signed with WWE. He returned on the August 22 episode of _SmackDown_ and was put in a tag team with Chad Gable. During the 2018 WWE Superstar Shake-up in April, Gable was traded to _Raw_, so the team broke up.

On the July 20, 2020 episode of _Raw_, Benjamin officially joined MVP and Bobby Lashley's stable The Hurt Business. During his time with the stable, he would win the 24/7 Championship three times. On December 20, at TLC, Benjamin and Cedric Alexander (who also joined The Hurt Business) defeated The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) to win the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship. This made Benjamin a three-time Tag Team Champion in WWE. They lost the titles back to Kingston and Woods on the March 15 episode of _Raw_. Benjamin was released from his WWE contract on September 21, 2023.

On the October 2, 2024 episode of _Dynamite_, Benjamin made his All Elite Wrestling (AEW) debut. He was introduced as a business partner by MVP. Shorty thereafter he was rejoined by Bobby Lashley to form the stable called the Hurt Syndicate. On the January 22, 2025 episode of _Dynamite_, Benjamin and Lashley defeated Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen) to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship, the first title in AEW for both men.

### Track and field

- **National Junior College Athletic Association**
    - Junior College 100 meter Champion

### Amateur wrestling

- **National Junior College Athletic Association**
    - Junior College National Wrestling Champion
- **National Collegiate Athletic Association**
    - All-American (1997, 1998)

### Professional wrestling

- **All Elite Wrestling**
    - AEW World Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) – with Bobby Lashley
- **Millennium Wrestling Federation**
    - MWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- **Ohio Valley Wrestling**
    - OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Brock Lesnar (3) and Redd Dogg (1)
    - Danny Davis Invitational Tag Team Tournament (2015) – with Charlie Haas
- ***Pro Wrestling Illustrated***
    - Tag Team of the Year (2003) <small>with Charlie Haas</small>
    - Ranked No. 9 of the 500 top wrestlers in the _PWI 500_ in 2005
- **Ring of Honor**
    - ROH World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Charlie Haas
- **World Wrestling Council**
    - WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- ***Wrestling Observer Newsletter***
    - Most Underrated (2005–2007)
- **WWE/World Wrestling Entertainment**
    - WWE 24/7 Championship (3 times)
    - WWE United States Championship (1 time
    - WWE Intercontinental Championship (3 times)
    - WWE (Raw) Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Charlie Haas (2), and Cedric Alexander (1)
    - Slammy Award (1 time)
        - Trash Talker of the Year (2020)

## Other websites

- Official website
- Shelton Benjamin on New Japan Pro Wrestling

## Infobox (wrestler)

- **name**: Shelton Benjamin
- **names**: **Shelton Benjamin**
Shelton X Benjamin
- **image**: Shelton Benjamin 040624 (cropped).jpg
- **caption**: Benjamin at Wrestlecon 2024
- **birth place**: Orangeburg, South Carolina, Orangeburg, South Carolina
- **billed**: Orangeburg, South Carolina
- **trainer**: Ohio Valley Wresting
- **debut**: 2000