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. 

 Championships and accomplishments 
 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) with Charlie Haas
 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) 

 Footnotes 

References

 Other websites 
Official website 
Shelton Benjamin on New Japan Pro Wrestling


Category:1975 births
Category:Living people
Category:African-American wrestlers
Category:All Elite Wrestling people
Category:American professional wrestlers
Category:Former WWE wrestlers
Category:Sportspeople from South Carolina