Reminiscing on the Career of Shelton Benjamin

Although Shelton Benjamin hasn’t been in WWE in over six years, this charismatic athlete is still providing quite the impact on professional wrestling.

From North America to Japan, he has been demonstrating his athletic in-ring style since the turn of the 21st century.

Benjamin’s career started in 2000 when he began competing with Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), one of WWE’s developmental territories. He held the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship three times with Brock Lesnar, who would also reach great heights in WWE.

Two years later, Benjamin stepped it up a notch when he was offered a full-time contract with WWE. He once again proved his ability to succeed in tag team competition when he and Charlie Haas, who would later dub themselves “The World’s Greatest Tag Team”, won the WWE Tag Team Championship.

This title reign began only a month after their debut, and they were champions for about five months. During their first run as a duo, their most remarkable accomplishment was retaining their titles at WrestleMania XIX against Los Guerreros, and Chris Benoit and Rhyno.

2004 and 2005 were arguably Benjamin’s greatest years as a pro wrestler, as he was the longest-running Intercontinental Champion of the decade. This reign included victories over several renowned Superstars, such as Christian and Chris Jericho. Over his time in WWE, Benjamin won the Intercontinental Championship three times.

This Superstar became known for his appearances in four different Money in the Bank ladder matches.

After joining the ECW brand in November of 2007, he emerged as The Gold Standard, a persona in which he had blond hair and gold-colored attire. He competed in the 2008 Royal Rumble, however, he was eliminated by Shawn Michaels.

Later that year, The Gold Standard competed in his second MITB ladder match, in a losing effort.

Benjamin was drafted to SmackDown! in July of 2008. He began on a good note, as he quickly defeated Matt Hardy to become the United States Champion. This reign ended after 243 days, when Benjamin was defeated by Montel Vontavious Porter.

Once again, The Gold Standard wrestled for ECW, where he did not see much success. About a year later, he was released from his WWE contract.

Starting in 2010, he competed in the independent circuit. That same year, he started competing in Ring of Honor (ROH).

Through ROH, he reunited with Charlie Haas to win the ROH World Tag Team Championship. These two wrestlers remained partners for two years, until they both parted ways with the company.

Benjamin has been wrestling in New Japan Wrestling (NJPW) since 2012. He has won some and lost some in NJPW, but he continues to make a name for himself in the world of professional wrestling.

Whether it’s his stunning T-Bone Suplex or his vicious superkick, Shelton Benjamin is quite an accomplished competitor. It will be interesting to see what’s to come for this athletic enigma, hopefully even back in WWE, some day.