Shelton Benjamin
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Benjamin in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | Shelton James Benjamin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | July 9, 1975 Orangeburg, South Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Lassen Community College University of Minnesota | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Professional wrestling career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ring name(s) | Shelton Benjamin Shelton X Benjamin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Billed weight | 248 lb (112 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Billed from | Minneapolis, Minnesota Orangeburg, South Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Trained by | Danny Davis Dean Malenko Doug Basham | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Debut | January 10, 2000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Shelton James Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler. As of October 2024, he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Hurt Syndicate and is one-half of the AEW World Tag Team Champions with stablemate Bobby Lashley. Benjamin is best known for his tenures with WWE, first from 2000 to 2010, and then again from 2017 to 2023. He is also known for his appearances in Ring of Honor (ROH), and in Japan with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wrestling Noah under the ring name Shelton X Benjamin.
Prior to becoming a professional wrestler, Benjamin was a two-sport athlete in college, having won an NJCAA championship in both track and field and collegiate wrestling. After attending junior college, he completed his degree from the University of Minnesota. Benjamin started his professional wrestling career in WWE's developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he held the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship four times. WWE then moved him to the main roster in 2002, where he formed an alliance with Kurt Angle and Charlie Haas, known as Team Angle, and later, The World's Greatest Tag Team with Haas. During his first tenure with the company, he won the WWE Intercontinental Championship three times, with his first title reign lasting 244 days, the longest reign in this century until 2023, the WWE United States Championship once, and the WWE Tag Team Championship two times with Haas. He was released from WWE in April 2010, and began performing for ROH, where he reunited with Charlie Haas and went on to win the ROH World Tag Team Championship twice. He made his NJPW (NJPW) debut in 2012, and appeared in Pro Wrestling Noah in 2015, both as a member of Suzuki-gun. He returned to WWE in August 2017, going on to join The Hurt Business and win the renamed WWE Raw Tag Team Championship a third time with Cedric Alexander, and the WWE 24/7 Championship three times. He was released again in September 2023, returning to the independent circuit. He made his AEW debut the following October, reuniting with MVP and Lashley as The Hurt Syndicate.