Weirdest de-push of all time.....Shelton Benjamin?

[LBGetBack]

As I've said in other threads, I've been watching a lot of early-mid 2000s PPVs lately, which is why this popped into mind.

After a very good heel tag team run in 2002-03, Shelton initially received a very good face push when he went solo and went to Raw early in 2004. He beat HHH several times, beat Ric Flair on PPV, and had a very competitive match with Randy Orton( the #1 young star in the company at the time). So his first feuds were with Evolution, the top dogs in the company. Then he won the IC title and had an 8 month reign. He was one of the highlights of Wrestlemania 21 in the first MITB match. Had several very good PPV matches with Chris Jericho, and then had one of the best Raw matches of all time against Shawn Michaels.

At this point, he was one of the best young stars in the company, a legit upper mid-carder who consistently put on good matches, and a solidly popular fan favorite. One good gauge of this is how he had a good number of fans behind him even when he wrestled legendary faces like HBK and Jericho.

So eventually he loses his title to Carlito in the summer. Fine. He had an 8 month reign. Time to elevate him further with a personal feud? Maybe against Angle? (The story would write itself as he was Angle's protege at one time). Edge? A real feud with HHH?

Nope. They literally did absolutely nothing with him.....except make him lose. He had no feud for the next 6 months. He just lost. To everybody. Basically went on a 6 month losing streak. He lost to Kerwin White. He lost to Trevor Murdoch. EVERYBODY. Eventually he went heel and he got some mid card pushes over the years, winning the IC and US titles several times. But usually as a heel. Why though? His move set screamed face. The fans liked him(until it became pointless to like him because they made him into a loser). The WWE desperately needed new stars at the time. Why did they ruin Shelton Benjamin? Bizarre.

 

[TEIWCSCSAATBHPHASP]

I personally never cared for Shelton Benjamin to be honest. He doesn't even have the charisma or the charm to pull it off, and unless he was going to be HHH's pet project, there's no way he would have a realistic shot at the main event picture, so with his lack of charisma, it's better to keep Shelton Benjamin toiling away in the midcards or the openers, and if WWE still had a Hardcore Division at the time, maybe Shelton Benjamin would've been a better fixture at the Hardcore ranks.

 

[LBGetBack]

I personally never cared for Shelton Benjamin to be honest. He doesn't even have the charisma or the charm to pull it off, and unless he was going to be HHH's pet project, there's no way he would have a realistic shot at the main event picture, so with his lack of charisma, it's better to keep Shelton Benjamin toiling away in the midcards or the openers, and if WWE still had a Hardcore Division at the time, maybe Shelton Benjamin would've been a better fixture at the Hardcore ranks.

Disagree. He wasn't a good talker, but he WAS likable. His facial expressions were always good. But more importantly, his athleticism WAS his charisma. It got him huge reactions. The guy was fun to watch. With guys like Chris Benoit and Rey Mysterio reaching the top back then due to their spectacular performances and not their talking, Shelton could've done it too. He could've been a solid mid-upper midcard face that could occasionally slide into the main event. The way they suddenly depushed him made absolutely zero sense.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

If I had to venture a guess it would have something to do with Lesnar's departure. While Vince probably didn't mind signing Benjamin at Lesnar's request, he may have also appreciated Benjamin less after Lesnar's exit.

But that's all speculation. In reality Benjamin never seemed to more than a midcarder. His momma didn't help him. He was too dry for the Gold Standard. Everything about him from a character standpoint never went beyond meh. That's not someone Vince is going to push very long.

 

[LBGetBack]

If I had to venture a guess it would have something to do with Lesnar's departure. While Vince probably didn't mind signing Benjamin at Lesnar's request, he may have also appreciated Benjamin less after Lesnar's exit.

But that's all speculation. In reality Benjamin never seemed to more than a midcarder. His momma didn't help him. He was too dry for the Gold Standard. Everything about him from a character standpoint never went beyond meh. That's not someone Vince is going to push very long.

Lesnar left in spring 2004....that's right around the time Shelton's solo push was starting. So that can't be it.

His momma HURT him. That was stupid and terrible. Gold Standard sortie worked, but again......he was better as a face. He wasn't a good enough talker to get heat that way, and his move set and athleticism made his wrestling style much better working as a face.

But back to my original point, his momma and the Gold Standard were new attempts to push him(as a heel).....why did they STOP pushing him in the first place in mid 2005? He was over! And he was good. I mean, he wasn't to the level of HBK, Cena, Batista, Undertaker......but he was getting similar crowd reactions to Benoit, Jericho, Mysterio, Etc. They had a credible young midcard face on the verge of big things, and they just pulled the plug and killed it......for what?

 

[TEIWCSCSAATBHPHASP]

Lesnar left in spring 2004....that's right around the time Shelton's solo push was starting. So that can't be it.

His momma HURT him. That was stupid and terrible. Gold Standard sortie worked, but again......he was better as a face. He wasn't a good enough talker to get heat that way, and his move set and athleticism made his wrestling style much better working as a face.

But back to my original point, his momma and the Gold Standard were new attempts to push him(as a heel).....why did they STOP pushing him in the first place in mid 2005? He was over! And he was good. I mean, he wasn't to the level of HBK, Cena, Batista, Undertaker......but he was getting similar crowd reactions to Benoit, Jericho, Mysterio, Etc. They had a credible young midcard face on the verge of big things, and they just pulled the plug and killed it......for what?

@LBGetBack Shelton Benjamin being pushed is like Vince McMahon giving a random female YouTuber named Jenny McDermott the WWE Diva's Champion or WWE Women's Champion. As for Benjamin, I think he was better off in the midcards.

 

[LBGetBack]

@LBGetBack Shelton Benjamin being pushed is like Vince McMahon giving a random female YouTuber named Jenny McDermott the WWE Diva's Champion or WWE Women's Champion. As for Benjamin, I think he was better off in the midcards.

I have no idea what the first part of your comment is supposed to mean.

And Shelton in the mid cards....fine. Still haven't heard a good explanation for why they put him on a 6 month losing streak and ruined him as a face midcarder. Sure they built him back up as a heel and he had a decent run from 06-10 mostly as a heel midcarder. But he was better as a face. And he was doing great. They ruined it. There's no good explanation as to why. Hence the name of the title of this thread.

From beating HHH, Jericho, and Flair and pushing Michaels to the limit in one of the best matches of the year.....to losing to Trevor Murdoch and Kerwin White in a matter of months. Stupid.

 

[wrestler36]

I was HUGE into Benjamin too, but in retrospect, I think his lack of 'it' factor in personality did him in. Phenomenal athlete, maybe one of the best in history, but I think he just lacked that certain connection with the crowd. Even when he became 'The Gold Standard,' his interviews were pre-taped. I think maybe if he was partnered with a Heyman, or feuded with somebody who contrasted with his personality, like Guerrero, he could've had a run at the very top, but I think he's more soft spoken. I kinda see the same thing in Jason Jordan now.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Lesnar left in spring 2004....that's right around the time Shelton's solo push was starting. So that can't be it.

His momma HURT him. That was stupid and terrible. Gold Standard sortie worked, but again......he was better as a face. He wasn't a good enough talker to get heat that way, and his move set and athleticism made his wrestling style much better working as a face.

But back to my original point, his momma and the Gold Standard were new attempts to push him(as a heel).....why did they STOP pushing him in the first place in mid 2005? He was over! And he was good. I mean, he wasn't to the level of HBK, Cena, Batista, Undertaker......but he was getting similar crowd reactions to Benoit, Jericho, Mysterio, Etc. They had a credible young midcard face on the verge of big things, and they just pulled the plug and killed it......for what?

OK. I will make up something else then. Vince depushed Benjamin as revenge on Lesnar for wrestling in Japan. He was furious ans decided that he would get even by hurting Lesnar's little friend that Lesnar abandoned when he ditched WWE.

 

[LBGetBack]

I was HUGE into Benjamin too, but in retrospect, I think his lack of 'it' factor in personality did him in. Phenomenal athlete, maybe one of the best in history, but I think he just lacked that certain connection with the crowd. Even when he became 'The Gold Standard,' his interviews were pre-taped. I think maybe if he was partnered with a Heyman, or feuded with somebody who contrasted with his personality, like Guerrero, he could've had a run at the very top, but I think he's more soft spoken. I kinda see the same thing in Jason Jordan now.

Yeah, I won't argue with someone saying he didn't have the "it" to be a top guy. I like to think he could've made it on his in ring work like Benoit did....but regardless. Fine. Let's say he didn't have "it".

I still don't get why they put him on that losing streak and killed his credibility. I mean, Kerwin White was a JOKE gimmick. He beat Shelton. Trevor Murdoch was a nobody. Beat Shelton. Out of these just months after Shelton had a long IC title reign and pushed Michaels to his limit. Just nonsensical booking. Put a guy on a 6 month losing streak and then give him his "momma" as a manager to turn him heel. SMH.

 

[OYDK]

Who knows. If you want a legitimate reason for why they decided to halt Benjamin's face push, you'd probably have to ask Vince himself. While you're at it, ask him why he's done that to a bunch of others throughout the years. All anybody here can give you is speculation, so allow me to speculate. It could have been for a couple of reasons:

1. Somewhere during the time of Benjamin's run as IC champion, Vince and Co. noticed something that turned them off about him. Perhaps they felt he lacked charisma or just didn't have the "it" factor to make any sort of real impact in the upper midcard/main event scene as a face. This could have led to his repackaging.

2. They gave Shelton Momma as a way to bring out some of his personality and it didn't click. I think Vince has always had a very specific idea of what he wanted his top guys to look and act like, especially around this time period, and the fact is, Shelton always lacked something character wise.

3. They lost interest in him and decided to use him to try and get others over for a period.

Like I said, nobody can give you a definitive answer. Benjamin was always a solid hand, but it's not like fans were clamoring to see him in the main event. He probably was not living up to the standards of the higher-ups who had spent a good amount of time trying to build him into a top babyface so they went in another direction.

 

[johnbragg]

Personally, as a viewer back then, Benjamin was bland and boring outside the ring. Maybe JR could have built him up into something hyping particular signature moves, but Cole and Taz couldn't/didn't.

People brought up Chris Benoit and Mysterio, but Mysterio had a completely unique look in WWE, that lent itself to a very compelling narrative of DAvid vs Goliath. Chris Benoit may have been below average on the mic, but he was always able to convey that he was passionately committed to winning in the ring, and climbing the ladder. Just the way he sold what the Five STar Frog Splash did to him in the ring--he was willing to hurt that much, to hurt the other guy more and get the pin.

Aside from his moveset and athleticism (and that's a big thing to set aside), Benjamin was just another guy. To borrow Kevin Nash's phrase, a "vanilla midget". (Yes he was black and 6'+, but compared to Kevin Nash he was small and life-sized rather than larger-than-life.)

EDIT: Some fans underrate the theatrical elements of pro wrestling. Think about it this way: There are/were people who would tape/DVR and fast-forward through most of the matches, watching the promos, interviews and entrances, stopping matches at kickouts, run-ins, ref-bumps and 1-2-3 counts. Looked at that way, Shelton Benjamin wasn't much to write home about. You can call that focusing on the sauce rather than the meat, but there's a reason restaurants sell hamburgers with vegetables and cheese and sauces on them. You need at least some of both.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

It's probably not any one thing. It's a confluence of the various points people are raising in regards to mic skills and charisma. Maybe it pissed Vince off that Shelton was likeable but couldn't cut a promo? Who knows?

It's bizarre that he was drafted to Raw in 2004, defeated Triple H during the height of the H's Raw reign of terror, had the long IC title reign, then jobbed into nothingness.

I wouldn't call it weird. How many guys were de-pushed over the years in WWE that could have drawn real money? Booker T in 2003, Ryder in 2012, Carlito several times (attitude problems of course).

WWE is a backstage popularity contest. Sometimes there will be zero reason, no logic, and utter meaninglessness behind who they choose to push or abandon.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Its not weird, its just normal. They go hot for somebody give him huge push then for some reason just kinda forgot about him because there is nothing in plan for him and thats kinda it. Shelton was really good in ring (as far as I remember from that time, was starting to watch wrestling around then) and was considered great technical wrestler but he always kinda lacked that "It" factor. Maybe they saw that or they had troubles with him backstage so they just depushed him later and just forgot about him.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

People keep talking about Shelton Benjamin's boring character and lack of charisma. While some arguments with that is valid the fact of the matter is fans still liked Shelton Benjamin, if WWE just kept to his strengths (great in ring worker) and continued to have good matches and have a consistent spot at the mid card and, sometimes main event, then I think his push could have lasted much longer than it did.

Instead the WWE decided it would be a good idea to bury him for a few months then give him a Shelton Benjamin's Mama angle, while it didn't last long the angle didn't play to his strengths and exposed his weaknesses.

Booking Shelton Benjamin wasn't hard I believe it was 2005 and 2006 he started to get de-pushed. With the Roster the WWE had on RAW at the time you couldn't tell me there wasn't a spot for Benjamin.

I mean Summer Slam 2005 is one example. They could have had an angle with Eugene vs. Kurt Angle, you're telling me they couldn't have done Angle vs. Benjamin instead. Eugene was starting to get irrelevant in 2005 anyways. Or what about someone like William Regal? Or maybe being part of the RAW team during the RAW vs. Smackdown! angle replacing either Chris Masters, Big Show, or Kane.

 

[LBGetBack]

People keep talking about Shelton Benjamin's boring character and lack of charisma. While some arguments with that is valid the fact of the matter is fans still liked Shelton Benjamin, if WWE just kept to his strengths (great in ring worker) and continued to have good matches and have a consistent spot at the mid card and, sometimes main event, then I think his push could have lasted much longer than it did.

Instead the WWE decided it would be a good idea to bury him for a few months then give him a Shelton Benjamin's Mama angle, while it didn't last long the angle didn't play to his strengths and exposed his weaknesses.

Booking Shelton Benjamin wasn't hard I believe it was 2005 and 2006 he started to get de-pushed. With the Roster the WWE had on RAW at the time you couldn't tell me there wasn't a spot for Benjamin.

I mean Summer Slam 2005 is one example. They could have had an angle with Eugene vs. Kurt Angle, you're telling me they couldn't have done Angle vs. Benjamin instead. Eugene was starting to get irrelevant in 2005 anyways. Or what about someone like William Regal? Or maybe being part of the RAW team during the RAW vs. Smackdown! angle replacing either Chris Masters, Big Show, or Kane.

I was waiting for someone to show up that was clearly watching at the time and knows what I'm talking about. You are correct. The fans liked him. That's all that matters in the "charisma" category. A summerslam feud with Angle would've been perfect. The matches would've been great and a personal feud with a top guy would've been the perfect thing to do with Shelton at that point.

It's a shame they decided to ruin him.

 

[LBGetBack]

Its not weird, its just normal. They go hot for somebody give him huge push then for some reason just kinda forgot about him because there is nothing in plan for him and thats kinda it. Shelton was really good in ring (as far as I remember from that time, was starting to watch wrestling around then) and was considered great technical wrestler but he always kinda lacked that "It" factor. Maybe they saw that or they had troubles with him backstage so they just depushed him later and just forgot about him.

They just "forgot" about the guy who they pushed pretty hard for a year and a half, and in their forgetfulness suddenly had him losing to Kerwin White and Trevor Murdoch? No. That's not what happened. That was intentional. They mentioned his losing streak often during his matches. They didn't forget anything, they purposely decided to make him a loser.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

If they could push Bobby Lashley because he had athletism they should have pushed Benjamin as well. But they didn't. Do you know why?

He was black. The same reason Lashley never really broke out beyond ECW.

He wasn't mascular as Lashley. In WWE's eyes, if you are lean, you need charisma, if you are mascular you don't need charisma and if you have both, you get to be the face of the company.

 

[ShinChan]

Let's first know what charisma means:

It means the ability to persuade, delight or arouse admiration.

Now did Shelton Benjamin had charisma? Yes, he did.

It's just another case of on-off push. Cesaro faced a similar problem. The push should be consistent enough. Not like an upper midcarder should start jobbing at Superstars or Main Event.

So again it's just Vince who suddenly saw some disadvantage in pushing Shelton and therefore derailed his push.

 

[FromGlasgow]

I agree his wrestling skills and athleticism was better than most but the problem was he was boring and had zero personality and no character and most fans just didn't seem to care for him, Which is the only reason I can think of to his lack of push.

 

[LBGetBack]

I agree his wrestling skills and athleticism was better than most but the problem was he was boring and had zero personality and no character and most fans just didn't seem to care for him, Which is the only reason I can think of to his lack of push.

His crowd reactions were good until he started losing every match.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

His crowd reactions were good until he started losing every match.

For arguments sake, assuming Benjamin's crowd reactions were good, good crowd reactions do not necessarily mean money. They don't necessarily even mean personal investment. Sometimes people just cheer and clap because that is what you are expected to do. It doesn't mean you are paying to see that guy win or that guy get punched in the face.

The fact that he couldn't continue to get good reactions after losing may be further proof fans were not that emotionally invested in the guy in the first place.

 

[FromGlasgow]

His crowd reactions were good until he started losing every match.

I could be wrong but I honestly don't remember hearing any of those huge crowd reactions you speak of during any of his matches and too be honest he had made such an impact on me I can't even remember noticing that the guy had even left the WWE, Don't get me wrong wrestling athleticism wise he was 100% but unfortunately he had the personality of a plank of wood. Maybe it wasn't all his fault if he was given the right manager or gimmick or tag team in the WWE it could have really elevated him but never as high as a face of the company main event level.
At the end of the day WWE is a business and if they beleived they could have made money from him they would have given him that push, Not just WWE no other wrestling companies seem to be falling over themselves to sign him for their main events.

 

[LBGetBack]

I could be wrong but I honestly don't remember hearing any of those huge crowd reactions you speak of during any of his matches and too be honest he had made such an impact on me I can't even remember noticing that the guy had even left the WWE, Don't get me wrong wrestling athleticism wise he was 100% but unfortunately he had the personality of a plank of wood. Maybe it wasn't all his fault if he was given the right manager or gimmick or tag team in the WWE it could have really elevated him but never as high as a face of the company main event level.
At the end of the day WWE is a business and if they beleived they could have made money from him they would have given him that push, Not just WWE no other wrestling companies seem to be falling over themselves to sign him for their main events.

I didn't say(or mean to imply) huge reactions. But they were good. Solid. Watch his Raw match against HBK or his PPV matches against Jericho. These were both face/face matches where his opponent was a well established, legendary face. He had a noticeable amount of fans rooting for him in all those matches. Not as many as HBK had, but still a good amount. With Jericho it was split pretty close.

Obviously when he beat HHH he got huge reactions, and the crowd was into him when he feuded with Evolution.

 

[LBGetBack]

One thing a lot of you guys seem to be saying that really has little to do with my original point......I never said he should've been face of the company. I never said he should be the number 1 draw if only they used him right.

My original point was the guy weirdly went on a 6 month losing streak out of nowhere, at a time when he was solidly over and performing well. It was weird. It would be like taking say, Sami Zayn....a solidly over mid carder, and just making him lose to everybody for the next 6 months. Have Jack Swagger beat him. Have Curtis Axel beat him. Everybody. That would be weird. And that's not a perfect example, Shelton was actually higher on the card(kayfabe wise) than Sami. But similar in that it's a fairly popular and well liked midcard face who has been presented as a solid and capable wrestler to this point......and suddenly making him completely suck.