AIN'T NO STOPPIN' BENJAMIN NOW? YOU BET!

You CANNOT deny the great athleticism and wrestling prowess that Shelton Benjamin possesses. But his character still needs some retooling.

THE PRO-WRESTLING DRIVER SEAT
By Hub Pacheco

(This column was originally published in http//:nikonboy.livejournal.com on 29 Jan. 2006 and now republished here for better referencing and for keeping the subject more up-to-date. Also, I've added a follow up entry at the last paragraph to assess how the subject developed.)

Shelton Benjamin, upon arriving at RAW via the draft lottery after Wrestlemania 20, sent shockwaves throughout RAW that included TWO wins against Triple H and an EIGHT-month reign as the Intercontinental Champion (IC).

Benjamin had been teamed up with Charlie Haas on SmackDown! prior to the draft to form Team Angle and later changed their names to The World’s Greatest Tag Team. Charlie Haas was released by the WWE months later. More on Haas later.

Yet despite all that he has achieved, Benjamin has yet to blossom into a real singles superstar. How’s that? Well, for one, as prestigious as the IC title is, he never developed any substantial feuds while he held the title. Feud with Chris Jericho? Yes, but it was short-lived and Jericho is, of course, a main event type of guy. No REAL challenges were made while he held the title. If there were, it wouldn’t have mattered because during that time, the IC title was in limbo, storywise. It wasn’t given much importance. Why? I would go back to another reason to Benjamin’s rocky career. While I am a big fan of Benjamin’s in-ring performance (remember the RAW match with HBK when a standing Benjamin unexpectedly jumped on both feet to the top rope, turned around, and whacked HBK off his feet.), his mic skills were never fully developed. He had a couple of good mic sessions with Triple H, but that was also short-lived.

Another minor reason to consider: WWE is somewhat racist when giving the top championship to an African-American. An African-American wrestler has yet to represent the company as its champion, unless you count The Rock, who is part-Samoan and is HARDLY representative of the African-American people, and Booker T, during the Invasion angle where he held the WCW title. Yeah right. Benjamin will NEVER ascend to the rank of a champion simply because the WWE is a bit racist.

Benjamin’s eight-month IC reign ended during the last draft day RAW, where he lost it to a debuting Carlito. What is it with WWE Creative with debut title wins? That’s just f---ed up, man. As if things can’t get any worse, Benjamin would go on a long losing streak, prompting many Internet Pro Wrestling analysts to think that Benjamin would soon be out the WWE door, joining many MISUSED talents like Matt Morgan, Gail Kim, Haas, and the like. There was also word that a heel turn would be in the works, as he had a minor verbal tussle with HBK. But that wasn’t about to happen as well.

In comes Momma.

During the New Year’s Revolution (NYR), Benjamin was accompanied by his Momma (comedienne Thea Vidale), apparently pissed that Benjamin was still in a losing slump. Backstage at the NYR PPV, the World’s Largest Love Machine Viscera tried to get in on with Momma, prompting Momma to taunt Big Vis into a match with her boy. Shelton won, with a little help from Momma and her handbag.

Apparently, Benjamin’s minor de-push was a foreshadowing of Momma’s arrival. Experts said that Benjamin’s current character can’t perform alone. That’s why Momma had to be brought in. While I agree with that, I don’t agree that Momma should be helping him win matches. Benjamin is very capable of winning on his own. Why not have Momma come off very well only on the mic? This angle is an exact clone of the Booker T/Sharmell angle.

There is some good news, though. Haas, after some independent bookings, is reportedly working on a WWE comeback, possibly on RAW, in an angle with Benjamin. If this is so, I can imagine a really great feud with Benjamin. With their history and all, this should be on for the books, unless WWE Creative manages to screw things up again.

Well, there you have it. Shelton Benjamin is a great in ring performer, one of the best in the whole WWE roster. WWE Creative should continue to pursue his unlimited potential, unless they want Benjamin to join other former WWE talent on TNA. That wouldn’t be good at all, now would it?

This is mainly a follow-up to my piece on Shelton Benjamin’s push back in January. Well, from the looks of it, some of what I said came true, although I’m now wishing some of it didn’t.

Shelton’s Momma underwent surgery a couple of weeks back and it seems that Momma will no longer be part of WWE TV. And she was just getting very over with the fans. Charlie Haas, one the other hand, is BACK in the WWE! Now, that is good news as he has been working a few matches with Benjamin as of late. I’m hoping that a feud between Benjamin and Haas is in the works.

Well, for Benjamin, the past couple of weeks have been good to him, character-wise. First, during Wrestlemania 22’s Money In The Bank ladder match, he put on a number of high spots (I was especially impressed by his Spider-Man-like springboard from the top rope to the middle steps of the ladder.). Now, Benjamin’s in a program with Rob Van Dam, the winner of the MITB ladder match. The two will go at it at this year’s Backlash where RVD will put the MITB briefcase on the line while Benjamin will put the IC title on the line. It’s kind of like the Hogan-Warrior stipulation back in Wrestlemania 6, where Hogan’s WWF title was up for grabs against Warrior’s IC title.

Now, I would hate to see Benjamin drop the IC title but I keep thinking that this may be RVD’s biggest year in the WWE. Of course, the IWC reported and it has been somewhat confirmed that RVD will cash in the MITB at this year’s ECW One Night Stand PPV. An IC title and (HOPEFULLY) a WWE title would definitely set the year for RVD. And for WWE Creative, Cena retaining is LOGICAL. Why? Well, you can IMAGINE the THUNEROUS BOOS drowning Cena at One Night Stand. In there, the BOOS wouldn’t be questioned. It would be logical since Cena is in front of a very hot pro-ECW crowd. A heel turn for Cena there is also very LOGICAL.

As for Benjamin, he is beginning to show some depth to his heel/face character. When Momma was around, you can’t tell if he was face or heel. In his exceptional mic work here during the February 24-25 RAW LIVE TOUR, you could tell he was trying to get some heel heat, and he did get it. He did a great job, too. Now, with Momma taking a permanent back seat, Benjamin comes out on RAW dressed up flamboyantly, a more obvious evolution of his in-ring persona. And I predict his first major feud as a flamboyant character will be with Haas. That should motivate Haas to also build up his character. That is good news and in time, with the proper pacing, Benjamin can be developed into a good top heel for RAW. With this kind of momentum, his entrance theme will prove to be true, there ain’t no stoppin’ him now.