Shelton Benjamin Discusses Almost Signing With TNA

Former WWE superstar opens up about turning TNA down.

Shelton Benjamin went on Twitter to discuss his recent contract negotiations with TNA. Since being released by WWE in 2010, Benjamin has worked for Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling. It appears as though a WWE return may not happen especially since he signed with Jeff Jarrett's Global Force Wrestling recently, so he likely gets a lot of questions about TNA and good for him for being honest with the fans about what's going on. Here's what Benjamin tweeted from his @SheltyB803 Twitter account:
"Many have asked will I ever got to @IMPACTWRESTLING very recently concluded a dialogue with the company and while both parties are eager to do business we were unable to reach a mutually satisfactory agreement. This is very regretful with all the possibility that were possible. I have a lot of respect for @IMPACTWRESTLING and the talent who a few I consider great friends."
Benjamin added that the door is always open, so maybe one day it will happen and that he'll still be working for New Japan as well as GFW in the US. He will turn 40 years old in July. There's no question that Benjamin would be an asset for TNA Wrestling because of his name value after a very good career in WWE where he was a solid midcard and tag team wrestler throughout the 2000s. He was part of a great WWE developmental group in the early 2000s in OVW that included Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton, Batista and others. Jim Ross, who was head of talent relations at the, said that Lesnar would only sign WWE's lucrative contract if they also brought in Benjamin, who he wrestled with in college at Minnesota. JR was fine with that because they were recruiting Benjamin too and Lesnar ended up teaming with him to form the Minnesota Wrecking Crew tag team in OVW.
While Benjamin didn't offer up a reason as to why he didn't sign with TNA, it could be because of the rumors on the company's future. If he signed a deal with them and they lost their US TV deal with Destination America in September as rumored then his future may be in doubt. It's smart for him to wait it out if that's the reason. There could be other reasons too. He had a very good WWE career from the time he joined the main roster in 2002 with partner Charlie Haas to form a great team that won the Tag Team Titles twice. When he became a singles wrestler, he went on to win the Intercontinental Title three times and the United States Title once. He always seemed to be in that midcard spot where he was really close to getting to that main event level, but WWE didn't push him that far perhaps because he was below average on the microphone. It shouldn't have mattered that much since he was so good in the ring and he still is to this day. A manager would have helped him a lot. Instead, WWE made him look like a joke by bringing in a comedy character to play his mom that got angry when he lost. That did far more harm than good. No matter where his future is, Benjamin has a lot to be proud of in his career and nobody's ever going to forget the way he sold that Shawn Michaels superkick better than anybody.
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John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.