WWE Greatest Royal Rumble Wrestlers - Where Are They Now?

3. Shelton Benjamin

Entry: #48

Time: 04:23

Then: Shelton Benjamin was drafted to Raw during the Superstar Shake-Up (thus disbanding his tag-team with Chad Gable), but he still appeared on SmackDown for a while anyway. Work that one out. Yeah, and WWE want fans to take their Draft nonsense seriously every other year. Not happening until they take it seriously.

Bold Shelty B had the honour of being the final man eliminated from a Rumble by Chris Jericho, at least for now. That elimination occurred less than 5 minutes after Benjamin had hit the ring for his evening's work. He didn't get to throw anyone out of the match, he went 4:23, then he was a goner.

That wasn't the best use of Shelton, shall we say? He deserved to showcase his skills a bit better than WWE allowed him to.

Now: Benjamin bounced around the midcard scene in WWE for another 5 years or so. He was part of The Hurt Business for a while, but creative even mucked that up by splitting the group when it was obvious to fans watching that they still had a lot to offer. He'd eventually leave the company in 2023, and spent a brief time on the independent scene before signing with AEW.

Bringing Shelton in was a no-brainer for Tony Khan. He was keen to get the band back together with Benjamin, Bobby Lashley and MVP on his programming, so it had to happen. Besides, Shelton is a credit to any promotion he works for. He'll always put on good matches, is a total pro backstage, and doesn't get into unnecessary PR nightmare drama away from the ring.

It's nice to see him doing well.