10 Things You Didn’t Know About Shelton Benjamin
2. Most Underrated
As well as being cited as one of the best pure athletes to
ever step foot inside a WWE ring, and an unofficial Mr. Money in the Bank,
another tagline that has often followed Benjamin is that of most underrated.
Having never progressed beyond the mid-card titles, he’s never quite been looked upon as a bona fide main event star.
And as such, Benjamin was in fact the winner of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Most Underrated Wrestler award in three successive years. From 2005 to 2007 he scooped the title every year, in what had been an all-time record until Cesaro matched the feat between 2013-15.
Still, it’s a telling reflection of how Benjamin’s positioning never quite matched up with his obviously abundant talent. And not only that, but in 2005 he was also recognised as the ninth best singles wrestler in the entire world in the PWI 500.
That’s no small feat for a guy who’d initially made his name primarily as a tag team performer. Which leads us nicely onto our final point...