10 Wrestlers WWE Should Have Pushed More

One of the finest all-round athletes in professional wrestling history, Shelton Benjamin is arguably the greatest Money In The Bank ladder match performer ever. The fact he never managed to win the briefcase despite his sterling showings sums up his ultimately disappointing runs in WWE perfectly.

After splitting from tag partner Charlie Haas in 2004, Benjamin's solo work on RAW got off to a good start with surprise pinfall victories over Triple H and Ric Flair. What stood out the most was how convincing Benjamin was a threat to two of the best to ever do it. Between his legit athlete credibility, technical prowess and explosive intensity, he looked like a top dog in waiting. He netted the Intercontinental Championship before the year was over and had gotten increasingly over with fans.

While Benjamin wasn't exactly The Rock on the microphone, he had a down-to-earth charm that made him easy to root for as a hard-grafting, slightly old-fashioned babyface. His main event potential was showcased further in 2005 with blistering bouts against Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle. Given his hard-hitting, crisp offence, audience connection and explosively scary high risk gimmick match work, Benjamin was a main event-calibre wrestler.

As much of a crowdpleaser as he was, it became clear the top brass didn't see Benjamin as a potential headliner. In the years after his acclaimed first IC title run, the former NCAA All American remained strictly midcard, drifting through some ill-advised heel personas and secondary title runs.