10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (March 2)

9. Shelton Benjamin Got Sick Of American Alpha Comparisons

World's Greatest Tag Team Shelton Benjamin Charlie Haas
WWE

Long before he was teaming with Chad Gable on SmackDown, Shelton Benjamin was sick of his new partner's name.

During an interview with Sean Waltman for the X-Pac 1, 2, 360 podcast, Benjamin admitted that he grew to despise hearing about American Alpha because fans would constantly make comparisons between that duo and his old team with Charlie Haas. To Shelton, it was dull to hear that Alpha were the new World's Greatest Tag-Team.

When Benjamin finally returned to WWE in 2016, he claims the first thing he did was go up to Jason Jordan and Chad Gable, shake their hands and then ask, "are you guys as sick of us as we are of you?". That broke the ice, because American Alpha were aware of the parallels between their team and Benjamin's one with Haas too.

Shelton couldn't have known then that he'd be Jordan's replacement in Alpha (albeit without the name) when he returned from injury last Summer.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.