Mark Henry urged Tony Khan to sign former Intercontinental Champion immediately after WWE exit
Former Intercontinental Champion Shelton Benjamin departed from WWE in September 2023. In a recent podcast, Mark Henry revealed he had urged Tony Khan to sign The Gold Standard immediately after his exit from the Stamford-based promotion.
Khan hired Shelton Benjamin earlier this month, and the latter debuted in All Elite Wrestling on Dynamite's fifth-anniversary episode. Upon his arrival, the 49-year-old reunited with his former Hurt Business teammate, MVP.
On a recent edition of Busted Open, Mark Henry revealed he had advised Tony Khan to rope in Shelton Benjamin a day after he left WWE, but the AEW President seemingly didn't pay heed to his advice. Fortunately for The Gold Standard's fans, the AEW head honcho signed him before it was too late.
"The first day that Shelton got let go, I went to Tony, and I said, 'Tony, you got to pick him in. Bring him in. Let me work with him. Anything. He's the guy. Nothing happened. I'm glad that they've seen the error of their ways and they got him on board. Shelton is special, you've got to use him like he's special. It's only going to be good for everybody in the long run."
Henry also advised Khan to let Benjamin earn his place in AEW and not hand him titles just because he was a veteran in the business.
"He can be the TBS [TNT] Champion. You got to take steps, you can't just go straight to the top. Let him build himself to the AEW World Championship." [H/T: WrestlingInc.]
Why did Shelton Benjamin choose AEW after WWE exit?
Shelton Benjamin recently had an interview with Gabby AF, where he revealed why he chose to join AEW after leaving WWE.
The Gold Standard disclosed that he received offers from various pro wrestling promotions, but he chose AEW because it had the biggest fanbase after WWE.
"I want the biggest possible audience. Outside of WWE, there is nowhere bigger than AEW. I don’t have as much time as lot of guys, as far as in-ring. Not that I’m going to retire anytime soon, but for the time I have left, I want to reach the biggest possible audience. What better place than AEW? There is no better place.”
Benjamin also said he thought about exploring other options outside wrestling, including pursuing a career in acting and real estate, after his exit from the global juggernaut.