Is Shelton Benjamin still in WWE?
Shelton Benjamin is one of the most underrated wrestlers of all time, if not the most. A successful amateur wrestler in his college days, Benjamin was signed by WWE in 2000, working in the company's developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). Working as a tag team with his college roommate Brock Lesnar, Shelton Benjamin was able to win the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship thrice. His official televised debut for WWE was in 2002 as part of Team Angle. The "Gold Standard" is just short of a World Title victory to become a Grand Slam Champion in WWE, having won the United States Championship once and the Intercontinental and Tag Team Championships thrice in his illustrious career.
With many wrestlers being released recently due to budget cuts, fans are wondering whether Shelton Benjamin has been let go of by the wrestling behemoth as well.
Is Shelton Benjamin still with WWE?
The answer is: Yes, Shelton Benjamin is still working with WWE. While WWE released multiple wrestlers on June 25, Shelton Benjamin was last seen on the July 5, 2021, Main Event taping, thus confirming his association with WWE. A SportsKeeda report from 2020 also states that Shelton Benjamin is under contract at least through 2021. Moreover, as can be seen above, Shelton Benjamin is still listed as an active member of the WWE roster on wwe.com.
So why is Shelton Benjamin not on TV?
Shelton Benjamin was heavily featured on WWE programing before WrestleMania 37 as part of Bobby Lashley's Hurt Business faction. However, the faction's run came to an abrupt end earlier this year. If reports from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter are to be believed, Vince McMahon was not willing to push Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander, which led to the implosion.
The decision had no long-term reason to back it up, which could be a big reason behind Shelton Benjamin's absence from WWE TV. Let's hope that the creatives come up with something for Shelton Benjamin soon!