All Elite Wrestling (AEW) has become a home for countless WWE Superstars who weren’t able to break through the crowded main event scene.
This has led to multiple wrestlers becoming integral centerpieces at AEW, including Toni Storm, Jon Moxley, Athena, and Bryan Danielson.
Now, AEW can officially add another fan-favorite superstar to that list. However, it may not be surprising for hardcore wrestling fans.
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On last night’s episode of AEW Dynamite, Shelton Benjamin made his in-ring debut, defeating Lio Rush.
This came after Benjamin officially allied himself with MVP, forming the Hurt Syndicate.
Shortly after the match, AEW CEO Tony Khan took to social media to officially announce that Benjamin is All Elite.
“What an amazing debut tonight on Wednesday Night AEW Dynamite,” Khan said on X. “Welcome to [TBS] and [AEW], Shelton Benjamin!”
The Hurt Syndicate is already looking to be a spinoff of the Hurt Business, a popular and powerful stable in WWE. It originally featured MVP, Benjamin, Bobby Lashley, and Cedric Alexander.
While Alexander remains with WWE, Lashley is currently a free agent and is believed to join AEW alongside Benjamin and MVP.
Additionally, there have been hints that Rush and former AEW Champion Swerve Strickland will join the stable, making the Hurt Syndicate one of the most powerful and dominant groups in AEW.
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Benjamin was a successful amateur wrestler before joining Ohio Valley Wrestling, WWE’s former developmental territory, in 2000. Here, he would work as a tag team with former college roommate Brock Lesnar.
In 2002, Benjamin was moved up to WWE SmackDown! as a member of the World’s Greatest Tag Team with Charlie Haas, where they would team with Kurt Angle. The duo would go on to win the WWE Tag Team Championship twice.
Even after the tag team disbanded, Benjamin would remain a consistent and popular member of the mid-card title picture, winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship three times and the WWE United States Championship once.
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In 2010, Benjamin was released from WWE. He would move to the indpendent circuit and give standout performances with Ring of Honor (ROH), New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and Pro Wrestling Noah, proving that WWE had been holding him back for 10 years.
Benjamin would make his return to WWE in 2017, where he would team with Chad Gable for two years. After being split up, he would join the Hurt Business in 2020, where he would remain until he was released by WWE a second time.
Now, Benjamin is set to make his mark in AEW, where he can hopefully find the main event success that has eluded him for almost 25 years.
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