Five Fast Facts About Shelton Benjamin

Shelton Benjamin has finally made his long-awaited return to WWE.

Seeing as how it’s been more than seven years since he’s appeared on WWE television, here are five fast facts to get you ready for the re-debut of The Gold Standard.

5. He’s a highly decorated amateur athlete

Shelton Benjamin is an incredible athlete, a fact that he proved long before stepping into the squared circle. Benjamin began wrestling his sophomore year at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School in South Carolina, where he recorded an overall 122-10 win-loss record and became a two-time South Carolina state high school heavyweight wrestling champion. But that was just the beginning.

After high school, Benjamin attended Lassen Community College in California where he became a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) track and field champion in the 100 meter and an NJCAA collegiate wrestling champion. Then Benjamin transferred to the University of Minnesota on a wrestling scholarship for his final two years of college, where he achieved an overall win-loss record of 36-6.

And if all that’s not enough, as you can see in the tweet above, at some point Benjamin also went to North Carolina State University on a full football scholarship.

4. He coached Brock Lesnar’s collegiate wrestling team

After graduating from the University of Minnesota, Benjamin was hired as the school’s assistant wrestling coach. It was during this time that Lesnar transferred to Minnesota on a wrestling scholarship, much like Benjamin had done before him. In fact, Benjamin was the Golden Gophers’ assistant coach when Lesnar won the NCAA Division 1 heavyweight championship. Not long after, WWE came calling for Benjamin and Lesnar both.

3. He’s a three-time tag team champion… with Brock Lesnar

It’s well known that Benjamin won several tag titles alongside Charlie Haas, but what you might not know is that he also captured tag team gold with Lesnar. Competing as the Minnesota Stretching Crew, Benjamin and Lesnar are three-time OVW Southern Tag Team Champions.

2. Unofficial Mr. Money in the Bank

While Benjamin has never actually won the Money in the Bank Briefcase, he competed in five of the first six Money in the Bank ladder matches, before the match was moved to its own pay-per-view. This stat combined with his often death-defying stunts are more than enough reason to give him a nod as an unofficial Mr. Money in the Bank.

1. Tag Team Record

There’s a reason Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas were known as The World’s Greatest Tag Team. Not only are they two-time Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champions and two-time WWE Tag Team Champions, they are the only two people in all of wrestling to have won both those titles with the same partner. How’s that for a stat?

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