So...Has Shelton been a waste?

[Christianv2]

Ever since 04, alot of people have been clamoring for him to be in the upper mid card / main event, and he has been floundering around on different brand in different positions for over the last 5 years and I think the only real time he had a decent push was on Smackdown as US Champ, other than that, he really hasn't lived up to his potential. Is this WWE's fault (booking wise) or has Shelton been a waste?

[hbk4ever09]

It's crazy..just yesterday i watched his two consecutive wins in two weeks vs HHH and he was over like crazy. He didn't even really had to do anything. He had the underdog part down great, and his moveset and athleticism was clearly enough to see him as a credible opponent and not just the next guy getting pushed. There's no doubt in my mind they dropped the ball with him. Too much yo-yoing not enough clear direction. Hell, he never has even made his way into an elimination chamber. WOOOO let's throw f***ing Kane into his 5th one, like anyone actually thinks he has a chance of winning. OR we could give Shelton a pretty silly "momma" gimmick. That will really help get him over. What they do with him here? I have no idea. If ECW can't figure it out i doubt raw or smackdown will.

[Deleted]

Eh he's a good mid-carder

[VeggieOverlord]

Shelton didn't have "it" to sustain a push in the upper mid card/main event, in my opinion. He seems to be a bit lazy in the ring at times too.

[bob]

they yo-yoed him too much and Mama Benjamin killed his heat

[minigolfhool]

Mama Benjamin was such an epic fail but IMO the main thing killing his project was him being too "skinny" at a time when Vince seemed to only push big guys like Snitsky.

[Ryushinku]

Part of it has been the booking, but I really can't blame WWE for all of this.

Reading between the lines it seems like Shelton has a bit of a lazy attitude. Sometimes this communicates in the ring where he comes up with sloppy work at bad times. Other times his rep as 'video game king' I think has worked against him, he could be seen as someone like would rather fire up a handheld and play that backstage rather than watch other matches or get in some extra training time or whatever. Like I say I'm reading between the lines, but I've definitely got that vibe over the years from related comments regarding Shelton.

Add that to his pretty wooden mic skills, still, and even with his commendable physical ability I Shelton's been his own worst enemy at times. That's a real shame.

[4real]

I think MITB this year was his last chance. When he failed to win that, after it looked like he might actually have a shot at winning, that was it. After that I just knew he was never going to get pushed and was midcard forever.

Its a shame the guy is such a talent but I guess its just hard to get behind a guy with so little charisma. And guys like Punk, Morrison, Kingston have come in and basically taken shots that really Shelton should have.

If Shelton had Kurt Angle's charisma he would have been WWE Champion, and maybe many times imo. Its easy to blame WWE but I guess theres only so much you can do with him.

[nonrev]

his role now is to put over the new talent which I think he does exceptionally well.

He gave Kofi his first feud.
He got Yoshi over in one night.
He gave more credibility to Sheamus and Ryder.

He's the go to guy right now. He's not going to be pushed as the catchphrase spouting, merchandise flying, cash cow of the future...but rather the guy who helps create and develop the new franchise players in the industry.

At 34 years old I don't think they're looking to push him any further than what he is now unless they give him a "Benoit" or "JBL" type of run. Currently as a face on ECW he is becoming more over than he has than the last 5 years as a heel. If circumstances called for it, I think Shelton could be put in the ECW main event no problem, and with a few good months of booking I could see him as a credible contender to either major title on Raw or Smackdown.

Kofi was offerred the chance for a taste of main event by having an actual personal feud with Orton the #1 heel on the flagship show. If Benjamin received such an opportunity against Regal's Rountable, Batista, or CM Punk it would go a long way towards cementing fans perception of Shelton as a big deal.

But as I said before, he excels in the spot he is in right now, so I don't see him moving away from it anytime soon.

[hbk4ever09]

He was doing great with his run in the IC title. Then he lost the belt to Carlito and should have been given a push up, he was over enough. Instead almost right after they give him the damn momma gimmick, which nobody knew or care whether to cheer or boo. The rest is history really. They never gave him the shot. He was always over 100x more as a face than a heel. Boring run with the U.S. title, back with Haas for no reason, and now he is the "gold standard" on ECW, and still no one knows if he should be a damn heel or face.

[Deleted]

Turning him heel. That killed him. Don't shock me he's getting more over as a face now, the man doesn't have the psychology to be a good heel.

[BHB]

Nov 1, 2009 10:24:48 GMT -5 @kingpatch said:

Turning him heel. That killed him. Don't shock me he's getting more over as a face now, the man doesn't have the psychology to be a good heel.

This. He is a natural underdog babyface, early in his singles run he was aweome against HHH and Jericho. Ever since he first turned heel he has completely sucked. I just don't buy him as a cocky heel, it doesn't work.

[Ben Wyatt]

Nov 1, 2009 10:24:48 GMT -5 @kingpatch said:

Turning him heel. That killed him. Don't shock me he's getting more over as a face now, the man doesn't have the psychology to be a good heel.

This.

And to answer the question of who's to blame: I think its a combination.

The 'E did him no favors with the Mama Benjamin thing. As much as some people here lvoed it, it made him look rediculous.

Shelton, meanwhile just dont have charisma enough to get to the next level.

The bigger thing EVERYONE misses is that maybe, just maybe Shlton is happy where he is. A steady midcarder who still has a job with the company.

[seamonsters]

Nov 1, 2009 9:39:01 GMT -5 4real said:

I think MITB this year was his last chance. When he failed to win that, after it looked like he might actually have a shot at winning, that was it. After that I just knew he was never going to get pushed and was midcard forever.

Disagree. He's still only 34, and listen to how his mic skills have come along on ECW. That's always been the one thing that's prevented him getting over his particular glass ceiling.

Deep down, his problem is his versatility. So far this year he's carried the US championship, then been then help build and put over Yoshi Tatsu and Sheamus. But he's done that in a way that hasn't hurt him at all - Yoshi had a fluke win, followed by a narrow loss in a great match, and Sheamus may have won the feud, but Shelton was carrying an "injury" in the deciding match.

He might be out of the ECW title picture right now - although with Sheamus on Raw, and the ECW title picture being unclear now that Yoshi's had his shot, there's no reason for not including him in the hunt. You could even argue that you could have a Championship Scramble at Survivor Series, with Christian, Regal, Ryder, Tatsu & Benjamin.

[Bubble Lead]

A very capable wrestler who has remained midcard and been able to put on consistently good matches for the past five years?

If he is a waste, so is Matt Hardy and plenty of other wrestlers in WWE since only like two guys have been upgraded from midcard to main event since 2005.

I will also say that there really is nothing separating him from a guy like Kofi Kingston. Tell me the difference? Especially at this point, Shelton is better on the mic but aside from his ECW stint he hasn't been given any angles or time to show it.

[Mozenrath]

He's still got a lot of matches ahead of him. Even if he retired now for no particular reason, he would of had a fairly notable career. Being in the midcard in the biggest wrestling company in the world for an extended period is nothing to sneeze at.

Look at it this way: You could call him a bust. Then you'd remember Nathan Jones, and you'd know what a real bust looks like.

[Ragnal]

even with his US title run, it wasn't all that great. Looking at his OWW profile, his title defenses were against those otherwise delegated to jobber position, and when he did face uppermidcarders or main eventers, it was in tag action.

Things like that usually say that they really want to push Shelton as a main eventer, but he doesn't help himself to the opportunities he's given. While he was good in 2004, somehting about him never improved, and I'm not sure if it's his in-ring stuff or his mic skills.

[rrm15]

Shelton is one of my favorites for years, but I think he's done fine. A couple of tag, IC, and US titles, a couple of memorable WM performances, some great matches. Do I think he could have done more? Yeah. Do I WISH he had? Yeah. But what we got is fine too.

I can see him getting a "thank you" ECW title run in the future.

[The OP]

Nov 1, 2009 14:28:48 GMT -5 @rrm15 said:

Shelton is one of my favorites for years, but I think he's done fine. A couple of tag, IC, and US titles, a couple of memorable WM performances, some great matches. Do I think he could have done more? Yeah. Do I WISH he had? Yeah. But what we got is fine too.

I can see him getting a "thank you" ECW title run in the future.

I'm a big fan too and I feel the same way, but you're right, his career has actually been more than solid. I wouldn't say he's been a waste at all.

I think he deserves the ECW Title and would be an excellent choice to represent that show for a while. The only thing to me he's ever really needed that he didn't have was maybe a little more intensity, but I think he's shown that lately in his feud with Sheamus. I for one really got behind him too and really wanted him to kick Sheamus's ass.

[Bubble Lead]

People need to remember that he is still relatively young as well. Benoit didn't get a true main event run until he was what, 37? After being in the business on a national stage for ten years or so. Considering that, Shelton still has plenty of time for a breakout to happen.

Even if that never comes to pass, he still has had as good of a career as many legends before him. If he never becomes a main event guy or gets a true World Title run, he still has been a very successful wrestler in WWE. His tag partner hasn't achieved a tenth of what Shelton has.

I think people consider him less successful just because he had a few wins over HHH and a sudden push when he got drafted to RAW way back when, but look at someone like Gregory Helms. He beat the Rock and promptly went nowhere. I would consider him much more of a bust than Shelton but you rarely see anyone saying that about him.