Why don't they push Shelton Benjamin?

[Vanilla Gorilla]

At the time I thought Shelton should have gotten the MVP character, I still think it would have worked, but looking back on it I am glad they gave it to who they did because the "real" MVP has 5x the charisma that Shelton does which is required to play such a role.

[Randy Barber 4-Life]

I don't think Shelton's "mama" ruined him. But that aside, wasn't she some stand-up comic they brought in for the role? I think I heard that at the time. I'm talking about a real manager who knows what wrestling and the manager role is about and could be his mouthpiece. Hell, manage Haas too. I think he has the same problem as Benjamin, in-ring ability but lacking on the mic. Instead of being a dedicated team (lose the WGTT label) have them alternate between tag and singles, almost like a mini-stable. A good manager could have both these guys over.

[macdaddysquid]

Shelton had a strong gimmick of wearing sunglasses and button down shirts before Mama Benjamin came in. He was going places

[Red 'n' Black Reggie]

he rules, but he needs a gimmick. they could give him anything, and he could make it work. the only problem was that everytime he gets a good gimmick, the rug gets pulled out from under him. first he was "the underdog", but then he got injured and forgotten about, then he had momma benjamin, but she got sick so they had to take her off the road. both gimmicks were questionable, but shelton made them work, only to then have bad luck screw it all up. i say they should give him someone like ricky steamboat as a "mentor", to do his talking and character development, and let shelton kick ass between the ropes, because he's got tonnes of potential.

[MysteryPartner]

off a cliff? well that would be considered Murder my friend..

[paragon]

macdaddysquid said:

Shelton had a strong gimmick of wearing sunglasses and button down shirts before Mama Benjamin came in. He was going places

That's not a gimmick. Mama Benjamin actually made him halfway interesting because it gave him an actual character.

[BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps]

radicalbuttercup said:

macdaddysquid said:

What about Mama Benjamin? You guys have neglected this angle, a manager angle that only helped ruin him

I don't think it ruined him at all. He was actually getting heat and "mama's boy's" chants. More than he gets now. He was also IC champ at the time.

I'm going to have to agree with Bubbles. It was SOMETHING.

[Ace Diamond]

tapout said:

No charisma and can't work a stick.

Shelton is an amazing athlete, no doubt, and he's capable of putting on incredible matches, but he has no personality, as mentioned. He comes off as a bit of a spot monkey. (Keep in mind, this is coming from a huge Shelton mark. I'm a big fan of the guy's previous work.)

This sounds weird and arbitrary, but compare him to Jeff Hardy, who is also a spot monkey, but has built himself a persona as the never-say-die babyface who leaves it all in the ring with a high-risk offense. The crowds pop for Hardy when he successfully hits a highspot because Hardy took the gamble and it paid off. The crowds get very sympathetic and groan in horror when one of his highspots gets countered (e.g. heel rolls out of the way of the swanton, and Hardy sells the impact of falling on the mat it like he's just been tasered). Jeff Hardy is the daredevil babyface who takes high risks to delight us, the fans, and he's also usually booked to be very tenacious, so he makes a great underdog, especially in feuds with bigger men (Undertaker, Lesnar). This is basically Hardy's in-ring persona, and how the connects with the fans, despite not having a chance to talk all that much on the mic. Have Hardy go into a PPV feud with a kayfabe injury and you basically have guaranteed sympathy heat for him.

Now take Shelton. He's an incredible athlete, and at 245 pounds, he flies around like a man half his weight. But why? What's the motivation behind the highspots that we're supposed to interpret here? Is he a cocky heel who's trying to outdo everyone and steal the show? Was he thumbing his nose specifically at cruiserweights like Mysterio? If so, we haven't seen any sign of that (when was the last time he even picked up a mic?).

When he was the babyface IC champ, watching him fly around was awesome, but why was he doing all that awesome stuff? Was he a cocky babyface trying to show off? Nope. Was he a vulnerable, Hardy-esque babyface who could crash and burn at any second? Nope. He should've been the hungry youngster looking to make a name for himself, and that's kind of the gimmick that was implied for him when he turned face, went singles, and picked up the IC title, but it never came through in his ringwork. He just did the highspots. They were great fun to watch, but they were just highspots. Not a lot of psychology. One of the closest matches Shelton ever got to really develop his character was his amazing Gold Rush match with HBK, where the story implied in the match was, both guys were fantastic performers who kept turning up the heat and pulling out more of the stops as the match progressed. That could've (should've) set the table for a feud between the two men about who was the better in-ring performer, and that could've given Shelton's in-ring performance some kind of personality, a babyface who was trying to be the best he could be so he could stack up to a veteran like Michaels. Unfortunately, there was no feud and Shelton dropped the title and got buried.

I think Shelton needs, or needed, to develop an in-ring persona like Hardy did, since he can't get it done with promos. That'll take time and it'll require the guy to work with creative to really pick a direction for himself, and unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the way the winds are blowing.

Very well said.

[The Ichi]

Shelton only works as a babyface for me. I loved 2004 Shelton when he was getting upset wins over HHH and had the crowd behind him. As someone said, he reminded me of an AJ Styles type of guy. Doesn't really need to speak a lot, just has that cool pressence and competitive nature. I honestly don't think it's too late to repackage him as a babyface.

But of course, I guess jobbing him to CAWdy Rhodes and Hacksaw Jim Duggan is more important. And people wonder why he's lost confidence.

[The OP]

I think WGTT works really well as the stuck up jocks that were picking on Cody Rhodes the other week. When Shelton was crawling next to Super Crazy and mocking him trying to make a tag, that was another good example.

If you ask me, Shelton has a good gimmick. One half of the WGTT. Now they just need a push.

[Tapout]

radicalbuttercup said:

I really like WGTT and find it mind boggling that they are like..the absolute bottom rung tag team on either roster. They should have gotten at least a title reign by now. MY MIND IS BOGGLED.

Well, yes, they are currently jobbers on the Red show.

But they had several tag title runs on the Blue show.

They were great when they used the "mean but athletic, amateur-wrestler heels" gimmick on the Blue show.

Also, you know which show seems to lack depth of talent right now? The Blue show.

Hey, you know what?

I just had an idea!

I'm going to make myself a sandwich!