A Man With Unlimited Potential...
 

...but potential won't always buy you the groceries.
-Jim Ross, Wrestlemania 21

I am of course talking about Shelton Benjamin. It seems like just yesterday that Shelton was the Intercontinental Champion going into the Money in the Bank match at Wrestlemania 21. Surely that meant he had all kinds of momentum and would be a shoe in to win, right? No. Followed by no at next year's MitB, followed by being left off the card at 23, followed by being placed AGAIN in the MiTB at 24, and now AGAIN at 25. Are we seeing a pattern develop?

Recently, Shelton had retained the United States Championship for a long amount of time over the likes of Jimmy Wang Yang, R-Truth, and Chavo. He also dyed his hair blond.

Do you think it is too late for Shelton Benjamin? He's a great athlete, but for whatever reason, they've never done anything with him (except bring his mother to the ring). Even when he had the title, he didn't really enter into any hot feuds. What is the deal? Can he make it at the main event? Or is he a mid carder for the next few years?

He is one of the best in-ring performers, but his mic work holds him back more than anybody else in history.

He's a mid carder for life. and I don't see any problem with that.

You can only win the IC or US title so many times though. That's pretty much the only way the WWE books a mid-card.

Well, I think he shook WWE's faith in him when he started botching in high profile situations. He is no doubt awesome in the ring, but when you can't work the stick and are occasionally shaky in the ring...you will be in his position. Now, it is a great position. He will have a job in WWE for awhile and he is given opportunities to shine.

He's a midcarder singularly, but a tag team legend. There's nothing wrong with not making the ME. But he could be a classic mid carder. I'd like to see him win the ECW title.

He performs better than anyone(usually) in MITB,that's why he's always chosen for it. I don't think it's too late for him but i know the WWE probably thinks that way.

The problem is that he doesn't have great mic skills. He is one of the best wrestlers, but that doesn't help you in WWE. Mic work will always prevail in WWE. He has gotten better, but it I am not sure he will be able to rebound from it.

He had SO much momentum rolling off those matches with Triple H. If he was going to be a main eventer, off the heels of that mini-feud would have been the time to do it. I don't think he'll ever reach that overness again, but that's fine by me. I enjoy him in the midcard and I'll always be a fan of him in the ring.

On a slightly related note, that theme music he had when he first came to Raw was awesome.

Said it when his mama came out. He's ruined forever.

But he's making a good living working 20 minits a night.

Remember after the first draft lottery, when Triple H was momentarily drafted to Smackdown and got mad at Shelton for laughing at him and it led to a match the following week on Raw. The two put on a great match and Shelton won. It was like 8 years ago. lol

Seems like forever. He had all the potential in the world for a brief moment. I'm not putting the blame on him but he really doesn't even seem like the same guy anymore. Still talented in the ring but the great, undefinable image that he had following that match just went away. It's sad in a way.

I've always loved that quote. Suprised anyone else remembers it.

He's a midcarder for life most likely, but still, I don't think it's too late for him. I do think that window of being a star who rises to great heights fast is over, but then again it probably was never really open.

I think he's done well. He's in a better place now than he was when he first left WGTT, and it's great that he's still around, let alone upper midcard. I think he has a niche, and there's nothing wrong with that.
I've made 100 posts on how I think it's ridiculous that "midcard" has become a dirty word. Nothing wrong with his success. It's success.

It's never too late either, until his career is officially over. He's not going to get the Cena treatment anytime soon, but if he stays around and keeps putting hardwork in you never know. Much stranger and unlikely main event pushes have happened.
Something, or some time period, could come up where he's called upon.

Word. He has all the skills in the ring, but he can't seem to get his character to develop and natural charisma only takes you so far. He'll never go anywhere until his mic work matches his ring work.

Def agree with Jerry about how midcard is a bad thing now.

Hey guys: no it isn't.

K bye.

solid midcarder equals solid paycheck.

gotta say, not a bad living. Let's say he earns 85K a year...This has been his first real job since college. I don't know many people who's pulling that in. Do you? How many wrestlers can lay claim to raking in that kind of coin?

That sounds successful to me.

I doubt he's making 85k though. 50-65 really. But still, come on.

I remember a listing of salaries that came on the net a few years ago (that I assume was a fake) but it had him making like 350k so who knows I guess.

SEEMS HIGHLY UNLIKELY THOUGH.

65K a year to do what you love?

That's salary, does he get anything extra for holding a belt? What about PPV's?

Belts no, it's a work. You get bonuses for being on PPV plus a small cut from merch. I'm sure there are other boneses as well. I've heard plenty of guys tell stories of Vince giving bonuses for whom ever worked the hardest that given night. But I think that was mostly durring the Attitude era.

ahh, I. What's the whole Upside/Downside contract thing then? I guess that you only get the bump when you're the top champ/draw

A downside guarantee is the amount of money one will make that year no matter what, save injury. The upside is the amount that one can make with bonuses, extras, merchandise.

I wouldn't doubt that Shelton is making 65K a year, if not more. He has action figures, he's featured in video games, he regularly works WWE PPV's.

He's the kind of guy who will probably only need one good storyline/feud to be elevated into a position where he could challenge for the title. Depends if anything like that comes his way within the next five years or so.

If Bradshaw from the APA could be built into a legit main eventer, anyone can.

Don't get me wrong I love JBL the guy is a great character but when it was Wrestlemania XX and he was wrestling in a tag team clusterfuck match who thought that 3 months later he'd be winning the World Championship? No one.

If Bradshaw could be made into a World Champion Shelton Benjamin with 20 times the in in ability surely can. Mic skills be damned.

Bobby Lashley was the number 3 wrestler in the company and he sounded stupid

Khali was the champion and he can't speak at all.

He's pretty much a midcarder for life, and its sad. If this was the 80's or early 90's, Shelton would have been a champ in no time with a manager behind him, Heenan maybe. But in the Sports Entertainment Era, Vince doesn't like managers for guys who aren't giants, so guys like Shelton get left in the dust because they can't work a stick.

Nothing wrong with being a midcarder, he's a fabulous one. It's not a bad thing for guys like Kennedy or Shelton to be a midcarder for life. Koko B. Ware and Pete Rose are in the fucking Hall of Fame, and they're nothing special. One day, maybe at the end of his career, he might get one small run.

Hardy escaped it.

all u needs is another roids death, and the not so pumped guys will get pushed again. Then WWE will realise for a while, we don't mind that at all.

The whole Momma thing didn't kill his carreer, so I would agree that all he needs is that 1 breakthrough feud to put him over. If MVP can get as over as he has by dribbling invisible basketballs & calling everything "MONEY" & "BANK", then Shelton has more than a shot at it.

These days it definitely doesn't seem to be. I'm sorta seeing that return to the Attitude era's 2-tiered midcard. You've got guys sitting on their hands not doing a whole lot like Sim Snuka and Charlie Hass. Then you've got guys like Kofi Kingston and CM Punk who can get a win over a main eventer and it's totally not a fluke. Guys like that remind me of Owen and Shamrock black in the day.

lol, black in the day.

Ever since he had that push, then he started making big mistakes almost every match, to the Momma angle, to the 2nd coming of WGTT, I haven't been able to take him seriously. Mind you I haven't watched wrestling much for a couple of years now (the odd Raw or SD) but he seems to be a midcarder for life. Could be worse. But he has nothing to seperate him from the rest of the pack.

Benoit (can we talk about him yet?) wasn't great on the mic but when he needed to he could pull off a promo just through his intensity. Shelton doesn't have that. JBL is an example being used here of an unexpected talent being plucked out and given a shot at the main event but we all knew that JBL could work the mic in one way so it really wasn't much of a shock to see how good he was in another way.

I see why people keep telling me to ask you, or, wait...

God Dammit :nono:

I actually think this year may be the year for Shelton. Sure, mid-card is not a bad position to be in when you are being used as consistently as Shelton, but he is a guy that I think the WWE wants to elevate. Sure, he's been in the same spot for like five years now, but the man got to work pretty fucking well with The Undertaker fairly recently. Watching those matches, I couldn't help but think "these are feelers for Benjamin, and he is passing."

The man has a much better shot at winning MITB this year than I think people give him credit for. Don't be surprised if the shocker of the night is Shelton winning the briefcase. The man has been in so many of these, that he almost has to win one day, and it's the perfect way to get him into the main event. Someone like Christian or MVP seems to be the popular choice, but MVP is currently US Champion, something I think was taken off Benjamin so he could move up, and Christian apparently doesn't have the biggest Vince support.

If Benjamin doesn't win MITB, I think it is time to adjust his direction a bit. Stone Cold Steve Austin appeared to Shelton to give him the motivation to face Triple H all those years ago - maybe he could give Benjamin some words again? Snap him out of being potential, and into being realised potential?

Was thinking about this last night, the majority of black wrestlers are in this one matchup.

Nation 2.0?

Only if you have this man at the helm.


http://www.kupywrestlingwallpapers.i...na_preview.jpg

"Ain't no stoppin me nooooooooooo....wait...he's pretty much been stopped by the "glass ceiling".

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http://www.wrestlescoop.com/info/salaries.shtml

It seems about right. Does anyone know if it's real or not?

This is interesting too. Vince's salary is $842,000. Jim Ross's is $782,000... Obviously Vince owns MANY shares which would earn him a fortune, but it seems a bit odd, with it being Vince's company, and all?
http://uk.reuters.com/business/quote...E.N&viewId=sum.