Former WWE champion announced for dream match outside AEW

AEW has welcomed several former WWE Superstars over the past few years, and one of the main draws for these performers is the chance to compete in dream matches, both inside and outside the company. That's because Tony Khan often allows his talents to accept bookings from partner companies and independent promotions.

Shelton Benjamin is taking advantage of that. The three-time WWE Intercontinental Champion is scheduled to defend his AEW World Tag Team Championship at All In: Texas this Saturday. Later this month, he's heading to Daytona Beach, FL, for a dream match against KENTA.

Benjamin and KENTA have only ever locked up once. The two wrestled at an untelevised live event in Tokyo in 2018, back when KENTA was known as Hideo Itami. Now, the two will square off for the first time on American soil at Atomic Legacy Wrestling's Star Spangled Slammer 9 event on July 27.

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AEW's Shelton Benjamin recently pulled out of an independent event

The Hurt Syndicate's MVP and Shelton Benjamin have made the most of their time since leaving WWE. The two often take independent bookings, but with Benjamin's busy schedule, not everything works out.

The AEW World Tag Team Champion was recently forced to cancel an appearance at Fourth Rope's Pray Four Paris event. He expressed his disappointment over the cancellation on social media and hilariously pinned the blame on his longtime frenemy, Michin (Mia Yim), although she likely had nothing to do with it:

"Due to travel issues I will not be able to appear at the @4thrope Pray for Paris event tomorrow June 27th in Paris France. I am extremely disappointed and hope to make it up to all who was looking forward to seeing me at the event, regardless, @4thrope has an amazing show planned so don’t miss it! I will catch you on the next event. #blameMia," wrote Shelton.

Shelton Benjamin has been a dominant force since joining AEW, but he shockingly took the pin in a match on last week's Collision. Whether he and Bobby Lashley can hold onto their Tag Team Championship at All In: Texas remains to be seen.

About the author

Jacob is an AEW contributor and editor at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He has edited and published over 8,000 articles for Sportskeeda Wrestling in just over two years, and subsequently donned the hat of a contributor, demonstrating his commitment to continuous learning. His experience goes beyond wrestling, with five years as an editor for several independent publishing houses and three years as a captioning specialist.

Jacob's first memory of pro wrestling dates back to Sting vs. Ric Flair for the World Heavyweight Championship at Great American Bash 1990. He later began writing for a newsletter and blog at the University of North Texas, and his love of wrestling naturally led him to seek opportunities in the media.

His favorite wrestler is The Icon, as he feels Sting has evolved throughout his career on a parallel path with his own growth as a person. He was Jacob's childhood hero and teenage idol, and now he makes him less afraid of getting older.

Jacob ensures relevance and accuracy in his articles by working hard to maintain his ideals and objectivity without sacrificing his unique voice, inspiring other writers in the section to follow suit.

Jacob’s non-wrestling interests include Anime, video games, and fantasy novels.

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Edited by Jeevak Ambalgi