What's the story?
According to Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet, a deal is done between WWE and Shelton Benjamin for the latter to return to the company.
In case you didn't know...
Shelton Benjamin was supposed to return to WWE last year and WWE even ran a couple vignettes promoting his return on SmackDown. However, WWE medical personnel discovered a rotator cuff injury, which led to the return not happening when scheduled.
Shelton initially competed in WWE from 2002-2010, winning tag team, United States and Intercontinental championships along the way, as well as displaying amazing feats of athleticism, many of which are still talked about today.
The heart of the matter
It had been reported several weeks ago by Pro Wrestling Sheet that Shelton Benjamin was in talks with WWE and that if he were to sign, plans for him would be to join the SmackDown roster. Benjamin was cleared to wrestle back in March, leading to speculation that he was finally going to be able to return to WWE.
However, he took to social media and made it clear that he had not been signed with WWE and was a free agent at that time. Since then, he has worked for numerous independent promotions, with his most recent work being in Australia and Canada.
What’s next?
Shelton Benjamin is booked for the inaugural Thesz/Tragos Hall of Fame Tournament, which is scheduled to be held at the Impact Pro Wresting show on July 21st and it now may be Shelton’s last independent show.
Along with Shelton, reputed independent stars such as Shane Strickland, Chuck Taylor, AJ Smooth, Penta El Zero M, Curt “The Lonestar” Stallion, “Hot Fire” Myron Reed, and ACH will be in the tournament.
Author’s take
Now that the deal has gone through, creative plans need to be set in place and if WWE chooses to, they could start running the vignettes again.
With John Cena officially recognised as a free agent, Shelton would be an ideal addition to the SmackDown roster, where he was supposed to be going last year until his injury was discovered.
