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A former WWE Superstar was reportedly supposed to make his AEW debut but it was postponed.
Shelton Benjamin was one of several WWE Superstars released in September 2024 following the company's sale to Endeavor. It marked the end of Benjamin's second stint with the company, and he had a 90-day non-compete clause in his deal. He reportedly began negotiations with AEW but nothing has materialized yet.
During a recent Q&A with Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, a fan asked for an update on the former United States Champion's AEW status. Sapp explained that talks between Benjamin and All Elite Wrestling stalled after someone got injured.
"There were talks about him [Benjamin] going to AEW for a program but there was a reason that slowed down. Somebody got sidelined and he's actually going to go work PROGRESS," he said. [27:13 - 27:20]
Shelton Benjamin has only wrestled twice since being released by WWE. He returned to the ring at WWC La Hora De La Verdad in Puerto Rico last month, defeating Gilbert. He also wrestled Tommy Knight at the OPW Australian Stampede pay-per-view in Victoria, Australia.
The 48-year-old star is now slated to appear and compete at PROGRESS Wrestling's SUPER STRONG STYLE 16 event in London, England on May 26 and 27.
WWE Hall of Famer wants to see Shelton Benjamin join AEW
Current AEW commentator Jim Ross wants to see Shelton Benjamin end up in the Tony Khan-led promotion.
Ross explained on a recent edition of his Grilling JR podcast that the AEW locker room would benefit from having Benjamin. He also wanted to see the former Intercontinental Champion face off against wrestlers such as Bryan Danielson and Will Ospreay.
"Shelton would be a credit to anybody’s locker room. I am not aware of what his plans are. If he's a free agent, I'd love to see him get a shot at doing something in AEW. I can see some great matches with Shelton and Bryan Danielson and others, many others, Ospreay. Shelton is just a gifted athlete. He just didn't have the greatest personality for a TV performer as one might prefer," Ross said. [1:27:53 – 1:28:23]
In between his WWE stints, Benjamin wrestled for promotions such as Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah.
