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What's the story?
It's been seven long years since WWE got a dose of The Gold Standard. But Shelton Benjamin is back with a renewed focus and an incredible tag team partner in Chad Gable. As Benjamin and Gable prepare to impress the WWE Universe and take over SmackDown Live, Shelton spoke to WWE.com about what led him back to WWE.
The former Intercontinental Champion said that the seed for his return to WWE arose from a conversation with Lillian Garcia, who lent him motivational wisdom in a time of need.
In case you didn't know...
During Shelton Benjamin's first run with WWE, he became a two-time WWE Tag Team Champion alongside Charlie Haas as The World's Greatest Tag Team. He later branched off on his own and captured the IC Title twice and the US Title once.
He left WWE in 2010 and set his sights on the rest of the world. Shelton wrestled all over the place including a stint in New Japan Pro Wrestling as a member of Suzuki-gun.
The heart of the matter
Shelton Benjamin is back in WWE, and he couldn't be happier. Now, he can get back to business and possibly even add to his WWE Tag Team Championship collection.
If he has anything to say about it he'll also pick up a few more singles titles as well. Shelton is heavier now but it's all muscle. He looks great and has seemed to improve in more ways than one.
When Shelton spoke to WWE.com about coming back it turns out a certain ring announcer had a lot to do with him coming back home.
"I had always been waiting for the call, instead of pursuing the call. And, this is going to be very out of left field for anyone that hears this, but me coming back actually started with a conversation during WrestleMania 32 weekend with Lilian Garcia."
Benjamin went on to elaborate on how Garcia lend some motivational wisdom in convincing him it was never too late for a WWE return.
"I ran into her and we were just talking. Basically, she slapped some sense into me. She said: 'put yourself in a position to succeed. Don't be afraid to initiate.' You're never too old to learn something new. When someone is giving you wisdom, the source can come from anywhere."
What's next?
So far, Shelton Benjamin is doing great on SmackDown LIve. Benjamin and Gable haven't had much of a chance to prove themselves yet but given the right time and mixture of talent, opponents, and fan reception he could be doing great things.
Author's take
Shelton Benjamin has always been one of my favourites. He was a highlight whenever he was in a match especially if a ladder was involved.
Now that he's back in WWE it doesn't look like he's lost a step. In fact, it appears as though Shelton picked up a few new moves along the way while travelling the world.
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