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What's the story?
During a recent appearance on E & C's Pod of Awesomeness, Shelton Benjamin said that he wanted to defend the SmackDown Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 34. The 42-year-old, who is close to the twilight of his professional wrestling career, added that his ambitions were set high as he didn't have a lot of time to waste.
In case you didn't know...
On the July 26, 2016, episode of SmackDown Live, WWE aired a video package promoting Shelton Benjamin's return to the promotion. However, the former Intercontinental Champion announced that he had been diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff on August 07, 2016, effectively putting his WWE return on ice.
The South Carolina native finally returned to WWE on the August 22nd, 2017 episode of SmackDown Live, replacing Jason Jordan as Chad Gable's tag team partner.
The heart of the matter
Shelton Benjamin said that he felt emotional during his return to WWE because the fans gave him a thunderous ovation, making him feel like a "kid in a candy store". When asked about his goals for the "Showcase of the Immortals", Benjamin stated that he wanted to successfully defend the SmackDown Tag Team Championships alongside Chad Gable at WrestleMania 34.
"We don't know the future yet, at least I don't. So any other thing, I would love to be in some sort of title hunt or some kind of title defence. And like I said, I'm aiming for the stars here. My attitude is I don't have time to play around. I don't have years to waste. I don't have years to experiment. I want it and I want it now," he admitted.
What's next?
SmackDown's next pay-per-view is Hell in a Cell on October 08, 2017, where The New Day will defend the SmackDown Tag Team Championships against The Usos. Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin are being given a relatively strong push. It is only a matter of time before they challenge for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.
Author's take
With the success of teams like the Young Bucks, the Revival and the Bar, tag team wrestling is enjoying a renaissance of sorts in 2017. Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable are two gifted athletes who will not be out of place in SmackDown Live's tag team division.
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