Shelton Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is an American
professional wrestler and former
amateur wrestler signed to
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) working on its
ECW brand.
Benjamin has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling in high school and at the
University of Minnesota. In addition, Benjamin has acted as an assistant coach in amateur wrestling. He first spent time in
Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he held the
OVW Southern Tag Team Championship four times. WWE then moved him to the main roster and put him into an alliance with
Kurt Angle and
Charlie Haas, known as Team Angle (and later the
World's Greatest Tag Team). During his tenure with the company, he has won the
WWE Intercontinental Championship three times, the
WWE United States Championship once, and the
WWE Tag Team Championship twice. His first reign as Intercontinental Champion is currently the longest of the
21st Century, and his reign as United States Champion is tied with the reign of
Steve Austin, which is the seventh longest ever. Benjamin is widely considered one of the best pure athletes in professional wrestling today.
