‘Makes me look stupid’ – WWE star got six-figure pay rise for taking one brutal Brock Lesnar move
The idea that WWE wrestlers and performers are asked to do things they don’t feel thrilled about isn’t a new one.
Whether it’s participating in a distasteful storyline or becoming a character that seems a little too strange even by WWE standards, grapplers are often asked to go above and beyond.
One man fans might not associate with an unease at a request made by former head honcho Vince McMahon is veteran Shelton Benjamin.
Generally regarded as one of the most well-liked and low maintenance performers on WWE’s roster, the now 49-year-old was – and still is – a phenomenal athlete.
He shared some of his career upbringing with soon-to-be wrestling and MMA megastar Brock Lesnar, sharing a college room with The Beast before the two were paired together in WWE’s developmental divisions.
The two went on to have glittering careers. While Lesnar achieved more by way of world titles and WrestleMania main events, Benjamin was a star in his own right: a three-time Intercontinental champion and multiple-time tag champ.
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Lesnar and Benjamin rarely shared time on screen in WWE’s ‘senior’ roster, however, crossing paths only fleetingly on their respective paths to various riches.
“They originally wanted us to just go at it,” explained the grappler of the original plan to have the pair fight.
“He [Brock] decided he don’t want to do that. He said: ‘let’s do this,’ - This whole thing was his idea and I wasn’t really on board with it
“I’m like: ‘well this makes me look stupid’…. I just always wish they would have just let us do something. We could have had so much fun.”
Benjamin went on to reveal that he provided no resistance to Lesnar or McMahon, so to allow his boss the chance to focus on the other 28 wrestlers in the match and the chaos that involved.
He didn’t, he said, expect the spot to prove such a hit with fans. More than 40,000 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, roared in approval at their interaction, which came to a head with one single German Suplex that allowed Lesnar to seal his opponent’s elimination.
It appears McMahon must have approved of the suplex and what surrounded it, too. Benjamin later explained: “Here’s the silver lining on all this. I had just signed a new contract with WWE.
“Vince, I guess, had kind of went back and re-watched it maybe a week or so later. He went and re-watched the Rumble because of this spot. Vince enjoyed it so much he immediately had talent relations call me in, and they gave me a six-figure raise.”
Benjamin enjoyed the fruits of his Royal Rumble labour until his 2023 departure from WWE ended a tenure across two spells with the company of 16 years.
He’s continued to wrestle, though, and joined All Elite Wrestling in 2024, earlier this year winning their world tag team titles alongside fellow former WWE star Bobby Lashley.