New matches and segments have been added to Dynamite.
Sammy Guevara will be in action this Wednesday, taking on Shelton Benjamin. Guevara said that he wanted to face one of the best, and one of the best had an impressive debut on last week’s Dynamite. He said he had watched Benjamin since he was a kid and asked Tony Khan to book the match between himself and Benjamin.
Sammy Guevara always aims to challenge the best and make it a moment!
That's why he wants Shelton Benjamin THIS WEDNESDAY on Dynamite!
After defeating Atlantis Jr., Kyle Fletcher on Collision said he would break his silence on Wednesday’s Dynamite regarding what he did to Will Ospreay at last weekend’s WrestleDream. Fletcher turned on his longtime friend by attacking him with a screwdriver, ultimately costing Ospreay the International title.
The House of Black will also be in action. The trio has been building momentum recently, defeating local talent on this week’s episode of Collision.
Here is the updated lineup for Dynamite:
ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe defends against Chris Jericho in a Ladder War match
The Elite (Young Bucks and Jack Perry) vs. Daniel Garcia & Private Party (Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy)
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the deaths of Joe Koff and Steve Bagwell, WWE PPV buy notes, ratings, the Cung Le lawsuit, Dave’s trip to watch Dynamite live, NXT TV recap, Rampage spoilers, all the news and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps: Start: Joe Koff, Steve Bagwell pass away 14:22: WWE pay-per-view buys 17:37: NJPW Power Struggle card, fake AEW Dynamite match 24:54: Ratings 29:29: Gegard Mousasi lawsuit, update on Cung Le lawsuit 36:20: AEW Dynamite recap 1:06:56: WWE NXT recap 1:15:36: AEW Rampage spoilers
On the night the 20-plus year veteran made his in-ring AEW debut, Tony Khan announced in a social media post that Benjamin has officially signed with the promotion:
What an amazing debut tonight on Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite!
Benjamin was victorious over Lio Rush in his Dynamite debut on Wednesday alongside MVP, who made his debut as a manager at Dynamite Grand Slam last month. Benjamin was introduced as an associate of MVP on the October 2 Dynamite in his official debut for the company.
Since their introduction, MVP and Benjamin have passed out business cards and are attempting to recruit talent, including former AEW Champion Swerve Strickland who turned MVP down at WrestleDream to stay loyal to his manager Prince Nana.
In WWE, Benjamin was a three-time Tag Team Champion, three-time Intercontinental Champion, and United States Champion on one occasion over a pair of runs on the main roster with the promotion between 2002 and 2022.
Former AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland will make his return to the ring in two weeks’ time as he takes on new roster member Shelton Benjamin on the Fright Night-themed edition of AEW Dynamite.
The show is set for Wednesday, October 30th in Cleveland, Ohio.
After Benjamin made his promotional in-ring debut Wednesday with an impressive win over Lio Rush, MVP took to the microphone to call out Strickland and say they should pick up their conversation from WrestleDream where Strickland and Benjamin went face-to-face.
"Swerve, Why don't we finish the conversation we started at #AEWWrestleDream?"
In a backstage segment later on, Strickland accepted the challenge for anytime and anywhere. He hasn’t competed since losing a steel cage match to Hangman Page at September’s All Out.
Swerve Strickland has an answer for MVP & Shelton Benjamin.
The two have wrestled once before back in July 2017 for an Iowa indie promotion.
Benjamin recently signed with AEW along with MVP, re-uniting as the Hurt Syndicate as indicated on Benjamin’s trunks worn Wednesday. Bobby Lashley has reportedly signed with AEW as well, but has yet to be introduced.
AEW announced on Monday that Cole would be making his return this Wednesday.
“After shocking AEW Fans and @The_MJF with his appearance at #AEWWrestleDream, @AdamColePro makes his return to #AEW Dynamite, LIVE at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TBS, THIS WEDNESDAY!,” AEW’s post on X said.
Cole, who had spent much of 2024 on the shelf after injuring his leg during a run-in at last year’s AEW Grand Slam, made his surprise return at WrestleDream following MJF’s own return to the company. After Jack Perry blasted Daniel Garcia from behind with the TNT title, MJF went in for the attack until Cole’s music hit. MJF quickly bailed as Cole helped Garcia to his feet.
After his injury, Cole revealed himself as the mastermind behind attacks that took place toward the end of 2023, forming a new group called The Undisputed Kingdom. However, he spent most of 2024 away from TV, and with Wardlow also out of action, the stable has since reverted into a trio consisting of Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, and Mike Bennett.
It was also announced that Shelton Benjamin will make his AEW in-ring debut on Wednesday, taking on Li o Rush.
#AEWDynamite This WEDNESDAY, 10/16 San Jose, CA 8pm ET/7pm CT, TBS
After Lio’s announcement that he’s back signed with AEW was interrupted by The Hurt Syndicate, @Sheltyb803 makes his @AEW debut vs Lio Rush on TBS, THIS WEDNESDAY! pic.twitter.com/HNr3WHGB80
AEW later announced that Jay White would be taking on Christian Cage on Wednesday. Additionally, They put up a Dynamite graphic highlighting Jon Moxley’s AEW World title win at WrestleDream, with the graphic reading “Jon Moxley is the AEW World Champion. Nobody is safe.”
After a monumental win vs Hangman at WrestleDream, Jay White aims for revenge on the 2nd man who cost him the #OwenHartTournament, Christian Cage, on TBS this Wednesday! pic.twitter.com/POw9PoWwhN
During a backstage interview with fellow new signee MVP in which he promised a big announcement, he was interrupted by Prince Nana following last week’s confrontation at Grand Slam Dynamite. Nana made it clear he didn’t like what happened and reminded MVP he used to be a wrestler and would lace up the boots right there.
MVP said that sounded like a complaint and he didn’t deal with complaints but “he does” and pointed to Benjamin, the president of his “complaint department.” Benjamin then asked Nana if there was a problem, took his coffee cup, and walked off-screen with MVP.
The two are two-thirds of what’s expected to be the Hurt Syndicate in AEW, an updated version of the Hurt Business in WWE. Bobby Lashley has yet to debut in AEW, but that is expected to happen sooner than later.
The 49-year-old’s longtime run in WWE ended in September 2023 as he was released. In March of this year, he confirmed he had spoken with AEW and that the ball was in their court.
Benjamin has appeared sporadically on the indies in his first year of free agency, last wrestling in July against Titus Alexander at a combo WCPW/Prestige/Deadlock Pro event.
MVP introduces his business partner….Shelton Benjamin!
The 49-year-old Benjamin still feels he has a lot to offer as a wrestler following his release from WWE in September 2023. Benjamin said he had a brief conversation with AEW during free agency. That conversation hasn’t resulted in anything yet, but he’s still open to it. Benjamin noted that he hasn’t spoken with TNA Wrestling but knows MLW has reached out to him.
“I’ve got tons left in the tank, it’s just a matter of whether or not anyone wants to use it. Like I said, I’m always going to be synonymous with WWE. But I’m open to be anywhere,” Benjamin said.
“I had a brief conversation with AEW. That hasn’t really bore any fruit yet, but I’m still open. TNA, I haven’t spoken with yet. I’m more than willing to work with them. I haven’t talked to them. I know MLW has reached out. So, you know, I’ve been presented with options. I just haven’t found something that I’m satisfied with.”
Benjamin’s release from WWE happened during a round of roster cuts the company made after officially being acquired by Endeavor last year. Benjamin told Van Vliet that he would go back to WWE if they made the right offer for him to return.
Van Vliet asked Benjamin if there was ever any talk about making Benjamin a producer or working behind the scenes when he was with WWE.
“There was talk of me possibly becoming a trainer at some point. I don’t think that door has closed, I just haven’t pursued it yet,” Benjamin responded.
Benjamin said he loves training people and teaching, but he still has some more things he wants to accomplish as a wrestler.
“I love training people. I love teaching. And that comes from my amateur wrestling background, but at this point, I still think a little selfishly,” Benjamin said. “I feel like I have a few more things that I’d like to do, that I’d like to accomplish. So while yes, I definitely am interested. I have to put aside my own ambitions to really be able to do that job correctly. And right now, at least today, I’m not ready to not think a little selfishly.”
Shelton Benjamin believes WWE never running an angle with The Hurt Business and The Bloodline is one of the biggest mistakes in wrestling history.
Benjamin told Metro recently that he was never given an explanation as to why The Hurt Business was dropped. He also said they were set to reunite the faction last year but those plans were ultimately dropped.
“I consider (The Hurt Business) one of my defining contributions to the wrestling business,’ Benjamin said. “Definitely cut short too soon – way, way, way too soon. I feel like there’s even to this day, there’s still so much more that Hurt Business could offer, do.”
“There was definitely conversation and planning for the Hurt Business to make a return. And then things just changed,” he continued. ”They set dates, the dates changed and things changed. And then suddenly it was like, ‘Nope, we’re just not doing it.'”
“And that was… that was a kick in the balls.”
“For it to just be unceremoniously just stopped, for no apparent reason – it’s never been explained to me why it was ended,” he added. “I know the company was high on Bobby (Lashley), and they really wanted to put him in a great position.”
Benjamin continued to say that WWE missed the boat on a possible rivalry between The Hurt Business and The Bloodline.
“I love being a part of helping people succeed. But in the case of the Hurt Business, I felt like there was so much more for every individual in that to really elevate themselves within the company,” he continued.
“And I think the fact that there was no Hurt Business versus Bloodline war is one of the biggest mishaps in pro wrestling.”
The Hurt Business debuted in May 2020 and became a pivotal part of WWE programming during the pandemic era. For much of its existence, the group consisted of MVP, Lashley, Benjamin, and Cedric Alexander.
Benjamin was released from WWE last September. Since then, he has been working a lot of international dates, most recently in France for APC, England for Progress, and Australia for OPW.
Lashley, who has been out injured since May, is currently in The Pride with The Street Profits and B-Fab. MVP had been managing Omos, but the act hasn’t been used since the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal in early April. Alexander is now teaming with Ashante Adonis, with their last match having been a win over Pretty Deadly in a SmackDown dark match in Glasgow on June 14.
Fightful recently reported that Benjamin has had talks with the promotion but it’s unclear if an agreement has been reached.
Benjamin addressed the possibility of him landing in AEW in an interview posted on Tuesday by For The Love of Wrestling.
“As far as AEW goes, that door’s open. My door’s open. I haven’t eliminated any possibilities as of yet,” Benjamin said on the show.
“Again, the ball is really in their court,” Benjamin later added regarding AEW. “It’s pro-wrestling so you never know what’s going to happen.”
Earlier in the conversation, Benjamin also spoke about the possibility of wrestling new AEW signees Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay.
“Okada, while I’ve worked alongside of him in New Japan, we never actually had a match so I would love to work with Okada. Obviously, I would love to work with Will Ospreay because I think that guy’s phenomenal. I’ve been watching him for years. People call me athletic but he does stuff that I couldn’t even… It would put me in traction to even try some of the moves he does but I would love to work with him, I think it could be a lot of fun.”
Benjamin was released from WWE in September after having been with the company since 2017. His first stint with WWE ran from 2000 to 2010. His first post-WWE match has been announced for May where he’ll wrestle Josh Alexander for Prestige Wrestling in Los Angeles.
Benjamin was voted “Most Underrated” in the annual Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards for three straight years from 2005 to 2007. In 2006, our own Dave Meltzer wrote of Benjamin winning the award, “Benjamin’s win here almost went without saying. He lost on a PPV show to Matt Striker, a guy who isn’t even a star in developmental.” The full awards issue from that year is available here for subscribers.
Shelton Benjamin’s first match since being released by WWE last September has been announced.
Prestige Wrestling revealed on Thursday that Benjamin vs. TNA Wrestling’s Josh Alexander is set for their Alive or Just Breathing event in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 16. The Vermont Hollywood, a frequent host to NJPW Strong events in the past, will be the venue for the independent event.
Benjamin originally signed a developmental deal with WWE in 2000 and reported to Ohio Valley Wrestling where he formed the Minnesota Stretching Crew tag team with his former college wrestling teammate from the University of Minnesota, Brock Lesnar.
After being called up to WWE’s main roster in 2002, Benjamin and Charlie Haas formed The World’s Greatest Tag Team as part of an alliance with Kurt Angle’s Team Angle faction.
Benjamin would go on to hold the WWE Intercontinental Championship on three occasions, and the United States Championship once as a singles competitor on his first run in addition to two Raw Tag Team titles with Haas before being released in 2010.
After a stint with NJPW, ROH, and on the independent scene, Benjamin returned to WWE in 2017 where he had a six-year run teaming with Chad Gable, then later as part of The Hurt Business faction, where he captured the Raw Tag Team titles once more with Cedric Alexander.
Benjamin’s last WWE match took place on the September 14, 2023 episode of Main Event where he teamed with Alexander in a loss to The Viking Raiders in a bout taped on September 11. His WWE release was announced on September 21, 2023.
Two championship matches are set for the Monday, September 25 edition of WWE Raw.
In a Payback rematch, the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship will be on the line next week, with The Judgment Day’s Damian Priest & Finn Balor defending the titles against former champs Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn.
In the other title match announced, The Judgment Day’s Dominik Mysterio will defend the NXT North American Championship against Dragon Lee.
Another segment announced for next week will see Shinsuke Nakamura respond to Seth Rollins after Rollins declared that Nakamura can choose a stipulation, time, and place for their next World Heavyweight Championship match. Nakamura attacked Rollins on this week’s Raw.
Also set for next week, “Big” Bronson Reed will face Alpha Academy’s Otis in singles competition. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Ludwig Kaiser is set for the episode as well.
The current lineup for the Monday, September 25 Raw in Ontario, California at the Toyota Arena:
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship: The Judgment Day’s Damian Priest & Finn Balor defend against Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
NXT North American Championship: The Judgment Day’s Dominik Mysterio defends against Dragon Lee
This past week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia, before Monday’s Raw.
There were decent matches on display this week with talent who can work these kinds of curtain-jerker matches with ease. As usual, however, there’s little here to go out of your way to seek out.
Bronson Reed defeated Riddick Moss (5:48)
This one was hard-hitting as you might expect. They did well to tease a Moss victory, but Reed continued his undefeated streak on this show.
Last week, Reed was reasonably comfortable in his win against Akira Tozawa on Main Event, but his matches are too evenly contested to be considered even extended squash matches. This one was broadly the same with Moss posing much more of a likely match for Reed than Tozawa would have.
Moss spent most of the match trying to get Reed off his feet and when he did, Reed cannily rolled to the outside. They did a chase and run outside with Moss getting smashed into the apron and nailed with an elbow drop.
Reed went up top but got toppled so that Moss could hit the SOS for a near fall. You could tell they had managed to get buy in from the crowd at this point as they thought that was it.
In the end, it was a missed charge to the corner that allowed Reed to hit his Tsunami for a huge pop and another W — his sixth straight on Main Event since January.
The Viking Raiders (w/ Valhalla) defeated Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin (7:32)
This was a solid tag bout here that was a bit dull in the early going. Benjamin was the star of the show, despite the loss, with the crowd super into his hot tag.
Benjamin and Alexander haven’t been together on Main Event since back in February. They have been working six-man tags at the live shows in August with Austin Theory against AJ Styles, Gallows & Anderson. I have no problem believing that those would have been a ton of fun.
This was a match in four parts: Alexander took the early going, then Erik and Ivar slowed it down and then Benjamin got the hot tag, but Valhalla used the distraction to get the Viking Raiders the win.
Although this one went too long for my liking, it certainly picked up after the commercials as these matches tend to. Benjamin came in full of energy, using a series of splashes before hitting Erik with an Angle Slam. He even used an ankle lock. This is definitely the way to book Benjamin at 48 years old.
In the end, just as Alexander and Benjamin looked in control, Valhalla came up onto the second rope and to speak to Benjamin. He was bundled out of the ring and Alexander was caught with a knee as he came off the top rope with a springboard. This allowed Erik and Ivar to hit Ragnorak for the win.
This week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, before Monday’s Raw. As this is the first Main Event of 2022, happy new year, everyone!
Nikki Cross defeated Dana Brooke (5:30)
This was fine with a cheap finish that suits Cross’ current character.
As she was walking to the ring, Cross had an inset promo of sorts. She paced up and down saying, “It’s going to be mine” before laughing maniacally into the camera.
Under her old moniker of Nikki ASH, Cross was quite a regular on Main Event, but has only made four appearances on the show in 2022 and none since last June.
They went back and forth the whole match with Cross using Brooke’s hair as much as she could to get the upper hand. Brooke kicked out of a spear and Cross kicked out of a backslide.
They both went down after stereo clotheslines until Brooke got up first for the hope spot.
In the end, Cross dodged the charge from Brooke into the corner and then went for a sleeper. With her back to the referee, she used her right hand to rack Brooke’s eyes that allowed her to finish her off with a swinging neckbreaker.
After the bell, they went to a Schism promo backstage saying that Rip Fowler would be facing Shelton Benjamin on his own tonight.
Shelton Benjamin defeated Rip Fowler (w/ Jagger Reid) (5:00)
This was fine and gave Benjamin a nice win after the inevitable interference finish.
Before the match, they played a package to celebrate Shelton Benjamin’s 20 Years in WWE. There were clips of his debut, his ladder matches, and his work with some of the biggest stars in the business. The talking heads were great with Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle being the pick of the bunch. They did a good job here.
The match took a while to get going, drawing a few boos from the audience when Fowler tried to slow things down with a rear chin lock. Fowler booted Benjamin outside as we went to the break and when we came back, the dreaded chin lock was still locked in.
Benjamin fought out with a suplex and then traded blows with Fowler. Reid hit the ring but got nailed with a Paydirt. Fowler then came off the second rope with a Codebreaker and it looked like it was all over.
Benjamin kicked out and fired up with three German suplexes before finishing Fowler off with an old school t-bone suplex.
After the match Benjamin shook Fowler’s hand and then got on the mic to cut a promo. He said he wanted to thank the fans and WWE for allowing him to live out his childhood dream. The crowd burst into a “Thank you, Shelton’ chant before he reassured everyone that he was not done and was still “The Gold Standard.”
“The Gold Standard” @Sheltyb803 celebrates his 20-Year Anniversary as the WWE Universe gives him a standing ovation on WWE Main Event. pic.twitter.com/WDOqwZX2GO
The Benjamin video package was great and the fans reaction to his win and promo were tremendous, but none of this should’ve be tucked away on a show like Main Event. Otherwise, there wasn’t much to go out of your way to see this week.
This week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC before Monday’s Raw.
Shelton Benjamin defeated Akira Tozawa (5:22)
This was a solid match between two good athletes where they both played the babyface. Coming off of back-to-back defeats on Main Event, Shelton got his arm raised here against an exciting Akira Tozawa.
Tozawa is so good at flipping all over for a bigger opponent. Some of the air time that he got on his back body drops and suplexes were not only impressive but made Benjamin look seriously strong here.
One little thing that seems to have changed since Vince departed is some of the camera work on this show. There was a nice moment where they cut to a camera that was behind the hard cam to the left and it panned across to take in the action. It gave the feel that this was a classy live event.
In the end, Tozawa came off the top but Benjamin had it scouted. Tozawa landed on his feet and then ran into the Pay Dirt to end it.
After the match, Benjamin helped Tozawa to his feet and offered him a fist bump as a goodwill gesture.
The Street Profits defeated Alpha Academy (6:51)
Not only was this a really strong match but the live crowd were really into it, which helped the match.
These two teams have been used sparingly on Main Event in the past year or so, but this is the first time they’ve faced off against each other on an episode of the program. It was well received by the live crowd and you could tell that they were all buoyed by the reaction.
The Street Profits came out in Washington Commanders shirts which got them a nice pop when they hit the ring.
They began with Dawkins and Ford cutting the ring in half to keep Gable in the ring and they did loads of neat chain wrestling that the crowd enjoyed. They then headed to the break with a tope from Ford.
Otis was in after the break and the action slowed down. Ford played babyface in peril and they built up the tension for the hot tag really well.
After Dawkins came in and cleared house, they quickly went to the finish, with the Street Profits hitting the Doomsday Blockbuster on Otis for the win.
Seeing Otis take the finisher here got a great reaction. They should be doing this sort of match on Main Event every week. As far as curtain-jerkers go, this was pretty hard to top.
Final Thoughts:
Lots of babyfaces having good matches is a fun way to book a show. If they continue to do this every week, this show will be a pleasure to watch. There’s still a rationale, though, that says that Main Event ought to be a platform for talent to try out new gimmicks and for fresh talent to learn their trade. Otherwise, you have to ask what this show is really all about.
Shelton Benjamin returned to the ring on Monday night for his first match in nearly two months.
Before Monday’s Raw, Benjamin returned from injury by defeating Akira Tozawa in a match that was filmed for this week’s episode of WWE Main Event. It was the first time Benjamin has wrestled since April.
Benjamin had announced last month that he was out of action with an injury for just the second time in his career. Benjamin didn’t disclose what the injury was.
“For only the second time In my career An injury has put me on the shelf,” Benjamin tweeted on May 14. “I’ll be back soon. In the meantime I will be putting in the work to come back better than I was before my little setback. See you guys soon!”
Benjamin’s most recent match prior to being out of action also took place on Main Event. He teamed with Cedric Alexander in a loss to The Street Profits on April 25.
During WrestleMania weekend in April, Benjamin was one of the participants in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on SmackDown.
