Shelton Benjamin was a staple of WWE's "Ruthless Aggression" era and, after leaving the company in 2010, he eventually returned in 2017 for a six-year run before being released last fall.
The company mostly left him in the midcard, a shame when he clearly had so much to give. Talking to Metro, Benjamin revealed a pitch he made upon his 2017 return which would have seen him romance then-SmackDown General Manager Paige.
"[A] pitch I had, I wanted to be - this is when I came back the second time. I think Paige [now Saraya in AEW] was the general manager for Smackdown," Benjamin explained. "The idea was, I will start off as kind of her bodyguard, but I think it was it was going to turn romantic and that was all - they were all set to do that, and then it just didn’t happen."
That sounds pretty standard for WWE when Vince McMahon was calling the shots but another major character change was later considered.
"At one point, I was going to be Mr. Entertainment where, you know, I’ll be singing," he told the site. "I think we kind of teased it once with the Bellas where I was kind of singing Louis Armstrong to them. I remember Vince wanted me to be Mr. Entertainment. That never happened."
Benjamin's greatest success was his stint in The Hurt Business alongside Bobby Lashley, Cedric Alexander and MVP. The faction was pushed as a top stable in WWE, only for the plug to be pulled on them in a pretty unsatisfying manner.
"I consider that one of my defining contributions to the wrestling business," he 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."
"But again, we don’t make those calls. That was, you know, just a decision. And like I said, love it or hate it., just gotta live with it and move on. What most fans are thinking, we’re thinking."
"There was definitely conversation and planning for the Hurt Business to make a return," Benjamin confirmed. "And then things just changed. 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. [Laughs]"
"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, and they really wanted to put him in a great position....I think the fact that there was no Hurt Business versus Bloodline war is one of the biggest mishaps in pro wrestling."
It was, without a doubt, a missed trick on WWE's part not to do more with The Hurt Business. Ultimately, had they not debuted during the COVID/ThunderDome era, there's a very good chance the group would have managed to stick around for the long haul.
As things stand, we're not banking on a reunion, especially after the tepid response to Lashley's alliance with The Street Profits and B-Fab.