Kurt Angle has named which current WWE Superstar would have given him a run for his money in an amateur contest. Not only that, Angle believes that the Superstar in question could have gone on to be an Olympian.
Speaking on a recent episode of his podcast The Kurt Angle Show, the WWE Hall of Famer named Shelton Benjamin as one of the best athletes he had ever been in the ring with.
Asked to name who would have tested him most in a amateur setting aside from Brock Lesnar, Angle was full of praise for Benjamin.
“Shelton Benjamin, without a doubt. That kid is extremely gifted. One of the best athletes I’ve ever been in the ring with. I’ve actually wrestled with him a little bit, amateur, we didn’t really go live, we drilled. He was a late bloomer. This is a kid who didn’t start amateur wrestling until his junior year in high school. He won State both years. Went to Minnesota, became a two-time All-American in college with just three years of experience. If he would have continued on, I think he would have become an Olympian. He was starting to mature by the time his senior year in college came around. So, I think his best years were ahead of him, but he skipped that and went straight to WWE.”
Shelton Benjamin debuted in WWE along with tag team partner Charlie Haas, under the guidance of Angle. The trio formed Team Angle, and enjoyed a great deal of success on the SmackDown brand.
Benjamin was eventually released by WWE in 2010, before returning to the company in 2017. During 2020 Benjamin teamed with Cedric Alexander and joined forces with Bobby Lashley and MVP, as The Hurt Business. Benjamin and Alexander won the RAW Tag Team Titles, while Lashley won the WWE Championship.
However, just prior to WrestleMania 37, the tag team were surprisingly thrown out of the group. Speaking after the group split, Lashley said that the move “hurt his heart.”
H/t to Fightful for the transcription.