Kurt Angle Says WWE Superstar Skipped Olympics To Become Superstar

WWE has a lot of talented people on their roster, but many of them had other options. Kurt Angle had a career as an Olympian prior to coming to WWE and he realizes that Shelton Benjamin had the tools to do the same.

While speaking on the Kurt Angle Show, Kurt Angle said he believes that Shelton Benjamin could have become an Olympian. He got a late start in amateur wrestling and still achieved a lot.

Angle says that if Benjamin would have decided to go to the Olympics then that would have been a real possibility, but he went to WWE instead.

“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.

Advertising

Advertising

“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 is still around WWE, but he slid down the roster a bit after the Hurt Business’ breakup. We’ll have to see if WWE figures out another way to use him in the months to come, but it seems the company decided to let him and Cedric Alexander become enhancement talents once again for now.