Shelton Benjamin Returning to WWE?

According to Pro Wrestling Sheet's, Ryan Satin, SmackDown Live is close to bringing in a new star. [...]

According to Pro Wrestling Sheet's, Ryan Satin, SmackDown Live is close to bringing in a new star. Well, kind of new.

Shelton Benjamin is close to signing a WWE contract; one that will place him on the Blue Brand's Tuesday nights.

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If this sounds familiar, there's good reason for it. About this time last year, Benjamin entered talks to join SmackDown after the original brand split. Things were so imminent that WWE aired a vignette on Smackdown in order to promote the Gold Standard's return. However, before anything was finalized it was revealed that Benjamin was significantly injured.

A few days later, we found out that he needed shoulder surgery and would be out for a considerable amount of time.

Well, that time is up.

Per Satin's report, Benjamin was cleared to return to action weeks ago. His return to SmackDown is officially on a countdown.

Benjamin was last seen in WWE 2010. He owns 3 Intercontinental Title reigns along with 2 turns as a Tag Team Champion and 1 run with the US Title. Benjamin quickly established himself as one of the company's most gifted in-ring workers, earning the reputation being one of the most underrated performers in WWE.

Benjamins's high-octane style may be better aligned with today's WWE product. Similar acts like AJ Styles and Finn Balor find themselves at the top of WWE's card today. 10 years ago, perhaps, these guys would have slipped into relative obscurity as WWE keeps an infatuation with bigger athletes.

We'll see going forward, but the addition of Benjamin can only be seen as positive one. There's plenty of juicy creative opportunities on Tuesday nights. The laziest idea is to stick him with a floundering American Alpha, but Benjamin may be better off in the US Title picture. Regardless, this is a good thing. Stay tuned, folks.

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