When SmackDown first went live last year they announced several superstars would be making their return to WWE to fill out the roster. Shelton Benjamin was one of those names mentioned. His debut with the company appeared to be somewhat of a lock too because they aired a vignette hyping his upcoming return featuring his former “Ain’t No Stopping Me” music.
However, Shelton Benjamin suffered a rotator cuff injury that required surgery and he never returned to SmackDown Live. Well, that injury is no longer and issue for Benjamin as he has been cleared to return to in-ring action. But it would appear he might not be coming to WWE after all.
In the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it is noted that the torn rotator cuff injury was actually discovered during his medical examination before WWE signed him back on. All superstars must go through this testing process before WWE actually gives them a contract. Shelton Benjamin apparently didn’t realize he was injured either because he was working dates in Japan with the injury.
Now there is question as to if WWE will offer him a contract or not at this point. After all, things move very quickly in WWE and stars need to take full advantage of the window of while it’s open. As excellent as it would be to see The Gold Standard back in WWE, they might not want to take a chance with Shelton Benjamin at this point.
It was also noted that the talks of WWE buying ROH are currently dead in the water. Of course, there are still talks of making Ring Of Honor’s weekly television show available on the WWE Network. But, any talk of WWE buying ROH outright has apparently been stopped.
No deal has been made or offered to ROH from WWE to make their television show or library available on the WWE Network. But, if ROH is going to appear on WWE programming at least in the short term expect it to be only as a feature on the WWE Network.
[…] When Shelton Benjamin first announced that he would have to undergo surgery, it was believed that he would be making his return to WWE once he recovered, but his return seems to be far from a sure thing at this point. Benjamin recently confirmed that he’s cleared to wrestle again, and he also confirmed that he never signed a deal with WWE. […]